philGRAD is the graduate academy of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. philGRAD's services are open to all active doctoral candidates at our faculty. Here you will find a diverse qualification programme as well as a wide range of advisory and networking services. Please visit the philGRAD website for more information. 

A small part of philGRAD's programme is also a compulsory part of your doctoral studies: participation in a course on good scientific practice and participation in another philGRAD workshop. You can find philGRAD's current course offerings here.

Are you supervising one or more doctoral candidates at our faculty? Are you about to supervise your first doctoral candidate? Here you will find some information on the topic of supervision.

How does a doctorate work at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities?

The doctorate is divided into the following steps:

• Request to supervise a doctoral candidate and application for provisional acceptance as a doctoral candidate at the Doctoral Office
• Search for a second supervisor, preparation of an exposé, and application for final acceptance as a doctoral candidate
• Annual progress reports
• Submission of the dissertation and application for the opening of the doctoral procedure
• Review of the dissertation
• Defense (= completion of the doctoral procedure)
• Publication

What are the deadlines?

There are various deadlines during the course of a doctoral program that are also relevant for supervisors.

• Final acceptance: Doctoral candidates must submit an application for final acceptance to the doctoral office no later than one year after confirmation of their provisional acceptance, together with an exposé and a supervision agreement. A form for this application, which includes the supervision agreement, is available on this website. The primary supervisor must sign both the supervision agreement and the exposé, while the secondary supervisor must sign only the supervision agreement.
   
• Progress reports: Doctoral candidates must submit a progress report to the doctoral office once a year. These progress reports are part of the doctoral program; the deadline for submission is based on the individual date of final acceptance. Both the primary and secondary supervisors must sign the progress report. If a (digital) signature is not feasible, it is also possible to send approval of the contents of the progress report by email to the doctoral office.
   
• Preparation of the reviews: In accordance with the doctoral regulations, the reviews of a dissertation must be submitted within three months (if possible). The reviews can simply be submitted to the doctoral office.
   
• Display period/notification period: The dissertation and both reviews will be displayed for (at least) two weeks. When planning the date of the defense, please also note that the date must be communicated to the Doctoral Office in good time so that the notification period specified in the doctoral regulations (at least two weeks in advance) can be observed. Doctoral candidates must therefore inform the Doctoral Office of the date of the defense at least three weeks in advance—preferably earlier.
   
• Publication: Graduates must provide evidence that they have published their dissertation no later than three years after completing their doctoral studies. Among other things, this requires a so-called print approval, which must be signed by the primary supervisor. A form for print approval is also available on this website.

How do I deal with (external) supervision requests?

You will repeatedly be asked whether you would like to supervise a doctoral project—either by students at HHU Düsseldorf, whom you may already know from their bachelor's and/or master's studies, or by students who have obtained their degrees at other universities in Germany or abroad.

Consider whether the planned topic of the doctoral project interests you and fits your research profile, whether you have the capacity to supervise (another) doctoral candidate, and whether the planned doctoral project has sufficient substance for an independent academic achievement.

You may also want to check which department the prospective doctoral candidate comes from, what academic background they have, and whether they have the necessary language skills, methodological knowledge, etc.

You may be asked by the doctoral office to write a statement so that the doctoral committee can decide whether previous academic achievements and degrees can be recognized, whether conditions need to be formulated, etc.

How is supervision formally structured?

At our faculty, doctoral theses are supervised by two supervisors, whereby only the primary supervisor must come from the doctoral subject area, while the secondary supervisor may also come from another subject area, another (domestic or foreign) university, etc. This allows for supervision that is individually tailored to the doctoral thesis topic. Please feel free to advise your doctoral students on the choice of secondary supervisor.

As part of the final acceptance as a doctoral candidate, a supervision agreement is also concluded between the doctoral candidates and both supervisors, which regulates the basics of doctoral supervision. The annual progress reports are another measure laid down in the doctoral regulations to support regular exchange between the doctoral candidates and both supervisors.

What is the purpose of the supervision agreement?

The supervision agreement concluded between the doctoral candidate, the primary supervisor, and the secondary supervisor as part of the final acceptance process creates obligations. On the one hand, it serves to ensure transparent communication, set common goals, and structure the doctoral period (work schedule and timetable). On the other hand, the supervision agreement ensures the quality of supervision and helps to clarify mutual expectations regarding the doctoral project, the supervisory relationship, etc. 

What is the purpose of progress reports?

Regular discussions about the status of the doctoral program must be recorded once a year in the form of a progress report and submitted to the doctoral office. Here, too, transparency plays an important role. The progress reports provide a good basis for adequate academic support and for ensuring the quality of supervision. If a doctoral candidate is not doing so well—whether on an academic level or in other areas of life—then the progress meetings certainly also help to better assess certain situations, search for solutions together, and adjust work and time schedules accordingly. 

Can supervisors be changed?

Yes, this is formally possible. Doctoral candidates can apply for such a change in accordance with § 4 (7) of the doctoral regulations. The chair of the doctoral committee decides on the application.

What should I do if things aren't going so well?

Most supervisors have probably found themselves in this situation at some point: work on the dissertation is progressing slowly, there is tension in the supervisory relationship, communication is difficult, or the topic of the dissertation has evolved to such an extent that it no longer fits with your own research focus.

The first thing to do is to talk to your doctoral candidate. If you feel it would be appropriate, you may want to invite other people to join the conversation. Clearly articulate your expectations, suggestions, ideas, etc., and listen attentively. Such a conversation can, of course, also take place in the context of a progress report.

Feel free to seek support from the philGRAD Graduate Academy before, during, or after the meeting. Among other things, meetings can also be moderated by philGRAD colleagues.

If, in your opinion, supervision is no longer possible, the final step would be to withdraw your commitment to supervise. In this case, please contact the Doctoral Office.

What information and advice is available for supervisors?

The philGRAD Graduate Academy has created a separate page for supervisors. In addition to events for supervisors, you will also find a wealth of further information and guidelines on the subject of doctoral supervision.

The Doctoral Office and/or philGRAD also offer to attend your master's colloquia and provide information about the possibility of pursuing a doctorate at our faculty. Of course, we will respond individually to your wishes and the questions of the participants. If you are interested, please contact the Doctoral Office!

Enrollment

As soon as you have been provisionally admitted as a doctoral candidate, you may enroll. But please note: no later than upon your final admission as a doctoral candidate, you must remain continuously enrolled until you complete your doctorate.

Enrollment is a separate process carried out and administered by the Central Student and Examination Administration of Heinrich Heine University.

You may choose to enroll either as a doctoral student or as a doctoral auditor. You can find information about the differences between these two enrollment options during the doctoral phase, as well as further details about the enrollment process, here. 

Leave of Absence

An official interruption of the doctoral process while maintaining your doctoral status is unfortunately not possible. However, in certain verifiable life circumstances, you may apply for an official leave of absence - affecting your enrollment status - through the Student Administration. If such a leave of absence is granted, please be sure to inform the Doctoral Office as well so that deadlines can be adjusted if necessary. 

Special Regulations

If particular life circumstances temporarily or permanently prevent you from pursuing your doctorate in accordance with the provisions of the Doctoral Regulations, §7 of the Doctoral Regulations outlines the required procedure. Upon request, your doctoral process can be adapted to the general regulations.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Doctoral Office.

Science and research thrive on exchange - including, of course, across borders. That is why we are happy to support you if you would like to pursue your doctorate in an international environment.

We also welcome international doctoral candidates to find out more about the opportunities for doctoral study at our faculty.

Further information can be found here.