Constructor University, in Bremen, is a private university with its own degree-awarding rights, so unlike the applied-sciences institutions elsewhere in this set it confers PhDs directly. Its policies are published in English and are unusually operational: dates, counts and deadlines rather than principles.
The regular study period is three years, with extensions possible on the dean's approval.
The first hard deadline: nine months
This is the one that catches people, because it arrives while you are still settling in.
The PhD proposal must be presented at most nine months after enrolment.
A three month deferral is available. And then a consequence stated plainly:
Students who miss both deadlines may face removal from the student register.
Nine months to a defensible proposal is not long, particularly if you moved country to start. Working backwards: the proposal defence form must be submitted at least ten working days before your intended date, so the real deadline for having the proposal finished is closer to eight months.
The useful implication is about what you spend your first months on. Reading widely feels productive, and it is, but the deliverable is a defensible proposal: a specific question, a method that can answer it, and a plan that fits three years. Start writing that document early and let the reading serve it.
The committee
| Stage | Composition |
|---|---|
| Initial | The chair plus at least one regular member |
| For the defence | At least two Constructor University faculty, of whom at most one may be an adjunct professor; plus at least one external member |
Each member must attend the defence, submit a written review, or both.
The adjunct restriction is worth noticing. If your natural internal supervisor is an adjunct professor, you need a second, non-adjunct faculty member on the committee. Establish that early rather than discovering it while scheduling.
Submission, and the public display
Copies go to Registrar Services:
- One per dissertation committee member
- One for Registrar Services
- One for the Dean's Office
- One hard copy for display in the Information Resource Center
That last one is the distinctive part:
The thesis must be on display at the IRC for at least two weeks before the defence and made public to the Constructor University community.
Two weeks of your work sitting where colleagues can read it, before you defend. That is more openness than most doctoral systems build in, and it is worth treating as part of the examination rather than a formality. Anyone who reads it in that window may turn up to the defence, which is itself public.
Reviews
Reviewers have eight weeks to evaluate the thesis. Reviews must arrive at least six working days before the defence.
At least three reviews are required: from the chair, one internal member, and one external member.
Each review carries a summary evaluation:
| Evaluation |
|---|
| Pass |
| Fail |
| With distinction |
Eight weeks for review plus two weeks on display plus six working days for reviews to land means the gap between submitting and defending is measured in months. If you have a funding end date, a job start or a visa expiry in view, that is the interval to plan against.
The defence
Scheduled by you, and held publicly by invitation of the dean.
At least three regular committee members must be physically present: the chair, one internal member and one external member.
The format has three parts:
- A presentation by the candidate on the most important part of the thesis work
- A discussion of the research
- Questions on the discipline
Note the third element. As in the German tradition generally, the examination is not confined to your thesis: you can be asked about the field around it. Preparing only to defend your own chapters is insufficient.
Publication confers the degree
The PhD degree is conferred only upon publication of the thesis, which must be published within one year after the defence.
This is the German model, and it means the sequence does not end at the defence. Until the thesis is published you have passed an examination but do not hold the degree.
A year is enough time, but only if you decide the route early. Constructor sits in Bremen, and the neighbouring University of Bremen publishes an instructive comparison: its four publication routes range from six copies to thirty, and the consequences of missing the deadline there are severe. Ask Constructor's registrar what routes it accepts and what each costs before you assume the cheapest is available.
Sequence at a glance
| Milestone | Timing |
|---|---|
| Proposal defence form submitted | ≥ 10 working days before the presentation |
| Proposal defence | ≤ 9 months after enrolment (+3 month deferral) |
| Thesis on display at the IRC | ≥ 2 weeks before the defence |
| Reviewers' evaluation period | 8 weeks |
| Reviews received | ≥ 6 working days before the defence |
| Defence | Within the three year study period, normally |
| Publication | ≤ 1 year after the defence |
What to confirm with the registrar
The published pages are operationally detailed but leave some things to the policy document and its appendices:
- Thesis length, which is not stated on the registrar pages
- Formatting: margins, font, line spacing, and the required title page
- Citation style, a disciplinary matter
- Whether a cumulative or publication-based thesis is permitted
- Accepted publication routes and any copy counts or costs
- Any embargo possibility, given the publication requirement
- ECTS or coursework requirements attached to your programme
- Any similarity check and any policy on generative AI
Pre-submission checklist
- Proposal defended inside nine months, or a deferral formally obtained
- Proposal defence form filed at least ten working days ahead
- Committee finalised with two faculty, at most one adjunct, plus an external
- Copies prepared for every committee member, the registrar, the dean and the IRC
- Thesis on display at the IRC at least two weeks before the defence
- Defence scheduled with at least eight weeks allowed for reviews
- Prepared for questions on the discipline, not only the thesis
- At least three reviewers lined up: chair, internal, external
- Publication route decided, and achievable within a year of the defence
Where to get help
Registrar Services owns deadlines, forms, copies and the display requirement. The dean approves extensions and issues the defence invitation. Your committee chair owns the academic judgement and everything the policies leave open.
If the writing itself is the bottleneck, our thesis writing support works through it chapter by chapter, and our PhD thesis help covers doctoral work specifically.
