Main Phase

During the main phase of your doctoral studies, you will work intensively on your research project. In addition to your academic work, there are also a number of formal aspects to consider. We have compiled the most important information for you in a structured format on this page.

The supervisory relationship

As a rule, your dissertation will be written under the supervision of a professor from the department. Rights and obligations in the doctoral relationship can be set out in a written supervision agreement.

Any change of supervisor must be reported in writing to the doctoral committee before the doctoral procedure is initiated. The following are required:

  • A letter to the acting dean stating the reasons
  • The signed supervision agreement of the new supervisor (as a scan)

Please send both documents as PDF files to:

Schedule for the doctoral program

  • Year 1: Review and development of the doctoral thesis topic
  • Year 2: Finalization of the topic and concept development
  • Year 3: Conducting scientific research
  • Year 4: Analysis, evaluation, and writing of the dissertation
  • Regular meetings with the supervisor and an annual written summary of the work progress are recommended.

The dissertation can be written as a monograph or a cumulative dissertation. The latter consists of several independent scientific articles that have already been published or accepted for publication.

Further information and legal notices can be found in the information sheet on cumulative dissertations (opens in new tab).

Application for approval of a cumulative dissertation

The use of scientific articles for a cumulative dissertation must be approved by the doctoral committee at least six months before submission.

A sample form can be found in the downloads, but you can also use your department's internal documents for the application.

Changes to the intended title (Dr.-Ing., Dr. rer. nat., Dr. phil.) or the dissertation title can be made informally until the dissertation is submitted. The title is only finalized when the doctoral procedure begins.

No more than five years should elapse between acceptance and initiating of the doctoral procedure. After this period, you must either submit your dissertation or apply for an extension, including a report on the status of your dissertation (informal, addressed to the dean, with the approval of your supervisor). Please submit your application as a PDF to

Employment at TU Darmstadt is not mandatory for completing a doctorate. However, if the dissertation is not submitted within five years and no extension request is submitted, the doctoral relationship ends automatically. In this case, please inform the supervising department and the dean's office in writing.

Notes on writing your doctoral thesis

A doctoral thesis is a written academic paper required to obtain a doctoral degree. It documents the work and results of your research. The following notes may help you in writing your doctoral thesis :

  • Length: approx. 100–150 pages (excluding appendices and bibliography)
  • Document your results regularly from the beginning
  • Common thread: the topic should be recognizable consistently
  • Write concisely, no anecdotal reports or unfounded hypotheses
  • Formulate comparable statements based on theoretical/experimental results
  • Use abbreviations and formula symbols (with units) consistently and list them in directories
  • Provide sufficient references to avoid accusations of plagiarism.
  • Follow good scientific practice and rules for research data.
  • Present results clearly.
  • Formal chapters: formula, figure, table, and bibliography lists.
  • Language: German or English (other languages only with permission).
  • Format freely selectable.