Orientation and Counseling

The first place to seek information and advice on doctoral study-related matters is the Vice Dean's Office of Internationalisation, Research and Academic Recruitment ( currently Prof. Dr. Judith Könemann).

You should discuss subject-related matters with your principal supervisor (§4 PromO 2017). If you are coming to Münster to pursue a doctorate but do not yet have a doctoral supervisor who can assist you, the Vice Dean's Office can put in contact with a professor in your particular field of study. Together, you will draw up a supervisor agreement [external Link, en].

The following documents can provide you with further information:

• Doctoral regulations [externer Link, en]
• Doctoral curriculum [externer Link, en]
• Course record book [externer Link, en]

Enrolment

You must first enrol at the University of Münster before you can commence your doctoral programme. To enrol, you will have to submit your supervision agreement signed by a professor at our faculty. You can find more information and the link to enrol online here [external link, en].

Your contact in this phase is the Student Admissons Office [externer Link, en].

Review of admission requirements (§ 3 PromO 2017)

Before you can be granted admission to the doctoral programme, we must first assess whether you meet the admission requirements. To have your eligibility verified, present the required documents to the assistant to the Dean, confirming your prior university degrees (currently Lukas Billermann).

You will recieve a certificate of qualification that either (a) confirms that your past academic achievement meets the requirements of a full theological degree programme, or (b) confirms qualification only after completing a supplementary study programme [external link, en]. Upon completion of this programme, you will be issued a transcript of records. 

Acceptance as a doctoral candidate

Once you meet all the requirements for admission, you must formally submit your application for admission to the doctoral programme (qualification phase) along with an exposé and timetable (§ 5 PromO 2017) to the staff member responsible for doctoral admissions at the Dean's Office (currently Christiane Ostholt).

The Dean decides on to accept or reject your application and informs the Faculty Board accordingly.

Qualification phase (§ 6 PromO 2017)

During the qualification phase, you devote time to writing your doctoral thesis (dissertation). The consultation meetings with your supervisor are documented in writing. You also take courses as prescribed in the curriculum of your doctoral programme. You must have all required coursework and examinations certified in your course record book. Advanced seminars and advanced research seminars are certified by the responsible seminar instructor.

If you attend any courses outside of our faculty or university and wish to have these credited toward your doctoral programme, you must submit the respective certificate for each course. These certificates are required if you wish to have your academic achievement recognised in your course record book. This procedure is administered by a staff member at the Vice Dean's Office (currently Josef Becker). In case of doubt as to whether a course can be recognised, please seek clarification from the Vice Dean's Office before attending the course.

Examination phase (§ 8 PromO 2017)

Upon finishing your dissertation and completing the required courses of the doctoral programme, you must apply for admission [external link, en] to the examination phase. To apply, submit all the required documents to the Dean's Office (to Christiane Ostholt) and hand in the dissertation in accordance to with the submission formalities [external link, en] along with the sworn declaration [external link, en].

After a review of the documents, assessment of your dissertation by two examiners (as a rule) and its public display, the Faculty board decides on the final grade of the dissertation based on the examiners' recommendations. 

If the dissertation is accepted, you will be granted admission to the Defensio or Rigorosum, depending on your preference.

After passing the Defensio (or Rigorosum), the Faculty board announces the final grade.

You are then awarded your doctoral title at the "Actus Academicus" ceremony. 

You must submit the mandatory copies of your dissertation to the Dean's office within two years after completing the last examination.