Doctoral Education in the Graduate School SimTech

In addition to appropriate academic qualifications, a doctorate requires a high degree of independence, motivation, and interest in scientific work. Furthermore, you must fulfill the formal admission requirements of the University of Stuttgart.

If you have a foreign degree, it will be checked when you submit your documents ‐ this may take some time. If your field of study does not include the disciplines related to the topic of your dissertation, additional seminars, etc. may be imposed on you which you must fulfill within a certain period of time.

If you do your doctorate at SC SimTech, your (main) supervisor must be member of SC SimTech and you usually do it together with another faculty. Note that doctoral researchers at GS SimTech are advised by at least two members of SC SimTech.

Together with your supervisor, you will draw up an agreement on doctoral studies. In this agreement, you agree on certain rules during the doctoral process, e.g. on the work and time schedule (which also includes the individual qualification program stipulated in the doctoral degree regulations, which must include at least 9 credit points).

Upon conclusion of the doctoral agreement, you are obliged to register via the CAMPUS Management System of the University of Stuttgart.

More detailed instructions can be found at GRADUS.

The doctoral agreement should take into account the qualification program specified by the GS SimTech (in total at least 9 ECTS):

• subject‐specific courses (at least 6 credit points)
• at least one course in the field of key qualifications (e.g. from the GRADUS program)
• at least three offers from GS SimTech

When applying for acceptance as a doctoral student, please indicate "SC SimTech" in addition to your faculty ‐ this means that you will be doing your doctorate at both your faculty and SimTech. Please also note that your faculty may have specific regulations on certain topics! 

Do not forget to indicate a co‐advisor ‐ this means another SimTech advisor who will assist you during the doctorate and especially during the milestone presentation.

In addition to being accepted as a doctoral researcher, you should also apply for admission to the GS SimTech. For this purpose, please fill in the application for admission to the GS SimTech, in which you acknowledge the additional rules of the GS SimTech.

As soon as the Coordination of the GS SimTech has received your doctoral file, the doctoral committee will review your documents. After the examination, you will receive a notification of acceptance as a doctoral candidate, if necessary with additional requirements, from the chairperson of the doctoral committee. The doctoral committee will also send a copy of the acceptance notification to GRADUS, where it will be posted to your account.

When you receive the notification of acceptance from the doctoral committee of the SC SimTech, you must enroll as a doctoral student. Though, under certain conditions, you are exempt from this requirement. Please check with GRADUS and/or your supervisor.

More information about enrolment.

International students: Register additionally here (International Office)

In order to promote interdisciplinary networking and to broaden professional horizons, all doctoral researchers of the Graduate School should actively participate in at least three seminars of the graduate school. At least one seminar should be attended until the milestone presentation and the second until the PhD examination. The selection is made in consultation with the respective doctoral supervisor and the co-supervisor of the doctoral thesis.

Besides the qualification program of your doctoral agreement, a Milestone Presentation after about 18 months is a requirement by the GS SimTech. By the time of the Milestone Presentation you should have completed (most of) your qualification program and also taken up one or two offers from GS SimTech.

During the milestone presentation, interim results are reflected upon and the further work program is determined. The milestone presentation consists of a public lecture and a non-public oral examination interview by the supervisors of the doctoral researchers' project. In addition, the doctoral researchers write a "Milestone Report", which reflects the status of the research work to date and the further work program.

Please register your Milestone Presentation at the GS coordination, so we can invite SimTech members to your presentation. To enable your supervisors to prepare for your presentation, you should write a 10‐page report about 2 weeks in advance (please also send it to the GS coordination).

The Milestone Presentation consists of a half‐hour presentation as well as an "examination discussion" with your supervisors ‐ a protocol will be kept.

For more information click here.