For international doctoral researchers coming to Germany, it is difficult to understand what is meant by the multitude of terms used for "structured doctorate" or "doctoral program". They often mean something different from what is understood internationally, especially in the Anglo-Saxon world. Hence a brief introduction.

The individual doctorate is still the normal path to a doctorate in Germany. An alternative to this was only introduced into the German system in the 1990s, namely the Research Training Groups of the German Research Foundation (DFG). Research Training Groups are groups of 10 to 15 doctoral researchers who focus on a specific research topic and who are guided and supervised by a group of professors. The DFG funds these Research Training Groups with large sums of money, which finance the doctoral researchers' positions and also research costs (e.g. conference travel or field visits). Visiting researchers or publications can also be paid for.

Research Training Groups differ from the so-called individual doctorate in that, in addition to the usual lecture courses, they also offer courses, now often also "summer schools", in which the doctoral researchers are in close contact with each other and generally also attend joint colloquia, and that they are supervised not by a single professor, but by several people. In addition, there is a is also a coordinator who manages the Research Training Group and is available as a contact person for the doctoral researchers. Research Training Groups are DFG-funded "projects", they are not permanent, but are set up for a limited period of time (max. 9 years).

Other types of structured doctoral programs include doctoral or graduate programs and graduate schools. They differ in the number of doctoral researchers they supervise, in the binding nature of the curriculum, in the thematic breadth and, most importantly, in their financial resources. Not all programs are funded. In this case the programs award places for participation, but do not have the funds to cover the living and research costs of the doctoral researchers. In order to participate in such a program, doctoral researchers must apply for their own funding (e.g. a scholarship).