Frequently asked questions about doctorate study

There are various ways to pursuing a doctorate, with three primary approaches to consider: 

Do you already have a topic in mind?

In that case, the next step is to find a suitable supervisor and secure funding. 

Don’t you have a topic or a supervisor yet? 

In this case, you can look for doctoral positions with a predefined topic. Suitable options include advertised positions in research projects, as well as qualification positions, although these are advertised less frequently. 

For third-party funded positions, relevant postings can be found primarily through the FIT newsletter (University of Kassel), or the ELFI database.

Do you have already found a supervisor but not a topic yet? 

In this case, ideally you should choose a topic together.

In case you already have a supervisor, you should choose a suitable topic together. Naturally, you should choose a topic from your areas of interest, as you will engage with it in depth over the coming years. Your supervisor has the necessary experience and can advise you on whether the topic is relevant and of sufficient scope for a dissertation.

In case you do not have a supervisor yet, you can look for doctoral positions with a predefined topic. Relevant postings can be found primarily through the FIT newsletter (University of Kassel), or the ELFI database.

Look for professors who teach and/or conduct research in your field of interest and contact them directly. At HAWK, you can use the faculty directories to get a good overview of potential supervisors.

Another option is to use the matching tool on the Lower Saxony platform GoProm (there is only a German version available).This allows you to conduct a targeted search for a suitable supervisor. 

It is essential to note that a doctorate can only be undertaken in collaboration with a university. Therefore, in addition to a supervisor at HAWK, a supervisor at the partner university is required. The HAWK supervisor will assist both in finding a suitable university and in identifying the appropriate supervisor there.

The universities of applied sciences in Lower Saxony do not have independent accreditation to award doctorates. A doctorate can therefore only be awarded in collaboration with an accredited university.

As an institution, HAWK is responsible for supervising doctorates, ensuring they are successfully completed and thus for doctoral students achieving their qualifications. However, doctorates that are initiated and supervised at HAWK are ultimately awarded by the relevant accrediting university.

Your supervisor at HAWK will be happy to help you find the right accrediting university.

A cumulative doctorate is one in which the thesis consists of a series of academic publications that are related to one another. You must discuss the requirements publications need to meet with your supervisor and comply with the relevant doctoral degree regulations.

A cumulative doctorate offers you the opportunity to make the results of your research available to the scientific community in the course of your doctorate.

By contrast, a monograph is a single, coherent, comprehensive piece of academic work.

Whether the doctoral thesis can be submitted cumulatively depends on the doctoral degree regulations of the examining university (note: most universities have separate doctoral degree regulations for each faculty or even each department).

Often, both formats - cumulative or monograph - are permitted, but in any case, the decision should be made in consultation with the supervising professors. 

We are not aware of any doctoral degree regulation that require a cumulative thesis. However, supervisors may insist on this format.

According to a study by the German Research Foundation (DFG) in 2021, doctoral procedures in Germany last an average of 51 months, with large variations between the subject areas.

The duration of a doctorate depends on various factors. This includes the time for research, data collection, analysis, writing the thesis and the viva voce.

Some of these factors are the subject area in which the doctorate is being completed, the type of project, additional commitments (job, attendance of courses, supervision of students), and the individual’s pace of work.

The time it takes to complete a doctorate can therefore vary greatly from case to case.

As a university of applied sciences, HAWK does not have any regular doctoral positions. Doctoral theses are usually financed through third-party funding, which students apply for through external organisations.

Students can apply for funding through research projects; this usually covers specific materials and human resources (e.g. for a project role that contributes to a doctorate). Your doctorate is then financed through a fixed-term position as a research assistant on a project.

Alternatively, you can apply for a doctoral grant. This funding is personal to you and is intended exclusively to support research work leading to a doctorate. In most cases, it also includes a small lump sum for materials and literature.

Further information on funding options is available here.

Research assistantships

Research assistantships are part of a (research) project funded by third parties.

The advantage they have over grants is that your employment attracts social insurance contributions. You collect pension entitlements during your doctorate just like other employees and are also entitled to unemployment benefits (ALG I). Depending on the type of research project, it may also cover the cost of materials, which can be useful in the context of large-scale research projects.

The disadvantage with most projects is that the funds (including for your personnel) are paid in kind, meaning that of your doctoral work, only that which is part of the research project is financed. If your doctoral thesis differs from the project or if the project includes work that is not relevant to your doctoral thesis, the duration of your doctorate will be extended accordingly.

Please check whether the duration of the project in the context of which you are writing your doctoral thesis corresponds to the expected duration of your doctorate. This problem does not usually arise for projects that offer doctoral positions purely for the purposes of qualification.

Doctoral grants

Doctoral grants are precisely tailored to your doctoral topic and support your work on your doctorate. A grant therefore means that you do not have to do any additional work, which can often be the case with research assistantships, while you are doing your doctorate (excluding paid part-time work).

You are not employed by HAWK; instead you receive your grant directly from the funding organisation. It does not include any pension fund or social insurance contributions. Please bear this in mind when comparing financing options.

With a grant, you are not bound to HAWK as an employee: You can use university premises and will have a user account, but you will not have access to the HAWK Wiki and cannot participate in the university’s internal administration (e.g. HAWK committees).

Further information on funding options is available here.

Fractions for employment via a research assistantship during a HAWK doctorate vary and can be anything between 50% and 100%. It should be borne in mind that in many research projects it is not the doctorate itself that is funded, but only research work. Such research work can of course be used towards a doctorate.

If you are working on such projects and would like to do a doctorate, you should still have enough time outside of project working hours to work on your doctoral thesis and prepare for your viva voce.

Usually, the HAWK supervisor will assist with the search for a suitable university and has often experiences with different universities. It is important to check the doctoral degree regulations in advance, especially whether supervision by UAS professors is permitted. If you are not sure, you can contact the examinations office. 

The doctoral degree regulations can usually be found on the univeristy's website. Be careful to choose the right one, since there are often different doctoral degree regulations within one faculty.

Doctoral students often take work as academic staff at the university in order to cover their accommodation and subsistence costs. This also means they may have less time to work on their doctorates.

It is of course possible to take up a post outside the university. When choosing a job, you should take care to ensure you will have enough time for your doctorate. Ideally, the work you undertake should be relevant to the field in which you are doing your doctorate.

First, a doctoral supervision agreement is drawn up between the doctoral student and the supervisor at HAWK. This ensures the quality of supervision.

In addition, the HAWK Graduate School offers an ongoing coaching programme, needs-focused workshops and training courses on a range of topics of relevance to doctoral studies (writing, presentation skills, viva voce etc.).

Currently, all events are held in German, you can find them here.

Furthermore, you can contact the HAWK Graduate School at any time with questions or concerns.

The WissZeitVG regulates the maximum length of fixed-term contracts for doctoral candidates who are employed in permanent posts (posts that are permanently provided for in the university’s budget). In principle, this does not apply to doctoral students at HAWK, since only universities with the right to award doctorates can offer such positions to doctoral students. Third-party funded posts can remain fixed-term until a project’s funding period comes to an end - regardless of how long the person employed has been working at the university on a fixed-term contract.

There are many opportunities to spend time abroad for academic purposes during your doctorate and it may even be advisable, depending on your career plans after your doctorate.

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) offers a number of grants for trips abroad, both for research purposes and for participation in academic colloquia and conferences. Doctoral students can apply for the following grants regardless of their doctoral subject:

• Funding for research trips abroad
• Support for participation in academic colloquia and conferences abroad

Yes, as a doctoral candidate you are in principle entitled to parental leave.

However, depending on how you are funding your doctorate, you will need to bear a few things in mind: If you are a grant holder, check in advance about whether it will be possible to extend the grant period.

If you are employed on a temporary basis on a third-party-funded project, discuss the possibility of an extension with your supervisor.

If it is not possible to extend your existing funding stream, there is a number of alternatives. Discuss this with your supervisor at an early stage.

For example, each semester the HAWK Families Service offers one grant for doctoral students with family responsibilities.

A doctorate opens up a range of career prospects. These depend on your specialism as well as your personal interests and goals. Here are some possible careers that are open to graduates who have completed a doctorate:

1. Academic career: A doctorate is often a step towards a career in academia. If you would like to become a professor, you will find all the requirements and information, along with tips for your application, here.

2. Academic management: Many universities, research institutions and companies need specialists who can take on the management of projects and research programmes. You could take on responsibility for supporting the planning, coordination and delivery of research projects and other academic initiatives.

3. Industry and business: Graduates with a HAW doctorate are often valued as experts by business and industry due to their practically-focused research. A post in industry may offer you the opportunity to put your doctoral work into practice and to apply the theory and scientific skills you have acquired.

4. Self-employment and start-ups: As someone with a doctorate, you have a high level of specialist knowledge and expertise. This can be the basis for self-employment or for establishing a start-up.

You can always contact the doctoral students' association.

Another possibility is the online community for doctoral students in Lower Saxony which can be found on the platform GoProm.

In case you are interested in workshops held in German, the coachings of the HAWK Graduate School are a very good chance to get to know other doctoral students of HAWK. Here you can find all upcoming events.

In principle, you can register for events by e-mail. You’ll find all the information on specific events - including registration - here.

For organisational and administrative questions, you should email Ann-Kathrin Goudarzi, Head of the HAWK graduate school, or her assistant Janna Röper.

For subject-specific questions, please get in touch with your supervising professor.

To share information with other doctoral candidates, please contact the Doctoral Students’ Association.

This page and the associated subpages provide all the information you will need about the HAWK graduate school.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to email us.