Doctoral Procedure How long does the procedure take after submission of the dissertation?
Please allow at least four months between submission and defence.
Please submit the application for the opening of a doctoral procedure by e-mail (Dean's office):
| at least one week before the meeting date of the doctoral committee |
| Your application with all documents will first be submitted to the doctoral committee. | meetings usually take place every two months |
| The recommendation from the doctoral committee is then submitted to the faculty council on the following meeting date. At the opening of the procedure, the faculty elects the members of the doctoral examination board and appoints the chairperson. | Usually one week after the meeting date of the doctoral committee |
| After the procedure has been opened, copys of the dissertation is sent to every examiner. They have three months to submit an examiner's report. | plus three months |
| Once all examiners' reports have been received, the dissertation is made available for public inspection and comments in the Dean's office. | plus two weeks |
| Once the doctoral examination board has decided on the acceptance of the dissertation on the basis of the examiners' reports and taking the comments into account, it will schedule a date for the defence. | |
| The date will be announced to the university public at least two weeks before the examination. | plus two weeks |
| Disputation |
Details can be found in the framework regulations for doctoral procedures (PromRahmenO).
Exemplary Timeline of the Doctoral Procedure
Sample calculation:
| Meeting dates | Time for Examiners (max. three months) | Display Obligation / Announcement | Intended Disputation Period | |
| Doctoral Studies Committee | Faculty Council | |||
| 03.12.2025 | 28.01.2026 | February, March, April 2026 | May 2026 | June 2026 |
| 11.02.2026 | 25.02.2026 | March, April, May 2026 | June 2026 | July 2026 |