International doctoral candidates

Academic careers are becoming increasingly international. Our university is no exception, pursuing a consistent internationalization strategy with a global network of partners.

This page offers you some tips on organizing stays abroad during your doctoral degree, whether you are coming from abroad to complete your doctoral degree at FAU or whether you are completing your doctoral degree at FAU and would like to go abroad.

Going abroad from FAU

If you intend spending time abroad as part of your doctoral degree, you should start planning from an early stage:

Be sure to discuss your plans with your supervisor! Not only do they know colleagues from across the globe, but they are also familiar with your research project and are best placed to judge whether and where you would be able to spend a productive stay abroad. You can tailor the length of the stay to suit the requirements of your research project.

Once your supervisor has helped you make the relevant contacts, it is time to sort out funding. Although it is not always easy to receive funding for a stay abroad, there are options available to high-performing researchers. Remember, persistence pays off! Various options are plausible:

Your salary continues to be paid and travel expenses are covered by the chair’s budget or by specially acquired third-party funds. In the first case, the trip counts as a business journey for accounting purposes (up to three months).

We recommend taking out health insurance for foreign travel. During the business travel (outward bound and return journey) and during the official business, accident insurance is provided by the employer’s liability insurance provider.

The stay abroad is completed within the context of a third-party funded project and the expenses are covered via this project if funding is applied for and approved.

It is often possible to apply for travel expenses from the organization providing your scholarship. It is best to ask the organization providing your scholarship directly.

It is possible to apply for an annual or short-term scholarship, for instance from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) or other funding providers.

Contact: International Affairs (RIA/S-INTERNATIONAL)

The point of contact for everything to do with international matters at FAU is International Affairs (RIA/S-INTERNATIONAL) International Affairs is the right place for all questions regarding international studying, teaching and mobility. In addition to International Affairs, all the faculties also offer further information and points of contact for topics concerning internationalization and international marketing.

Further information and points of contact

Planning is vital if you intend to spend a longer period of time abroad. But what exactly should you bear in mind if you want to be well prepared for a stay abroad? Our checklist will help you!

Coming to FAU from abroad

Our excellent university offers a wide spectrum of subjects and outstanding perspectives for anyone coming from abroad who would like to complete a doctoral degree at FAU.

Basic information on completing a doctoral degree in Germany is available from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). We have compiled some information for you on financing your doctoral degree.

International applicants who are interested in completing a doctoral degree at FAU must comply with the following requirements in addition to the above-mentioned steps towards a doctoral degree:

  • Completing a course of university study abroad that can be recognized as equivalent to the final examination in Germany in the equivalent degree program (Master’s/Magister/Diplom/State Examination). The relevant Office of Doctoral Affairs is responsible for checking the equivalence of foreign qualifications.
  • At the Faculty of Sciences and the School of Business, Economics and Society, particularly talented Bachelor’s students who have completed studies at a university may be admitted to a doctoral degree under certain circumstances.
  • Anabin is a database that provides all the information required for assessing foreign qualifications and supports authorities, employers and private individuals in understanding how a foreign qualification corresponds to the German education system.

In consultation with your supervisor, it is possible for a doctoral degree to be completed in English, both in international doctoral degree programs and in individual doctoral degrees. However, we strongly recommend all doctoral candidates to learn German to make the most of their stay at our university.

If you are intending to complete your doctoral degree in German, specific language skills are required. Please contact your Office of Doctoral Affairs for further details.

In subjects from the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology, you may be required to prove proficiency in other languages when registering for your doctoral degree, depending on the specific subject.

Contact: FAU’s Welcome Center

FAU’s Welcome Center is the central point of contact and university service for international researchers and doctoral candidates at FAU. The Welcome Center caters to visiting researchers and doctoral candidates only.

E-Mail: welcome@fau.de

The following pages give additional important information: