Admission & Enrollment
Once you have been selected for a research assistant position, awarded a CGS scholarship - often via a letter of acceptance - or found a supervisor of the WiSo faculty otherwise, you have to formally seek admission to one of the the WiSo faculty's doctoral study programmes and then enroll as as doctoral student at the University of Cologne. Admission is carried out by the doctoral office. The ensuing, separate step of enrollment is carried out by the university administration. In case of questions during this process please contact the doctoral office (promotion@wiso.uni-koeln.de). We are also grateful for comments and suggestions on how to improve the admission process, which we are currently re-working.
First step: Admission to Doctoral Studies
To be admitted to doctoral studies at CGS, you have to provide several documents and forms. See the “Admission documents” below (and please note Section 4 of the Doctoral Regulations). After registering and entering some information on the online system Docfile, these documents are to be uploaded there. Inform us at mailto:promotion(at)wiso.uni-koeln(dot)de when you have done so. The Central Doctoral Office then checks and reviews your documents and the Doctoral Committee decides concerning admission. If you have an international degree, please also note the information provided by the International Office of the University of Cologne.
Admission Documents
Please fill in the Application for Admission to Doctoral Studies, ask your supervisor(s) to fill in and sign the Confirmation of Supervision and upload these together with the other required attachments to Docfile (as individual pdf documents).
FAQ Admission
I do not yet have my official Master's degree certificate. Can I nevertheless start the process?
Yes you can start. We can admit you provisionally for two semesters if you provide certification that you have completed all degree requirements.
Can one of my supervisors be from another institution?
In principle, yes. This person at the very least needs to be endorsed by a faculty member, most often your other supervisor. See the notes and instructions found in the supervision documents above.
Can I register for courses before admission and enrollment?
No. Admission is precondition for enrolment. Enrolment is precondition for course registration and examination. You can enroll and often register for courses in the current semester, however, even after it has started. As a rule: Start the admission and enrolment process as soon as possible.
Enrolment for a winter semester is possible from the preceding August 1st until the end of the semester. March 31st.
Enrolment for a summer semester ist possible from the preceding January 15 until the end of the semester, September 30th.
Docfile - registration of doctoral candidates
Second step: Enrollment as Doctoral Student
After you have received admission to doctoral studies by the faculty, you need to enroll as a doctoral student at the University of Cologne. After successful enrollment you can register for doctoral courses via KLIPS. You can register as a doctoral student starting from August 1st until March 31 for the winter term and from February 1st until September 30 for the summer term.
For German doctoral candidates
The Student Application and Registration Office (Studierendensekretariat) is responsible for the enrollment of doctoral candidates from Germany. Please enquire there about all the necessary documents.
For International doctoral candidates
International students must enroll at the International Office. Please consult these webpages for further information regarding the enrollment process. If you would like detailed advice, it is best to use the contact form of the International Office.