Individual doctorate at the Viadrina

First of all, you will need to find a professor at our university who is willing to supervise your doctoral project.

This task is of great importance and should be approached carefully, as your doctoral supervisor will act as a mentor and supervisor and will also evaluate your dissertation once it has been completed.

Your research topic should be directly related to the professor's expertise. Please inform yourself in advance about his/her research focus and interests, for example by studying his/her publications. Once you have decided on a professor, please contact your potential supervisor directly. If you do this, we recommend that you include an academic CV and a short proposal of your planned PhD project (usually 2-3 pages), which should include the following:

• a brief introduction to the topic,
• the research question,
• the methodological basis of your research project,
• the draft of a work plan.

To assist you in finding a supervisor, here are links to websites with all Professorships of our faculties and central scientific institutions:

Faculty of Law

Faculty of Cultural Studies

Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics

European New School of Digital Studies (ENS)

Once you have found a supervisor, you will conclude a PhD agreement (Promotionsvereinbarung) with him or her. This document regulates questions such as the topic and format of your dissertation, the time horizon, the work plan, and mutual rights and obligations. It is the prerequisite for subsequent formal admission to your PhD studies by the doctoral committee of the respective faculty.

All formalities for admission - application documents, formal requirements, etc. - are regulated by the applicable PhD regulations (Promotionsordnung). Please study this document thoroughly in advance. Here you will find the three regulations currently in force at Viadrina: 

Faculty of Law

Faculty of Cultural Studies

Faculty of Business and Economics

Please note that the doctoral committees of all three faculties, which are responsible for your admission, only meet on certain dates. You can find contact details and dates here:

Faculty of Law

Faculty of Cultural Studies

Faculty of Business and Economics

Once you have been admitted, you will receive a written confirmation of your status as a doctoral candidate. This document is required, among other things, if you wish to apply for scholarships.

In accordance with the Brandenburg Higher Education Act (Brandenburgisches Hochschulgesetz), doctoral students are generally enrolled, but have the option to opt out for individual reasons. If you wish to enroll, you will obtain a regular student status with all benefits, discounts, and a student ticket for public transit. 

The enrollment deadline is on April 15 (summer term) or  October 15 (winter term). To enroll, please send the following documents in time to zulassung@europa-uni.de:

• The PhD agreement, signed by you, your first supervisor, and the Dean of the Faculty;
• Your master's degree (it must be recognisable as a certificate, but not translated, a simple copy is sufficient);
• The application for enrollment; to obtain this, register online at ViaCampus, the portal will then generate a PDF which you are required to print out and sign;
• Proof of payment of the semester fee (online banking statement or screenshot is sufficient); ViaCampus will ask you to pay, the amount is approx. 300 EUR (subject to change).

If you have any questions, please contact the Admissions Office: https://www.europa-uni.de/de/struktur/verwaltung/dezernat_1/Studienservice/zulassungsamt/index.html.

For individual doctorates, acceptance as a doctoral candidate is not automatically accompanied by funding. You will thus have to secure funding for your PhD yourself. With the exception of external PhD researchers, who are funded by employment outside of  academia, most PhDs are funded in one of two ways:

1. Through a position as a research assistant at the Professorship where you are pursuing your doctorate. In such a position, you will usually take on various tasks at the Professorship and also devote part of your working hours to your own research. If you are looking for such a position, it is best to enquire directly with your Professorship. You can also find all current job advertisements at Viadrina here.
   
   
2. Through a doctoral scholarship. Please visit the VCGS funding page for more information on this option or make an appointment with us for individual counselling.