Germany - third cycle (PhD) programmes

Organisation of Doctoral Studies

The paths to a doctorate in Germany are varied. The leading model in Germany is the individual, supervised doctorate. Doctoral studies are completed at universities, around a third of them in cooperation with non-university research institutes. There is also the option of cooperative doctoral studies programmes between universities and Fachhochschulen. At present, there are just less than 100,000 doctoral students in Germany. More than 25,000 obtained their doctorate in 2010.

In order to support the up-and-coming academics,Graduiertenkollegs, financed by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft – DFG), have been set up at institutions of higher education since 1990 to provide students with the opportunity to prepare their doctorate within the framework of a systematic study programme. There are currently more than 220 Graduiertenkollegs in Germany. Since 1998, there has been a larger number of other structured cooperative forms of training for doctoral students. These include international doctoral programmes, International Max-Planck Research Schools, Graduate Schools and graduate schools (Graduiertenschulen) promoted within the framework of the Excellence Initiative of the Federation and the Länder for the Promotion of Science and Research in German Higher Education Institutions (Exzellenzinitiative des Bundes und der Länder zur Förderung von Wissenschaft und Forschung an deutschen Hochschulen).

source:
Eurypedia - The European Encyclopedia on National Education Systems
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/eurypedia_en.php