In order to be able to enrol in the doctoral programme at the Student Administration Office, you need the form "Einschreibung als Studierende/r zum Zwecke der Promotio" from the Doctoral Degree Examination Board, which you can find as a pre-printed form under "Forms of the Doctoral Degree Examination Office".

Please enter your personal data (name, address, email and telephone number) in the form. Furthermore, you need a written confirmation of sponsorship from two supervisors wich are university professors of the University of Wuppertal. Your two supervisors confirm this with their signature on this form.

Then please submit this form with the required documents to the doctoral office. A list of the documents to be submitted can be found in the "Forms of the Doctoral Degree Examination Office". You are also welcome to send your documents in advance by e-mail to promotionsausschuss[at]wiwi.uni-wuppertal.de. The certified documents can be submitted by post, by internal mail or in person during office hours in the Doctoral Degree Examination Office.

The Doctoral Degree Examination Board then decides on your admission and informs you of the decision, possibly in connection with conditions you still have to fulfil.

After successful admission, you will then have the opportunity to enrol in the doctoral degre programme at the Student Administration Office.

Link to the homepage of the Student Administration Office

After successful enrolment, you can start your doctoral degree studies. During your doctoral degree studies, you will regularly attend the doctoral colloquia of your supervisor. This participation will be certified by your supervisor.

In addition, proof of successful participation in at least three different doctoral seminars designated by the Schumpeter School Board must be submitted before the opening of the doctoral examination process. A list of the recognised doctoral seminars can be found on the following page.

Link to the Doctoral Seminars

Re-registering(until semester 8)

Like all students at the University of Wuppertal, doctoral students pay the regular semester fee. Information on this can be found on the pages of the Student Administration Office under the keyword "Beitragszahlung".

Re-registering (Semester 9 - 12)

In addition to the regular re-registration and payment of semester fees, the following applies: According to the current enrolment regulations of the University of Wuppertal, doctoral students can be enrolled until the end of the semester in which they receive their doctoral certificate, but for a maximum of eight semesters.

After the eighth semester, an extension of up to four further semesters is possible. For this purpose, written proof of the need for further enrolment by the supervisor must be submitted to the Student Administration Office, or to the International Student Administration Office in the case of foreign students, by the end of the re-registration period at the latest.

The Centre for Graduate Studies (ZGS) provides a form for this purpose for re-registration after the eighth semester.

Re-registering (after the 12th semester)

Enrolment as a doctoral student beyond the twelfth semester requires the submission of a written statement from the responsible Doctoral Degree Examinations Board for each re-registration. This must also be submitted to the Student Administration Office, or to the International Student Administration Office in the case of foreign students, by the end of the relevant re-registration period at the latest.

The Centre for Graduate Studies (ZGS) provides a form for this purpose for re-registration after the twelfth semester.

At the end of your doctoral studies, you apply for the opening of your doctoral examination process to the Doctoral Degree Examination Board. Please refer to your doctoral regulations or the correspondig form for a list of all documents and certificates to be submitted.

You have the option of informing the Doctoral Degree Examination Board of the composition of your doctoral examination committee in consultation with your supervisor. Please contact the members you wish to appoint beforehand and obtain the consent of the potential members. This will help you avoid misunderstandings. If you are unsure about the composition, please contact your supervisor.

When preparing and submitting a cumulative dissertation, please observe the instructions in the doctoral regulations that apply to you. A cumulative dissertation consists of several individual scientific contributions. In order for the dissertation to be accepted by the Doctoral Degree Examination Board, it is mandatory to supplement these scientific contributions or articles with a separate manuscript at the time of submission, in which their scientific context is explained in writing. The separate manuscript must be directly recognisable as such for third parties and bear a title such as "Summary/presentation of the scientific context according to §12(4)".

The Doctoral Degree Examination Board decides on the opening of the doctoral examination process, appoints the chair and informs the members of the examination committee and you accordingly.

With the successful opening of your doctoral examination, the committee work begins. Your dissertation will be reviewed and examined, the committee members and also you will be informed about the reviews. Once the reviews have been accepted, the committee determines the grade of the dissertation and you receive an appointment for the oral examination in the form of a disputation. After the oral examination, the examination committee decides whether it has been passed and determines the overall grade. 

You must then publish your dissertation. There are various options available to you for this purpose; you will find more detailed information on this in the doctoral regulations that apply to you.

Once the publication of your dissertation has been secured, your doctoral certificate will be issued and handed over to you.

With the receipt of your doctoral certificate, you are now entitled to use the title of "Doktor der Wirtschaftswissenschaft" (Dr. rer. oec.).

Congratulations!