The Stages of a Cooperative Doctorate through the Cooperative Doctoral Platform
The doctorate is proof of the candidate’s ability for in-depth academic work. It must contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge through independent research. First of all, therefore, you need a topic you would like to explore. Basically, you are free to choose the topic of your doctoral project yourself. Equally, professors are free to choose whether they would like to supervise a particular doctoral topic or not. For this reason, we recommend that you agree on the topic with your (potential) doctoral supervisor at an early stage.
Cooperative doctoral procedures through the Research Campus are supervised by at least two people, each belonging to a different university of the Research Campus of Central Hessen. Before you apply to be accepted as a doctoral candidate, you must obtain a written Confirmation of Academic Supervision from both supervisors. Please use the form provided for this purpose.
We recommend you proceed as follows:
- Present your thesis topic in a suitable form to your academic supervisor at the Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen University of Applied Sciences and discuss it together.
- Find another supervisor at the Justus Liebig University or the Philipps-Universität in the faculty where your doctoral procedure is to be conducted. If necessary, ask your supervisor at the Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen University of Applied Sciences and/or the Management Office of the Research Campus for assistance.
- Ask both supervisors to sign a confirmation of academic supervision and/or supervision agreement. If possible, use a form provided by the university faculty where your doctoral procedure is to be conducted. If this faculty has no such form, please use the Confirmation of Academic Supervision and/or the detailed Supervision Agreement form of the Research Campus.
- Hand in your Application for Admission as a Cooperative Doctoral Candidate within the Cooperative Doctoral Programme at the Cooperative Doctoral Platform of the Research Campus to the Management Office. When the Doctoral Committee of the Cooperative Doctoral Platform of the Research Campus and the Examination Board of the relevant university faculty have assessed your application, the university faculty will notify you of their decision.
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After you have been accepted as a doctoral candidate, you may enroll as a doctoral student at the relevant university.
The form of the thesis (monograph or cumulative dissertation) and the opening and further order of the doctoral examination procedure is defined in the relevant doctoral regulations.
During the doctoral examination procedure, the supervisor belonging to the Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen University of Applied Sciences is entitled to take part as a voting member in the meetings of the examination committee of the university faculty in which the doctoral procedure is being conducted.
1) Applying for acceptance as a doctoral candidate :
Once you know the names of your two academic supervisors and the university faculty in which you intend to conduct your doctorate, send the application form for admission as a doctoral candidate (including all the documents listed in the relevant doctoral regulations) to the Administrative Office of the Research Campus (by e-mail and by post).
Deadlines for applications: You can apply any time.
2) Assessment of the application:
The Management Office first sends the complete application to the Doctoral Committee of the Research Campus. This committee then notifies the relevant faculty that an application has been received and that the relevant faculty may delegate a voting member to the Doctoral Committee for the particular doctoral procedure. The Doctoral Committee assesses the form and content of the application and makes a recommendation to the Examination Board of the university faculty. The Examination Board of the faculty decides on whether or not to accept the applicant. If it opposes the recommendation, the Doctoral Committee may submit a written counter-proposal, on the basis of which the Examination Board may revise its objection.
3) Notification of the admission decision:
The relevant university faculty will notify you of the decision to accept or reject your application. If you have been accepted, fill in the supervision agreement together with your academic supervisors (unless a supervision agreement was already enclosed with the admission application in accordance with the regulations of the particular faculty). Please provide the Management Office of the FCMH with a copy of the supervision agreement.
You will generally receive notice of the decision on your application for admission as a doctoral candidate at the earliest six weeks after the documents have been sent to the Doctoral Committee of the Cooperative Doctoral Platform of the FCMH.
The successful completion of a doctorate is attested by a certificate bearing the seal of the university and faculty in which the doctoral procedure was conducted and also the seal of the Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen University of Applied Sciences and the indication that the doctorate was conducted at the Research Campus of Central Hessen.