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Regulations for the Conduct of Doctoral Examinations

On July 10th, 2025 the second amendment order for the Dr. phil./Ph.D. Regulations of the Department of Political and Social Sciences of February 14th, 2018 has come into force. The Regulations and their amendments are valid for doctoral procedures in the

    • Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology
    • Otto-Suhr-Institute of Political Science
    • Institute for Media and Communication Studies and
    • Institute for Sociology

New  Dr. rer. pol./Ph.D. regulations have come into force on June 26th, 2024. They are valid for all doctoral subjects of the Otto Suhr Institute of Political Science. Doctoral candidates in one of these subjects are therefore free to choose between the Dr. phil./Ph.D. and the Dr. rer. pol./Ph.D. regulations.

The Central Institutes are not authorized to confer doctoral degrees. If you have completed a Master´s programme in one of the Central Institutes and/or wish to write a doctoral thesis with a focus on regional topics, you have to decide on the subject and the respective department you wish to do your doctorate in. Should you have already come to an agreement with a prospective supervisor please take into account which department she or he is affiliated with. For further information please get in touch with the department your doctoral subject belongs to. If your chosen field is represented in the Department of Political and Social Sciences please observe the a.m. information on the current regulations. 

Regulations for the Conduct of Doctoral Examinations
(Legal Documents, exclusively in German)

English Versions of the Regulations for the Conduct of Doctoral Examinations
(Not legally binding, for your information only)

 Notice

    • Dr. phil./Ph.D. Regulations:
      Please note: The amendment orders are valid for all doctoral candidates who have been admitted to the doctoral procedure in accordance with the rules and regulations for the Dr. phil./Ph.D., whether they have been admitted before the amendment orders came into force or afterwards. 
    • Dr. rer. pol./Ph.D. Regulations:
      The new Dr. rer. pol./Ph.D. regulations are valid for all doctoral candidates who have successfully applied for  admission according to the Dr. rer. pol./Ph.D. regulations since June 26th, 2024. Doctoral candidates who have been admitted before June 26th, 2024 may either complete their doctoral procedure in accordance with the previous rules and regulations, provided an interim period of four years is not exceeded or can apply to the Committee for Doctoral Examinations for a conversion into the new regulations. Decisions on the assignment to a specific version of the rules and regulations that have been taken upon application can not be revised.