If you are interested in completing a doctorate at Freie Universität Berlin, you have two options: the traditional “Individualpromotion” (individual doctorate) and the structured doctorate within a degree program.

Individual Doctorate

The individual doctorate still represents the most common pathway to a doctorate in Germany. Characterized by a strong background in research and a broad range of subject fields, Freie Universität Berlin provides the best opportunities for pursuing an individual doctorate.

Doctorate in a degree program

Over the last years "structured programs" have been established as an alternative way towards a doctoral degree. As part of a graduate school or research training group (or similar) early stage reasearchers take part in a program which differs from the traditional way in both its formal framework as well as the focus on a better integration of doctoral researchers in a group and the wider academic community.

Most doctoral program at Freie Universität Berlin can be found under the roof Dahlem Research School. 

The better you know already which direction to follow in science and what to write about, the easier it will be for you to find an academic advisor who seems to be competent in your field and to contact him or her. If the discipline you studied does not exist at Freie Universität, or if you were graduated from a Master program that was truly interdisciplinary and does not fit the classification of disciplines at FU Berlin. The only way to proceed in these cases is to go through the lists of departments, the institutes or disciplines subsumed, and, finally, persons. 

If not enrolled in a Doctoral program (see below), the first thing you will have to do is to look for a professor who agrees to supervise your dissertation.The supervisor is extremely important for the success of your PhD. They are, often for many years, your main – and sometimes only – advisors with regard to your research and your scientific career. To easy this tedious work a bit for you, we compiled a step-by-step manual “how to find a supervisor”.

Here are some hints for identifying a subject and finding a supervisor for your doctoral research 

Over the last years "structured programs" have been established as an alternative way towards a doctoral degree. As part of a graduate school or research training group (or similar) early stage reasearchers take part in a program which differs from the traditional way in both its formal framework as well as the focus on a better integration of doctoral researchers in a group and the wider academic community.

Most doctoral program at Freie Universität Berlin can be found under the roof Dahlem Research School.

An overview of doctoral program in and around Berlin can found at the website Doctoral Programs in Berlin hosted by the Einstein Foundation. 

The doctorate can be completed in part-time with the approval of the respective doctoral committee. 

Part-time studies can be requested in the Self-Services portal within the respective enrollment or re-registration deadline, no later than at the start of the semester (April 1st or October 1st). Your semester fees and contributions remain unchanged during part-time studies.

A semester studied on a part-time basis will be counted as half of a subject semester (Fachsemester) and a full university semester (Hochschulsemester).

You can utilize the teaching and support resources as a part-time student, however, there will be no entitlement to a distinctive part-time study curriculum. If applicable, please get in touch with the coordinator within your structured doctoral program to arrange the schedule for your part-time study.

 Adequate funding is a cornerstone for the success of your doctorate. Together with Division VI: Research, we aim at providing comprehensive information on research funding and academic career paths for junior researchers at Freie Universität Berlin.

Overview of Funding Opportunities here