Georg-August University School of Science (GAUSS)

Application & Admission

Requirements

To join GAUSS as a doctorate candidate you need to have your university degree (Master, Diploma or equivalent state examination) in a relevant or related field in mathematics, natural and life sciences completed with above-average results.
For detailed admission requirements please see §4 of the doctoral regulations of GAUSS (German , English translation ) as well as the individual admission regulations of the different doctoral programs.
Decisions about your qualifications are always made by the doctoral program.

Application steps

  1. Find a research topic and contact potential supervisor
    The first step to become a doctoral student at GAUSS is for you to find a research topic and a supervisor for your dissertation. Please also discuss with your future supervisor funding opportunities to cover the costs during your PhD.
    For a full list of GAUSS academics entitled to supervise you follow this link.

  2. Compose thesis advisory committee (TAC)
    Thesis advisory committees are comprised of three members:

    • the main supervisor
    • one additional examination accredited person (see list of GAUSS faculty members)
    • one further academic, holding at least a doctoral degree

    They advise you and monitor your progress throughout the doctoral process. TACs serve two main purposes,
    (1) to provide critical feedback to the research progress and data interpretation, and
    (2) to mediate potentially upcoming difficult situations between the doctoral student and supervisor.
    For these reasons, a careful choice of TAC members should acknowledge
    (1) a sufficiently broad scientific background to be able to comment on the research progress from different and proficient perspectives and
    (2) the independence of each other to ensure impartiality.
    Usually, the first two members of the TAC serve as referees of the doctoral thesis. Due to the fact that at least one of the reviewers of your thesis must be a Professor at the University of Göttingen (full professorship; not “apl. Professor” or honorary; see §11, doctoral degree regulations (German , English translation )), we would strongly suggest that you pick your TAC accordingly from the outset.
    If in doubt, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will advise you accordingly.


  3. Apply for admission (program, supervision agreement)
    When a professor (or entitled academic) agreed to supervise your project, discuss together, which would be the most suitable GAUSS Program.
    Usually, no deadlines for applications apply.

    It is mandatory to apply for admission to a GAUSS doctoral program and to sign the supervision agreement! Applications have to be submitted within max. three month after start of the PhD - in the best case, already before.

    • If you have been/are enrolled at the University of Göttingen, you have to login via eCampus to access the pre-filled form.
    • As an external applicant you can enter the Lucom application form in English or German.
      In the process of the application you must create an applicants' account with a password of your choice, which you have to activate after submitting the application. You will receive a link for this in an email to the address you inserted into the form.

    • Besides other documents such as diploma certificates and transcripts, it is obligatory to upload the doctoral student’s declaration (English draft translation, German ) in the application form.


    After submitting the online-application you receive an email to the address you inserted into the form, including a PDF with all the data and a joint form with the Supervision agreement, Certificate for the matriculation at the central student office, and Confirmation of admission to a GAUSS program which has to be signed by all parties and serves for the mandatory enrolment (see below) at the Office of Student Affairs or the International Office (for international students).

  4. Enrolment at the University
    Enrolment at the University of Göttingen as a doctoral student is mandatory! You have to be enrolled for the entire time of your doctoral studies, incl. the examination. The enrolment process is fully digital and location-independent.
    With the admission by the GAUSS doctoral program you will also receive an email from the Office of Student Affairs or the International Office (for international students) with information about the next steps for enrolment. Besides your login number you will also receive a link to submit the respective documents to the upload portal.

    • Internal applicants (who have been enrolled at the University of Göttingen before) must submit the Application for Change of Course of Study (a link will be inserted in the email).
    • External applicants must submit their health insurance certificate (current certificate of insurance of a mandatory health insurance (not older than 3 months)) as well as proof of their previous period of study.
    • All GAUSS applicants must submit a copy of the letter of admission/acceptance from the doctoral program. All applicants must pay the semester fees.

    Please upload all your documents only via the link to the portal mentioned in the email. Documents received by email/mail will not be returned and destroyed unprocessed.


Additional information for international applicants

For questions regarding visa and immigration, please contact the GAUSS Office. The International Student Office can also help and assist you with questions about living in Göttingen. There are no general rules for the recognition of degrees from foreign universities as those are doctoral program specific. Please check the program guidelines or contact the program office.

Admission package

  • Joint form for admission to a GAUSS program, supervision agreement and matriculation (in English, German, or for University Members via eCampus)
  • Doctoral student’s declaration (English , German )
  • Rules of Good Practice for Doctoral Supervision (English , German )
  • Information on Supervision and Examination (English , German )

Admission regulations

  • Admission regulations Behavior and Cognition (in German )
  • Admission regulations Biodiversity and Ecology (in German )
  • Admission regulations Catalysis for Sustainable Synthesis (CaSuS) (in German )
  • Admission regulations Chemistry (in German )
  • Admission regulations Geosciences (in German )
  • Admission regulations Geography (in German )
  • Admission regulations GGNB (in German )
  • Admission regulations Mathematical Science (in German )
  • Admission regulations Molecular Medicine (in German )
  • Admission regulations Physics (in German )

Performance records (credit requirements and TAC meetings)