Doctoral programme guide Formal steps for beginning your doctorate

Each of the 13 academic faculties of Heidelberg University independently regulates and governs doctoral training and is responsible for admitting and registering its own doctoral researchers.

The formal procedures that you must carry out depend on whether you choose individual doctoral training or a structured doctoral program.

Important note

Please be aware that the Graduate Academy and other University offices are not able to make contact with potential supervisors on your behalf.

Visa requirements and applications

If you need a visa to travel to Germany, please refer to our webpage Regulations for entering and living in Germany.

Regulations for entering and living in Germany

How to begin your doctoral training

Step 1

Finding a supervisor

This is the first and most crucial step towards your doctoral training. Without a supervisor, you cannot pursue your doctoral training at Heidelberg University. You can search through the different faculty and institutes websites the professor or research group that match your research interests and contact them. Be aware also about the language requirements for writing your dissertation.

Step 2

Doctoral agreement

The doctoral agreement is the first step towards applying for admission as a doctoral candidate in your faculty. In the doctoral agreement, the doctoral supervisor and the doctoral candidate set down the framework of the doctoral project including the duration of the project, the reporting schedule, the resources that are to be made available, any additional qualifications the doctoral candidate should attain etc.

Step 3

Registration in heiDOCS

Applying for admission to the faculty needs to start as early as possible at the beginning of your doctoral training. You must begin the procedure by creating your own heiDOCS Online Doctoral File which will accompany you until the completion of your doctoral journey.

Step 4

Admission to the faculty

Once your first registration in heiDOCS is completed, you will be required to submit further documents to the doctoral office at your faculty. Review the specific document checklist—including degree proofs, exposé, and supervisor letter—and learn about validity periods and extension rules for both individual and structured programs.

Step 5

Enrollment

Enrollment is legally mandatory for all doctoral candidates in Baden-Württemberg. Immediately after you have been admitted to your faculty as a doctoral candidate, you must enroll at the university. You are required to remain enrolled at the university throughout your entire doctoral training until you have completed your thesis defense.

Additional steps according to your doctoral training stage

Procedure for Changing your Enrollment Status at Heidelberg University

Changing your Enrollment status

You may need to apply to the enrollment office to change your enrollment status if you recently finish a master’s degree at Heidelberg University and are going to continue on immediately to begin your doctoral training in Heidelberg, or if you originally enrolled “in preparation for doctoral training” and now you have your admission to the Faculty.

Exmatriculation is the termination of your enrollment at Heidelberg University

Terminating your Enrollment

You are required to terminate your enrollment at Heidelberg University at the end of the semester in which you pass your doctoral thesis defense (Disputation/Rigorosum). We recommend that you officially apply for Exmatriculation rather than ending your enrollment simply by not re-enrolling for the following semester. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions that are not answered.