Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - School of Business and Economics

Once you have completed your doctoral thesis, submit your application for the initiation of the doctoral examination to the Graduate Office of the School of Business and Economics.

Required documents

• [06-F01] application for initiation of the doctoral examination incl. proposal for the composition of the Doctoral Degree Committee

• Doctoral thesis as a printed copy and in electronic form (pdf file). Please include the following in your thesis:
  • [07-M02] title page
  • [07-M01] statements on independence and resources and, if applicable, on the cumulative dissertation
  • summary of the doctoral thesis in English or German (max. 1 page)
• up-to-date CV in English or German

• current enrolment or registration document (Please note that you must be enrolled or registered as a doctoral candidate until the day of the disputation.)

• Have requirements been imposed on admission to the doctoral studies? If yes, proof of fulfillment required.

• Is a cumulative dissertation being submitted and have the relevant regulations been deviated from? If yes, additional justification required.

• Is the doctorate part of a structured doctoral programme? If yes, proof of successful completion of the programme curriculum required.

Application procedure

1. Please contact the Graduate Office around 3 months before the planned submission of the application to initiate the doctoral examination. In this way, it can be clarified at an early stage whether all requirements are met or whether (e.g. in the case of external reviewers) the Doctoral Degree Board may need to be involved.
2. As soon as your dissertation is ready to be printed, please fill out the application form COMPLETELY and compile ALL the required documents. (Only complete applications will be processed!)
3. Please contact the Graduate Office by e-mail. You will then receive an HU-Box link. Please upload your digital dissertation and all required documents. (Format: static pdf files, no editable form fields). Afterwards please inform the Graduate Office. After reviewing the documents, you will receive feedback on the reviewing result from the Graduate Office.
4. Please then submit the printed copy of the dissertation to the Graduate Office within 10 days. Upon receipt, you will receive a written confirmation that the doctoral examination procedure has been opened.

Preparation the reviewer reports

After the doctoral examination procedure has been initiated, the reviewers are instructed to prepare their reviews within 4 months.

Once all reviewer reports have been received, the 14-day display period begins. We will inform you of the start and end of the display period by e-mail.

During the display period the Doctoral Degree Committee will be appointed. At the end of the display period,

• the Doctoral Degree Committee declares its acceptance of the dissertation,
• the chair of the committee registers the date agreed with you for the defense with the Graduate Office.

PLEASE NOTE: The date of the thesis defense must be at least three weeks in the future at the time of registration, as there is a 14-day public announcement period and further administrative measures are required.

After the thesis defense has been announced, the committee members and you as the doctoral candidate will receive an invitation by email, which you must confirm.

Individual commission members may participate via video conference if necessary. Please note the regulations and requirements in the [Guide to Video Conferencing].

The defense usually takes place in SPA1, Room 112 (suitable for video conferencing). The availability of the room can be checked with the Graduate Office. In justified exceptional cases, another room may be used.

Interim certificate

Once the thesis defence has been passed, the Graduate Office will issue you an interim certificate (usually within 2-3 business days). Please make sure all the information on the certificate is correct.

PLEASE NOTE: You will only be entitled to bear the title of "Doctor" once you have received your final doctoral degree certificate.

Publication

Once you have passed your thesis defence, you are required to publish your thesis within twelve month. To do this, please contact the University Publications Office of the University Library of Humboldt-Universität or another suitable publisher.

If you intend to publish online using the University's edoc server, please also clarify the technical details with the relevant department of the University Publications Office. Please see also the supplementary decision to the doctoral degree regulations.

Please provide the Graduate Office with the publisher's confirmation or the certificate from the University Publications Office of the University Library regarding the submission of the deposit copies.

Doctoral degree certificate

Once confirmation of publication has been received by the Graduate Office, the doctoral degree certificate will be issued. This usually takes four weeks to process.

PLEASE NOTE: Upon receipt of the doctoral degree certificate, you are authorised to use the doctoral degree.