Information sheet on the language of the Dissertation (Dr. phil.)

Section 6 (3) of the doctoral regulations for the Dr. phil. degree contains the following provision: As a rule, the dissertation must be written in German or English. The doctoral committee may allow the applicant to submit a dissertation written in another language.

The following should be noted in this regard:

1. In procedures for which faculties 8, 9, and 11 are responsible, only dissertations in German or English will be accepted in the future.

2. Dissertations for which faculty 10 is responsible may also be written in French or Spanish.

3. Exceptions to the rule in (1) and (2) may be justified by co-tutelle procedures or cumulative doctorates.

4. If the dissertation is to be submitted in a language other than German or English, this must be requested in the application for admission as a doctoral candidate. In addition, the title and exposé must be written in German or English when the application is submitted.

5. Upon admission to the doctoral program, no language other than that specified in the application for acceptance as a doctoral candidate will be permitted for the dissertation.

If an application for admission to the doctoral program is submitted without prior acceptance as a doctoral candidate, rules (1) to (3) apply analogously.

6. If the language of the dissertation is not German or English, a German summary must be included with the dissertation. The application for acceptance as a doctoral candidate (or admission to doctoral studies if no such acceptance has taken place previously) must be accompanied by a detailed written statement from the supervisor, which includes a list of potential members of an examination committee who are qualified in terms of content and form.

7. The colloquium is usually held in German or English.

8. Upon request, the colloquium may be held in a language other than German or English. The application must be accompanied by declarations of consent from the members of the examination committee stating that they have sufficient command of the language in question. In this case, the language of the colloquium must correspond to the language used in the written dissertation. The minutes of the colloquium must be written in German.

9. The evaluations of the dissertation must always be written in German or English.