Regulations for Faculties 04 and 05

• Check §5 of the Postgraduate Handbook (Promotionsordnung Geisteswissenschaften) to see whether you fulfil all requirements for admission as a PhD student. Please note: If undergraduate degree(s) obtained outside Germany are not equivalent to a German academic qualification, please contact us for help.
• In order to begin your doctoral studies, you need to find a professor at JLU who represents your subject area and who is willing to become your official supervisor (you will need to present proof of this upon enrolment). The GCSC offers its members help in finding a supervisor.
• Discuss the topic of your PhD as well as the terms of supervision with your supervisor. GCSC members are required to sign a Supervision Agreement along with their supervisor.
• Present your Application for 'Admission as a PhD Student' (Antrag auf die Annahme als Doktorand/in, Dr. phil) to the Postgraduate Committee. Its meetings take place four times a year, usually at the beginning of February, May, July and November. Admission requirements are to be found under §6 of the Postgraduate Handbook. The forms needed are also available in the Academic Examinations Office, Karl-Glöckner-Straße 5A, 35394 Gießen.
• PhD candidates have to be enrolled as graduate students at JLU for at least two semesters before handing in their thesis. (Enrolment is the official acceptance of a place at JLU.) GCSC members, however, have to enrol as graduate students at JLU before or shortly after their admission to the GCSC for the time of their membership (see also statutes §2.1.5). Provisional admission: Provisional admission to the JLU may be granted to applicants who have handed in their complete request for admission as a PhD student, but have not yet been granted the status of PhD students by the Postgraduate Committee. In this case, a confirmation that a complete request has been submitted to the Postgraduate Committee should be handed in at the Student Office.
• There are no tuition fees for doctoral students at JLU, except for an enrolment fee of approximately € 270 per semester. Enrolled graduate students enjoy certain advantages and privileges, such as the Semester Ticket (giving you free passage on public transport in most of Hesse) and concessions at certain cultural events.
• GCSC members are required to attend the compulsory modules of the GCSC Curriculum.
  
  
• Since you need a second professor to evaluate your dissertation, you should choose this second supervisor as early as possible. Thus, you will have two advisors who can provide you with expert counselling before you submit your dissertation. The second supervisor may be external to JLU.
• Discuss with your supervisor who should be on your Examination Committee (See §9 of the Postgraduate Handbook for more information on composition of this committee). Having obtained the consent of the proposed members, you must write a short letter to the Dean of your faculty asking for approval of your choice. The Dean will notify the Postgraduate Committee about his decision. (As a rule, your request will be approved.)
• Your Request for Admission to Graduation (Antrag auf Zulassung zur Promotion, Dr. phil) should be presented to the head of the Postgraduate Committee about half a year before you submit your thesis. §7 of the Postgraduate Handbook will tell you what documents are needed. These include a receipt from the Academic Examinations Office for the current charge of €100.00.
• The Academic Examinations Office will notify you of the success of your request for admission to graduation.
• Hand in your thesis, in six bound copies.
• Appraisal of the thesis by your first and second supervisor will take place within three to five months, culminating in a recommendation as to whether the thesis is to be accepted and a suggestion for the grade (see §11).
• The thesis is displayed by the Academic Examinations Office. It notifies the Examination Committee (first and second supervisor, two other professors and the Dean of the faculty) and the Dean's office. The thesis and the reports can be looked at in the Academic Examinations Office (for four weeks if the university is in session, or two months during the breaks).
• Graduate students must arrange the date for the defence of their thesis with the members of the Examinations Committee; a suitable room is organized by the Dean's office. (Graduate students may for example use the graduate room of the GGK/GCSC.)
• You will have the option of attending a preparatory course for the dissertation defence. The Academic Examinations Office will notify you of the date and location of the defence at least three weeks before that date.
• Hand in your Handout at the Academic Examinations Office at least two weeks before defending your thesis.
• Defence of the thesis.
  
  
• The graduation procedure is only complete when the thesis has been published. The publication has to be effected within two years of your defence. Six copies have to be handed in directly to Mrs Rittinger in the Academic Examinations Office. A request for extension (either a half or one year) is possible and should be filed in good time.
  
  
• On publication of the thesis, you are will be awarded your Graduation Certificate and conferred the academic degree of a Dr phil. The German preliminary title Dr. des. is not conferred at JLU.

Forms

• Supervision Agreement
• Application for Admission as a PhD student (in German)
• Request for Admission to Graduation (in German)