Doing a doctorate at PK NRW

In addition to the cooperative doctorate, Fachhochschule Dortmund now also offers you the opportunity to complete a doctorate in accordance with the independent doctorate law of the PK NRW. The doctoral procedure according to the doctoral law of the PK NRW takes place in 9 steps:

Step 1: Find a supervisor and obtain confirmation of supervision

Step 2: Enrolment as a doctoral candidate at the HAW

Step 3: Acceptance and enrollment as a doctoral candidate at the PK NRW

Step 4: Conclude a supervision agreement

Step 5: Complete doctoral program and write dissertation

Step 6: Assessment

Step 7: Disputation

Step 8: Publication

Step 9: Exmatriculation

It is important that your supervisor at Fachhochschule Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts is a professorial member of the PK NRW and that you enrol for your doctorate both at Fachhochschule Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts and at the Graduate Center NRW. To apply for acceptance and enrollment as a doctoral candidate at the PK NRW, you can now register in the doctoral college information and control system Kiss. When you enrol as a doctoral candidate, you automatically become a member of the PK NRW.

The entries received will be processed by the PK NRW from November 2023 and the deadline for enrolment has been extended until 01.12.2023 for all doctoral candidates who are already enrolled at your university.

Further information on the following topics can be found here:

Doctoral process & procedure at PK NRW(Opens in a new tab) 

Registration & enrollment at PK NRW(Opens in a new tab) 

Registration & enrollment at Fachhochschule Dortmund 

If you have any further questions or require further consultation, you can also contact the Graduate Center  at Fachhochschule Dortmund.

In order for doctoral candidates at Fachhochschule Dortmund to be able to do a doctorate under the independent doctoral degree rights of the PK NRW, the supervisor of the university must also be a professorial member of the PK NRW. In order to become a professorial member, professors with a doctorate and habilitated employees must meet certain requirements. The criteria are as follows:

• You are a professor with a doctorate or habilitation at a sponsoring university or a professor with a doctorate at a cooperating university of the PK NRW
• You conduct research in the department's key areas
• Your HAW gives you the freedom to work at PK NRW
• In the last three to five years, you have received an average of at least
  • research-related third-party funding of €100,000 (in the life sciences/natural sciences/engineering) or €50,000 (in other disciplines) and
  • published a peer-reviewed publication in recognized journals
• You have appropriate experience in the supervision of doctorates (the decision as to which supervisory experience is appropriate is made by the responsible department).

If you do not meet all the requirements, you can apply for the status of association once for five years.

Applications for membership are accepted by the PK NRW via the KISS collegiate information and control system. Please send the necessary forms to the management of the PK NRW, Dr. Carolin Schuchert . The decision as to whether the proven supervisory experience is appropriate is made by the responsible department of the PK NRW.

Further information, documents and the application process can be found on the PK NRW website(Opens in a new tab) .

You can contact Meike Herrmann  regarding the letter of support from Fachhochschule Dortmund. If you have any further questions or require further consultation, you can also contact the Graduate Center  at Fachhochschule Dortmund.