Counseling for those interested in a doctorate
Would you like to delve further into research after your Master's degree? Are you already working and now considering a doctorate? Whether you already have specific questions or would like more general information, we will be happy to advise you.
Information event "The path to a doctorate"
The central event "The path to a doctorate" regularly offers information on all aspects of cooperative doctorates and doctorates in accordance with NRW's own doctoral law. The event is suitable for initial information, but also offers an overview of funding options and the opportunity to exchange ideas with other doctoral candidates.
The next event will take place on:
- February 04, 2026, 10-12 am, online(registration(Opens in a new tab) ). The event will be held in German.
Consultation hours
We will advise you personally during our consultation hours. These can take place in person, by telephone or via Webex. Please contact us in advance to make an appointment: promotionskollegfh-dortmundde
Information event on doctoral funding
Once a year, we hold a central event for those interested in doing a doctorate to provide information about doctoral funding at Fachhochschule Dortmund. The application process and the documents to be submitted are explained. The next event is expected to take place in April 2026. In addition, we offer a consultation hour for the preparation of application documents for doctoral funding on September 02, 2025 from 10-11 am. You can register for this by sending an email to promotionskollegfh-dortmundde
If you have missed the consultation, please contact us for individual counseling.
Offers for doctoral candidates
All doctoral students at Fachhochschule Dortmund can participate in the Graduate Center and obtain a certificate of completion. The qualification program is semi-structured and is actively co-designed by doctoral candidates.
Workshops
The following workshops will take place in the winter semester 2025/2026. Registration takes place via ILIAS(Opens in a new tab) .
- Change management (ZM1 /ZM3)(Opens in a new tab) , with Prof. Dr. Martin Zierold, September 18 & 19, 2025, face-to-face seminar
- Quantitative research methodology part 2 (ZM2)(Opens in a new tab) , with Prof. Dr. Marco Schwenke, September 24, 2025, face-to-face seminar
- Poster design (ZM3)(Opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab) , with Elisabeth Werner, November 04, 2025, face-to-face seminar
- Advanced course (ZM2)(Opens in a new tab) , with Dr. Sabrina Raffenberg and Iris Bosold-Grund, December 11, 2025, face-to-face seminar
- Disputation training (ZM 3)(Opens in a new tab) , with Dr. Anja Berninger, February 05 & 06, 2026, face-to-face seminar
In addition, doctoral candidates who are also employees at Fachhochschule Dortmund can also attend perspective management workshops and have the opportunity to participate in individual coaching with Dr. Vera Leberecht. You can use this coaching to clarify individual questions or topics relating to the writing of academic papers.
If you are interested in making an appointment for individual coaching, please send us an e-mail. You can also contact us at any time if you have questions about the offer.
Certificate of completion
Doctoral candidates at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts can have a certificate issued for successful participation in the modularized workshops offered by the Graduate Center after completing their doctorate.
Further information on this can be found here PDF-File 116,74 kB .
Certificate program "Leadership skills"
The "Leadership Skills" certificate program is offered every two years. The joint program with Perspektivmanagement is aimed at doctoral students and academic staff at Fachhochschule Dortmund. The aim is to acquire initial leadership skills for a management role within the university or for a future position in Business Studies or academia.
The next cycle starts in summer 2027! Further information can be found here(Opens in a new tab) .
Further training in university didactics
Doctoral candidates who are also employees at Fachhochschule Dortmund can participate in the courses offered by the hdw nrw(Opens in a new tab) network (Hochschuldidaktische Weiterbildung NRW) as academic staff after prior consultation with the Graduate Center. Please note that as an academic staff member you must always submit an application for further training.
Information and networking events
The following information and networking events take place regularly at the Graduate Center:
- Doing a doctorate with child(ren)
- Keeping in Balance - Homeoffice meets Family
We will inform you about new dates as soon as possible.
Writing club
The writing club is aimed at doctoral students who are in the writing phase of their doctoral thesis, exposé, paper, third-party funding application or other writing projects. The meetings take place every last Wednesday of the month from 4 to 6 p.m. in Präsenz at Joseph-von-Fraunhofer-Straße 23.
Each meeting begins with a short presentation as input on a topic relevant to writing during the doctoral period. Afterwards, you can work on your writing project in a quiet atmosphere and take the opportunity to exchange ideas with other doctoral candidates and ask questions to experts. Catering is provided!
If you are interested, please register at promotionskollegfh-dortmundde. The exact meeting point will be announced to the participants shortly beforehand.
Network colloquium "Bring Your Mentors"
It is not uncommon for the two supervisors to work alongside the doctoral candidates in a cooperative doctorate and often meet only rarely or not at all during the course of the doctorate. As a result, they miss valuable opportunities to complement each other and provide all the more comprehensive supervision. In order to provide an opportunity to get to know each other, we offer a colloquium where doctoral candidates present their projects and supervisors give feedback on all presentations afterwards.
When? The next date will be announced shortly.
Where? Joseph-von-Fraunhofer-Str. 23, 44227 Dortmund, Room 1.29
This colloquium can be counted towards the final certificate instead of the regular colloquium.
Please register informally by e-mail to promotionskollegfh-dortmundde together with both supervisors. Please put your supervisor in the CC.
Further information can be found here(Opens in a new tab) .
Conferences and lecture series
The Graduate Center also addresses the public with symposia, specialist conferences and lecture series. Doctoral candidates in applied research and all those involved in promoting young researchers are particularly invited to take part in the exchange.
Fachwissen zum Mittag
Crisp presentations at lunchtime offer an overview of publication-relevant topics. The event series is open to the public and is aimed in particular at all academic staff (professors, research assistants, doctoral candidates).
DART Symposium
The Graduate Center at Fachhochschule Dortmund regularly organizes a large symposium that invites (cooperative) doctoral candidates from NRW and nationwide to network. The DART Symposium (Dortmund Applied Research and Transfer) is organized by doctoral candidates for doctoral candidates.
The next DART Symposium will take place on September 17, 2026. More information will follow soon.
Completed events
Best Practice Day 2025
As part of the "Leadership Competencies" certificate program, a public symposium on current leadership topics is held every two years. Under the motto "Next Generation Leadership - How do we lead today and what will change tomorrow?", the Graduate Center and Perspective Management at Fachhochschule Dortmund jointly hosted the Best Practice Day 2025 on 09.09.2025.
A review of the event can be found here(Opens in a new tab) .
DART Symposium 2024
On 25.04.2024, the DART Symposium took place at DASA under the title "extending theory: impact of applied research". Doctoral students and researchers were able to exchange ideas together, listen to specialist presentations and a panel discussion and view the poster exhibition of the doctoral projects.
A review of the event can be found here(Opens in a new tab) .
Interdisciplinary Research Symposium 2023
In order to strengthen interdisciplinary and international exchange, the Graduate Center, together with the Faculty of Applied Social Studies, has planned an Interdisciplinary Research Colloquium with doctoral students from the partner universities University of KwaZulu-Natal (Durban, ZA), University of Johannesburg (Johannesburg, ZA) and Midlands State University Harare (Harare, ZW) in November 2023.
Best Practice Day 2022 "Suddenly a boss"
As part of the "Leadership skills" certificate program, a public conference on current leadership topics is held every two years.