Dissertation phase

In the dissertation phase you work on your research topic and write your PhD thesis.

Duration: 3 or so years of research

Admission: In order to move on to the dissertation phase, you must complete the preparatory phase, or have the equivalent of a strong German Masters in Computer Science and pass the qualifying exam (see QE info sheet on the right or below). The admissions committee will evaluate how your previous coursework compares to the preparatory phase. The committee might ask you to take some courses at the graduate level at Saarland University if your previous experience does not qualify you for immediate admission to the qualifying exam.

Coursework: In the dissertation phase, most of the coursework you opt to do will be related to your chosen research group. You will closely collaborate with your advisor, fellow students and other members of the faculty as well as be given the chance to present your progress at conferences and colloquia.

Your PhD thesis: What is expected from a German PhD thesis? A German PhD thesis is considered a original piece of scholarly work that an individual has produced on his or her own. Therefore your supervisors want to hear about your ideas and are happy to discuss them with you along the way.

Thesis defense: Before getting your PhD, you will have to give a public defense in front of the thesis committee. The list of upcoming and past thesis defenses may be found here.

Formal things: Getting your PhD in the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics is regulated according to the PhD regulations (see downloads on the right or below). You can get detailed information by contacting the Dean’s Office (Faculty MI / Mathematics and Informatics).

Under downloads on this page, you can find a sample letter to the Dean for requesting admission to the Faculty’s PhD list after successful completion of the qualifying exam. Once admission to the PhD list is confirmed, we ask you to register as a PhD student at the student registrar’s office. In addition to the QE certificate and the admission request letter, you must also submit a student-advisor PhD agreement (Betreuungsvereinbarung). You will also find more information about this as well as a couple of model agreement outlines in the downloads section of this page. Please note that all PhD candidates are expected to adhere to the guidelines of good scientific practice, as outlined in the documents that can be found here: https://www.uni-saarland.de/verwaltung/wissenschaftliche-integritaet/dokumente.html
The DFG codex is also available in English. Their code of conduct page can be found here: https://wissenschaftliche-integritaet.de/en/