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Admission

Admission Process

Step 1: After being admitted to the GEAS doctoral program, the next step is to apply for admission to the respective department's Dean and PhD office your supervisor belongs to (History and Cultural Studies, Philosophy and Humanities, Political and Social Sciences, Law, Business and Economics). Being accepted by GEAS does not automatically mean that applicants are accepted to the general PhD procedure yet.

Thus, you cannot start your research project until you have been officially accepted by the department in the subject you want to study and received an admission letter ("Zulassung").It is easier to apply for a visa after the admission (Zulassung) is granted.

Your application for doctoral admission needs to be accepted by the faculty responsible for your field of study. Assignment to a faculty depends both on which field you want to earn your PhD in and which faculty your main dissertation supervisor belongs to.

The application forms for admission may vary. Please read the department's rules and regulations for doctoral procedures carefully before applying.

Please note that it is not possible to pursue a doctoral procedure in a subject you have not yet studied in your BA/MA (i.e. you cannot pursue a doctorate in political sciences if you majored in literature). The department may issue an admission with extra conditions/requirements that need to be met during the 4-year period of study. 

The GEAS Application team will proceed with your online applications to the PhD offices after your admission to the GEAS doctoral program. Admissions are easier and quicker if you have submitted certified copies of your documents.

A committee decides whether your qualifications suffice for admission as a doctoral candidate. The department’s committee usually meets at regular intervals.

Step 2: Enrollment: After acceptance by the department, doctoral candidates must formally enrol as doctoral students with the central student administration office within 4 weeks after admission. To conclude the admission process and to enrol, please have (simple) copies, as well as translations of certificates in English or German at hand to present them to the corresponding offices. For enrollment, you should only send certified copies by postal mail.