TU Berlin publishes an English reading version of its doctoral regulations, which makes the process unusually legible for international candidates. The German text remains the binding one, and faculties issue their own implementation regulations beneath the central rules, so check yours as well.
The degrees
| Degree | Field |
|---|---|
| Dr.-Ing. | Engineering sciences |
| Dr. rer. nat. | Natural sciences |
| Dr. phil. | Philosophy and humanities |
| Dr. rer. oec. | Economic sciences |
The doctorate has two components: the dissertation and the oral examination, which TU Berlin calls the scientific defence. Together they establish that you can make an independent contribution to scientific research and development.
What you submit
Alongside the application and documentation:
- A curriculum vitae
- Four printed copies of the dissertation and an electronic PDF
- Where there are more than two reviewers, a correspondingly larger number of copies
- Details of what has already been published, from the dissertation or parts of it, plus a list of those publications and a copy
That last item is a disclosure obligation, not a formality. Declare prior publication accurately and completely.
Cumulative dissertations and co-authorship
Prepublication of scientific findings which constitute part of the dissertation, or a cumulative dissertation, is also possible on the basis of co-authorship.
With a condition attached:
In cases of co-authored work, the applicant has to demonstrate which substantial contribution to the concept, content or methodology of the work they have made.
Note what counts: concept, content, or methodology. Contributing labour to someone else's design is not what is being asked about. If you are planning a cumulative route, keep a record of your intellectual contribution to each paper as you go, because reconstructing it years later from memory is difficult and unconvincing.
Evaluation and the defence
If the majority of reviewers provide a positive evaluation of your dissertation, you will be invited to defend it.
The date of the scientific defence is agreed between you and the members of the doctoral committee, which is more collaborative than systems where a date is simply issued.
Grading, and how narrow summa cum laude is
| Grade | Meaning |
|---|---|
| summa cum laude | With distinction |
| magna cum laude | Very good |
| cum laude | Good |
| rite | Passed |
The top grade has a precisely drawn gate:
"Passed with distinction" may only be awarded if all reviewers assessed the dissertation as very good, without qualification, and the scientific defence has been assessed as very good without qualification.
Two phrases do the work there. All reviewers, so a single less enthusiastic report rules it out. And without qualification, so a report that praises the work but attaches caveats does not count as very good for this purpose.
This is worth understanding early because summa cum laude carries real weight in German academic careers, and it is decided by reviewers' unqualified agreement rather than by an overall impression.
The right to inspect and to appeal
Two provisions that many doctoral systems lack, and which are genuinely useful to know about.
Inspection of files. You may inspect the files during the ongoing procedure, and also within one year after the procedure ends, by written request to the dean.
Reconsideration procedure. You may appeal against:
- The evaluations of individual reviewers
- The evaluation of the scientific defence
Most candidates will never need this. But knowing it exists changes how you should respond to an evaluation you believe is factually wrong: there is a defined route, rather than only informal negotiation.
Publication: three routes, very different costs
A dissertation is deemed accessible to the scientific public if you provide the University Library, free of charge, a copy in the version approved by the doctoral committee, for dissemination. The Library determines whether what you provide meets its requirements.
| Route | What you provide |
|---|---|
| Electronic | One bound and durable copy plus an identical electronic version, in a data format and on a carrier conforming to University Library requirements |
| Letterpress | Fifteen bound and durable copies in letterpress |
| Commercial publisher | Three copies, for monographs, where a publisher agrees to distribute and commits by contract to keep the work on the market for four years |
One copy against fifteen. For most candidates the electronic route is the obvious choice, and the publisher route only makes sense if a monograph contract is already in prospect, since the four-year market commitment has to be contractual.
Additional requirements:
- Copies provided to the University Library must carry a dissertation title page meeting University requirements. A sample is available from the Library, so use it rather than designing your own.
- Publisher-route copies must be indicated as a dissertation on the copyright page and state Technische Universität Berlin as the place of dissertation.
- You must also transfer the abstract electronically.
The certificate
The doctorate is awarded by presentation of the doctoral certificate, once you have fulfilled the publication requirements.
The certificate is bilingual, German and English, and states:
- The subject
- The overall assessment of the doctoral procedure
- The date of the scientific defence
- Dated signatures of the president and the dean, and the University seal
The awarding of the certificate is what entitles you to use the title. So the sequence is: defend, publish, then receive the certificate. Publication is not an administrative afterthought; it stands between you and the title.
What to confirm with your faculty
Central regulations leave a good deal to faculty implementation rules:
- Length expectations, which the central regulations do not set
- Formatting: margins, font, line spacing
- Citation style, a disciplinary matter
- Whether and how your faculty permits cumulative dissertations, including the number of papers and required authorship position
- The defence format, including presentation length and whether slides are used
- Language of the dissertation and the defence
- Any deadline for publication after the defence
- Any embargo possibility
Pre-submission checklist
- Reading both the central regulations and my faculty's implementation rules
- Four printed copies plus PDF, or more if there are over two reviewers
- CV prepared
- Prior publication declared in full, with list and copies
- For co-authored work, my contribution to concept, content or methodology documented
- Defence date agreed with the doctoral committee
- Publication route chosen deliberately: 1 copy, 15 copies, or 3 with a publisher contract
- Library's sample title page used
- Abstract prepared for electronic transfer
- Publisher contract covering four years on the market, if using that route
Where to get help
Your faculty's doctoral committee and dean's office run the procedure. The University Library decides whether your publication copy meets requirements, and supplies the title page sample. The Center for Junior Scholars publishes the guidance and the legal framework.
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.
