phd electrical engineering germany

PhD in Electrical Engineering

What is the next step after your studies? Get a job, start your own business, or go for an academic career?

Your decision depends on many - and also personal - goals and circumstances. We as a university offer you the next level on your way into academia with a PhD in electrical engineering ("Dr.-Ing.") .

A PhD is not only mandatory for many teaching activities in higher education, but can serve as a door opener and insurance in business.

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering offers a wide range of topics and projects for your PhD work. If you are interested, please contact  the heads of our departments directly.

Special Information for Non-Germans

The "german system".

In Germany, the Dr.-Ing. degree represents a high academic degree, that has a world-wide reputation. It is pursued following the successful completion of a Master’s degree (or an equivalent academic degree) at an internationally recognized university, and it is considered a prerequisite for an academic career. The main focus in doctoral studies lies on research, culminating in the writing of a Phd thesis.

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau offers a so-called " individual research"  doctoral option ( "Promotion" ): Pursuing a "Promotion" by conducting individual research means that you have to find a professor in our department who is willing and able to act as a supervisor. If you have found a supervisor you will join his / her research group for about 3-5 years.

In many cases you are paid for this work and get a qualifying position as a research assistant or a scholarship. Alternatively, you can apply for a PhD scholarship ( "Promotionsstipendium" ) e.g. by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) or other institutions.

Apply for a PhD

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering offers an individual research and project-based doctoral research training in the field of Electrical and Computer Engineering. It does not offer a "taught" and structured program as common as in other countries.

In a very first step you should identify your specific field of research interest for your doctoral project.

In a second step you should compare your research interest to the actually conducted research projects in our department. Check out our website for getting an overview about the branches of specialization and running research projects.

If you find a working group / research field that is of interest for you, you can directly contact the respective professor.

Please keep in mind that the professors generally receive a large number of applications. You can have a competitive advantage if you positively match into the research profile of the respective working or research group and if you send informative and concise documents about your prior learning and research experience.

Regulations & Downloads

• Regulations for the Award of the Doctoral Degree "Promotionsordnung" (PDF)  (German)
• Respective law (German)
• Whitepaper "Was bringt der Dr.-Ing.?" vom VDE (PDF)  (German)

Conferral of Doctorates at Faculty IV

The doctorate is the acquisition of the doctoral degree at an institution of higher education within the framework of an examination procedure that is regulated at the TU Berlin by doctoral regulations common to all faculties. This scientific work makes an important contribution to the development of the latest scientific findings and to their transfer and application in practice.

There are various ways to earn a doctorate at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science: as a research assistant, within structured doctoral programs, or as an external doctorate. The requirements and the examination performance in the form of the dissertation with the scientific defense are the same for all doctoral candidates.

TU Berlin Doctoral Regulations

Doctoral Degrees at our Faculty

• Doktor*in der Ingenieurwissenschaften (Dr.-Ing.) - for doctorates with a focus on engineering
• Doktor*in der Naturwissenschaften (Dr. rer. nat.) - for doctorates with a focus on mathematics and the natural sciences

► Which doctoral degree is suitable for me?

The right doctoral degree for your doctorate, "Dr.-Ing." or "Dr. rer. nat.", depends on the subject focus of your doctoral thesis, but not on the subject focus of your university degree.

Requirements

• Master’s degree from a university or a university of applied sciences or a degree of a similar level (Diplom, Magister, Staatsexamen) in the subject area of the respective doctoral degree.
• Diploma graduates from a German Fachhochschule are admitted to gaining a doctoral degree, if their final grade is above average (at least "good") and they have passed the assessment examinations (Feststellungsprüfungen).

► In terms of content

• successful completion of a research paper (doctoral thesis)
• passed oral exam (scientific defense)

Doctoral Examination Procedure: Information & Important Forms

Application as a doctoral candidate.

As at most universities, at the Technische Universität Berlin you first need a written confirmation of supervision from your doctoral supervisor . As soon as you have received such a confirmation from a professor of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, you can apply as a doctoral candidate.

In order to get clarity and certainty about the doctoral requirements of the faculty at an early stage, you should apply as a doctoral candidate in good time . The faculty then decides whether to accept or reject your declaration of intent and at the same time specifies any requirements for additional study and examination achievement. For example, additional study and examination requirements may be imposed on candidate with degrees from other disciplines or from foreign countries.

In addition, the supervisor and the doctoral candidate document their mutual expectations and obligations by concluding a doctoral agreement . This includes, in particular, the mutual commitment to the guidelines for ensuring good scientific practice at the TU Berlin, which are based on the recommendations of the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG), as well as the recognition of the characteristics that are considered fundamental within the TU Berlin for a good supervisory and working relationship in the context of a doctorate.

You can submit your application at any time at our Faculty Service Center. Please use the following two forms:

• Application as a Doctoral Candidate (Dr.-Ing. / Dr. rer. nat.)
• Supervision Agreement

Admission to the Doctoral Examination Procedure

Once you have completed your doctoral thesis, you can apply to commence the doctoral examination procedure . In this application you propose, among other things, the preferred evaluators. You can also propose a name for the chair of the doctoral examination board.

Please consider the requirements of the TU Berlin Doctoral Regulations as well as the Guidelines for Writing Dissertations at Faculty IV   and our binding deadlines , both listed further down on this web page under "Important Information at a Glance".

Important forms:

• Application to Commence the Doctoral Procedure - new TU Berlin Doctoral Regulations

Information sheets and forms for dual doctorates / cotutelle de thèse are available at the Faculty Service Center.

Scientific Defense

As soon as the doctoral examination procedure has been commence by the Faculty Board and all the evaluations have been submitted to the Faculty Service Center, the scientific defense follows.

The scientific defense is open to the university public and it takes place in the presence of the doctoral candidate and all members of the doctoral examination board.

It is divided into two parts:

• Presentation by the doctoral candidate about the dissertation (30 minutes)
• Discussion with the evaluators on the subject discipline of the dissertation (60 to 90 minutes).

According to § 8 (1) of the new TU Berlin Doctoral Regulations, doctoral candidates of Faculty IV are allowed to inspect the evaluators' reports prior to the scientific defense. For this purpose a request for inspection can be submitted.

Legal regulations & guidelines:

• Guidance for the Organization of Scientific Defenses using Videoconferencing – NEW TU Berlin Doctoral Regulations
• Guidance for the Organization of Scientific Defenses using Videoconferencing – OLD TU Berlin Doctoral Regulations

Publication

After the scientific defense, you are obliged to make the dissertation version approved by the doctoral examination board (including any modifications requested by the doctoral examination board) available to the scientific public within twelve months (extension only in exceptional cases upon request).

Find out about the three possible forms of publication on the website of the University Library Dissertation Service :

    1 printed copy + online publication on DepositOnce or

    15 printed copies in classic dissertation printing or

    3 publisher's copies

Choose one of these and follow the steps in the relevant checklist. If you have any questions, please contact the dissertation office directly: dissertationen(at)ub.tu-berlin.de .

If it is a cumulative dissertation, further information , including copyright, must be observed.

You will receive a certificate of receipt from the University Library Dissertation Service after publication has been completed. This is usually also sent directly to the faculty service center and is a prerequisite for receiving the doctoral certificate.

Important Information at a Glance

Legal regulations & guidelines:.

• Guidelines for writing doctoral theses at Faculty IV
• Regulations for cumulative theses

Binding Deadlines

Submission of doctoral theses & applications for admission to the doctoral examination procedure (always by 12:00 noon):

• until Wednesday, October 2, 2024
• until Wednesday, October 30, 2024
• until Wednesday, November 27, 2024
• until Wednesday, January 8, 2025
• until Wednesday, February 5, 2025
• until Wednesday, March 5, 2025
• until Wednesday, March 26, 2025
• more dates to follow
• Center for Junior Scholars (CJS)
• virtuelles Kolleg ProMotion (German)
• Scientific Continuing Education and Cooperation (ZEWK)
• Introduction session for new doctoral students February 2023

Good Scientific Practice

• Statute on the Safeguarding of Good Academic Practice at TU Berlin
• Investigation Commission for Scientific Misconduct

After your Doctorate

Dissertation awards.

• Deutscher Studienpreis - Körber Stiftung ( partially in English, since currently in translation )
• Tiburtius-Preis - Preis der Berliner Hochschulen

Completed Doctorates

Doctorates completed at Faculty IV can be found here:

• Dissertation Database TU Berlin
• Doctorates from 2021

Consultation & Contact

Office for doctoral affairs.

The Office for Doctoral Affairs is part of the Faculty Service Center

• your basic contact for questions concerning your doctorate and 
• responsible for all organizational questions and tasks in the context of your entire doctoral process

Please always contact Jana Peich directly if you have any questions.

[email protected]

+49 30 314-22229

Ombudspersons for Doctorates

►► PLEASE NOTE first: Our ombudspersons are NOT available for organizational tasks related to your doctorate, here  please always contact Jana Peich, Office for Doctoral Affairs , contact information see above.

Our ombudspersons are there to

• help you with non-subject-related problems, conflicts of interest and problematic co-authorships , for example
• promote the cooperation between Faculty IV and the  Center for Junior Scholars at TU Berlin (CJS) , central institution for the advancement of junior scholars at TU Berlin
• participate in introductory events of the CJS and spread the word about education offers, scholarships and further news.

Marianne Maertens

[email protected]

+49 30 314-24478

Prof. Dr. habil.

Ombudsperson for Doctorates

[email protected]

+49 30 314-25154

Michel Steuwer

[email protected]

+49 30 314-25102