First Steps

In the Faculty of Humanities, you can choose from over 40 subjects in which to pursue a doctorate. The Faculty of Humanities at Universität Hamburg awards the qualification Dr. phil.; the Department of Protestant Theology awards the qualification Dr. theol..

Please see the Faculty of Humanities’ doctoral degree regulations of 16 July 2025 (PDF in English to follow) to determine whether you fulfill the criteria for doing a doctorate. You can read an unofficial version, including amendments, on our website.

Topic and supervision

Your doctoral work begins with the search for a topic. Check whether the topic is relevant to research and if research has already been conducted on this issue.

You will also need a supervisory commitment in writing and/or confirmation of support from the supervising committee if you are doing a doctorate within the framework of a structured doctoral program. Supervisors can be:

a full-time university teacher in the Faculty of Humanities;
a researcher who has done a Habilitation;
a professor emeritus and/or retired university teacher in the Faculty of Humanities.

Independent vs. structured doctoral work

There are two ways of completing a doctorate in the Faculty of Humanities:

you can do a doctorate within the framework of a graduate school or
pursue independent doctoral work.

Both types of doctoral work can lead to a Dr. phil. or Dr. theol. In the Faculty of Humanities but they are organized differently.

Structured work within a graduate school

If you pursue a doctorate within a structured program, you are also a member of the graduate school in the Faculty of Humanities. The Humanities Doctoral Program is open to all doctoral researchers in the faculty providing they are not also members in another, externally funded research training group. In addition to courses in the subject and imparting transferable skills, the graduate school has other benefits:

interdisciplinary and international qualification and networking opportunities
binding supervisory standards maintained by a supervisory committee
improved time management
opportunities to request financial aid for materials or travel
provision of a transcript of records after concluding doctoral studies

Have you already been admitted for doctoral study and do you want to switch to a structured program?

No problem! You can become a member of the Humanities Doctoral Program at any time.

Find a second supervisor.
Apply to the doctoral studies office for the appointment of a supervisory committee for enrollment into the doctoral program. Include the supervisory commitment from the second doctoral supervisor with your application.
After your application has been approved, fill out a new supervisory agreement with both supervisors of the supervisory committee and submit them to the doctoral studies office of the Faculty of Humanities.
Then send the following documents via email to doktorandenkolleg.gw"AT"uni-hamburg.de so you can be accepted as a member to the Humanities Doctoral Program:(doktorandenkolleg.gw"AT"uni-hamburg.de)
- scanned copy of your admission to doctoral studies
- scanned copy of the supervisory commitment with the supervisory committee
- an approximately half-page abstract of your doctoral project (in German and/or English)
- your Universität Hamburg email
Please notify the doctoral studies office after you have been accepted. This also applies if you withdraw from the graduate school.

Doing a doctorate independently

If you opt to do a doctorate independently, you will complete your doctoral dissertation outside the doctoral program structure. As a rule, you also have a supervisor if doing a doctorate independently; this person is then your main contact.

While this form of doctoral studies offers a great deal of flexibility, it also requires a high degree of self-initiative and responsibility. Fixed-term scholarships or employment also require you to plan the time you need for your doctoral work on your own.