In many structured doctoral programmes, a duration of three, sometimes even four years is given as a guideline for the duration of a degree (except in medicine, where the procedures are usually much shorter due to the different conditions pertaining). Doctoral scholarships are often awarded for two years with the possibility of an extension to three and a half years. Extensions may also be possible in the case of care commitments.

Many doctoral candidates find time management during a doctorate very challenging because they lack experience in planning and managing such a large project and unexpected challenges can arise in every project phase, which may lead to delays.

  • Clarify formal requirements and procedures at an early stage, both for acceptance as a doctoral candidate (recognition of diplomas, acquiring necessary specialist knowledge) and for graduation (submission and evaluation of your doctoral dissertation, obtaining any necessary external examiners, setting a date for the defence (disputation) if necessary, revision and publication of the thesis).
  • Clarification of mutual expectations and joint time planning with the supervisor. A supervision agreement and regular discussions with the supervisor can be very helpful.
  • Early delimitation of the research question, the methodology and the material dealt with (corpus, sample, archive material)
  • Realistic estimate of the time available for work on the doctoral dissertation , depending on the type of doctoral funding and private circumstances. For a part-time doctorate you should allow longer periods of time. If you have a doctoral position at the university, you may be very busy with teaching, research, administrative duties, etc. and therefore have less time available for your doctoral thesis.
  • Clear distinction between working hours and free time as well as sufficient time for rest and relaxation. Pursuing a doctorate alongside a full-time job can lead to becoming overburdened by excessive demands. A high intrinsic motivation for the doctorate, but also additional activities, e.g. as an academic staff member, often lead to work being done on the doctoral thesis after work, at weekends or during recreational leave. For external doctoral candidates with a career outside academia, there is often very little time available for the research project. However, you can only remain productive in the long term if you have sufficient time to relax. Writing and conceptualization tasks in particular are highly demanding and exhausting. If possible, it can be helpful to schedule the most demanding tasks for the part of the day (or week) when you are most productive and to plan less demanding activities (e.g. bibliography, excerpting…) for the rest of the day.
  • Allow buffer times, as well as sufficient time for revision, correction and final editing
  • Discuss the demands of useful further qualification elements with the supervisor. Depending on your intended career goal, professional experience in your intended professional field, committee experience, experience in teaching, conference participation and publications, stays abroad, attendance of additional workshops and courses, etc. may be useful. However, these should be in a balanced relationship to progress on the doctoral thesis.
  • React if difficulties arise. If possible, try to talk to your supervisor or someone else you trust, or seek help from one of the advisory services. If you cancel or postpone appointments with the supervisor too often because, for example, agreed interim goals have not been reached, you may run the risk of losing contact with your supervisor and ultimately also with your project.
  • Discuss things with other doctoral candidates and postdocs. Collegial support (e.g. writing group, reading circle, regular get-togethers) can be very helpful for mutual motivation and solving common challenges.