Application
The registration in the doctoral candidacy list marks the official start of your doctoral studies. At the same time, your membership in the TUM Graduate School and the Graduate Center of Engineering and Design begins.
To apply for registration in the doctoral candidacy list, you must submit an application via the DocGS online platform (https://www.docgs.tum.de/). You can log in to DocGS with your TUM ID. If you do not yet have a TUM ID, please contact your professor or chair.
You must generate and submit the application for entry in the doctoral candidacy list in DocGS. We recommend that you print out the application, sign the original, and have it signed by your supervisor as well. Verifiable digital signatures in the PDF form are also possible.
We also recommend that you and your supervisor sign the original GC-ED supervision agreement. Verifiable digital signatures in the PDF form are also possible here.
If you apply with a foreign degree, please have a look at the TUM site on the document requirements for application.
Please refer to our information sheet for details on the additional documents required.
Send all documents either by mail to: TUM School of Engineering and Design, Graduate Center, Boltzmannstraße 15, 85748 Garching b. München, or hand in all documents in Garching, usually on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. in room MW 0025, or on the main campus, usually on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. in room 4139.
Supervision agreement | Supervisors
The supervision agreement supports you and your supervisor in planning and carrying out your doctoral studies by guiding the content and schedule of your doctoral project, as well as the most important key points at the beginning of your doctoral studies. The document also clarifies mutual rights and obligations and sets out key areas of qualification and verifiable milestones. The elements contained in the supervision agreement can and should be adapted and modified as your dissertation project progresses. The supervision agreement also serves as the basis for feedback discussions with your supervisor and should be updated at the latest during these discussions.
Generally, your supervisor is a university lecturer / appointed professor at the TUM School of Engineering and Design, authorized to conduct examinations. Secondary supervisors are also possible. In accordance with § 10 (3) of the TUM doctoral regulations, the supervisor should be appointed as the primary examiner of the dissertation upon request.
A second supervisor must always be included in the supervision agreement if the dissertation is being written in cooperation with a University of Applied Sciences or a foreign university, following the conclusion of a joint supervision agreement.
Suppose your supervisor is due to retire within the next two years. In that case, you must also name a second supervisor from among the TUM School of Engineering and Design's faculty members who are authorized to conduct examinations and who are expected to remain employed by TUM for the entire duration of your doctoral studies.
Suppose the dissertation addresses an interdisciplinary research topic that necessitates a second supervisor at TUM or another university in Germany or abroad for optimal supervision. In such cases, this is possible upon request in exceptional circumstances. However, it must be noted in the supervision agreement that the TUM doctoral regulations do not confer any examination rights for the dissertation on the second supervisor.
Mentor
There are two formal things to note about the mentorship:
- The mentor is familiar with academic work and can usually prove this through a doctorate.
- The mentor has to sign the supervision agreement.
If possible, the mentor should be an independent person who does not belong to the doctoral candidate's professorship or research group. It is possible to add a mentor within six months of registration on the supervision agreement. In this case, the supervision agreement must be signed again by all parties involved and submitted to the GC-ED. If you have any questions about mentoring, find out more here.
We strongly advise you to nominate the mentor with the application for registration on the doctoral candidate's list. They should be involved from the beginning in the supervision agreement and the research. If this is not successful, you must re-register the mentor on your own responsibility no later than 6 months after registration in the doctoral list and update the supervision agreement. To do this, submit an application via DocGS.
Exposé
The exposé should explain the research project's problem, state of knowledge, methodology, goals, and hypotheses, as well as a realistic timetable with milestones of the work.
It should be uploaded to DocGS at the beginning, if possible, but no later than six months.
The supervisor must sign it.
You can find a template under Downloads and Links.