This page answers questions about the different phases of the supervision of a doctoral procedure for Dr.med., Dr.med.dent., Dr.sc.hum. Here you will find information on:
FAQ Doctoral supervisors
Supervision of doctoral students
Who is authorized to supervise doctoral candidates?
According to the doctoral degree regulations §4 (2c), supervisors can only be professors, junior professors or private lecturers of the Medical Faculty of the University of Tübingen who work full-time at the University of Tübingen and have not yet retired at the time of acceptance. Special cases and exceptions can be found in the doctoral degree regulations in $4 (2).
What are the requirements for taking on the supervision of a doctoral candidate?
Supervisors must be habilitated and should support the doctoral candidates in all technical and organizational matters. In addition, regular participation in the course "Good Scientific Practice for Supervisors" is mandatory.
How many doctoral candidates may one supervisor supervise at the same time?
For clinically active supervisors, a limit of 10 doctoral students applies; for non-clinically active supervisors, the upper limit is 20.
Is participation in a basic course on good scientific practice compulsory?
Yes, all supervisors must regularly (every three years) take part in a course on "Good scientific practice for doctoral supervisors". This course provides information on current standards in academic supervision.
As an external habilitated member of the faculty, can I also supervise doctoral students at the MFT?
If you are a habilitated supervisor who does not work full-time at the MFT, but externally or at an academic teaching hospital, please submit a proposal for an additional supervisor with whom you would like to form a supervisory team to ensure that the doctoral candidate is integrated into a scientific working group in Tübingen and thus enable the doctoral candidate to be trained in the local university environment.
Acceptance and registration of doctoral students
What requirements must be met to register for the doctoral procedure?
All doctoral candidates must submit a letter of acceptance from a habilitated supervisor. There must also be a connection (through studies or employment) to the MFT or the UKT. Further requirements such as a valid ethics vote or an animal experimentation permit must also be fulfilled.
Can doctoral students be admitted without a connection to the MFT/UKT?
This is only possible in exceptional cases and by decision of the doctoral committee for particularly convincing research projects.
What is the procedure for doctoral students with a foreign degree?
Foreign degrees can be considered if they are equivalent to a German degree.
How is the equivalence of foreign degrees assessed?
The doctoral office carries out an initial equivalence check. If this is not conclusive, the documents are sent to the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) in Bonn. This process can take several months.
When does the doctoral candidate register for the doctoral thesis?
Doctoral candidates must register with the faculty at the beginning of their doctoral work so that the formal requirements for completing a doctorate can be checked. Only after registration is there an entitlement to supervision of the procedure by the faculty.
What should be considered when preparing the project outline?
The project outline should be short and concise and include the following points:
- Scientific knowledge on the topic
- Aims of the project, research hypotheses, material and methods
- Planned personal contribution of the doctoral candidate
- (provisional) timetable
- Bibliography (with the most important references from the current literature)
How is the project outline assessed?
For Dr.sc.hum and PhD procedures, acceptance interviews with three reviewers each are organized by the doctoral office. For Dr.med. and Dr.med.dent. procedures, the project outline is reviewed by the academic supervisor.
What is a supervision agreement, and where can I find a template?
The supervision agreement regulates the collaboration between supervisors and doctoral candidates. A template is available on the homepage of the doctoral office and should be individually customized.
What does the supervision agreement cover?
The supervision agreement outlines the scope and form of the supervision, as well as the rights and responsibilities of the doctoral candidates and supervisors. Additionally, it specifies the supervisor and co-supervisors, as well as the working title of the dissertation.
Supervisory teams
For PhD and (soon) Dr.sc.hum. procedures, supervisor teams consisting of 1 main supervisor and one or two additional supervisors are appointed by the faculty. For Dr.med. and Dr.med.dent. procedures, an independent scientific advisor appointed for each doctorate in addition to the main supervisor.
What role does the scientific supervisor play?
The scientific advisor reviews the project outline of the doctoral research proposal and assesses whether the doctoral candidates can be accepted with their proposed project or whether any modifications are necessary. This assessment is reported to the doctoral office via a form. The scientific advisor initially has no further obligations. When submitting the dissertation, they may potentially be appointed as a second examiner.
Independence of the scientific advisor?
The scientific advisor at our faculty must have completed a habilitation, be independent of the conducted project, and be able to assess the doctoral project based on their expertise. The advisor must not be affiliated with the same department as the supervisor and must not have a close collaboration with them (e.g., joint publications).
How often can you take on the role of scientific scientific advisor?
At least as many requests for the role of "scientific advisor" should be accepted as the number of doctoral candidates they supervise themselves.
Before commencing practical work
Do doctoral candidates also have to complete a Good Scientific Practice course?
All doctoral candidates are required to attend at least one course on good scientific practice. The following applies to Dr.med. and Dr.med.dent.: Before registering for the doctoral procedure, all applicants must attend the basic course on good scientific practice for doctoral candidates. The doctorate must be registered within the next 12 months after participation. The course "Good Scientific Practice for Doctoral Candidates" must also be attended after acceptance. Participation is recommended after the first few months of active research.
Does the doctoral candidate have to keep a research logbook?
Yes, the research activities must be documented precisely in the research protocol book (with pre-numbered pages and a fixed binding) or in a certified electronic protocol book in order to make the procedure and results comprehensible and to transparently present the personal contribution. All protocols and original data must be kept for at least 10 years at the institution conducting the research.
Where can the doctoral candidate find this?
Bound "Research Notebooks" in the University's corporate design are issued by the Doctoral Office.
When is advice from the ethics committee necessary?
An ethics vote is required for any research involving humans. This must be obtained before the start of the study.
What must be considered in animal experiments?
Animal experiments must be approved in advance by the Regierungspräsidium Tübingen. Doctoral students may have to complete an animal experimentation course.
What regulations apply regarding data confidentiality?
All patient data and research data must be treated confidentially. This also applies to concepts and results of other working group members.
Is statistical advice required and how can I apply for it?
Yes, statistical advice is recommended, especially when planning and evaluating laboratory and animal experiments. It is free of charge and can be requested via the homepage of the Institute of Clinical Epidemiology and Applied Biometry.
Extend the doctorate period
How do I apply for an extension of the doctoral period?
If the dissertation is not completed within three years of acceptance, an extension of the deadline can be applied for. This can be done informally or using a form available on the homepage of the doctoral office. The consent of the supervisor is required.
Dissertation and oral examination
Does the dissertation have to be written in German or English?
The thesis can be written in German or English; for English papers, a German summary must also be included.
What do I need to know about the plagiarism check?
The dissertation is checked electronically for text and data matches using the "PlagScan" tool. If there are any suspicious areas, a report is sent to the doctoral candidate and supervisor, who must then sign a declaration of non-objection before the thesis is assessed.
Where should the mandatory copies be submitted?
The mandatory copies must be submitted to the university library.
Can the doctoral candidate also write a cumulative dissertation?
Yes, doctoral candidates may also write a cumulative dissertation, but must apply for this in advance at the doctoral office.
Can the oral examination also take place online?
A face-to-face examination is recommended. In exceptional cases, a web-based examination can be conducted upon request and after consultation with the examiners.
Review
What independence must a reviewer maintain?
Reviewers must confirm that they have no family or economic relationship with the doctoral candidate. Second reviewers may not be involved in the research project.
Can the scientific advisor act as a reviewer for the dissertation?
If the scientific advisor remains independent of the primary supervisor and the doctoral candidate, they can be appointed by the faculty as the second reviewer.
How long does the dissertation review phase take?
Doctoral students should allow about 6 months.
What tasks do reviewers have when reviewing a doctoral candidate's dissertation?
Reviewers prepare a detailed written review in which the academic content and the quality, independence and relevance of the thesis are critically assessed. Further information can be found in the checklist for reviewers of dissertations.
How many pages should the written report have?
The review should be approximately 1 to 2 pages long with a detailed and critical appraisal of the content of the dissertation.
What requirements apply to the doctoral candidate's own contribution?
Your own contribution to the research must be clearly presented and clearly differentiated from the contributions of others. Own results should have been obtained independently or correctly referenced.
What formal criteria does the reviewer have to check the dissertation against?
Formal criteria of the dissertation:
- Length of at least 50 pages
- Clear scientific question at the end of the introduction
- Main part with own research results
- Discussion with reference to the current state of scientific knowledge
- Adherence to the recommended outline from the information sheet for writing the dissertation
- Clear and structured formatting
What should the reviewer do if the dissertation does not meet the requirements?
If there are significant deficiencies (e.g. inadequate own work, lack of structure or methodological weaknesses), this should be justified in the report and a revision recommended.
What formal criteria must the reviewer assess in the grading of the dissertation?
Grading is based on the following aspects:
- Complexity of the research question and the scientific background
- Degree of difficulty of the methods
- Scope of the work (total working time)
- Quality of the execution of the work
- Quality of the presentation in the dissertation
- Scientific relevance of the results
- Presentation of the results at specialist conferences
- Authorship of publications
- Independence and personal contribution of the doctoral candidate
The detailed table with the assessment criteria for dissertations can be found Homepage for doctoral supervisors.
What grade can a dissertation receive?
The evaluation is based on the following scheme:
- summa cum laude (0.0) - excellent
- magna cum laude (1.0) - very good
- cum laude (2.0) - good
- rite (3.0) - sufficient
It is possible to adjust the dissertation grade. The following changes can be made:
- "summa cum laude" can be devalued by 0.3.
- "magna cum laude" and "cum laude" can be upgraded or downgraded by 0.3.
- "rite" can be upgraded by 0.3.
What characterizes a "summa cum laude" dissertation?
A dissertation with the final grade summa cum laude is characterized by this:
- A particularly complex research question
- The use of innovative or new methods
- A total working time of more than one year
- Very high quality of execution and presentation
- An excellent scientific presentation
- High-quality, relevant results
- First authorship in a publication in a peer-reviewed journal
What characterizes a "magna cum laude" dissertation?
A dissertation with the final grade magna cum laude is characterized by:
- High complexity of the research question
- Sophisticated methods
- Total working time of about one year
- High quality of execution and presentation
- Results are scientifically relevant
- First or co-authorship in a publication appears possible
- High degree of independence and personal contribution
What characterizes a "cum laude" dissertation?
A dissertation with the final grade cum laude is characterized by this:
- Average complexity of the research question
- Usual, established methods are applied
- Total working time of around nine months
- Average quality of execution and presentation
- Results have a certain scientific relevance
- Results could be used in a publication or conference contribution
- Average independence and personal contribution
What characterizes a "rite" dissertation?
A dissertation with a final grade of rite is characterized by this:
- A rather simple research question
- Common methods
- At least six months total working time
- Quality of execution and presentation just sufficient
- Results are of minor scientific relevance
- Results can possibly be included in a congress contribution, but are not worthy of publication
- Personal contribution and independence just sufficient
Where can I view the recommendations for the assessment criteria for dissertations?
The recommendations are available on the website for doctoral supervisors .
What happens if the grade proposals from the reviewers differ significantly?
If the proposed grades differ by more than 1.5 grades, the doctoral committee decides. It may obtain a further expert opinion.
As a supervisor, can I object to the reviewers' assessment proposals?
Yes, after completion of the review phase, the dissertation will be made available for inspection for two weeks. You can raise an objection during this time. This should first be sent by e-mail to the doctoral office.
Printing and publication
What options are there for publishing the dissertation (electronically or in print)?
The preferred option is electronic publication. For this, the dissertation is uploaded digitally to the university library server and two printed copies are submitted to the university library. Publication in printed form (30 copies) is also possible and must be applied for.
Can the publication of the dissertation be delayed?
Yes, a blocking period of up to two years can be requested informally by the supervisor in order to publish results in academic journals beforehand.
Completion and certificate
How and when does the doctoral candidate receive the doctoral certificate?
Once the publication of the dissertation has been confirmed, the doctoral certificate is issued. This process usually takes two to four weeks. The certificate can either be collected or sent by post.
What happens to the copies of the dissertation submitted for review?
These copies are disposed of in a data-protected manner after completion of the doctoral procedure.