At TU Berlin there is one PhD regulation effective for all faculties. For gaining a doctor’s degree the candidate has to go through this examination procedure. The formal requirement for gaining a PhD degree is that the student has earned a Master’s degree from a university or a German Fachhochschule or a degree of a similar level (Diplom, Magister, Staatsexamen) in the research field of the doctorate. Furthermore, the candidate must write a dissertation and pass an oral exam.

Because of its broad specter of fields the faculty of electrical engineering and computer science awards two different kinds of PhD degree:

• Doktor(in) der Ingenieurwissenschaften (Dr.-Ing.)
• Doktor(in) der Naturwissenschaften (Dr. rer. nat.)

In the past, there was an additional degree ‘Doktor(in) der Wirtschaftswissenschaften (Dr. rer. oec.)’ which ceased to be awarded. The research field of the dissertation determines which of the two degrees is awarded (i.e. not the specialization in which the PhD student holds his/her Master’s degree). Dissertations with a specialization in electrical engineering or computer science are usually awarded with a Dr.-Ing. degree. If the specialization of the dissertation is in mathematics or natural science, a Dr. rer. Nat. degree is awarded. If the degree is outside of the subject area or from a foreign university, additional courses and exams can be required. In order to clarify this and other formal questions, the doctorate regulations require a letter of intent (application as a doctoral candidate) at an early stage. The faculty decides whether this letter of intent is accepted or declined. At the same time it is determined if and which additional exams or courses the graduate student has to take.

Students holding a Diploma degree of a German Fachhochschule can be accepted if their final mark is above average (at least „good“) and after having passed the assessment tests.

Contact point for information, forms and all other dissertation issues in the faculty of electrical engineering and computer science is the faculty’s administration department [1].

Applications as doctoral candidates can be submitted any time.

The deadlines for submitting your Ph.D. thesis (+ admission to doctoral procedure) are:

until Wednesday, January 13, 2021 12:00 (noon) at the latest

until Wednesday, February 10, 2021 12:00 (noon) at the latest

until Wednesday, March 03, 2021 12:00 (noon) at the latest

until Wednesday, April 07, 2021 12:00 (noon) at the latest
 
until Wednesday, May 12, 2021 12:00 (noon) at the latest
 
until Wednesday, June 02, 2021 12:00 (noon) at the latest
 
until Wednesday, June 30, 2021 12:00 (noon) at the latest
 
until Wednesday, Sept 08, 2021 12:00 (noon) at the latest

• Application as a Doctoral Candidate [2]
• Admission to Doctoral Procedure [3]
• Supervision Agreement [4]

For guidelines and forms for dual programs (Doppelpromotionen/Cotutelle de Thèse), please, contact the faculty's service center.

Promotionsordnung für die Technische Universität Berlin [5] (Doctoral Regulations TU Berlin)

Regulations Governing the Conferral of Doctorates [6]
Translation of the Official Information Bulletin No. 2/2014 of 15. January 2014

Guidelines for Writing Dissertations at Faculty IV (PDF, 158,6 KB) [7]

Regulations for cumulative Dissertations/Habilitations (Bulletin) [8]

Guidance for the organization of scientific defenses using videoconferencing [9]

• englische PDF-Date: Organisation of scientific defenses during pandemic-related limited presence operations [10]

• Guidance for the organization of scientific defenses using videoconferencing [11]

There are about 450 doctoral candidates at Faculty IV: academic staff members, scholarship recipients and external doctoral students. The list available here is based on voluntary information provided by the doctoral students in the TU Portal and is therefore not complete. It gives an overview and lists the names, as well as the respective field of work of the doctoral candidate. The list is usually updated monthly.

List of doctoral candidates [12] (as of March 03, 2021)