Germany is one of the most popular destinations for studying abroad, with around 3,600 international graduates completing their doctorate there every year. Read on to discover how to apply for a PhD in Germany…

Why study a PhD in Germany?

It’s not difficult to see why Germany is popular as a study destination. It enjoys a global reputation as a world leader for technology innovation and research, has a robust economy and an attractive quality of life, and a particularly renowned tradition in fields such as engineering and manufacturing.

Many of its universities enjoy a strong international reputation, with 45 ranked within the top 1000 in the world in the QS World University Rankings® 2019. Among these, the prestigious research university Technische Universität München is ranked first in the country and 61^st in the world, shortly followed by Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München in 62^nd place.

As well as offering a high standard of living, Germany welcomes international students with low costs of study and good funding opportunities. PhDs in Germany do not usually charge tuition fees (see below), and more than a quarter of doctoral candidates in Germany receive public funding.

What types of PhD are offered in Germany? 

Individual doctorate

This is the traditional option and remains the most popular. In this type of PhD you will produce your thesis or dissertation under the supervision of a professor, but will mostly be working independently. The length of these PhDs varies, generally lasting three to five years. This option offers a great deal of flexibility, but also demands a high amount of personal initiative and responsibility. You are not limited to gaining your PhD by conducting research work at a university; you could also complete a project at a non-university research organization or at a German company in the industrial sector.

Structured PhD programs

You can also choose what is known as a structured PhD program. This involves a group of doctoral students being guided by a group of supervisors. There are around 600 programs of this nature available in Germany, often with an international make-up, with English as the language of instruction. These programs differ from individual doctorate programs as students’ research proposals have to fit in with existing PhD programs, whereas individual doctorates can be more freely structured to suit the individual research project. You will also need to attend lectures and seminars, and will normally have a mentor.

Which German universities offer PhDs?

Many universities in Germany offer PhDs. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)  offers a database which you can use to search for the right PhD program for you.

How much does it cost to study a PhD in Germany?

Good news! Although tuition fees were reintroduced for non-EU students in the state of Baden-Württemberg in 2017, doctoral students are excluded from this, meaning that PhDs remain free for all students at all public universities in Germany, regardless of nationality, for up to the standard length of a PhD (three years). Beyond this, you may be required to pay fees.

However, as with all levels of study in Germany, PhD students are also required to make a semester contribution of between €150 to €200 (~US$175-230) for administration and other costs.

This means that your main expenses will be the general costs of living in Germany. If you apply for a student visa you will be asked to prove that you have access to a minimum of €8,700 (~US$10,150) per year.

However, according to the DAAD, this figure may not be a sufficient amount, as the average student in Germany needs about €10,200 per year (equal to €850 a month) to cover living expenses, which include rent, food, clothing, transportation, working materials, recreation and other costs. Even more than this may be needed to live in a particularly expensive city such as Munich.

Is there any funding available?

Most doctoral students work on a paid research project or receive a scholarship. If you want to apply for a scholarship to help with your expenses, you may be able to find these through the official website of the university you wish to study at. You can also consult our list of scholarships to study in Germany, including PhD funding opportunities. Other good sources for finding scholarships include www.funding-guide.de and www.stipendienlotse.de (website in German).

You may also consider taking on a part-time job to supplement your funding, either within the university or beyond – but be aware of any possible restrictions. If you are a full-time EU or EEA student (excluding students from Bulgaria and Romania), there are no restrictions on where or when you can work. If you are a full-time student from outside of the EU you will be limited to working up to 120 full days or 240 half days per year before you must apply for a work permit. Upon gaining paid work in Germany you should contact the German employment office to learn about the legal conditions.

What are the entry requirements?

Entry requirements will vary between universities and PhD programs, but generally you will need to have a good higher education degree which is equivalent to a German master’s degree. Alternatively, extremely well-qualified international applicants with a bachelor’s degree may be admitted as doctoral students via a fast-track program, which will involve taking an entrance exam and perhaps attending an interview.

If you are studying your PhD in English and this is not your first language, you will need to prove your English language proficiency with an English language test such as IELTS or TOEFL. If you are studying or submitting your PhD in German, you may need to prove your proficiency in the language with a test such as the DSH or TestDaF.

How do I apply for a PhD in Germany? 

There is no central admissions process or selection office for doctoral students in Germany, and the application process differs depending on whether you have chosen a traditional (individual) or structured PhD – for the latter, you will simply need to apply directly to your chosen university.

If applying for an individual PhD, you will first need to find a suitable professor who is willing to be your supervisor. You may be able to find a supervisor through contacts from your previous university, or by searching for institutes and research centers or teams which relate to your area of interest.  The following online search platforms might help you find a suitable supervisor:

• DAAD
• PhD Germany
• Hochschulkompass.de
• academics.de

Once you have found a supervisor, the responsible department or doctoral committee must confirm your eligibility as a doctoral candidate. This usually involves completing an application which includes a statement from your doctoral supervisor, certified copies of certificates, proof of recognition of your qualifications from the Dean’s office, academic references and the university degree that enables you to participate in doctoral study. Your application may also include an English or German language test result, if applicable. The Student Office of your chosen university will review these documents and grant permission for you to commence doctoral studies.

The next step is to enroll at the university. To be eligible for enrolment, the university must first accept your application for admission to doctoral studies. However, not all departments require doctoral applicants to formally enroll. You can find any requirements relating to enrolment on the university’s official website.

You must also make sure your postgraduate degree is recognized, obtain a residence permit and/or student visa, and ensure you have adequate finances for your stay.

Do I need a student visa? 

This will depend on your country of origin. Many students will find that they do not need a student visa, but do need a residence permit. You can read more about obtaining a German student visa here, or find an overview of the countries for which a student visa is or isn’t required on the Foreign Federal Office’s website.

Do I need to speak German?

No – however, we’d recommend learning at least basic German to help you get by in your host country, especially if you’d like to work during or after your studies. If you are studying an individual doctorate writing the doctoral thesis can often be written in English, while structured PhD programs frequently allow students to complete their doctorate in English.

For further information on studying a PhD in Germany, read the DAAD’s ‘FAQs – Doing a doctorate in Germany’ PDF.

This article was originally published in October 2015. It was updated in September 2018.

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Sponsored by University of Johannesburg

There was a time, not so long ago, when the sci-fi visions of self-aware computers, robot armies and faithful droids were merely a fantasy. Not any longer. Artificial intelligence (AI) has become so commonplace that the idea of owning a smart speaker or self-driving car has been widely accepted and there’s even serious discussion that AI robots could replace actors in Hollywood blockbusters.

Of course, the reality is we’re still some way from AI being able to convincingly mimic a human being (although the video below is terrifyingly close). So, how far can AI truly go, and in what things will humans continue to have an advantage?

To find out, we spoke to Prof Tshilidzi Marwala from the University of Johannesburg, author of the books Conditioning Monitoring Using Computational Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence for Rational Decision Making.

Say goodbye to the workplace

Perhaps one of the most eagerly-anticipated and discussed aspects of a rise in AI is the idea that people will no longer need to work. Instead, AI robots will populate factories and perform the roles many people are currently paid to. Professor Marwala warns, however, that this doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll all get to experience a utopian future of limitless free time.

He says: “According to the World Economic Forum, 70 percent of the jobs that exist today will not exist in 30 years. Any task that typically does not involve more than one minute of thinking to complete will be automated.

“The need for humans in the workforce will be curtailed. The social consequence of this will be extensive. Those with financial capital will simply buy these AI robots and produce goods and services to maximize profit.

“So, the concept of the poor getting poorer and the rich getting richer will be exacerbated.”

This challenge is one of many that will need to be addressed if we truly are to become a post-work society. It’s also quite likely that there are some jobs AI just won’t ever be well-suited for. Professor Marwala gives the example of doctors, saying: “Perhaps the patient-doctor relationship is too human for people to prefer machine doctors to human doctors.”

This means that jobs will essentially be split into two categories, depending on whether they’re performed by humans or computers.

How AI could prevent disasters

While the threat of increased economic disparity is a great concern to Professor Marwala, he’s quick to point out how AI could be used for good, citing evidence of how it could be used to prevent buildings from collapsing.

He talks of how his grandmother used to make clay pots: “She would tap each pot and listen to the sound and this told her whether it was strong or weak. Using sound to test quality, is what engineers call non-destructive testing and it’s applied in aerospace engineering to assess whether planes have body cracks.

“The sound my grandmother was listening to is what we call vibration data in engineering and this can be processed by artificially intelligent machines.

“At the University of Johannesburg, we offer courses in vibration analysis, signals and systems, thermodynamics and artificial intelligence. These are necessary to take the framework I was taught by my grandmother and use it to monitor the safety of buildings and bridges.

“Data acquisition devices are embedded on buildings and bridges and data is relayed to an artificially intelligent machine, which analyzes it and decides if there is any danger of a collapse. In case of imminent danger, automated messaging can be used.”

Making AI truly global

Interestingly, one of the obstacles Professor Marwala envisages for the growth and development of AI around the world is the fact it will have to adapt to different countries and cultures. To give an example, he mentions how his smart speaker at home insists on saying his name in an American accent.

He says: ““The reason why this happens is because the data that is used to train this device is largely collected in North America and not in South Africa. For us to make this device not to be biased we will have to record all words and associate them to meanings in all of South Africa’s 11 official languages and incorporate these into this Google device.”

These developments will happen eventually - Google Translate has begun to feature African languages, including Swahili and Zulu - but it will take time. Some languages and dialects will also be easier than others. Professor Marwala cites the example of isiXhosa, a Bantu language which AI has found difficult to learn.

As isiXhosa consists of a mixture of clicks and Bantu language, AI interprets the clicks as background noise and eliminates them when attempting to understand or translate what has been said.

Professor Marwala says: “Nevertheless, isiXhosa is an important language locked out of the fourth industrial revolution. We ought to develop a new method that will not treat these clicks as noise but as an integral part of the language.”

Language isn’t the only area where Western-developed AI systems fail to work effectively for consumers elsewhere in the world. For example, at the University of Johannesburg, Gugulethu Mabuza-Hocquet completed her doctorate on designing algorithms capable of understanding that people of African descent have a sharper difference between the pupil and iris of their eye.

Professor Marwala says: “These algorithms, therefore, allow biometric systems based on the iris of the eye not to implicitly discriminate Africans in favour of Europeans.

“The next step should be to develop better algorithms that understand the Xhosa language. Taking our languages into the digital and the fourth industrial ages is our responsibility. We cannot just import technology, such as speech recognition machines, but we should adjust them to our particular environments.”

Are you fascinated by the possibilities of AI and wondering how you could follow in Gugulethu’s footsteps to tackle some of the most pressing issues facing this fourth industrial revolution? Click here to find out more about studying at the University of Johannesburg.

There are thousands of universities around the world, but which one is the best? We went to the ‘Summer in the City’ YouTube event in London and asked students to give us their best guess for the number one uni in the world. Is it Harvard? Oxford? Stanford? See what QS has to say about the top universities.

Sponsored by the University of Navarra

Imagine studying in a city where your university is only five minutes away (on foot) from where you live, ten minutes from popular nightspots and fifteen minutes from the theater.

Imagine studying in a small city that is open to the world, where the local university has global aspirations.

Sound good? You can have all of this if you choose to study in Pamplona, the capital of Navarre – one of the finest and most culturally rich regions of Spain. Want to learn more? Here are five important things to know about studying in Navarre.

You’ll have the chance to learn from excellent professors

A good university professor knows their two main commitments are to their teaching and their research, two mutually enriching activities. Most of the 910 professors at the University of Navarra hold a PhD.

Furthermore, the professor-student ratio at the university is 1:12, which makes for close contact and ensures you’re always able to turn to someone for academic support.

When you start at the university, you’re also assigned a mentor, who will answer any questions you have about academic studies, campus life and employment opportunities.

You’ll never be short of things to do outside of your studies

As well as a wide range of festivals and cultural events, the city has plenty of other ways to offer entertainment. You can also visit exhibitions and see performances each academic year in the museum theater at the Museum University of Navarra, which is located in the center of the university campus.

If you’re artistically minded, the museum also offers many different activities that can help you get involved in campus life such as the Symphony Orchestra, University Choir and Musical Performance Workshop.

For sport lovers, the Sports Talent program lets you combine university studies with participation in competitive sports. If you really want your campus experience to leave a mark, you can join more than 1,300 volunteers at the University’s Time Bank, which collaborates with 134 NGOs and associations. Basically, there’s so much to do here that your only worry will be deciding what to do first.

You’ll find yourself studying on a stunning campus

The largest park in the city of Pamplona is the university campus, which covers 113 hectares and contains more than 4,190 trees of 173 different species. This year, the university received the international Green Flag Award, making it the first university campus in Spain to receive this quality certification.

As well as memories of a pretty campus and your university degree, the University of Navarra will leave you with something more: well before graduation, their team of professionals will provide you with support for entering the job market.

For the fourth consecutive year, the University of Navarra was ranked first in Spain in the QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2019. It was also ranked 61st in the world.

You’ll get to experience the San Fermín Festival

Pamplona is world-famous for San Fermín, its yearly festival, made popular by the author and regular participant Ernest Hemingway. At today’s festival, the entire city is dressed in red and white and welcomes a million visitors from all over the world.

You may have seen videos of groups of people running in front of the bulls, an event that’s part of the San Fermín tradition. There’s more to Navarre than the bulls though. At other times in the year, Pamplona also organizes other events such as rock and indie music festivals, the Flamenco on Fire festival and, of course, Tapas Week. This region is very famous for its gastronomy and, when you try it, you’ll understand why.

You’ll discover that Navarre is more than just a small region in northern Spain

Even though Pamplona is a small city, you’ll meet young people from all over the world here. What do you think about studying at a university where more than 24 percent of the student body is made up of international students?

In the 2017-2018 academic year, more than 3,000 young people from other countries chose to study at the University of Navarra and 500 students come to the university each year as exchange students. All of this means there are more than 96 nationalities represented on campus. The University of Navarra has also signed 482 partnership agreements with 386 institutions in 54 countries.

Of course, the most important things you take away from your university experience are the friendships and relationships you make, which is why the size of a university is never the most important factor. What really matters is it’s open to others and the world.