Academic Qualification

Subject-specific Qualification

Subject-specific qualification for doctoral candidates at MCTS takes place through the Integrative Graduate Center TechnoScienceStudies (IGC TSS).

Throughout their doctoral studies, candidates regularly take part in a series of events that are offered:

• #mytopic.in.society: An MCTS colloquium for discussing current research work (every semester)
• Workshops with and for the doctoral candidates on relevant aspects of scholarly research and professionalization.

The IGC TSS provides confirmation of your participation in the events. This participation confirmation is then uploaded onto your DocGS doctoral candidate profile. In urgent cases, elements of the subject-specific qualification program at IGC TSS can be replaced with equivalent coursework, which must be requested through the Graduate Center. The application for recognition of coursework for the subject-specific qualification can be found  here.

Active Participation in the Academic Environment at TUM

It is important for doctoral candidates to get involved in the academic environment at TUM in order to be able to engage in dialog with others and to develop their skills and share their knowledge.

This can be achieved by means of:

• research stays at TUM or a partner institution
• teaching at TUM
• organzation of academic events
• employment in a research group at TUM

If you have an employment contract with TUM, then these qualification elements are automatically fulfilled. External doctoral candidates must draw up a self-evaluation report by the end of their doctoral studies. A template is available for download here.

Feedback Meeting

In addition to regular dialog, a mandatory interview is held between the doctoral candidate, their supervisor and their mentor no later than two years into the doctoral studies program. This is called the feedback meeting. This interview documents the progress of the doctoral project based on the supervision agreement. Participation is confirmed by means of a form which is uploaded onto the DocGS online platform.

The form is available for download here.

Further informa­tion on supervisors and mentoring

Membership of TUM Graduate School

At the last stage of their application, the Eintrag in die Promotionsliste aut

all doctoral candidates automatically become members of the TUM Graduate School. Membership is required for at least two years.

Our tip: Please apply early for entry into the doctoral candidacy list!

Extradisciplinary Qualification

Doctoral candidates have the option to attend courses in the extradisciplinary program at TUM Graduate School.

Further information on courses and eligibility requirements can be found here.

To obtain extradisciplinary qualification, doctoral candidates can also take advantage of offerings at other TUM organizations, for example:

• TUM horizons, which provides advanced training for all staff at TUM
• ProLehre, which provides professional development courses on instructional methods
• The Language Center, where you can learn and improve your foreign and technical language skills
• The University Library, which provides training and consultation on literature research and management, correct citations, publication strategies and bibliometry

Internationalization

For internal doctoral candidates → Internationalization Support

For external doctoral candidates → TUM GS Internationalization Grant at IGC TSS

Internationalization Support

Pursuing a doctorate at TUM offers opportunities to acquire initial international research experience and to continually build on and develop such experience. Our concept of “internationalization” is expansive and includes, for example,

• Presenting your own scholarly work at international conferences and symposia
• Research stays at an international academic institute or with a research-active company (usually at least 2 weeks)
• Participation in international subject-specific summer/winter schools, academic workshops, etc.
• Inviting international scholars for joint research activities in connection with your dissertation project
• Inviting international examiners to be part of your oral examination

Doctoral candidates can apply for financial support of up to 1,600 Euros from the TUM Graduate School for travel expenses, overnight expenses and registration fees related to the above-mentioned activities. For research stays of at least 4 consecutive weeks, doctoral candidates can receive up to an additional 1,400 Euros.
Doctoral Candidates who have an employment contract with TUM: Please read TUM GS info on internationalization support carefully.

How do I obtain internationalization support from TUM GS?

1. Before engaging in an international activity: apply on time (at least 4 weeks in advance)

• Apply for internationalization support through DocGS and have the form signed by your supervisor and the Integrative Graduate Center TechnoScienceStudies.
• People who have an employment contract with TUM: apply for a travel permit, fill in the “financing” section with “TUM GS internationalization support” Forms and guidelines can be found here.
• Scholarship holders: please submit proof that your scholarship donor does not provide internationalization support or that you have no scholarship funding left for international activities

Please store the approvals/verifications carefully.

2. Organize your international activity (transport, accommodation, conference registration, etc.). Please note:

• Resulting costs/invoices have to be paid by you in advance and are reimbursed later on. Therefore, please save the original receipts.
• This also means: It is not possible to use service providers like travel agencies through MCTS customer accounts (= invoicing the MCTS).

If you would like to request advance payment (reimbursement before you return):

• People who have an employment contract with TUM: submit an application for advance payment and send the approval together with the required documents to:
  TUM Graduate School / Internationalisierungsförderung
  Boltzmannstraße 17
  85748 Garching
• Scholarship holders: send the approved application for TUM GS internationalization support, proof from the scholarship donor (+ if necessary a list of previous internationalization measures) and the TUM-GS request for reimbursement of travel expenses including verifications/receipts to TUM Graduate School / Internationalisierungsförderung
  Boltzmannstraße 17
  85748 Garching

3. After engaging in an internationalization activity

• People who have an employment contract with TUM: submit a request for reimbursement of travel expenses together with original receipts, the approved application for TUM GS internationalization support, and payment authorization. Fill in the “financing” section with “TUM GS internationalization support”.
  As soon as the documents are processed and approved, send them for accounting to:
  TUM Graduate School / Internationalisierungsförderung
  Boltzmannstraße 17
  85748 Garching
• Scholarship holders: submit a TUM-GS request for reimbursement of travel expenses with original receipts and the approved application for internationalization support to:
  TUM Graduate School / Internationalisierungsförderung
  Boltzmannstraße 17
  85748 Garching

The doctoral candidate receives the refund directly to his/her bank account.

• Please note: Generally, the application for internationalization support may only be made after the feedback meeting has been held. If this is not the case yet, please add a convincing letter of confirmation by your supervisor to your application stating that the international activity is reasonable and necessary at the current state of the doctoral project.
• If you plan to invite an international guest or an international examiner to the oral exam: In order to facilitate quick reimbursement, the doctoral candidate should pay the guest’s travel and accommodation costs in advance. The TUM-GS then reimburses these costs to the doctoral candidate.
• Doctoral candidates with external employment contracts e.g. with corporations or external research institutes are not eligible

TUM GS Internationalization Grant at IGC TSS

Doctoral candidates who are excellent in their disciplines, and who are neither employed at TUM, nor do receive a traditional scholarship, fellowship or grant for their doctoral studies, are not eligible for the regular TUM GS Internationalization Support. Instead, they can apply for the TUM GS Internationalization Grant of max. 1.600 Euros.

Doctoral candidates who are excellent in their disciplines can apply for this grant for the following activities:

• Research stays at an international academic institute or with a research-active company (usually at least 2 weeks)
• Presenting your own scholarly work at international conferences and symposiaParticipation in international subject-specific summer/winter schools, academic workshops, etc.

You can apply for the TUM GS Internationalization Grant only for a planned journey. Please send your application to Dr. Elisabeth Zellmer.

Your application should include the following information and documents:

• application form
• cover letter, which points out
  • the type and relevance of the trip for your doctoral project
  • expected results (publication, talk, proposal together with international cooperation partner, learn a method, acquisition of data or research results etc.)letter of recommendation of your supervisor
• short CV (academic degrees, publications)
• if the feedback meeting has not taken place yet: convincing confirmation by the supervisor that the internationalization activity is reasonable and necessary at the current state of the doctoral project.

The IGC TSS can award the TUM GS Internationalization Grant to up to two applicants per year.

Application deadlines:

1. quarter – March 15
2. quarter – June 15
3. quarter – September 15
4. quarter – December 15

For each quarter, the ICG TSS Board prepares a ranking of the applicants and forwards it to the TUM Graduate School. The final decision about the grant award is made by the TUM GS Board and the Graduate Dean.

Financial Support by the TUM GS

The TUM Graduate School offers doctoral candidates short-term scholarships and grants at the start, during, or at the end of the doctoral research phase.

More information here

English Proofreading Service for Your Academic Publications

In order to assist you with your publications, the TUM Graduate School offers a professional, subject-specific proofreading service for academic articles written in English. The proofreading service is provided free of charge to members of the TUM Graduate School.

Further information about the proofreading service

You can apply to use the proofreading service through the Integrative Graduate Center TechnoScienceStudies. Please consult the “Proofreading service” info sheet and use this “Request Form“, when applying to IGC TSS.

Language Courses

The TUM Language Center offers courses for German and English as a second language.

Courses for German as a second language

Courses for English as a second language

Writing Support for English and German as a Second Language

The TUM Language Center offers the opportunity to have your English texts reviewed by a writing consultant in order to help improve the quality of your writing. In a 45-minute session, you will work together with a writing consultant on up to five pages of text at a time. This writing support service is for both non-native and native English speakers.

More information on English writing support

The Language Center also offers a writing support for German as a foreign language.

Family & Diversity Advice

TUM supports equal opportunities for men and women. As a family-friendly university, TUM invests in helping people balance family and career in sustainable ways. The TUM Graduate School acknowledges and promotes the diversity and differences among doctoral candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religion and worldview, disability, age or sexual orientation.

A broad range of advising and other services are available to help support people in all life circumstances.

Here you can find information about advising and other services available at TUM.

• Diversity
• Doing a doctorate with a family
• Inclusion
• Financial support
• Networking

Career Service Advice

The TUM career service supports you throughout all stages of your career planning: From developing an attractive employment profile and searching for a suitable job, to successfully managing the start of your career– and beyond.

Further information about the TUM Career Service offerings

Support Options for Postdocs

The Technical University Munich (TUM) offers postdoc researchers excellent support services. We offer our young academics family services, professional assistance when applying for external funds and advanced training and careers programs.

You can find further information here.