Graduate Office and ISAM

The standard doctorate, offered at our department is coordinated through the ISAM program and corresponds to the traditional doctorate in Germany. If you are interested in applying to the programs TopMath or IGDK, there are important previous steps to be taken for admission. For detailed information on these, please read the respective web pages. 

Formal requirements

• Applicants with a German degree require a higher than average degree.
• Applicants from abroad need confirmation that their degree is equivalent. For this you have to undergo a recognition procedure. This is part of the application process.

Please contact the dean's office for further information.

Application process

For an external application we recommend the direct contact with a professor in the respective field of interests. Please submit the following documents to your supervisor thoroughly, since we do not accept updates or supplemental material:

• CV
• Motivational letter
• Transcripts of records of your previous university degrees
• Certificate of your highest university degree
• 2 letters of reference (1 page each)
• BSc or MSc thesis
• Publications (if applicable)

Please consider the following before completing your application:

• Establish your research interests and areas of preference. We invite you to check up the list of our research groups and explore their current projects.
• If possible, specify an intended research topic and potential supervisors.

Once you have submitted your application, it will be evaluated by the respective professors at our department.  

Please note: Admission to the doctoral candidacy list is a formal act and does not entail any funding. Financing options are:

• Positions in one of our research groups
• Jobs as a student assistant
• Scholarships
• External funding through a work contract elsewhere, e.g. at a company or a non-university research facility (Please check the specific regulations.)

Once you have been accepted by your supervisor, you have to apply for official registration on the faculty's doctoral candidacy list. By this means to receive the status of an official doctoral candidate.

The doctoral candidacy list is managed by the dean's office, where you have to hand in your application files. Please make an appointment. If you have any questions, please contact the dean's office before. Make sure in advance that you have fulfilled the following requirements:

1. Supervision agreement

When you have discussed the topic of your dissertation and agreed on a provisional research plan with your supervisor, you are ready to fill out and sign your supervision agreement where a prospective study plan, designed according to the needs  and interests of the doctoral student are put into writing. This is an important part of any doctoral program, and is intended to provide structure and help you measure your dissertation progress. The research plan should be regularly consulted and adjusted as necessary.

In addition to your supervisor you must also choose a mentor, who must sign the supervision agreement, too. Your mentor may, but does not have to be the second supervisor of your dissertation. We highly recommend selecting a person who does not belong to the same research group as your supervisor. In this way, more neutrality is assured. Doctoral mentors can also come from an industrial branch and act as a coach who supports you with personal and professional advice. The mentor can also be added later, if you haven't found one yet. 

Please make an appointment with your favored program’s coordinator subsequently. He/she will review and also sign the supervision agreement.

2. DocGS

Applications for registration on the doctoral candidacy list must be submitted online via the platform DocGS. Please create your account as soon as possible. DocGS will accompany you through your entire doctoral process, mapping any achievement and providing necessary forms, data or instructions. You are expected to keep your doc gs account updated during your promotion.  Once you have been awarded your title, an official transcript of records will be compiled out of the data you have filled in.

After you have completed your application process with DocGS, a PDF file containing your request for registration on the doctoral candidacy list will be generated.

Check the instructions for opening a DocGS account!

3. Required Documents

Students with either German or foreign degree must contact the dean's office before submitting the documents!

Students with German degree hand in:

• Signed form of application, generated by DocGS
• Completed, signed supervision agreement
• Officially certified copy of your university diploma (no originals)
• Officially certified copy of your final university transcript (no originals)
• Official identification document

Students with foreign degree additionally submit

• Abstract of your master thesis project (or equivalent), in German or English
• List with information about your prior education (schools, university studies, etc.)
• Corresponding translation by a sworn translator for each transcript in a language other than German or English

4. TUM GS

Any student registered on the faculty's doctoral candidacy list is member of the TUM Graduate School (TUM-GS) (a minimum of two years is mandatory). Being the university-wide umbrella organization of the many graduate centers at TUM, the TUM-GS provides an interdisciplinary and international environment for your doctoral research and offers a complementary transferable skills program, as well as other services and counselling for graduate students. All mathematics graduate students must complete the basic program. A wide optional program is open to all members as well. For more details please visit TUM GS’ web page.

5. Enrollment

Being registered as a doctoral candidate on the doctoral candidacy list, you can decide whether to enrol at the TUM. Enrolling allows you to benefit from certain student discounts, but is not mandatory. To this see also the TUM enrollment informations.

According to theprior TUM doctoral regulations as well as the new TUM doctoral regulations any doctoral student has to fulfill the mandatory basic program across the promotion period:

It consists of:

• A two-year membership in the TUM-GS
• A kick-off seminar at the beginning of your doctorate
• 6 semester credit hours (SWS) of subject specific qualification
• A scientific paper or discussion of your work in the scientific community

In the supervision agreement, the doctoral student and the supervisor may declare further accomplishments to be achieved in order to create an individually tailored study program. In support of this, each graduate center offers various (mandatory and optional) courses and events.

Scientific qualification

In addition to the (mandatory and optional) academic courses organized by each graduate center, you may attend any scientific course or conference on a university level that contributes to your scientific training.

Non-scientific qualification

All doctoral candidates at TUM may participate in a varied transferable skills training. In addition, you may also attend any non-scientific course on an equal university level in order to complement your profile, e.g. provided by your graduate center.

International experience

We strongly recommend that you start building up an international network as early as possible. Travel to conferences, summer schools or research visits. These items will enrich your professional portfolio.

Interim Evaluation

Interim evaluations are conducted after one to two years of work on the dissertation. The evaluations are designed to assess progress and to help determine whether the dissertation should be continued and, if so, whether certain adjustments are necessary. You (together with your supervisor) are free to choose from the following forms of evaluation:

• A lecture open to all university staff and students
• A presentation at an academic conference
• A published scholarly article
• A written progress report

Please upload your interim evaluation together with your current supervision agreement in DocGS.

Internationalization Voucher

Following a successful interim evaluation, doctoral students may apply to TUM GS for international travel bursaries Financial support is available for

• Visiting international research facilities and research-based industries and commercial businesses abroad
• Presenting the results of your research at international conferences
• Collaborative research with international visiting scholars at the TUM

Doctoral students organizing such a project together may apply for an international travel bursary to be used by the group.

The standard amount awarded to successful applicants is €1600. Applicants planning an international visit of more than four weeks may apply for an additional €1400. Please be sure to contact your academic coordinator as early as possible in your planning!

Further information can be found here: TUM GS Internationalization rules.

Proof Reading Service

The TUM GS offers funding for all doctoral students wishing to have scholarly and scientific articles in English corrected by a professional proofreader. (Please note that this funding is available only for articles, and not for the dissertation.) To apply, please send a completed application form together with your finished article to your academic coordinator, who will then forward it to the proofreading company.

Further information can be found under Proofreading requirements.

You have to submit your thesis electronically through the DocGS platform. Please note that an upload is possible only after you have successfully completed the respective requirements.

The ensuing submission and examination process is managed and carried out by the dean's office. The ensuing submission and examination process is managed and carried out by the dean's office. You get detailed information under application.