The admission to doctoral studies is granted by the doctoral board of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and requires a university degree (Master’s degree, “Staatsexamen”, Diploma, and under specific circumstances also a Bachelor’s degree may qualify). This university degree must have qualified you for studying the chosen discipline. Please also notice the Guidelines on Good Academic Practice (DE|EN) of the University of Cologne.

 

Application for Admission

In order to be admitted and subsequently enrolled, all applicants must submit their application via a.r.t.e.s. access.

Which documents have to be included in the application depends on whether the university degree was acquired in Germany or a foreign country, and on whether it is directly connected to the chosen discipline or possibly only indirectly.

With regard to the subsequent process of enrolment, please see the website of the Registrar's Office or the International Office.

 

Application Deadlines

Im Sommersemester 2023 sind folgende Fristen einzuhalten:

Applicants who wish to apply in the summer semester 2023 must submit the documents by:

• April 02, 2023 via a.r.t.e.s. access (meeting of the doctoral board on April 20, 2023)
• June 11, 2023 via a.r.t.e.s. access (meeting of the doctoral board on June 29, 2023)

 

Applicants who wish to apply in the winter semester 2022/23 must submit the documents by:

• October 02, 2022 via a.r.t.e.s. access (meeting of the doctoral board on October 27, 2022)
• January 02, 2023 via a.r.t.e.s. access (meeting of the doctoral board on January 19, 2023)

 

Optionally: Application for admission as a collegiate within the Integrated Track

When applying for admission to doctoral studies, applicants may additionally apply to join the “Integrated Track” – the structured doctoral model at the a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School – as a collegiate. The structured doctoral model not only allows doctoral students to pursue their doctoral dissertation project in a lively interdisciplinary research environment but also offers excellent supervision and optimal working conditions, enabling doctoral students to complete a high-quality dissertation within three years.

Each year, the programme starts in April. In order to be admitted to the Integrated Track, applicants must have obtained an average grade of at least 2.0 (according to the German grading system). Additionally, short-listed candidates will be asked for an interview in February. The admissions committee of the Integrated Track decides upon all applications.

Collegiates do not receive funding from the a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School. Here you can find information about the funding programmes.