{"id":14308,"date":"2024-09-05T16:31:11","date_gmt":"2024-09-05T14:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms.zdv.uni-mainz.de\/ze-gshs\/wie-finde-ich-eine-betreuungsperson\/"},"modified":"2025-11-28T12:15:25","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T11:15:25","slug":"find-a-supervisor","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/gshs.uni-mainz.de\/en\/find-a-supervisor\/","title":{"rendered":"How do I find a supervisor?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/jgu-base-pageheader>\n\n\n

In order to apply for acceptance as a doctoral candidate, you will need a confirmation of supervision<\/strong> from a person authorized<\/strong> to supervise doctoral theses at JGU in the respective subject<\/strong>. Also for the application for a GSHS research proposal scholarship<\/a><\/strong> you need a mentor<\/strong> who is authorized to supervise doctoral candidates in the desired subject. The choice of the most suitable supervisor(s)<\/strong> for you, both professionally and personally<\/strong>, is also very important for the success of your doctoral project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The choice of supervisor therefore also determines the choice of doctoral subject<\/a><\/strong> i.e. you must fulfil the subject-specific requirements for the doctorate in the subject represented by the supervisor. You can find information on this in the doctoral degree regulations<\/strong><\/a> (in German). Further advice can be had from the doctoral offices of the deaneries\/rectorates<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\n \n\n

This is formally defined in the doctoral degree regulations<\/strong><\/a> (in German). University professors and junior professors<\/strong> at JGU are generally authorized to supervise doctorates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Private lecturers <\/strong>(Privatdozent:innen<\/em> in German, abbreviation: PD) at JGU are generally also authorized to supervise doctorates. In individual cases, other persons may also be appointed as authorized examiners and thus supervisors in doctoral procedures. In case of doubt, the doctoral offices of the dean’s\/rector’s offices can also provide information on this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are two ways to find potential supervisors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JGU Directory of Staff and Institutions<\/strong><\/a> Here you will find all departments and their chairs under the heading “Faculties” (in the left bar). Professors, junior professors and, in some cases, private lecturers are listed for each chair. This directory provides a quick overview, but usually does not contain any detailed information about the main research areas etc. of the lecturers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Homepages of the institutes\/departments\/chairs<\/a><\/strong> will take you to the homepages of the individual faculties and from there to the pages of the respective institutes, departments, chairs, etc. On the personal pages of the supervisors you will find a lot of useful information on research focuses, publications, research projects etc., and in some cases also information on the doctoral projects currently or recently supervised.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/jgu-base-accordionitem>\n\n\n \n\n

If you would like to do an individual doctorate<\/a><\/strong> you can contact a supervisor you consider suitable at any time. There are no application deadlines or formal requirements (for structured programmes and collaborative projects<\/a><\/strong> other requirements may apply).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the area of individual doctorates, supervisors decide independently<\/strong> how many and which doctoral candidates they will accept for supervision. It is generally not possible to tell from the homepage, for example, whether a particular supervisor is interested in accepting (further) doctoral candidates. Similarly, there is usually no advertisement for possible doctoral topics<\/strong>. Rather, in the case of an individual doctorate, you must take the initiative yourself and consider how you can win over the supervisor for yourself and your project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It may be useful to reflect on the following questions in preparation for an initial contact\/interview<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n