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:

• The doctoral candidate submits their thesis.
• At the next meeting of the doctoral committee, these will confirm the reviewers, to whom the thesis will then be forwarded. Typically, the reviewers are the two supervising professors.
• The reviews are prepared and submitted to the doctoral committee. If both reviews rate the thesis as "very good," a third review must be obtained to potentially award the highest grade of "summa cum laude" (with distinction).
• As soon as all reviews are received, they are made available for four weeks (in exceptional cases, a shorter period is possible).
• After this period, the doctoral committee will decide on any objections at its next meeting and set a date for the oral defense (based on previously submitted proposals). A notice period of at least 16 days, preferably three weeks, must elapse between acceptance of the thesis and the oral defense date.
• The oral defense must take place during the lecture period. An online oral defense is possible if justified. A hybrid oral defense is not possible.

The time between submission and the defense depends primarily on how long the reviewers need to evaluate the thesis and when a convenient defense date can be found during the lecture period. Furthermore, the doctoral committee only meets once a month (and not during semester breaks), which can lead to further delays and must be planned accordingly. In most cases, a 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.