2. Average Duration of a Doctoral

According to a HIS survey on doctorates (“Promotionen im Fokus”) conducted in 2015, the average duration of doctoral procedures in Germany is 4.5 years; broken down into disciplines the average duration is as follows:

The actual duration of a doctorate varies from case to case and depends on the subject, the doctoral project, the employment relationship and the doctoral student’s own life situation.   The German Council of Science and Humanities defines three years as a suitable duration for completing a dissertation, providing the employment situation of doctoral students is such that they are able to devote themselves fully to their research activities. (see “Empfehlung zur Doktorandenausbildung", 2002).