Doctorate medical science
Duration and scope
The duration of the doctoral programme "Dr. scient. med." is eight semesters and accounts for 180 ECTS credits.
Various courses are held during the first two years (curricular part). The courses are held in blocks at the beginning of the semester and in a 5-day block at the end of the semester. In addition, online courses are held on Wednesday evenings throughout the semester. Attendance of at least 80 percent of the courses and passing all courses relevant to the examination are required for successful completion of the programme and admission to doctoral studies.
Structure and modules
The doctoral programme consists of the completion and writing of an independent research paper as well as curricular components amounting to 38 ECTS credits (ECTS-KP).
Attendance and active participation in the courses offered during the curricular part of the program and passing the corresponding credits are the prerequisites for admission to the doctoral program.
The credits for the courses relevant to the examination are awarded in the form of semester examinations. Semester examinations are written comprehensive examinations in which the course content is examined in defined parts of study sections (examination-relevant courses). Courses relevant to examinations are brought to the attention of the students at the beginning of the course of study.
Modul | ECTS-KP |
| Module 0: Introduction and orientation | 1 |
| Module 1: Scientific Writing | 6 |
| Module 2: Core competencies of independent in-depth scientific work | 7 |
| Module 3: Subject-specific competences of independent in-depth scientific work | 5 |
| Module 4: Communication and presentation | 3 |
| Module 5: Biometrics and statistics | 5 |
| Module 6: Ethics in science and research | 3 |
| Module 7: Scientific Forum | 6 |
| Module 8: Optional subjects | 2 |
| Total modules (incl. exams) | 38 |
| Oral doctoral examination | 2 |
| Dissertation (classical dissertation or cumulative work) | 140 |
| Total ECTS points total study programme | 1 |
Doctoral Colloquium
The «Scientific Forum» module provides for four doctoral colloquia - «Scientific Report», «Progress Report», «Leistungsschau/Rehearsals I» and «Leistungsschau/Rehearsals II» - which serve for discussion among students and with lecturers. Every student is obliged to attend the doctoral colloquia. An exposé of the planned dissertation must be presented in the first doctoral colloquium. The subsequent colloquia focus on content aspects.