Pursuant to § 18 (1) line 1 of the RPromO, to be accepted as a doctoral researcher at the PZET you must provide evidence of

• a master’s degree (from a university or university of applied sciences) or
• a ‘Diplom’ degree (from a university) or
• having completed a first state examination

in engineering or natural sciences with a final grade point average of 2.0 or better (see § 7 (2) of the FPromO).

A professorial member of the PZET must be the first supervisor of your research project (see § 13 (4) of the PRomO). In addition, your research topic must be aligned with the PZET’s research profile.

You can find a list of all professorial members of the center (the ‘Kollegium’) with their respective research areas under the section ‘Governing Structures and Committees’. If you are interested in pursuing a doctorate, please feel free to contact the relevant professor directly.

The supervision agreement provides the foundation for the working relationship between the doctoral candidate and their supervisor(s). The supervision agreement ‘is intended to provide transparency in the expectations, responsibilities, and timeframe of the relationship between doctoral candidates and supervisors’ (translation of DFG - 1.90 - ‘Empfelungen für das Erstellen von Betreuungsvereinbarungen’) to support the planning and conduct of the doctoral project, and to foster a trusting, constructive, and transparent collaboration at the highest academic level.

The terms of the supervision agreement should be agreed jointly by you and your supervisor and set down in writing. 

A template for the agreement can be found under the ‘Admission documents’ tab.

The basis of a doctoral research project is the research proposal which includes a structured research plan and timeframe. The research proposal should outline the proposed research topic, the current state of research in the field, the objectives and expected contribution of the project to the field, and the planned methodology. Its purpose is to present the proposed doctoral project in a clear, concise, and well-structured manner (see § 20 (2) line 1 (5) of the PRomO). Prospective doctoral candidates often prepare their research proposal during the orientation phase; it is not required before contacting a professor affiliated with the PZET. 

Under ‘Admission documents’, you will find a template for a research proposal and guidelines that can help you in preparing your research proposal.

Please download the forms and templates to avoid formatting issues.

Cover letter

Admission request form

Supervision agreement template

Research proposal (‘Exposé’) template

Recommendations for doctoral research projects under external employment contracts

Doctoral development programme - course recognition

To provide equitable recognition of coursework for all doctoral candidates, as a general rule only courses offered at level 8 (doctoral level) of the German Qualifications Framework (DQR, based on the European Qualifications Framework, EQR) are recognised for the doctoral development programme requirements. If you have questions about coursework requirements, please email: jacqueline.catalano@th-nuernberg.de.

Discontinuing doctoral studies at the PZET

If you decide to stop pursuing your doctorate at the PZET, please complete the template letter (below), have your supervisor sign it, and send it to the PZET office (an email is sufficient): jacqueline.catalano@th-nuernberg.de.

Template letter for discontinuing doctoral studies at the doctoral research center - Energy Engineering

To ensure academically rigorous doctoral research in promising fields of study, professorial members are accepted based on defined criteria set out in the implementing regulation for the Bavarian Higher Education Innovation Act (‘Ausführungsverordnung zum Bayerischen Hochschulinnovationsgesetz) (see § 19 (2) and (3) of the AVBayHIG). 

As universities of applied sciences have gained the right to award doctorates, doctoral candidates who meet the eligibility requirements and have established a supervision agreement may pursue their doctorate directly within a doctoral research center of the three partner universities.

Professors who are interested in becoming a professorial member of a doctoral research center should send an email to promotion@th-nuernberg.de for more information. We will email you the application form.

• Professor sends completed membership application, unsigned, as a Word file to the doctoral research center office of their home university (regardless of the lead university of the respective doctoral center).
• The office reviews the information provided in the application against relevant records, seeking further clarification where required.
• Professor, research services department, and doctoral research center office sign the application (research services department and the doctoral research office confirm the accuracy of the information).
• Doctoral research center office forwards the application to the head of the respective doctoral research center.
• The head forwards the application to the body of professorial members (the ‘Kollegium’). A joint opinion is issued by the Kollegium and the head.
• The Steering Council (‘Lenkungsrat’) receives the application and opinion issued by the doctoral research center Kollegium and leadership and decides whether the candidate professor is accepted for membership.

Faculty members (‘Kollegium’)

The doctoral research center - Energy Engineering currently has 23 professorial members from the three partner universities:

Doctoral committee

Leadership board

PZET Office

Technische Hochschule Nürnberg Georg Simon Ohm
Energy Engineering Doctoral Research Center Office

Postal address
Keßlerplatz 12
90489 Nuremberg, Germany

Office location
Ohm Innovation Center (OIC)
Brucknerstr. 11
90429 Nuremberg, Germany
3.OG Nord, Room: FO.307

Contact:

Jacqueline Catalano
Email: jacqueline.catalano@th-nuernberg.de
Please arrange an appointment for a consultation

Steering Council (for all doctoral research centers)

The doctoral research center heads and the coordinators of the doctoral research center offices attend the Steering Council meetings in an advisory capacity.