General requirements for recognition of your university degree:

1. Meeting the requirements for a PhD program at your university in your home country
2. Completion of at least 4 years at an university followed by an exam and usually a Master thesis.

German language proficiency

Generally, you can earn your PhD in German and English at all faculties. In case you want to persue your doctorate in any other language than German please be aware that some faculties require an application and the approval of the supervisor.

Please confirm with your doctoral advisor

a)    which language you want to write your dissertation in

b)    which language your oral examination (Disputatio or Rigorosum) will take place in.

Please inform yourself about your PhD / MD program requirements and process by carefully reading the regulations for the degree of your choice. For certain programs you need to have particular language skills or participate in doctoral student courses or lectures.

Below you will find the PhD regulations for each faculty:

• Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences
• Faculty of Law
• Faculty of Medicine
• Faculty of Arts and Humanities
• Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
• Faculty of Human Sciences

If you decide to pursue an individual PhD at the University of Cologne, you will need a doctoral advisor ("Doktorvater","Doktormutter").

Professors who can fulfill this function may be found on the web pages of the individual faculties. Please contact the desired advisor as early as possible.

When you contact a potential doctoral advisor, please enclose the following documents:

• Complete C.V.
• Description of your scientific research development
• Draft/outline of your research project.

If the professor accepts you as a doctoral advisee, he or she will issue a confirmation of academic supervision.

Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences

https://cgs.uni-koeln.de/en/doctoral-phd-programmes

Contact:
Ms Martina Mundorf
Phone: +49-221-470-3213
E-Mail: promotion@wiso.uni-koeln.de

 
Graduate School of the Faculty of Law

https://www.jura.uni-koeln.de/7229.html?&L=1

Contact:
Dr. Tatiana Chekushina
Phone: +49-221-470-6204
E-Mail: jura-promotion(at)uni-koeln.de

 
Faculty of Medicine

Contact:
Mr. Sven Over & Ms. Silke Paul
Phone: +49-221-478-5354
E-Mail: medfak-promotionsbuerouni-koeln.de

 
Faculty of Arts and Humanities - Central PhD Office of
a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School for the Humanities Cologne

http://artes.phil-fak.uni-koeln.de/18302.html?&L=1

Contact: N.N.
Phone: +49-221-470-1259
E-Mail: promotionsbuero-phil-fak@uni-koeln.de

 
Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences

https://mathnat.uni-koeln.de/en/doctoral-candidates/general-information

Contact:
Ms Karin Gotzmann
Phone: +49 221 470 4225
E-mail: mnf-promotionenuni-koeln.de

Ms Alexandra Grömling
Phone: +49 221 470 6555
E-mail: mnf-promotionenuni-koeln.de

 
Faculty of Human Sciences

http://hf-promotionen.uni-koeln.de/31554.html?&L=1

Contact:
Ms Karin Schüller
Phone: +49-221-470-4619
E-Mail: promotion-hf@uni-koeln.de

The application processes at the different Faculties vary. Please inform yourself on the respective websites or contact the contact persons at the Faculties, view point 4.

Please note the information for individual doctorates and structured doctoral programmes.

After receiving the admission from the responsible Doctoral Office, you can enroll at the International Office of the University of Cologne.

Checklist for enrollment for doctoral students

Mail account
Every registered doctoral student has a student e-mail account. The mail address of the account is composed of the name of the student account and the ending "@smail.uni-koeln.de" (e.g. Max Mustermann has the mail address "mmusterm3@smail.uni-koeln.de).
In your own interest, you are obliged to regularly read your mails in this account, as all university communication runs via this address and you receive important information via this address (e.g. about upcoming exmatriculations due to non-payment). You will not receive any information on your "uni-koeln.de" account.