Graduation & Doctoral degree certificate
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To receive your doctoral degree certificate and/or be able to attend a doctoral awards ceremony the following steps have to be taken in this exact order:
- Doctoral examination
- Approval of the doctorate by the Department Conference
- Notification by the department of doctorates approved at the Department Conference to the Doctoral Administration
- Delivery by mail of the provisional confirmation of your doctorate by the Doctoral Administration
- Submission of deposit copies
(deadline: maximum 3 months from the date of the Department Conference) - E-mail from the Doctoral Administration with the definitive confirmation of the doctoral title. From now on you are officially allowed to use the doctoral title!
- Presentation of the doctoral degree certificate at the doctoral awards ceremony
Case 1 (positive)
If you pass your doctoral examination, your thesis will normally be approved at the next Department Conference.
Case 2 (negative)
If you do not pass your oral examination or your thesis is sent back for revision, the chairman of the Examination Committee will inform you in writing of what you have to do next and will tell you the deadline for revising the doctoral thesis or retaking the examination.
These deadlines must be within no more than 6 months.
After the Department Conference, the Doctoral Administration will issue and send you the provisional confirmation of your doctorate. You will also be dematriculated on this date.
Please note:
Once the thesis has been approved by the Department Conference, the title and content may no longer be changed!
Dates of the Department Conferences
A doctoral awards ceremony at which doctoral degree certificates are presented takes place four times a year.
Registration for the doctoral awards ceremony is only possible after submission of the deposit copies. The links for the online registration for the ceremony will be sent by e-mail to the graduates concerned approximately 6 weeks before the doctoral awards ceremony. The dates can be found in the table further up on this page.
The dates of the awards ceremonies are published in the Academic calendar and the events calendar
Pictures of the awards ceremony: external page Picture gallery Alumni Association
If you have questions concerning administrative issues related to the final part of your doctorate (e.g., doctoral exam, confirmation of the doctoral degree, submission of the deposit copies, doctoral awards ceremony) visit our Q&A webinar on 15 January 2025.