You are here:
Requirements
The basic formal requirement for a doctorate is a university degree entitling the holder to a doctorate: Diplom, Magister, Master or Staatsexamen.
If you did not obtain your university degree in Germany, an evaluation by the Central Office for Foreign Education of the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs must be obtained before registering your doctoral project. In principle, your first supervisor is responsible for this. However, you can also obtain this evaluation on your own. However, this will then be subject to a fee for you as a private person. If you would like to obtain the evaluation of your degree on your own, please make sure that it is clear from the evaluation whether your degree entitles you to a doctorate. You can find further information under Recognition of foreign university degrees.
In addition, depending on the doctoral degree you are seeking, there are other requirements that we have listed on this page.
Routes to your doctoral degree
At Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, you can obtain a doctoral degree by way of
- the classic individual doctorate procedure or by way of
- a structured program, e.g. a doctoral program or graduate school.
In general, the structured programs confer the doctoral degrees of PhD and MD/PhD and thus belong to the the Advanced Track.
If you decide to opt for the classic individual doctorate procedure, you will be generally aiming for a Dr. med., Dr. med. dent. or Dr. rer. medic. degree. At the Charité, these degrees involve the so-called Standard Track. You can however also apply for acceptance to the Advanced Track within the individual doctorate procedure aiming for a PhD or MD/PhD – outside a formally structured program, but under comparable conditions and the same requirements.
The structured doctoral programs, i.e. doctoral programs and graduate schools, have their own admission requirements, selection procedures and curricula. In the event of questions relating to this, please refer to the relevant contact. Click here for an overview of the programs.
Standard Track, Advanced Track and academic degrees
At Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, you can choose between two tracks to your doctoral degree: the Standard Track (Dr. med., Dr. med. dent. and Dr. rer. medic.) and the Advanced Track (PhD and MD/PhD). The tracks differ in the following points:
- the doctoral degree conferred,
- the scope (in ECTS credit points) of the doctoral studies completed parallel to work on the selected topic and
- the type of dissertation required.
For more information on ECTS credit points and doctoral studies, please see Doctorate Environment.
Standard Track
Advanced Track
The Advanced Track is intended for especially high-performance doctoral candidates, who are admitted to doctoral studies by way of a selection procedure. This track awards the grades of:
- PhD
- MD/PhD
Here, accompanying studies equivalent to 30 ECTS credit points must be completed. The papers must include either one top journal publication (cf. Notes on Journals) with the doctoral candidate as the sole lead author, or three publications whereby the doctoral candidate must be the lead author of at least one.
In principle, you have two options for completing the Advanced Track at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin:
- in a structured doctoral program, for example a doctoral program or a (graduate) school recognised by Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin,
or
- outside a structured program by way of a classic individual doctorate procedure.
Overview: Standard Track and Advanced Track
|
Standard-Track (Dr. med., Dr. med. dent, Dr. rer. medic.) |
Advanced-Track (PhD, MD/PhD) |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Team of supervisors |
|
|
|
Credit Points |
|
|
|
Dissertation |
|
|
|
Oral examination |
|
|
Dr. rer. medic.
Candidates may be admitted for the pursuit of a Dr. rer. medic. degree if they have completed a Master's degree (or equivalent)
- in a non-medical subject relevant to the topic of the doctorate
or
- if they have completed a Bachelor's degree with the ECTS grade A in a subject relevant to the topic of the doctorate and have started a Master's degree programme
or
- if they have completed a Bachelor's degree with the ECTS grade A in a subject relevant to the topic of the doctorate and have passed an Aptitude Assessment Test conducted out by the Faculty of Medicine of Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin.
PhD
The requirement for acceptance to a PhD program is a completed university degree in medicine, dentistry or another subject relevant to the doctorate, resulting in a Master's degree or equivalent.
In addition, doctorate accompanying studies equivalent to 30 ECTS credit points are required. The ECTS credit points must be obtained in addition to the contributions required for the degree. These should be obtained within six semesters.
The PhD degree can only be obtained by pursuing doctoral studies on the Advanced Track. The PhD degree can be obtained both within the scope of individual doctoral studies as well as within the scope of structured programs. In every case, a selection procedure must be successfully completed for acceptance to the Advanced Track.
MD/PhD
A requirement for the MD/PhD degree is a completed degree in medicine or dentistry.
In addition, studies accompanying the doctorate procedure equivalent to 30 ECTS credit points are required. The ECTS credit points must be obtained in addition to the contributions required for the degree. These should be obtained within six semesters.
The MD/PhD degree can only be obtained by pursuing a doctoral project on the Advanced Track. The MD/PhD degree can be obtained both within the scope of individual doctoral studies as well as within the scope of structured programs. In every case, a selection procedure must be successfully completed for acceptance to the Advanced Track.