Requirements & Admission
Admission to a doctoral programme may be granted to applicants who have completed a Master's degree programme in a field relevant to the research topic, generally with an overall grade of at least “good” (up to grade 2.5).
(§ 6 Voraussetzungen für die Zulassung zur Promotion, Rahmenpromotionsordnung Promotionsverband BW)
Foreign academic degrees require recognition by the Doctoral Committee.
Yes, this can play a role. In principle, graduates of both universities and universities of applied sciences (HAW/FH) may be admitted to doctoral studies. The prerequisite is generally a relevant Master's degree with at least an overall grade of “good”. Depending on the university, university of applied sciences or doctoral regulations, additional requirements may apply. The specific admission requirements should therefore be checked in the respective doctoral regulations.
In principle, it is also possible to pursue a doctorate outside the subject area of your Master's degree. Requirements include appropriate academic supervision and an exposé that clearly demonstrates the connection between the applicant’s previous academic background and the planned research project. Depending on the disciplinary proximity of the degree to the intended doctoral field, the Doctoral Committee may impose additional requirements on a case-by-case basis.
Supervision & Doctoral Association
You can find the professors with the right to supervise doctoral candidates on the HFT website.
Approved doctoral projects can generally continue to be supervised by the original supervisor until completion. If a supervisor leaves the Doctoral Centre, the associated rights and obligations remain in place for doctoral procedures that have already been initiated. If the supervision cannot be continued for important reasons, the Doctoral Committee shall appoint a new supervisor after consulting the doctoral candidate.
For a doctorate within the Baden-Württemberg Doctoral Association, the primary supervisor must be a member of the Doctoral Association. The secondary supervisor may come from the same or another university or institution, provided that the person concerned has the right to supervise doctoral candidates. Retired professors may also be appointed as secondary supervisors under certain conditions.
They may support the development of the exposé. The application for admission can only be submitted once the professor has become a member of the Doctoral Association.
Yes, this is possible, but the person does not have official status as a supervisor.
A secondary supervisor is generally not required. However, secondary supervision can contribute to the academic support of the doctoral project and may also be added after admission as a doctoral candidate. The secondary supervisor should have relevant expertise in the research area and be entitled to supervise doctoral candidates.
Further information can be found in the FAQ of the Baden-Württemberg Doctoral Association.
A list of proposed reviewers may be included in the application for opening the doctoral examination procedure. However, the Doctoral Committee is not obliged to follow these suggestions. The examination committee is appointed by the Doctoral Committee.
(§ 9 Prüfungskommission Abs. (1,2), Rahmenpromotionsordnung Promotionsverband BW )
The number of places is not limited. Restrictions arise primarily from the willingness of supervisors to accept additional doctoral candidates.
Yes. The new primary supervisor should belong to the same research unit; otherwise, a transfer to another research unit would also be necessary.
An overview of potential supervisors can be found on the pages of the respective Research Units (FE) of the Baden-Württemberg Doctoral Association. Under the link “Professorial Members of the Research Unit”, documents are available that contain information on the members of the research unit, their affiliated university, their subject areas and their contact details.
Further information on the research units can be found via the following links:
No, living in the same city as the supervisor is not required. What matters is that the organisational conditions allow for regular and reliable supervision. Expectations regarding personal meetings, availability and communication should be discussed and agreed upon between the doctoral candidate and the supervisor at an early stage.
There is no fixed upper limit on the number of doctoral candidates a supervisor may supervise simultaneously. However, prospective doctoral candidates should inform themselves about the current supervision situation before starting their doctorate. The amount of supervision time available may depend on the supervisor’s other commitments as well as additional support structures, for example postdoctoral researchers or academic staff.
This is only possible as a secondary supervisor and only if the professor at another institution has the right to supervise doctoral candidates.
Further information can be found in the FAQ of the Baden-Württemberg Doctoral Association.
Exposé & Doctoral Procedure
The processing times and administrative procedures can generally be considered comparatively efficient. However, it should be noted that the process up to formal admission may still take several months.
Revising the exposé is generally possible. Even a direct rejection of an application for admission does not preclude a subsequent revision and improvement of the proposal. Nevertheless, after a direct rejection, it should be carefully considered whether and under which conditions the doctoral project is still likely to be successful.
The exposé must convince not only the supervisor but, in particular, the Doctoral Committee. The committee decides on the applicant’s admission as a doctoral candidate.
A new application must be submitted in PROMAS within the new research unit.
The procedure for initiating the doctoral process is regulated in the Doctoral Regulations of the Baden-Württemberg HAW Doctoral Association. The relevant provisions can be found in § 8 “Initiation of the Doctoral Procedure.”
(§ 8 Eröffnung des Promotionsverfahrens, Rahmenpromotionsordnung Promotionsverband BW)
The time between submitting the exposé and receiving a decision may vary. It depends, among other things, on the number of applications submitted, whether the Doctoral Committee has any questions or concerns, and how frequently the respective Doctoral Committee meets. In general, the process takes approximately two to four months.
There is no formal maximum duration for completing a doctorate. Nevertheless, the completion period should remain within a reasonable timeframe, as the doctoral topic may lose its relevance if the process takes too long. The scientific relevance and topicality of the research topic should therefore be maintained throughout the entire doctoral process.
(§ 10 Dissertation & Begutachtung Abs. 1, Rahmenpromotionsordnung Promotionsverband BW)
An application for admission as a doctoral candidate is only possible if a primary supervisor has been designated. Therefore, the supervisor should already be the first point of contact before the exposé is submitted. Many doctoral candidates already know their supervisor from their master's studies and develop the exposé together. The exposé is usually submitted only once it has reached an appropriate academic and scientific standard.
In the event of a rejection, the feedback generally indicates the specific areas in which the Doctoral Committee considers improvements to be necessary.
The submission and acceptance of the exposé constitute the first formal step in the doctoral process. There is currently no binding time limit within the Doctoral Association for submitting the dissertation. In practice, the decisive factor is often not a fixed completion period but rather the duration of available funding or employment.
Dissertation & Publication
There are no binding requirements regarding citation style, language or layout. The specific format should be agreed upon with the primary supervisor. What is important is that the chosen style is applied consistently throughout the entire dissertation.
Dissertations must generally be written in German or English. Deviations and exceptions may be regulated in the doctoral regulations of the respective research units. If the dissertation is written in a foreign language, a summary in German must generally be included.
(§ 10 Dissertation & Begutachtung Abs. (2), Rahmenpromotionsordnung Promotionsverband BW)
A formal request for amendment must be submitted via PROMAS in order to change between a monograph and a cumulative dissertation. This request must be reviewed and approved by the Doctoral Committee.
The library of the respective university supports the publication of the dissertation through a publisher or a repository.
Different requirements regarding the deposit obligation to libraries apply depending on the respective research unit.
Further information can be found under “Announcements” in the official announcements of the Baden-Württemberg HAW Doctoral Association.
The dissertation can be published either through a publisher or electronically as an open-access publication.
(§ 15 Publikation der Dissertation Abs. (3), Rahmenpromotionsordnung Promotionsverband BW)
No, there is no direct connection.
Particularly in the case of planned cumulative dissertations, the intended publications and their respective thematic focuses should be stated in the exposé. If research achievements in the form of publications already exist and reference is made to one’s own publications, these must be included accordingly in the bibliography.
Further information can be found in the “Guidelines for the Exposé” of the BW-CAR Doctoral Center.
Weitere Informationen finden sich in den „Hinweisen zum Exposé“ des Promotionszentrums BW-CAR.
HFT has an open-access repository, HFTor, through which dissertations can be published.
The requirements for cumulative dissertations and papers are regulated in the respective doctoral regulations of the individual research units. Further information can be found on the website of the Baden-Württemberg HAW Doctoral Association under “Doctoral Regulations” or in the “Official Announcements”.
The intended doctoral degree is specified by the doctoral candidate as part of the application. It is recommended to discuss the choice of the appropriate doctoral degree with the primary supervisor in advance.
PhD & Career
A central platform is not known. Positions can be found, for example, via academics.de or at the respective companies or industry-oriented research institutes.
Pursuing a PhD alongside a full-time position is generally possible. However, it is recommended to reduce working hours in favor of the PhD.
This depends on how it is contractually regulated.
This depends on one's personal circumstances and on how quickly one wants to make progress.
Employment is generally based on the Collective Agreement for the Public Service of the Länder (TV-L), pay grade 13. The assignment to a salary step depends on previous relevant professional experience. See also öffentlicher-dienst.info – TV-L
Further information on types of PhD programs and funding opportunities can be found on the HFT Stuttgart website: Types of PhD programs | HFT Stuttgart
Enrollment, Funding & Financial Support
There is supposed to be an opportunity for state-level graduate funding in the future.
Yes, doctoral candidates have to pay the full semester fee until the date of the oral examination.
This must be checked in the conditions of the respective foundation.
This depends on the institution with which the employment contract is concluded – the HAW or the university. In the context of a cooperative doctorate, the first supervisor is a professor at the university, where the doctoral candidate is enrolled and can use the corresponding services and facilities for doctoral candidates. If the doctoral candidate has employee status, they also have access to the corresponding university services.
More information can be found here: Enrollment – For Doctoral Studies – Research & Transfer
If available, on the websites of the respective HAWs.
Usually at HAWs that are members of the Doctoral Association or online. The speakers are usually professors who are members of the BW-CAR doctoral center of the association.
Qualification Program for Doctoral Candidates | HFT Stuttgart
Organisation & Legal Matters
The Doctoral Association has no specific guidelines for confidentiality agreements. So far, there are only provisions in the framework doctoral regulations, particularly § 15. However, these primarily concern embargo periods for the publication of the dissertation. Confidentiality agreements must be concluded individually with the respective research partners.
In principle, the provisions of the State Travel Expenses Act of Baden-Württemberg apply. Combining a business trip with a private stay (vacation days) is generally possible. The private stay must be stated in the business trip application and covered by vacation leave.
The published dissertation must correspond to the approved version. The respective universities where the first supervisors are employed have publication guidelines.
Orientation & Getting Started
An introduction to the topic can be found on the “PROMI – Promotion inklusive” website (https://promi.uni-koeln.de/). It is an information platform and network for pursuing a doctorate with health-related impairments.
Further information and advice can be found on the Accessible University | HFT Stuttgart website.
In principle, yes.
It is best to search the websites of the HAWs and universities that may be of interest to you. Job vacancies can be found, among other places, at www.academics.de. Current graduate schools funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) can be found in the DFG project database GEPRIS (https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/OCTOPUS). You can also search the DAAD website (www.daad.de).
The seminars are announced via the events of the Doctoral Association.
Career & Perspectives
The doctoral degree is equivalent. It makes no difference for the entry in the passport. There is also presumably no difference in the general labor market. However, for applications for university professorships, the assessment may depend on the respective appointment committee.
After completing a doctorate, graduates have numerous career paths open to them, including academic careers, positions in research institutions, industry, and other areas of society. The DFG offers funding opportunities for various stages between completing a doctorate and becoming a professor in order to support academic careers. Doctoral graduates are highly sought after in the labor market, and the unemployment rate is significantly below average. The decision whether to pursue a career in research or industry is an individual one and should be planned at an early stage.
