Cooperative Doctoral Studies

The Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau (TH Wildau), as a university of applied sciences (UAS), does not have its own right to award doctoral degrees. Instead, doctoral candidates can pursue a cooperative doctorate, which involves a joint doctoral procedure between TH Wildau and a university (regional, national or international). Typically, the primary supervisor is based at the university, while the secondary supervisor is based at TH Wildau. The doctoral project is therefore jointly supervised and is generally carried out in practical terms at TH Wildau. A cooperative doctorate is formally governed by the doctoral degree regulations of the relevant faculty at the cooperating university. Admission, the conduct of the doctoral procedure, and the award of the doctoral degree are therefore regulated by the university. The doctoral degree regulations may also stipulate additional requirements for graduates of universities of applied sciences (UAS), such as supplementary qualification measures.

Cooperative doctorates are regularly conducted at TH Wildau and have been well established for many years. Currently, more than 40 ongoing doctoral procedures at TH Wildau are known to be underway (as of September 2026). Through TH Wildau professors in their respective academic disciplines, contacts have been established with relevant universities. In addition, TH Wildau maintains long-term cooperation agreements with the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (link) and with the University of Rome Tor Vergata in Rome, Italy (link), in order to support joint doctoral projects and to facilitate access for qualified researchers from TH Wildau to doctoral procedures at these universities.

Once the doctoral research topic and the primary and secondary supervisors have been finalised, we recommend drawing up a doctoral supervision agreement setting out the rights and obligations of the doctoral candidate and the supervisors. A template with minimum standards for individual adaptation can be found here (link).

We also recommend keeping a doctoral logbook. It serves as a continuous and transparent record of doctoral activities. In particular, the logbook documents supervision meetings and agreements between doctoral candidates and their supervisors, participation in events and workshops, as well as teaching and publication activities, and professional development measures. The doctoral logbook also supports reflection on progress towards the doctoral degree, allowing development steps to be reviewed regularly and adjusted where necessary. A template that can be adapted to individual needs is available here (link).

Your Contacts

Please address any general enquiries, ideas or requests to: graduiertenkolleg(at)th-wildau.de