You are here:
Validation by the supervisor
All students wishing to undertake doctoral studies at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin will need to have completed a recognized university degree. Should your doctoral student not have completed their university degree in Germany, the following will apply:
- As the student's doctoral supervisor, it will be your responsibility to arrange for the student's degree qualification to be evaluated by the Central Office for Foreign Education – ZAB. This needs to be done prior to the registration of a doctoral project and will determine whether the degree obtained is equivalent to a qualifying degree certificate obtained in Germany.
- Please note the following: The official review of the student's qualification may also be arranged by the student. However, doing so will incur costs – please see below.
Contact details for the Central Office for Foreign Education – ZAB are:
Sekretariat der ständigen Konferenz der Kultusminister der Länder in der BRD [Office of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK)]
Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen (ZAB)
Graurheindorfer Straße 157
53117 Bonn
General inquiries: +49 (0) 228 501 664
Exceptions to obtaining the recognition
- The Doctoral Committee will make an exception for most university qualifications which have been obtained in one of the Member States of the European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA), or issued by the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence or the Pontifical Universities, and which can be assumed to be equivalent to a qualifying degree certificate obtained within the state of Berlin.
In this case, please ensure that your doctoral student submits an informal application, including a print-out of the relevant information from the anabin database, as part of their request for registration
- The Doctoral Committee may make an exception for other international university qualifications, i.e. from outside the EU and EEA and not issued by either the EUI or Pontifical Universities, but which can be assumed to be equivalent to a qualifying degree certificate obtained within the state of Berlin. In this case, please ensure that your doctoral student submits an informal application, including a print-out of the relevant information from the anabin database, as part of their request for registration.
Should the Doctoral Commission decline to make an exception, please send your doctoral student's certificates and transcripts (copies of all original certificates, including transcripts detailing subjects/modules and grades) as well as copies of certified translations (German or English) of these documents to the address provided above. By evaluating the comparability/equivalence of degree certificates not obtained in Germany, this process will ensure your student fulfills the requirements for admission to doctoral studies.
Please note the following:
Incomplete submissions to the ZAB will cause unnecessary delays, not only due to the need to issue requests for additional information/documents, but also because such additional pressure on capacity will prevent ZAB members of staff from conducting actual evaluations.
Once you have received confirmation of comparability, your doctoral student will be able to contact Charité to register their doctoral project.
Please note
The request for a ZAB statement of comparability can also be submitted by your doctoral student. However, unlike requests made by public bodies, requests from private individuals will be subject to a fee.
Statements of comparability obtained this way will be recognized by the Doctoral Commission, provided the statement specifies that the applicants’ degree fulfills the German entrance requirements for admission to doctoral studies.