Current dissertations

Below are some tips for the doctoral registration and defense processes at the EUF.

Registration for a doctoral thesis:

Registration for a doctoral thesis requires a doctoral proposal (usually 5-10 pages), a working title, and a confirmation of supervision from the first supervisor, who must have the right to administer doctoral thesis at the EUF. The final title of the doctorate, as well as any other possible second and third supervisors, must be determined only upon submission of the dissertation. Registration for a doctoral thesis can be made at any time.
You can begin your doctoral studies before registering for the doctoral thesis. However, registration/enrollment is required for submission. Due to the semester fees, registration at the start of the semester in March or September may be advantageous.

Regarding the process and deadlines for the doctoral thesis submission and defense/defense:

Once you have completed your dissertation, you can submit your application for admission to the doctoral examination. The following documents must be submitted together with the application:

• Three identical, bound copies of your dissertation in accordance with the provisions of § 13 (2) - (6) of the doctoral regulations
• Three anonymized copies of the dissertation in electronic form (e.g., SD card, USB stick, or CD-ROM)
• A current, simple police clearance certificate ("polizeiliches Führungszeugnis") for private individuals (not the one for authorities)
• Proof of enrollment as a doctoral student in accordance with § 12 of the doctoral regulations.

You can download the application for admission to the doctoral examination under “Forms/Downloads” at https://www.uni-flensburg.de?40793. Please fill it out and submit it together with the attachments specified therein to the central administration of the doctoral committees responsible for all doctoral committees at the EUF (the address is included in the application form).

This is the timeline for submitting a dissertation

• Doctoral candidates submit their work.
• At the next meeting of the doctoral committee, the reviewers are confirmed and the thesis is forwarded to them. As a rule, the reviewers are the two supervising professors. (Depending on the agreement, the reviewers can already begin evaluating the digital thesis sent in advance while the thesis is being sent to them.)
• If both reviews rate the work as “excellent/summa cum laude,” a third review must be obtained at the next doctoral committee meeting in order to be able to award a possible final rating of “summa cum laude” (with distinction).
• Once all reviews are available, they will be displayed for 4 weeks (in exceptional cases, this period may be shorter).
• After this period, the doctoral committee will decide on any objections at its next meeting and set a date for the defense (based on previously submitted proposals). There must be a minimum of 16 days, preferably 3 weeks, between acceptance of the thesis and the date of the defense.
• The defense must take place during the lecture period. An online defense is possible if justified. A hybrid defense is not possible. The defense consists of a presentation lasting no longer than 45 minutes, followed by a discussion in which the candidate places the results of the dissertation in the context of the academic discipline. The defense lasts a total of at least 90 minutes and no longer than 120 minutes. It should take place during the lecture period (deviations from this rule are only possible in justified exceptional cases).

The time between submission and defense depends in particular on how long the reviewers need to evaluate the thesis and when a suitable defense date can be found for everyone during the lecture period. In addition, the faculty's doctoral committee only meets once a month (and not during the semester break), which can lead to further delays and should be taken into account when planning. In most cases, the defense takes place 3-6 months after submission.

To download the criteria list for cumulative dissertations in the field of energy sciences please click the pdf-document attached below.

Please note, that this document is an unofficial translation of the senate resolution of May 11, 2022: https://www.uni-flensburg.de/fileadmin/content/portal/die-universitaet/dokumente/satzungen/weitere-satzungen/kriterienliste-fuer-kumulative-dissertationen-im-bereich-energiewissenschaften.pdf.