To apply for acceptance as a doctoral candidate to the respective faculty or rectorate, you must specify a doctoral subject and you will need to have confirmation of supervision from a supervisor in the subject area specified.

Also, when applying for a GSHS research proposal scholarship you must indicate a doctoral subject that is offered at JGU.

In many cases, the choice of supervisor and doctoral subject will be based on your previous qualifications and your study topic.

Prospective doctoral candidates who come from another university/higher education institution, possibly also from abroad, are often faced with the problem of knowing in which subjects a doctorate at JGU is possible. You can find a list of doctoral fields at JGU in the individual regulations and procedures governing the doctorate (in German). The admission requirements for the individual subjects are also specified there (e.g. relevant degree, specific language proficiency). Please note that a supervisor’s authorisation to supervise is only valid for the subject(s) represented by the supervisor. If you would like to do a doctorate in a subject in which you do not have a relevant master’s degree or equivalent, you will require clarification in advance of whether your acceptance as a doctoral candidate in this subject is possible and which evidence you may still have to provide in order to prove equivalence with a relevant master’s degree.

Information on these formal questions relating to admission to a doctorate can be obtained from the Dean’s Offices or Rectorates.

Where your doctorate may be possible in several subjects, e.g. in the case of interdisciplinary projects, you should consider (possibly together with your potential supervisor or other academics in whom you have confidence) which disciplinary orientation makes the most sense for your project.

Your choice of doctoral subject is an important step that will influence how your project is received in the respective specialisation. Especially if you want to stay in academia, the choice of your doctoral subject will also determine how your thesis topic, and thus your qualification, will be perceived and in which specialision you will be positioned.