Doctorates and Habilitations (postdoctoral qualification)
Doctoral procedure at the Department of Chemistry pursuant to the doctoral degree regulations from 1 October 2019 ("Doctoral degree regulations 2018")
The Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences (MIN) confers the academic degree Doctor of Natural Sciences (Doctoral subject Chemistry: Dr. rer. nat.) through regular doctoral procedure. In special cases, it confers the Doctor of Philosophy (Doctoral subjects Cosmetic Science and Health Sciences: Dr. phil.). Through exceptional procedure, it also confers the honorary degree Doctor of Natural Sciences (Dr. rer. nat. h. c.). The doctoral procedure, which is governed by the doctoral degree regulations and supplemented with subject-specific provisions by the subject doctoral committee, is outlined below.
1. Registering your doctoral procedure and supervisor
An application for a doctorate must be submitted no later than 3 months after the start of the doctoral procedure. If this is not possible for reasons beyond the student's control, a confirmation of the reasons signed by the doctoral candidate and the supervisor must be enclosed with the application. The Doctoral Committee of the Department of Chemistry reserves the right to reject late applications.
We only process applications for admission electronically! Application documents in paper form are not requested, but also not accepted!
The following application documents must be prepared in electronic form for the online application for admission to doctoral procedures and submitted compulsorily as part of the online application:
- online registration form (with all required signatures), FAQs
- Completed and fully research project outline: Please use this form only: research outline (PDF, accessible)
- Completed and fully signed supervision agreement Please use this form only: supervision agreement (PDF, accessible)
- Copies of your degree certificates (e.g. bachelor’s and master’s degree): certificate of academic degree, transcript of records, diploma supplement (if issued and already available)*
- Copy of certificate of higher education entrance eligibility (secondary school leaving certificate: dt. Abitur/Reifezeugnis)
- Curriculum vitae and if available, publication list
- Copy of identification document (e.g. ID card, passport, visa)
- Only if applicable: Statement attesting that you have previously applied for a doctorate at another higher education institution, in another faculty of Universität Hamburg or in another department of the MIN Faculty of Universität Hamburg (including details on the application).
* In the case of degrees not achieved in Germany, an electronic version should be submitted BEFOREHAND by mail to Promotion.chemie"AT"uni-hamburg.de . If these are NOT in German or English, an English officially certified version must be attached.
The online application is done through Docata-MIN and includes two sections:
Section 1
- Register in Docata-MIN: Create user account and set password
- Log in to Docata-MIN with the login data of the user account and fill in the online application for admission to doctoral procedures.
- Complete the first section of the online application and download the PDF application file Application for admission to doctoral procedures: tick the applicable declarations in the PDF application file and sign the Application for admission to doctoral procedures by yourself and having it signed by the other persons/entities listed in the application (scanned and electronic signatures are allowed).
Section 2
Log in to Docata-MIN and complete the second section of the online application: upload the fully signed Application for admission to doctoral procedures and the remaining application documents (see above) in ONE PDF file (max. size 30 MB) to Docata-MIN and submit via Docata-MIN.
Please note: Only complete applications can be processed. If application documents of the mandatory documents listed above are missing or signatures are missing, the application cannot be submitted to the Subject Doctoral Committee. In such a case you will be informed by us and you will have to repeat the online application (section 1 and/or section 2)! To avoid this, we ask you to submit the above-mentioned application documents completely and signed within the online application.
In the FAQ for the online application for admission to doctoral procedures linked here, you will find all information about the application process with screenshots for all sections. Please make sure to read them before you start the online application process.
The Department of Chemistry Doctoral Committee will decide on your application timely.
Upon acceptance by the subject doctoral committee, use our acceptance letter to enroll by the end of the semester following the beginning of your doctoral studies. Enroll at Services for Students (PDF instructions for the PhD online enrollment procedure). In accordance with Section 70 subsection 5 of the Hamburg higher education act (Hamburgisches Hochschulgesetz, HmbHG) you must remain enrolled at Universität Hamburg for the entire doctoral period (until date of defense).
Doctoral supervisor/s
- Doctoral projects in the Department of Chemistry are supervised by professors and members of the Departmental faculty who have completed a Habilitation (postdoctoral qualification).
- Members of other departments or faculties as well as non-university research institutions may be authorized to co-supervise doctoral candidates in individual cases.
- For doctoral proceedings where the supervisor is employed under a fixed-term employment agreement (e.g., junior professors), a permanently employed, full-time person is required as a second supervisor. This ensures the smooth continuation of doctoral proceedings if the first supervisor should not be able to supervise the doctorate to its conclusion prior to the end of any fixed term of employment.
- Researchers with a PhD degree can act as co-supervisors.
- A person who has not been authorized to supervise/co-supervise yet has to be approved first by the Promotion Committee of the Department of Chemistry. For this purpose please contact the Academic Office.
- In doctoral procedures in which the supervisor is not a faculty member of the Department of Chemistry a permanently employed faculty member of the Department of Chemistry has to be appointed as another supervisor. This supervisor can write an evaluation.
- You can change or augment your supervisor within the first year after commencing doctoral studies (submission of a new supervision agreement). The individual case will then be reviewed by the subject doctoral committee.
Notification of membership in a doctoral program, graduate school, or graduate college:
- Notification of membership in a graduate school/structured doctoral program is made via Docata when you register for your doctorate.
- If your membership in a graduate school/structured doctoral program begins after you have already been admitted, please submit the "Notification of Change from Individual Doctorate to Structured Doctorate" form (PDF) to the Doctoral Office via email.
- Further information (German only)
2. Prolongation your doctoral project:
If you need to prolong your doctoral project, use the form below and send it by e-mail to: Promotion.chemie"AT"uni-hamburg.de.
- Application for prolongation of the admission to doctorate (PDF, accessible)
Please note that you must hold your disputation within the admission period.
3. Formal requirements for your doctoral dissertation
Formal requirements:
You can find the formal requirements for your doctoral dissertation, including a structural guideline, here:
- information on formal requirements for doctoral dissertations (accessible)
- information on formal requirements for a cumulative dissertation (accessible)
There are no specifications prescribed for font sizes, font types, margins, etc.
Language:
You can write your doctoral dissertation in English or German. If you wish to use another language, you must submit an informal request to the subject doctoral committee.
Required dissertation format:
- Summary in German and English
- List of the hazardous substances used by GHS (hazard symbols, H&P statements) (in case of theoretical theses, a negative list is required)
- Declaration on Oath/Affidavit: "I hereby declare and affirm that this doctoral dissertation is my own work and that I have not used any aids and sources other than those indicated.If electronic resources based on generative artificial intelligence (gAI) were used in the course of writing this dissertation, I confirm that my own work was the main and value-adding contribution and that complete documentation of all resources used is available in accordance with good scientific practice. I am responsible for any erroneous or distorted content, incorrect references, violations of data protection and copyright law or plagiarism that may have been generated by the gAI.." Date, Signature
Format of exam copies to be submitted:
- Printed on both sides
- 80 g/m² paper
- DIN-A4 paper
- permanently bound (no spiral binding)
4. Application to open the doctorate proceedings: Submitting your doctoral dissertation
Submitting your doctoral dissertation:
We only process applications to open the doctorate proceedings (i.e. submission of the dissertation for evaluation) electronically! Application documents in paper form (except 1 examination copy of the dissertation in paper form for archiving purposes) are not requested, but also not accepted!
The following application documents must be prepared in electronic form for the online application to open the doctorate proceedings and submitted compulsorily as part of the online application:
- Current enrollment certificate (= semester certificate)
- Current curriculum vitae (CV)
- CMR form (PDF, accessible), fully signed
- Only if not already submitted during the application process for admission to doctoral procedures: Copy of identification document (e.g. ID card, passport, visa)*
- Only if applicable: Proof of interruptions of your doctorate
* Important note: If you have changed your name after admission (e.g. due to marriage) and have not yet reported the name change to the Office of Student Affairs, please include the relevant proof of the name change (e.g. marriage certificate) with the rest of the application documents.
The online application is done through Docata-MIN and includes two sections:
Section 1
- Log in to Docata-MIN with the login data of your user account (see FAQ for further information) and fill in the online application to open the doctorate proceedings.
- Complete the first section of the online application and download the PDF application file Application to open the doctorate proceedings: tick the applicable declarations in the PDF application file and sign the Application to open the doctorate proceedings by yourself and having it signed by the other persons/entities listed in the application (Scanned and electronic signatures are allowed).
Section 2
Log in to Docata-MIN and complete the second section of the online application: upload the fully signed Application to open the doctorate proceedings and the remaining application documents (see above) in ONE PDF file (max. size 10 MB) to Docata-MIN and submit via Docata-MIN.
Please note: Only complete applications can be processed. If application documents of the mandatory documents listed above are missing or signatures are missing, the application cannot be submitted to the Subject Doctoral Committee. In such a case you will be informed by us and you will have to repeat the online application (section 1 and/or section 2)! To avoid this, we ask you to submit the above-mentioned application documents completely and signed within the online application. Please do not forget to submit 1 examination copy of the dissertation in paper form for archiving purposes with us and please note the following about the dissertation (doctoral thesis) you are submitting for evaluation with this application:
- Only one printed bound copy of the dissertation must be submitted for archiving to us, the responsible Academic Office (e.g. by mail). No further hard/paper copies of the dissertation need to be submitted to us at the Academic Office.
- Both the printed bound copy of the dissertation and the dissertation submitted in electronic form (via the Docata upload) must contain the declaration upon oath signed by the doctoral candidate.
In the FAQ for the online application to open the doctorate proceedings linked here, you will find all information about the application process with screenshots for all sections. Please make sure to read them before you start the online application process.
Dissertation assessors:
Dissertations are usually assessed by two (2) assessors. The following criteria must be met as a whole when selecting the assessors:
- One assessor must be a supervisor or member of the supervising committee
- At least one must be a university teacher (professor, junior professor, private lecturer) MIN
- At least one must be from the Department of Chemistry
If there are two or more dissertation supervisors, we distinguish between:
- external doctoral studies: each external and internal supervisor writes an assessment.
- other co-supervisions (i.e. members of Graduate Schools): only one of the assessors writes an assessment so that the second assessor is not involved in the doctoral dissertation.
Registering for the oral defense:
The timeline from submission of the dissertation to the disputation is approximately 11 weeks. The date of the disputation is not finalized until the examination board has determined the grade of the dissertation. It can be provisionally scheduled as soon as the procedure has been opened. Disputations at Department of Chemistry are held on Fridays.
Registration for the oral defense in the department (PDF, accessible)
Please note that you must hold your disputation within the admission period. According to the doctoral regulations, the disputation should be held within 2 months after receipt of the last review. The chairperson of the subject doctoral committee decides on justified exceptions upon informal written application.
Composition of the examination commission:
Number of members:
- at least three if one of the assessors of the dissertation is a member of the examination commission
- at least five if two of the assessors of the dissertation are members of the examination commission
- at least five if two supervisors are members of the examination commission
Position of the members:
- 1. Chair: university teacher in chemistry or someone who has completed a habilitation in chemistry (postdoctoral qualification) and is a member of the Department of Chemistry
- 2. Vice Chair: university teacher or university member who has completed a habilitation (postdoctoral qualification) with supervisory authorization in the Department of Chemistry
- 3. (if appropriate up to 5): members with supervisory authorization in the Department of Chemistry
Members of the examination commission should represent a broad subject spectrum (chair/deputy chair cannot be from the same institute, see also leaflet on examination commission).
Please note that the evaluators and the examination committee must already be determined when the dissertation is submitted (entry in Docata). Doctoral candidates are responsible for obtaining the approval of reviewers and examination board members.
The examination committee will inform doctoral students of their overall final grade immediately after the oral defense.
5. Completing the doctoral procedure
Approval of the final print version
After you defend your dissertation, the Academic Office will issue a preliminary transcript. This does not entitle you to use the title of “Dr.” The Academic Office will also issue you a docket entitled "Laufzettel zur Veröffentlichung der Dissertation", which notes whether the print version has been approved. If the final print version deviates from the exam version, the person designated in the oral defense protocol must approve the revised version.
Publication of your dissertation and final organizational details
After receiving approval, prepare the required number of printed copies of your dissertation according to your publication method (see table). The Faculty Doctoral Committee recommends publishing your dissertation electronically (Version 1). You can find additional information on this subject on the State and University Library (SUB) website.
Publication format | Departmental Library | State Library (Staatsbibliothek) |
e-dissertation | 2 | 2 |
print only |
2 | 35 |
cumulative dissertation | 2 | 2 resp. 6 |
Commercial publisher (min. copies: 150 or book-on-demand publisher |
2 | 6 |
*) If the cumulative dissertation is published as an e-dissertation, 2 printed copies are to be handed in to the State Library. If it is published as a print medium, 6 printed copies are to be handed in to the State Library.
The printed copies should be in DIN-A5 or DIN-A4 format, printed on both sides (80 g/m² paper) and in permanently bound format.
The date of the oral defense and of approval to publish must be added behind the names of evaluators and oral defense committee.
Submission of the required copy at the Departmental Library will be noted on your docket in the respective location (see table). The State Library will send a confirmation automatically.
You must then complete the following forms and submit them by e-mail to the Academic Office:
- Docket (Laufzettel zur Veröffentlichung der Dissertation)
- Organizational details sheet to be completed upon leaving the Department (PDF, accessible)
- Post-graduation statistics sheet (PDF, accessible)
- Privacy Policy (PDF, accessible)
In accordance with the doctoral regulations, it may take up to three (3) months to issue the doctoral certificate after notification of the fulfilment of the publication obligation. You can pick up the certificate in person at the Academic Office or authorise another person to pick it up. An additional English copy of the certificate can be requested unformally at the Academic Office.
6. Terminating your doctoral procedure prematurely
If you want to terminate your doctoral project prematurely, use the forms below and send them by e-mail to: Promotion.chemie"AT"uni-hamburg.de.
- Notification of termination of supervision relationship (PDF, accessible)
- Organizational details sheet to be completed upon leaving the Department (PDF, accessible)
Doctoral procedure at the Department of Chemistry pursuant to the doctoral degree regulations from 1 December 2010 to 30 September 2019 ("Doctoral degree regulations 2010")
The Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences (MIN) confers the academic degree Doctor of Natural Sciences (Doctoral subject Chemistry: Dr. rer. nat.) through regular doctoral procedure. In special cases , it confers the Doctor of Philosophy (Doctoral subjects: Cosmetic Science and Health Sciences: Dr. phil.). Through exceptional procedure, it also confers the honorary degree Doctor of Natural Sciences (Dr. rer. nat. h. c.). The doctoral procedure, which is governed by the doctoral degree regulations and supplemented with subject-specific provisions by the subject doctoral committee, is outlined below.
1. Registering your doctoral procedure and supervisor
You must register for doctoral studies not later than 3 months after beginning the doctoral procedure. To register, submit the following documents to the Chemistry Academic Office by e-mail and postal mail:
- online registration form (with all required signatures), FAQs
- research outline (PDF, accessible) (with all required signatures)
- supervision agreement (PDF, accessible) (with all required signatures)
- university entrance qualification (secondary school certificate o.s.) (copy)
- curriculum vitae/CV*
- admission qualifications for doctoral studies* (copies of certificate and transcript of records for Bachelor AND Master, Diploma o.s. )
- copy of your personal ID or passport
* In the case of degrees not achieved in Germany, an electronic version should be submitted BEFOREHAND by mail to Promotion.chemie"AT"uni-hamburg.de. If these are NOT in German or English, an English officially certified version must be attached.
The Department of Chemistry Doctoral Committee will decide on your application timely.
Upon acceptance by the subject doctoral committee, use our acceptance letter to enroll by the end of the semester following the beginning of your doctoral studies. Enroll at Services for Students (PDF instructions for the PhD online enrollment procedure). In accordance with Section 70 subsection 5 of the Hamburg higher education act (Hamburgisches Hochschulgesetz, HmbHG) you must remain enrolled at Universität Hamburg for the entire doctoral period (until date of oral defense).
Doctoral supervisor/s
- Doctoral projects in the Department of Chemistry are generally supervised by professors and members of the Departmental faculty who have completed a Habilitation (postdoctoral qualification).
- Upon request, members of other departments or faculties as well as non-university research institutions may be authorized to supervise doctoral candidates in individual cases. An examination will be held for this purpose.
- For doctoral proceedings where the supervisor is employed under a fixed-term employment agreement (e.g., junior professors), a permanently employed, full-time person is required as a second supervisor. This ensures the smooth continuation of doctoral proceedings if the first supervisor should not be able to supervise the doctorate to its conclusion prior to the end of any fixed term of employment.
A permanently employed faculty member of the Department of Chemistry must co-supervise doctoral procedures in which the primary supervisor is not a faculty member of the Department of Chemistry or has not been authorized to supervise. This person will generally prepare an assessment of the doctoral dissertation.
- You can change or augment your supervisor within the first year after commencing doctoral studies (submission of a new supervision agreement). The individual case will then be reviewed by the subject doctoral committee.
Notification of membership in a doctoral program, graduate school, or graduate college:
- Notification of membership in a graduate school/structured doctoral program is made via Docata when you register for your doctorate.
- If your membership in a graduate school/structured doctoral program begins after you have already been admitted, please submit the "Notification of Change from Individual Doctorate to Structured Doctorate" form (PDF) to the Doctoral Office via email.
- Further information (German only)
2. Prolongation your doctoral project
If you need to prolong your doctoral project, use the form and send it by e-mail to: Promotion.chemie"AT"uni-hamburg.de
- Application for prolongation of the admission to doctorate (PDF, accessible)
Please note that you must hold your disputation within the admission period.
3. Formal requirements for your doctoral dissertation
Formal requirements
You can find the formal requirements for your doctoral dissertation, including a structural guideline, here:
- information on formal requirements for doctoral dissertations (accessible)
- information on formal requirements for a cumulative dissertation (accessible)
There are no specifications prescribed for font sizes, font types, margins, etc.
Language
You can write your doctoral dissertation in English or German. If you wish to use another language, you must submit an informal request to the subject doctoral committee.
Required dissertation format
- Summary in German and English
- List of the hazardous substances used by GHS (hazard symbols, H&P statements) (in case of theoretical theses, a negative list is required)
- Declaration on Oath/Affidavit:"I hereby declare and affirm that this doctoral dissertation is my own work and that I have not used any aids and sources other than those indicated.If electronic resources based on generative artificial intelligence (gAI) were used in the course of writing this dissertation, I confirm that my own work was the main and value-adding contribution and that complete documentation of all resources used is available in accordance with good scientific practice. I am responsible for any erroneous or distorted content, incorrect references, violations of data protection and copyright law or plagiarism that may have been generated by the gAI." Date, Signature
Format of exam copies to be submitted
- Printed on both sides
- 80 g/m² paper
- DIN-A4 paper
4. Application to open the doctorate proceedings: Submitting your doctoral dissertation
Submitting your doctoral dissertation
We only process applications to open the doctorate proceedings (i.e. submission of the dissertation for evaluation) electronically! Application documents in paper form (except 1 examination copy of the dissertation in paper form for archiving purposes) are not requested, but also not accepted!
The following application documents must be prepared in electronic form for the online application to open the doctorate proceedings and submitted compulsorily as part of the online application:
- Current enrollment certificate (= semester certificate)
- Current curriculum vitae (CV)
- CMR form (PDF, accessible), fully signed
- Only if not already submitted during the application process for admission to doctoral procedures: Copy of identification document (e.g. ID card, passport, visa)*
- Only if applicable: Proof of interruptions of your doctorate
* Important note: If you have changed your name after admission (e.g. due to marriage) and have not yet reported the name change to the Office of Student Affairs, please include the relevant proof of the name change (e.g. marriage certificate) with the rest of the application documents.
The online application is done through Docata-MIN and includes two sections:
Section 1
Log in to Docata-MIN with the login data of your user account (see FAQ for further information) and fill in the online application to open the doctorate proceedings.
Complete the first section of the online application and download the PDF application file Application to open the doctorate proceedings: tick the applicable declarations in the PDF application file and sign the Application to open the doctorate proceedings by yourself and having it signed by the other persons/entities listed in the application (Scanned and electronic signatures are allowed).
Section 2
Log in to Docata-MIN and complete the second section of the online application: upload the fully signed Application to open the doctorate proceedings and the remaining application documents (see above) in ONE PDF file (max. size 10 MB) to Docata-MIN and submit via Docata-MIN.
Please note: Only complete applications can be processed. If application documents of the mandatory documents listed above are missing or signatures are missing, the application cannot be submitted to the Subject Doctoral Committee. In such a case you will be informed by us and you will have to repeat the online application (section 1 and/or section 2)! To avoid this, we ask you to submit the above-mentioned application documents completely and signed within the online application. Please do not forget to submit 1 (one) examination copy of the dissertation in paper form for archiving purposes with us and please note the following about the dissertation (doctoral thesis) you are submitting for evaluation with this application:
- Only one printed bound copy of the dissertation must be submitted for archiving to us, the responsible Academic Office (e.g. by mail). No further hard/paper copies of the dissertation need to be submitted to us at the Academic Office.
- Both the printed bound copy of the dissertation and the dissertation submitted in electronic form (via the Docata upload) must contain the declaration upon oath signed by the doctoral candidate.
In the FAQ for the online application to open the doctorate proceedings linked here, you will find all information about the application process with screenshots for all sections. Please make sure to read them before you start the online application process.
Dissertation assessors
Dissertations are usually assessed by 2 assessors. The following criteria must be met as a whole when selecting the assessors:
- 1 assessor must be a supervisor or member of the supervising committee.
- At least 1 must be a university teacher (professor, junior professor, private lecturer) MIN
- At least 1 must be from the Department of Chemistry
If there are 2 or more dissertation supervisors, we distinguish between:
- external doctoral studies: each external and internal supervisor writes an assessment.
- other co-supervisions (i.e. members of Graduate Schools): only 1 of the assessors writes an assessment so that the second assessor is not involved in the doctoral dissertation.
Registering for the oral defense
The timeline from submission of the dissertation to the disputation is approximately 11 weeks. The date of the disputation is not finalized until the examination board has determined the grade of the dissertation. It can be provisionally scheduled as soon as the procedure has been opened. Disputations at Department of Chemistry are held on Fridays.
- Registration for the oral defense in the department (PDF, accessible)
Please note that you must hold your disputation within the admission period. According to the doctoral regulations, the disputation should be held within 2 months after receipt of the last review. The chairperson of the subject doctoral committee decides on justified exceptions upon informal written application.
Composition of the examination commission
Number of members:
- at least 3 if one of the assessors of the dissertation is a member of the examination commission
- at least 5 if 2 of the assessors of the dissertation are members of the examination commission
- at least 5 if 2 supervisors are members of the examination commission
Position of the members:
- 1. chair: university chemistry teacher or someone who has completed a Habilitation (postdoctoral qualification) in chemistry
- 2. vice-chair: university teacher or university member who has completed a Habilitation (postdoctoral qualification) with supervisory authorization in the Department of Chemistry
- 3. (if appropriate up to 5): members with supervisory authorization in the Department of Chemistry
Members of the examination commission should represent a broad subject spectrum (chair/deputy chair cannot be from the same institute, see also leaflet on examination commission).
Please note that the evaluators and the examination committee must already be determined when the dissertation is submitted (entry in Docata). Doctoral candidates are responsible for obtaining the approval of reviewers and examination board members.
The examination committee will inform doctoral students of their overall final grade immediately after the oral defense.
5. Completing the doctoral procedure
Approval of the final print version
After you defend your dissertation, the Academic Office will issue a preliminary transcript. This does not, however, entitle you to use the title of “Dr.” The Academic Office will also issue you a docket entitled Laufzettel zur Veröffentlichung der Dissertation, which notes whether the print version has been approved. If the final print version deviates from the exam version, the person designated in the record must approve the revised version.
Publication of your dissertation and final organizational details
After receiving approval, prepare the required number of printed copies of your dissertation according to your publication method (see table). The Faculty Doctoral Committee recommends publishing your dissertation electronically (Version 1). You can find additional information on this subject on the State and University Library (SUB) website.
Publication format | Department Library | State Library (Stabi) |
e-dissertation | 2 | 2 |
print only | 2 | 36 |
cumulative dissertation | 2 | 2 resp. 6 |
by a commercial publisher (minimum number of copies: 150) or book-on-demand publisher |
2 | 6 |
*) If the cumulative dissertation is published as an e-dissertation, 2 printed copies are to be handed in to the State Library. If it is published as a print medium, 6 printed copies are to be handed in to theState Library..
The printed copies should be in DIN-A5 or DIN-A4 format, printed on both sides (80 g/m² paper) and in permanently bound format.
The date of the oral defense and of approval to publish must be added behind the names of evaluators and oral defense committee.
Submission of the required copy at the Departmental Library will be noted on your docket in the respective location (see table). The State Library will send a confirmation automatically.
You must then complete the following forms and submit them by e-mail to the Academic Office:
- Docket (Laufzettel zur Veröffentlichung der Dissertation)
- Organizational details sheet to be completed upon leaving the Department (PDF, accessible)
- Post-graduation statistics sheet (PDF, accessible)
- Privacy Policy (PDF, accessible)
In accordance with the regulations of the doctoral regulations, it may take up to three (3) months to issue the doctoral certificate after notification of the fulfilment of the publication obligation. You can pick up the certificate in person at the Academic Office or authorise another person to pick it up.
6. Terminating your doctoral procedure prematurely
If you want to terminate your doctoral project prematurely, use the form below and send them by e-mail to: Promotion.chemie"AT"uni-hamburg.de.
- Notification of termination of supervision relationship (PDF, accessible)
- Organizational details sheet to be completed upon leaving the Department (PDF, accessible)
Doctoral procedure at the Department of Chemistry pursuant to the doctoral degree regulations from 12 July 2000 to 30 November 2010
The Department of Chemistry at Universität Hamburg confers the academic degree Doctor of Natural Sciences (Dr. rer. nat.) through regular doctoral procedure. Through exceptional procedure, it also confers the honorary degree Doctor of Natural Sciences (Dr. rer. nat. h. c.). The doctorate attests to the capacity for in-depth independent academic work in a subject offered by the Department of Chemistry. As of 6 April 2011, doctoral projects must be initiated exclusively pursuant to the Faculty’s new doctoral degree regulations.
The doctoral procedure is governed in the doctoral degree regulations and augmented by associated statutes.
Completing the doctoral project
You must submit a dissertation at the end your doctoral project. You can find the formal requirements for your doctoral dissertation, including a structural guideline, here:
- information in German on formal requirements for doctoral dissertations
- information in German on formal requirements for dissertations by publication
You must submit 5 bound examination copies (80 g/m² paper) in DIN-A4 format, printed on both sides, to the Chemistry Academic Office together with the following documents:
- German-language PDF form for registration for completion of doctoral studies
- German-language PDF CMR list
- German-language PDF oral defense registration form or German-language PDF oral examination registration form
- résumé
- secondary school leaving certificate (uncertified copy)
- certificate and final record of university exam (certified copy or uncertified copy and bring originals with you)
The chair of the doctoral committee makes the initial decision whether to initiate the procedure for completion of the doctoral studies. He or she appoints the assessors for the dissertation, usually following the candidate’s suggestions.
If oral defense is chosen as the form of oral examination, the candidate proposes the questioners for the oral defense and begins scheduling the oral defense. Allow for at least 2 weeks after submission of the last dissertation assessment and all required documents for the doctoral committee to approve admission to the oral defense and the Academic Office to send and publicly display the invitation to the oral defense.
If oral examination (Rigorosum) is chosen, once the last dissertation assessment and all required documents have been submitted, the doctoral committee decides on admission to the oral examination in the major and 2 minors as well as on approval of the oral examiners. The candidate may propose an examiners of his or her choice. The first examination may be taken 7 days after the last assessment has been submitted. All 3 examinations must be taken within 2 weeks.
An examination transcript will be issued once the oral examination has been passed. The dean can issue the doctoral certificate only once the dissertation has been published and confirmation of publication has been provided. Final organizational details (terminating enrollment, etc.) must be completed as well.
Publication of the dissertation, distribution of mandatory copies, final organizational details
In addition to the copies required for the examination files, the candidate must gratuitously submit the number of printed copies set by the Department Council in accordance with the requirements of the State and University Library. Alternatively, you can reduce the number of printed copies if a publisher prints the dissertation or you choose to publish electronically. Printed copies must be in DIN-A5 format, printed on both sides (80 g/m² paper), and bound.