Research at Europa-Universität Flensburg centers on the educational sciences, European studies, and sustainability / transformation studies. A relatively young and dynamically growing university, EUF has a solid infrastructure with dedicated resources for each of its core research areas. Serving as central hubs for scholarship on education and European studies are the university’s signature research centers—the Center for Research on Education, Teaching, Schooling and Socialization (ZeBUSS) and the Interdisciplinary Centre for European Studies (ICES). For the broadly interdisciplinary area of sustainability / transformation studies, the Jackstädt Center for Entrepreneurship and SMEs Flensburg, the Norbert Elias Center for Transformation Design & Research (NEC), and the Center for Sustainable Energy Systems (ZNES) provide vital support.

EUF confers the following degree titles:

• Doctor of Philosophy (Dr. phil.)
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

• Doctor of Economic Sciences (Dr. rer. pol.)

Doctoral candidates at EUF benefit from numerous targeted resources and programs, including interdisciplinary colloquia, training opportunities, and academic advising.

The university welcomes the chance to work intensively with the scholars from other universities who serve as dissertation reviewers on doctoral projects

There are several steps to pursuing a doctorate at Europa-Universität Flensburg (EUF). Together they constitute the so-called "doctoral procedure" – that is, the phases of doctoral work leading up to the doctorate.

Finding a doctoral supervisor and signing the supervision agreement is the formal first step to beginning your doctoral studies at Europa-Universität Flensburg develop a dissertation topic.

If you already have a specific dissertation topic in mind but lack the doctoral supervisor, you can research the various institutes listed on the EUF webpages to find a professor whose expertise and work presents a good match with your proposed topic. Both you and your supervisor then sign the supervision agreement. The agreement must be submitted as Annex B of your application for admission to doctoral study (see Forms / Downloads). You can then contact that person directly to ask about setting up a supervision agreement.

Please note that EUF does not assist with supervision arrangements. Finding a doctoral supervisor and setting up the supervision agreement are entirely in your hands.

Following this, your next step is to apply for admission to doctoral study at EUF. The application forms and required attachments are available under Forms / Downloads. You can either mail the completed application to the address shown on the application form, or email it to the doctoral committee (promotionsausschuss-PleaseRemoveIncludingDashes-@uni-flensburg.de) as single pdf file containing your scanned signature. Important: degree certificates must be submitted as originals or notarized copies—simple scans or photocopies are not acceptable.

The EUF doctoral committee reviews applications for doctoral study at its regular meetings. Your application must have arrived least two weeks before the meeting, and it must be complete. The committee generally notifies applicants of its acceptance decision within one week of each meeting. Kindly refrain from inquiring about the status of your application.

If you hold a foreign university degree, your admission will be subject to a degree check to determine whether the degree entitles you to pursue the doctorate.

Admission to doctoral study at the university marks the start of your official doctoral procedure. At this point, you are required to enroll as doctoral student at Europa-Universität Flensburg and to remain enrolled for the duration of your doctoral studies at the university. Doctoral students can request exemption from the enrollment requirement by sending an informal statement justifying their case to the chair of the doctoral committee (see "contact").

After you have enrolled as a doctoral student, you can begin researching and writing the dissertation straight away.

Once you have completed your dissertation, it is time for the doctoral examination procedure. This final step in your doctoral studies consists of three phases: review, defense/disputation, and the official acceptance or rejection decision and grading of the dissertation (see Doctoral examination). You can find the application form for the doctoral examination under Forms / Downloads.

Once you pass the exam, you will receive a certificate proving that you hold the doctorate. However, you may not use the doctoral title until you have received your doctoral diploma and published your dissertation—either digitally, or through a traditional publishing house (per § 22 of the EUF doctoral regulations).

At Europa-Universität Flensburg, doctoral students carry out doctoral their research under the guidance of a faculty member who serves as the doctoral supervisor. Incoming students set up the supervisory agreement at the start of their doctoral studies, right after they choose and develop the dissertation research topic.

Supervisors play a key role in guiding and supporting doctoral students throughout their studies. Traditionally in Germany, both parties in the supervisory relationship develop a unique academic bond marked by intense scholarly exchange, collaborative research, and close mentoring. While doctoral students are –of course—solely responsible for their own work on the dissertation, the supervisor nevertheless guides and helps steer the direction of this research to ensure a fruitful final contribution. Because of this close involvement, normally student and supervisor normally decide together when the dissertation is ready to be submitted. Doctoral students are expected to retain the same supervisor throughout their doctoral studies. Nevertheless, supervisors can be changed in the case of a conflict.

Doctoral supervision is a core responsibility of every university professor. As such, it is always free of charge.

In Germany, doctoral study culminates in a final phase called the doctoral examination procedure. The procedure consists of three phases: review, defense/disputation, and the official acceptance/rejection and grading of the doctoral dissertation. The application form for the doctoral examination can be found under Forms / Downloads.

You should apply for admission to this procedure once you have finished writing the dissertation. The following documents must be submitted together with your application form (see Forms / Downloads):

• Three identical, bound copies of the dissertation, in compliance with the conditions stated in section 13, paragraphs 2 - 6 of the EUF doctoral regulations
• Three anonymized copies of the dissertation, submitted in electronic form (SD card, USB stick or CD-ROM)
• A currently valid police clearance certificate for private persons (not the one required by German state or federal agencies) 
• Proof of enrollment as a doctoral student at EUF, in accordance with paragraph 12 of the EUF doctoral regulations.

Please send the completed form and required documents to the chair of the doctoral committee at the address shown on the application form.

After you gain admission to the doctoral examination, scholarly experts in your field will receive copies of your dissertation for review. Reviewers have 8 weeks to submit their reports, during which time the doctoral committee will forward you copies of the reviews as they arrive. The university public also has free access to the reviews for a period of 4 weeks, two of which must fall within the semester lecture period. Certain people (listed in section 4, paragraph 1 of the doctoral regulations) are allowed to submit comments and feedback on the reviews during this university evaluation period. You should also be contacting reviewers at this time to set up a tentative disputation date.

Based on the reviews and comments, the doctoral committee will then grade the dissertation, make its final acceptance decision, set a date for the disputation (if one has been proposed), and designate a disputation chair.

The disputation is an academic talk (maximum 45 minutes) followed by a discussion. During the disputation, the doctoral candidate formally presents the scholarly results set forth in her or his dissertation and then places those results within a disciplinary context during the discussion phase that follows.

Disputations must last between 90 to 120 minutes, and they must take place during the semester lecture period. This rule is only waived in exceptional circumstances, and for good reason.

Pursuant to the Senate resolution of May 31, 2017 (available below), doctoral students who wish to obtain the doctorate by publication must submit certain additional documents beyond those listed in § 14 of the EUF doctoral regulations dated January 30, 2017. These additional documents include the following:

• List of peer-reviewed articles included in the paper, with evidence of acceptance by the publisher (please number and sort by peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed).
• Note of confirmation from the doctoral supervisor stating that the article designated as peer-reviewed has appeared in a medium classified in this way or has been accepted for publication (informal)
• Calculation of the point value (download "Excel spreadsheet to determine the P-value")
• Declaration that none of the submitted contributions have been taken from a previous qualification work
• If more than two of the articles are co-authored: confirmation for each of the articles of all involved authors that these were not or will not be part of a dissertation procedure (download "Co-authorship declaration").

At Europa-Universität Flensburg it is currently only possible to pursue the doctorate by publication in the subjects listed below.

Europa-Universität Flensburg doctoral students have the option to work jointly with another university, college or institution in Europe or elsewhere while pursuing their doctoral degree. This may take the form of a simple collaborative arrangement, or it may be formally set up as part of a joint doctorate.

A partnership agreement for the doctoral student in question must be must negotiated and signed by both partner institutions, taking into account the legal framework of each institution and country.

Europa-Universität Flensburg regulations for the binational doctorate are mainly set forth in the university’s doctoral regulations and for binational doctoral procedures.

If you have any questions about binational doctoral studies, please contact the chair of the doctoral committee (see Contact).

The university has a very limited number of paid staff positions for qualified doctoral students. Funded from the university’s basic budget or third party funding, these competitive doctoral jobs offer excellent basic funding to cover all living expenses. Each position carries specific research and teaching duties, which may contribute to the work of a larger research project.

• Schleswig-Holstein doctoral fellowships. 
  The university also offers a limited number of doctoral fellowships sponsored by the state of Schleswig-Holstein.
• Foundation scholarships, fellowships and grants 
  In addition to the above two options, EUF is well represented by nearly all of the major grant-giving foundations and agencies in Germany. These private foundations offer a range of merit-based doctoral fellowships to gifted individuals. To learn more about a specific funding opportunity, please contact the designated faculty representative (Vertrauensdozent*in)

The university’s Student Guidance and Counseling Service assists and advises doctoral students who are EU-citizens about financial matters. The advisors there may also point you towards other resources that can provide further financial assistance.

Some students use their own personal funds or job income to pay for their doctoral studies. While these options are always possible, you may find that the impact of this double burden is greater than anticipated. Please consider carefully!

Europa-Universität Flensburg has a hardship fund for students who are nearing the end of their doctoral studies. The goal of the fund is to ensure that no advanced doctoral student has to leave the dissertation unfinished due to financial worries. The funding is for approximately three months, and must be repaid. To apply for hardship stipend, just send an informal request directly to the chair of the doctoral committee (see contact).