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Albertus Magnus Center

Finding a supervisor

In most disciplines, working on a dissertation project takes at least three years and involves ups and downs. It is therefore important to have an academically and personally suitable supervisor at your side to accompany this process.
The choice of supervisor depends primarily on the topic of your doctoral thesis. As soon as the subject area and possibly the methodology of the thesis have been narrowed down, you should contact potential supervisors.
The doctoral regulations of the Faculty at which you wish to do your doctorate stipulate which persons are authorized to supervise a doctorate. As a rule, university professors, junior professors and private lecturers at the University of Cologne are eligible.

 

  • Select the people or areas of work that you are interested in and take your time to look at the respective websites. Read the information thoroughly and also use the details on publications, research projects and teaching to get a comprehensive picture. You may also have already made contacts during your studies, or your thesis supervisor may be able to give you a recommendation.
  • Once you have found a suitable person, write them an email. In this first email, briefly introduce yourself (name, university of origin, subject, any publications or the topic of your Master's thesis, etc.), describe your doctoral project in a few sentences and explain why you are contacting this particular person. 
  • It does not always make sense to provide a comprehensive description of your career when you first make contact or to attach your CV and research proposal. Instead, offer to send these documents on request.


In addition to the academic level, your supervisor should also be a good fit for you as a person. The success of a doctoral thesis depends largely on good communication and trusting cooperation. If in doubt, follow your gut feeling. If possible, you should meet with several potential supervisors before making a final decision.
At most Faculties it is possible to involve members of other universities or research institutions, including from abroad, for second or third supervision.Within the framework of Cotutelle programmes, it is also possible to complete the doctorate at the University of Cologne in co-operation with a foreign partner university. The exact regulations can be found in the doctoral regulations or can be obtained from the respective doctoral offices of the Faculties.