Initiation of the degree conferral process and completion of the doctoral procedure
1. Request for initiation of the degree conferral process :
Once you have completed your dissertation, please place a written request for initiation of the degree conferral process with the Chair of the Doctoral Committee. Please also hand in the following documents:
- Six printed and bound copies of your dissertation
- Declaration of observation of good scientific practice pursuant to § 16 Para. 2 of the Doctoral Regulations
a) Nomination of the reviewers and the examination committee:
The doctoral committee appoints two reviewers to assess your dissertation and appoints the examination committee. The doctoral committee will inform you of the names of the reviewers.
b) Evaluation of the dissertation:
The reviewers appointed will comment on the theses proposed in your dissertation and will make a recommendation whether to pass or fail the dissertation and to give a grade. The reviews must be submitted to the Graduate Centre within three months at the latest after receipt of the dissertation.
c) Display period of the dissertation
Once the written evaluation process is completed, your dissertation will be made available for consultation in the rooms of the Graduate Centre of Engineering Sciences for a period of two to four weeks. Once the display period is over, you may read the reviewers‘ written evaluations in preparation of your defence.
The entire defence should not last longer than 90 minutes; a maximum of 30 minutes are allocated to your talk on the topic of your dissertation. The defence is about the content of your dissertation, the reviews and if applicable additional reviews and will also cover selected problems in the subject and cover related areas of other subjects which are connected to the subject or subjects of your dissertation from the point of view of content and method.
The chair of the doctoral committee will invite you, the members of the examination committee and the researchers who have provided an additional review. The defence is open to the public and will take place in German or in English.
Upon passing the examination, you must publish your dissertation within one year in the final version determined by the examination committee, unless your dissertation has already been published in entirety or in part. After publication of the dissertation, the doctoral centre will award your doctoral certificate. Upon receipt of the doctoral certificate, you will have the right to use your doctoral title.