Initial Info
Info page for our international doctoral candidates and applicants
Welcome!
The working language of our Graduate School is German and therefore most of the information on our web site and our information material is in German. We can of course always communicate in English.
As soon as you are accepted into the GSH, you will receive an e-mail with the most important information for starting you on your doctorate. On this page here, you can find further information and links to everything you should know.
First of all, please feel free to reach out to our managing director, Dr. Schmid, with any questions – regarding your study program, ordinances or anything else. Your communication with him may always be in English.
Furthermore, you may contact the members of the Doctoral Student Council (DSC).
1. Financing (relevant information for applicants)
Scholarships: A Master’s degree in Germany, German citizenship or at least B2 proficiency in German are required to be eligible for most of the scholarships. Without any of these prerequisites, it is likely that you can only apply for a scholarship granted by the ‘Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes. There might be some more scholarships available to you depending on your research topic.
Further information on fellowships for international doctoral students.
Working at the University of Würzburg: If you are offered a position at the University, you should know what the following German terms mean:
Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin / wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter | research fellow, research associate, scientific staff | Employment (limited duration): teaching, research, bureaucracy… |
Lehrbeauftragte / Lehrbeauftragter | lecturer | No ‘real’ employment, you are paid a fix sum for the class you are teaching during a semester. |
Wissenschaftliche Hilfskraft (HiWi) | research assistant | Employment while being enrolled (limited duration, limited hours, limited wages). |
2. Forms for your doctoral process
On our web site, you can find all the respective necessary info and forms (in German)
- for starting your doctorate at the GSH,
- for the course of your doctoral process and
- for finalising your doctorate.
In case you still struggle with the German language on certain forms, you can be guided by the forms provided by our sister Graduate School, the Graduate School of Life Sciences. Just please keep in mind that you need to use ours for your doctorate at the GSH.
3. Workshops
- The Graduate School for Life Sciences offers workshops in English which you may participate in. Should there be a fee, the GSH will cover it. You can find their current workshop program here.
- The funding of our PROVED-program aims at enabling you to team up with fellow GSH doctoral students and organise lectures and workshops in English (or German) by inviting English (or German) speaking guests.
- German language courses: The elective part of our doctoral study course (6 SWS) allows for including language courses as long as they are necessary for the success of your PhD thesis. If this is the case for you for German courses, you should discuss your respective participation and possible crediting to your curriculum with your committee and/or reach out to Dr. Schmid.
- For further information you can also check the general information on studying in Würzburg.
- For translating German language text, we strongly recommend the use of deepl.com.
