Doctoral degree 

Doctoral degrees / titles / certificates


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Official university doctoral degrees / titles

In Germany, doctoral degrees are conferred by the faculties of universities (such as the Faculty of Life Sciences or the Faculty of Philosophy), not by individual university institutes or graduate schools such as the Berlin School of Mind and Brain. All doctoral candidates in our program, even though they will receive part of their education and supervision (sometimes also their funding) through our school, will be awarded their doctoral titles and their doctoral documents by one of the faculties of one of the seven participating universities: HU Berlin, TU Berlin, FU Berlin, Charité Medical Faculty Berlin, U Potsdam, U Magdeburg, U Leipzig.

Doctoral candidates will be awarded the title typically conferred by the faculty in which they are enrolled, such as Charité Medical Faculty (Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin); Faculty of Life Sciences at Humboldt-Universität; Faculty of Philosophy at Humboldt-Universität; Faculty of Education and Psychology at Freie Universität, and others. Which faculty doctoral candidates choose for enrolment will typically depend on the affiliation of their main supervisors.

The exact requirements for the doctorate and final examinations (e.g., a monography or a series of peer-reviewed publications; regulations regarding reviewers and doctoral committees; thesis defense; the requirements for receiving the degree-confirming Urkunde; duty to publish, etc.) depend on the regulations of the respective faculty. Doctoral candidates should talk to their supervisors, carefully read the webpages of the faculty where they are registered, and/or make appointments with the faculty's advisors for further information.

Examples of doctoral degrees for candidates of the Berlin School of Mind and Brain: A biologist or a psychologist matriculated at Humboldt-Universität will be awarded a Doctor rerum naturalium (Dr. rer. nat.) or a Doctor of Philosophy (Philosophiae doctor, Ph.D.), a psychologist matriculated at Freie Universität will be awarded a Doctor rerum naturalium (Dr. rer. nat.) or a Doctor of Philosophy (Philosophiae doctor, Ph.D.). Psychologists or biologists enrolled in the Charité Medical Faculty will be awarded a Doctor rerum medicinalium (Dr. rer. medic.), or a Doctor of Philosophy (Philosophiae doctor, Ph.D.), and doctoral candidates with a degree in medicine will be awarded a Doctor medicinae (Dr. med.) or a MD/Ph.D. Doctoral candidates in a philosophy or linguistics faculty will be awarded a Doctor philosophiae (Dr. phil.).

All doctoral degrees listed above are highly respected nationally and internationally. Doctoral candidates should discuss their degree options with their supervisors as soon as possible after starting the doctorate.

Generally, doctoral theses (whether as monographs or published papers) may be written and defended both in German or in English. However, candidates should find out whether they will have to make a special application to their faculty for an English-language thesis and defense.

A note on Doctor of Philosophy - Ph.D.

A Doctor of Philosophy (Philosophiae doctor, Ph.D.) is not simply a translation of the German word for doctorate (as it is often mis-used in Germany), but in Germany (and elsewhere) the Ph.D. title is a distinct doctoral degree. In the US American system the Doctor of Philosophy requires the participation in an education and training program. At Charité Medical Faculty in Berlin this is also true, and the conferment of a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree from Charité requires 30 ECTS in courses such as provided by the doctoral program of the Berlin School of Mind and Brain.
At HU and FU Berlin, the doctoral title Ph.D. is available as an alternative degree to Dr. phil. and Dr. rer. nat., without any additional requirements.
If interested in a Ph.D. degree you should discuss this with your supervisors and read the Promotionsordnung for the respective faculty when registering for your doctorate to make sure that you know all the requirements.

 

This page last updated on: 16 October 2024


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