Doing a doctorate
The following pages contain information about doing a PhD in the School of Business, Economics and Social Sciences at Universität Hamburg.
Admissions
Supervision
You may pursue doctoral studies at the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences if a full professor in the Faculty agrees to supervise your thesis. If you have a supervision agreement in writing, you can apply for admission to doctoral studies at the Graduate School. The supervision agreement must be independently obtained by the doctoral applicant.
Using Docata to apply
You must submit applications for admission to doctoral studies online. Register with Docata, the electronic administration program for doctoral students.
Docata only accepts applications for doctoral candidates covered by the latest doctoral degree regulations. Contact us if you have applied for protection under the grandfather clause and are pursuing doctoral studies in line with earlier doctoral degree regulations.
Enrollment
You can enroll only after the doctoral committee has accepted your application for admission to doctoral studies. Enrollment is required in accordance with Section 4 subsection 5 of the doctoral degree regulations of 18 January 2017. The Campus Center at Universität Hamburg handles enrollment.
![]() |
Admission to doctoral studies according to PromO WiSo 2017 PDF (0.1 MB) |
![]() |
Admission to doctoral studies according to PromO WiSo 2010 PDF (0.1 MB) |
![]() |
Publishing Your Dissertation PDF (0.3 MB) |
Regulations
Doctoral Degree Regulations of the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences dated 18 January 2017
Further documents
![]() |
Doctoral Degree Regulations of the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences dated 18 January 2017 PDF (0.1 MB) |
Doctoral degree regulations from 25 April 2012
In its session of 25 April 2012, the Academic Council in the School of Business, Economics and Social Sciences passed new doctoral degree regulations for the PhD program in Business, Economics and Social Sciences. These include an amendment to the doctoral degree regulations of 24 August 2010.
Further documents
![]() |
Doctoral degree regulations for the PhD program PDF (0.1 MB) |
![]() |
Amendment to the regulations of 24 August 2010 PDF (0.1 MB) |
Doctoral degree regulations from 24 October 2010
In its session of 24 August 2010, the Academic Council in the School of Business, Economics and Social Sciences passed new doctoral degree regulations (including appendices A and B). These regulations went into effect on 28 September 2010. The new regulations were developed by graduate school board. Essential features include:
- institutional support for PhD students
- Supervising committee
- earning 12 credit points
- cumulative dissertation option
Further documents
![]() |
Doctoral degree regulations from 24 August 2010 PDF (0.1 MB) |
![]() |
Appendix A PDF (0.1 MB) |
![]() |
Appendix B PDF (0.1 MB) |
Former doctoral degree regulations
There is a grandfather clause for the former degree regulations (doctoral degree regulations in the Department of Business and Economics, 1998; doctoral degree regulations in the Departement of Social Sciences, 2000; doctoral degree regulations in the former HWP, 1989).
Further documents
![]() |
Doctoral degree regulations, Business and Economics (1998) PDF (0.1 MB) |
![]() |
Doctoral degree regulations, Social Sciences (2000) PDF (0.1 MB) |
![]() |
Doctoral degree regulations, former HWP (1989) PDF (0.1 MB) |
![]() |
Grandfather clause |
Important information
Courses
PhD program
Courses in winter semester 2019/20
The new courses for winter semester 2019/20 have been confirmed, here you can find the courses:
![]() |
Courses, winter semester 2019/20 PDF (0.3 MB) |
Courses in summer semester 2019
The new courses for summer semester 2019 have been confirmed, here you can find the courses:
![]() |
Courses, summer semester 2019 PDF (0.3 MB) |
New PhD program as of winter semester 2012/2013
In summer semester, the Academic Council accepted the application submitted by the graduate school board and passed degree regulations for a new PhD program, effective as of winter semester 2012/2013. Following the introduction of new regulations in the fall of 2010, the establishment of an independent PhD program marks a further milestone in efforts to support young researchers in the School of Business, Economics and Social Sciences.
Courses in the PhD program will build upon the experience gained last year in the graduate school (GS) program, which comprised roughly twenty-five workshops taught by external staff. The GS evaluated all workshops and analyzed demand. In order to determine which areas and topics were of particular interest and to identify further needs, the GS also conducted two large-scale surveys of PhD students in 2011 and 2012.
Based on workshop experience and the demand indicated by the surveys, the board has agreed to an array of courses for the first year of the PhD program (winter semester 2012/2013 and summer semester 2013). The courses have been divided into three categories: methodology, theory and key skills. So far, there are over twenty-five courses in methodology and theory being offered by professorial staff in the School of Business, Economics and Social Sciences (more to come!). External workshops will supplement current course offerings. Additionally, master’s courses will remain open to doctoral students. Finally, the Center for University and Continuing Education at Universität Hamburg will also offer courses in the area of key skills.
All courses will be subject to evaluation. Furthermore, the GS will continue to conduct regular surveys to identify the needs and wants of PhD students.
Students can register for courses via STiNE, an option for which students must be enrolled in the PhD program. The GS is currently working towards a transportation pass (“Semesterticket”) waiver for PhD students who do not require one. For advice and information about reimbursement of the transportation pass fee, please contact the GS office. STiNE will post registration and course dates on its webpages.
The graduate school board members and staff are delighted that the School of Business, Economics and Social Sciences is the first school at Universität Hamburg to be able to offer all PhD students a permanent, reliable and attractive spectrum of courses. To mark the occasion, we will celebrate the new PhD program on 2 November at 5 pm in the Agathe Lasch Lecture Hall. We will welcome new PhD students and congratulate those who recently received their doctorates.
Masters courses openend for PhD students
Below is a course overview for the opened masters courses in summer semester 19. In these courses you can achieve credit points regarding to § 1 (3) of the new phd regulations. You can register for courses via Stine.
![]() |
Courses, summer semester 2019 PDF (0.3 MB) |
![]() |
Courses, winter semster 2018/19 PDF (0.3 MB) |
Courses at the Hamburg Business School (HBS)
As part of a cooperation doctoral students can participate on courses of the Hamburg Business School. You can find further information here.
External offered workshops
Admission
Registering in Docata
To be able to use Docata, you must first register as user. Please fill in the following form completely (the blue fields are mandatory) and then follow the instructions.
After registering, you will receive an email with your log-in information. You can then go to the login page to log in with the username and password that you received in your registration confirmation email. Please make sure that you are able to receive this email. |
Completing your application
After you log in to Docata, you will be on the overview page. You can apply here for admission to the doctoral final examination.
Starting your applicationFollow the instructions that appear on the screen. At any time, you may save your application and continue working on it later by clicking on “Save and break.” Please read the first page carefully and then click on “Here” at the bottom of the page. You can return to the overview page at any time. As you complete the application, you will be able to view the home page, and you can also return to it later. This way, you can always check and see which steps still need to be taken in order to complete the entire application. |
|
Personal informationPlease enter the missing information about your country of birth and attach a tabular CV. This must be uploaded as a PDF. Please note that the file size may not exceed 10 MB. You may also provide an alternate email address. This can be useful, for example, if you do not always have access to your regular email account. Click on “Continue” to proceed to the next step. Please enter your home address here and then click on “Continue” to proceed to the next page. |
|
Place of workIn the following section, you may enter your place of work. Please fill in the applicable fields. If you do not want to provide your place of work, you can skip this step by clicking on “My home address is also my work address.” |
|
CorrespondenceIf you supplied a work address that is different from your home address, you should now indicate which address you would like to use for correspondence between you and the Graduate School. Click on “Continue” to proceed to the next step. |
|
Your doctoral projectPlease specify the department in which you would like to do a doctorate and whether the doctoral dissertation will be completed together with a cooperation partner of the Graduate School. If you already have a student ID number, please enter it. If you do not yet have a student ID number, you can leave this field blank. Please add this information as soon as you receive a student ID number. Please also select your doctoral subject and your desired doctoral degree and then enter the provisional title of your doctoral dissertation. Please upload a research proposal for your doctoral dissertation. For technical reasons, the maximum size of the PDF may not exceed 10 MB here either. Click on “Continue” to proceed to the next step of the application. Please enter the names of your first and second supervisors and their respective departments. For your application to be complete, you must also upload a supervision agreement and a statement about your research proposal. |
|
Academic degreesPlease now enter information about your previous academic degrees. Click on “subject” to enter the academic degree and information about this degree. Please enter all university degrees earned (bachelor’s and master’s degrees). Your academic degrees are then displayed in a list, and you have the opportunity to make corrections or add additional academic degrees. The next step is to upload your diplomas and academic transcripts. The files must be PDFs and may not exceed a maximum file size of 10 MB. |
|
Stays abroadYou may indicate here whether or not you went on a stay abroad during your studies. |
|
Language skillsOn this page, please provide information about your language skills. If you do not hold a degree from a German or English-language program, please upload proof of your language skills. This must be a PDF file and may not exceed a maximum file size of 10 MB. |
|
PublicationsIf you have any publications, you may specify them here. Click on “Continue” to proceed to the last step of the application. |
|
AgreementsPlease review both the guidelines on avoiding scientific misconduct at Universität Hamburg and the applicable doctoral degree regulations. Confirm that you have done so by checking the corresponding box. |
Final review
You now have the opportunity to review the information you provided and make any necessary corrections. After you click on “Continue,” this will no longer be possible. Please print out your application. To do this, download the application and donʼt forget to sign it. You may now submit a hard copy of the application to the Graduate School. You may access the information you provided by clicking on “Personal data” on the left side of the screen. You can go here at any time, for example, to easily change your address. |