General FAQs

Please note that only the information given in the official German version of the General Doctoral Regulations and Faculty Doctoral Regulations is legally binding.

For questions relating to the specific faculties, please refer to the faculties’ websites:

Questions on registering as a doctoral candidate in docDaten

Use your IdM account to register in docDaten. You will already have an IdM account if you are or were registered as a student or member of staff at FAU. If you are an FAU employee, you can find your user name and activation password in the letter you received providing information for users. If you are a student, this information is printed on your student ID card.

If you are new to FAU, please contact graduiertenzentrum@fau.de. You will then receive the information you need for your IdM account. Activate your user account using the IdM self-service section. Enter your user name and your activation password in the relevant boxes. The Graduate Center can give you the information you need.

After activating your account in the IdM self-service section (www.idm.fau.de), you can view the data you have entered at www.docdaten.fau.de.

If you have forgotten your IdM user name or if it no longer works, please contact the RRZE helpdesks. The FAU Graduate Center can only access your IdM account until you activate it. After activation, the RRZE is responsible for managing your IdM account.

Location of helpdesks:

FAU Campus Erlangen (South): Computing Center (RRZE)
Martensstr. 1, Erlangen
1st floor, room 1.013
Phone: + 49 9131 85 29955
Fax: + 49 9131 85 29966
Opening hours:
Monday–Thursday 9 am to 4 pm
Friday 9 am to 2 pm

Erlangen city center: IZI Helpdesk
Bismarckstr. 1, Erlangen
C-Tower, room C105
Phone: + 49 9131 8526134
Fax: + 49 9131 8522121
Opening hours:
Monday–Thursday 9 am to 4 pm
Friday 9 am to 2 pm

Nuremberg: IZN Helpdesk
Lange Gasse 20, Nuremberg
Room 0,439
Phone: + 49 9131 5302 815
Fax: + 49 9131 5302 408
Opening hours:
Monday-Friday, 9 am to 12 noon, 2 pm to 5 pm and 7 pm to 9 pm
Saturday 9 am to 12 noon, 3 pm to 5 pm and 8 pm to 9 pm

You can make some changes to the data in docDaten yourself. If you would like to make more extensive changes, please inform us by email (graduiertenzentrum@fau.de).

Doctoral candidates can enroll at FAU following admission to a doctoral degree. Please refer to the information and requirements provided by the Student Records Office for subjects without admission restrictions. In order to enroll, you require confirmation that you are completing a doctoral degree at FAU, available in docDaten.

Questions on admission

According to Section 8 RPromO, you must file an application for admission to a doctoral degree when starting your doctoral research. This entails several advantages:

  • Whether or not you meet the requirements for completing a doctoral degree at FAU is checked at an early stage.
  • After admission, you become a member of FAU, even if you are not employed at FAU.
  • You benefit from central services.
  • You will regularly receive important information on completing a doctoral degree.

You will find all the necessary forms after registering on the doctoral portal docDaten. Each of these forms includes a list of the documents you will need to supply. Please make sure that all required documents are available in full before you submit them to apply for admission or initiation of the doctoral procedure.

As a rule, certificates must be supplied in the original and in German (official language). However, the Offices of Doctoral Affairs will also accept certified copies of documents and certified translations of documents, or documents in English.

If you submit the original with a copy, we will check the copy with the original and confirm it so that you can take the original away with you again. Please make any copies yourself, we are unable to make copies for you.

Questions concerning the initiation of the doctoral procedure

The General Doctoral Regulations do not stipulate a limit on the duration of doctoral study for doctoral candidates who are not enrolled. This is different for those who do enroll as a student. Further information is found under the question ‘De-registered after four years – what happens now?’.

At the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology, an examiner from another subject must be involved. They are proposed by the doctoral candidate when the doctoral procedure is initiated. In the case of external reviewers or examiners, the doctoral candidate and their supervisor must submit an informal application to the Doctoral Affairs Committee.

At the Faculty of Sciences, the supervisor must submit a request to the Faculty Council for an examiner from another subject (at FAU) to be allowed. In the case of an examiner from another university, the supervisor must submit an informal application to the Doctoral Affairs Committee.

At the Faculty of Medicine, an examiner from another subject must be included for doctoral procedures leading to the degree Dr. rer. biol. hum. This examiner is proposed by the supervisor. Supervisors from other subjects are not permitted for doctoral degrees leading to the degree Dr. med./Dr. med. dent.

Examiners from other subjects must meet the criteria pursuant to Section 5 RPromO and FPromO.

Questions on the doctoral thesis

A template for the title page is available as an appendix to the general doctoral regulations.

All information regarding mandatory copies is available in the relevant doctoral regulations and the general doctoral regulations.

Questions on other topics

If you enroll as a doctoral candidate for your doctoral degree, Section 49 (4) Bavarian Higher Education Act (Bayerisches Hochschulgesetz, BayHSchG) stipulates that you will be de-registered after four years at the latest.

Please do not confuse enrollment with registration in our database docDaten or with admission to the doctoral degree.

In exceptional circumstances, candidates may remain enrolled at the University for more than four years if a request for an extension is submitted by the doctoral candidate or their supervisor. Reasons for an extension may be:

  • Funding for the doctoral research depends on the candidate being enrolled at the university.
  • Enrollment at the university is an essential prerequisite for the residence permit of non-EU nationals
  • Admission to the doctoral degree is linked to conditions which can only be met if the candidate is enrolled.

In addition, supervisors have to submit a document stating that the project is nearing completion and will be completed in one or two semesters.

You can contact either your Office of Doctoral Affairs, the chairperson of the corresponding doctoral committee or the person in your faculty administration responsible for doctoral matters.

In addition, staff at the FAU Graduate Center will be happy to help you if you have any questions (graduiertenzentrum@fau.de, +49 9131 8520724). Doctoral candidates from the School of Business, Economics and Society should contact the Graduate School at the Faculty of Business, Economics, and Law directly.

You can find all key information and the texts of the doctoral regulations on our website.

As a rule, applicants are expected to have a Master’s or equivalent university degree (Diplom, M.A., State Examination) in the subject in which they hope to complete their doctoral degree. Some faculty doctoral regulations, such as those for the Dr. rer. nat.(Natural Sciences) and Dr. rer. pol. (Business and Economics) provide for the acceptance of particularly talented candidates with a Bachelor’s degree.

Applicants with a qualification in a different subject may be admitted under certain circumstances. Sometimes applicants may be required to pass a qualifying examination. Details are available in Section 6 of the relevant doctoral regulations.

Master’s degrees from universities of applied sciences are considered equivalent to Master’s degree from a university. Under certain circumstances, very good graduates from universities of applied sciences with a Diplom may be accepted provided they pass the qualifying examination for the doctoral degree program.

Qualifications from international universities must be checked by the body responsible for doctoral degrees. This happens as soon as you submit your application for admission to the doctoral degree after successfully registering in docDaten. Checking the equivalence of international qualifications can take several months.

Scholarships for research stays abroad are available from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation also offers options for doctoral candidates.

The Central Office for International Affairs at FAU has also compiled a list of other funding providers that fund stays abroad.

It is also worth looking at our website that lists various funding databases.

If you are already receiving basic funding for your research as a doctoral candidate at FAU, please check with your funding provider whether additional funds are available for an international stay abroad. Some talent promotion organizations provide funds for this.