Your Doctoral Degree at SCIoI
Doctoral degrees are conferred only by the faculties of universities, e.g. Faculty IV – Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at TU Berlin and Faculty of Mathematics and natural Sciences at HU Berlin.
Examples for doctoral degrees at SCIoI:
A biologist or a psychologist matriculated at Humboldt-Universität will be awarded a Doctor rerum naturalium (Dr. rer. nat.), a psychologist matriculated at Freie Universität may be granted the same title (Dr. rer.nat.) or the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), while candidates at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering or Computer Science at the Technical University, Berlin, may obtain the degree Doctor-Ingenieur (Dr. ing.) or Dr. rer. nat.
Doctoral candidates will be awarded the title typically conferred by the faculty in which they are enrolled. Which faculty doctoral candidates choose for enrollment will typically depend on the affiliation of their main supervisor. Please discuss your degree options with your supervisor(s) as soon as possible after starting the doctorate.
Regulations for Doctorates (‘Promotionsordnung’)
The exact requirements for the doctorate and final examinations depend on the regulations of the respective faculty. Even within the same field, these regulations may vary depending on the time of your enrollment. Also, the same rules will not necessarily apply for e.g. psychologists enrolled at the TU or HU respectively.
Therefore, 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.
Generally, doctoral theses (monographs or a series of peer-reviewed 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.
