On November 17, 2022, the Doctoral School NRW was granted the right to conduct independent doctoral studies. This opens up another path to earning a doctoral degree for doctoral candidates at Fachhochschule Dortmund.
Information for doctoral candidates
In addition to the cooperative doctoral program, you now also have the option at the Fachhochschule Dortmund of pursuing a doctorate under the independent doctoral authority of the PK NRW. The doctoral studies under the PK NRW’s doctoral authority consist of 9 steps:
Step 1: Find a supervisor and obtain a commitment to supervise
Step 2: Enroll as a doctoral candidate at the HAW
Step 3: Acceptance and enrollment as a doctoral candidate at the PK NRW
Step 4: Sign a supervision agreement
Step 5: Complete the doctoral program and write the dissertation
Step 6: Thesis defense
Step 7: Defense
Step 8: Publication
Step 9: Withdraw from the university
It is important to note that your advisor at the Fachhochschule Dortmund must be a faculty member of the PK NRW, and that you must enroll in the doctorate at both the Fachhochschule Dortmund and the Doctoral School NRW. To apply for admission and enrollment as a doctoral candidate at the PK NRW, you can now register in the college information and management system, Kiss. Upon enrolling as a doctoral candidate, you will automatically become a member of the PK NRW.
The PK NRW will begin processing the submitted applications in November 2023, and the enrollment deadline has been extended to December 1, 2023, for all doctoral candidates who are already enrolled at their university.
You can find more information on the following topics here:
Doctoral Process & Procedures at the PK NRW(Opens in a new tab)
Registration & Enrollment at the PK NRW(Opens in a new tab)
Registration & Enrollment at Fachhochschule Dortmund
If you have any further questions or need to consult with someone, you can also contact the Graduate Center at Fachhochschule Dortmund.
Information for caregivers
In order for doctoral candidates at Fachhochschule Dortmund to be able to do a doctorate under the independent doctoral degree rights of the PK NRW, the supervisor of the university must also be a professorial member of the PK NRW. In order to become a professorial member, professors with a doctorate and habilitated employees must meet certain requirements. The criteria are as follows:
- You are a professor with a doctorate or habilitation at a sponsoring university or a professor with a doctorate at a cooperating university of the PK NRW
- You conduct research in the department's key areas
- Your HAW gives you the freedom to work at PK NRW
- In the last three to five years, you have received an average of at least
- research-related third-party funding of €100,000 (in the life sciences/natural sciences/engineering) or €50,000 (in other disciplines) and
- published a peer-reviewed publication in recognized journals
- You have appropriate experience in the supervision of doctorates (the decision as to which supervisory experience is appropriate is made by the responsible department).
If you do not meet all the requirements, you can apply for the status of association once for five years.
Applications for membership are accepted by the PK NRW via the KISS collegiate information and control system. Please send the necessary forms to the management of the PK NRW, Dr. Carolin Schuchert . The decision as to whether the proven supervisory experience is appropriate is made by the responsible department of the PK NRW.
Further information, documents and the application process can be found on the PK NRW website(Opens in a new tab) .
You can contact Meike Herrmann regarding the letter of support from Fachhochschule Dortmund. If you have any further questions or require further consultation, you can also contact the Graduate Center at Fachhochschule Dortmund.