Final Stretches of Your Dissertation
Financing the final stretch: Completion grants and job search
JLU itself offers the JLU-Programm zur Promotionsabschlussförderung (all faculties, completion grant for those with family/care obligations). Another well-known option for completion grants is FAZIT-Stiftung.
- ❗Completion grants are relatively rare, usually targeted towards specific groups, and often only advertised once or twice a year. Check your options early on and consider other means of funding as well.
- 🔎 Also look for fellowships, shorter-term stipends and other options that do not go by the terms “completion grant” or “write-up stipend” but offer similar conditions. For current calls please visit our Teams Channel for Funding and Fellowships. For further information on fellowships and completion grants, contact Lena Nüchter.
- 💼 Increase your chances by also looking for (part-time) employment. Job offers can be found e. g. on JLU’s online job board, Academics.de, or via relevant academic newsletters. For introductory information, you can contact the GGK Career Service.
Native Speaker Editorial Support
🖊️ If you write your dissertation in English or German but are not a native speaker, or if you are required to add a German summary to your English dissertation as a non-native speaker, you can apply for financial support at the IPP (up to 500 €). All members of the IPP and GCSC (also passive members) are eligible for this service.
✅ Applications are submitted to the IPP and must include:
- a letter of motivation explaining the necessity of the support and detailing the estimated costs.
- an outline of the dissertation project and selected bibliography.
- a letter of recommendation by the first supervisor, which supports the necessity of native speaker editorial assistance and includes a statement on the applicant’s progress.
📅 When to apply: You can apply once your project is almost completed. Applications are accepted throughout the year but must be submitted
(a) before the proofreading process begins and
(b) well in advance of the planned start of proofreading, to give the IPP enough time to review and decide them.
🗣️ The IPP may be able to recommend proofreaders who have worked with PhD candidates in the past.
Submission/ initiation of examination process
| Faculty 03, Social Sciences and Cultural Studies: | Faculties 04 (History and Cultural Studies) and 05 (Language, Literature, and Culture): |
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Submit the “Antrag auf Eröffnung des Prüfungsverfahrens” to the Chair of the Doctoral Committee (“Promotionsausschuss”) at least two weeks in advance of the next Doctoral Committee meeting. You can find the deadlines and meeting dates here. Please double-check which doctoral regulations apply to you. You can find information about the application and supporting documents in §17 of the 2017 regulations and in §14 of the 2024 regulations. Examinations Office contact person: Ute Schneider (Tel.: 0641/99-23001) |
6 months before submitting your dissertation, you must apply for “Zulassung zur Promotion”. Please find deadlines as well as information about the application and supporting documents here. Examinations Office contact person: Barbara Pfeifer (Tel.: 0641/99-18206) |
Defense Planning
- 📆 It is your responsibility to schedule the date for your defence. Make sure to check the availability of all who need to be present – in faculty 04 and 05, that includes the Dean. Knowing the dates of the faculty’s “Gremientermine” (committee meetings) may help you to narrow down possible options – if you can’t find them on the faculty website, you can ask your supervisor or the GCSC Office Management if they have a list.
- 🌎 If your committee includes international/JLU-external members, make sure to brief them about conventions and expectations they will encounter at your defence – e. g. what will be happening when, what they can or cannot share with you in advance, what they will be expected to contribute, etc. Your first supervisor can help you with this.
🛫🚈 We may be able to cover travel costs for external committee members if their attendance is combined with a research event organised at the GCSC. - 🎤 Hybrid defences: Contact the GCSC Office Management to reserve equipment for a hybrid defence. It is your responsibility to set up the equipment and keep things running. To avoid stress on the day, make sure to test the set-up and ideally designate a tech person who can keep an eye on things and troubleshoot while you are busy defending your thesis.
- 🤝 A Dissertation Defence Course is regularly offered by the GCSC. It includes information and tips about the defence as well as a mock defence. We try to schedule this course so it is useful for as many members as possible – so if you are planning to defend in the next year, please contact the Curriculum Team to register your interest.