master thesis grades germany

The German grading scale

How to translate your (foreign) grade into a german one:.

The grades awarded in the German school system range from 1 to 6. The lower the grade, the better it is: a 1 is an excellent grade, whereas 5 and 6 are fail grades. Universities use a slightly modified version, which only goes from 1 to 5. It should also be noted that, in the German notation, the decimal separator is not the period but the comma: the grades are written 1,0; 1,3; 2,5 etc.

Grades awarded in the German education system

The grading scale used at the university of passau (for all subjects except law).

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Theses – Frequently Asked Questions

Contact form for students

You are very welcome to approach us. 

Please use the contact form for students because it will help us to handle your request as quickly as possible.

Important links and pointers

Examination pages of your degree programme

Principles for Safeguarding Good Academic Practice of 22 December 2021

Guidance leaflets (in German)

Merkblatt zur Erstellung von Abschlussarbeiten

Merkblatt zur Erstellung von externen Abschlussarbeiten

Timetables and procedures (in German)

Zeitplan für den Übergang vom Bachelor in den Master

Verfahrensablauf für den Abschluss des Master of Education-Studiums (G, HR, Gym, SoPäd)

Verfahrensablauf für den Abschluss des Master of Education-Studiums (WiPäd)

Important forms

• Application for Final Thesis [pdf]
• Responsibilities and contact persons
• Examinations Office

Examining Board

• Feedback and complaints management

To complete your studies successfully, you must submit a thesis at the end of your programme. On this page, we will inform you about what you need to do and bear in mind.

• Before registering the thesis
• While working on the thesis
• After submitting the thesis

We will also give you an overview of:

Please bear in mind that the rules governing your final exam are entirely based on the examination regulations and their annexes that apply to you.

All rules for your degree programme can be found on the examination pages of your degree programme.

1. Before registering the thesis

1.1. what must i do to be able to register for the thesis.

To be admitted to the thesis part of your programme, you need to have acquired a defined minimum number of credits (ECTS points). This is usually 120 credits in Bachelor’s programmes and 60 credits in Master’s programmes.

‘Acquired’ means that the ECTS points have been credited to your academic record in Stud.IP. Even if module components have been completed, their credits will only count officially once the assessment has been completed.

On top of the minimum number of credits attained, your examination regulations and/or the annex of the regulations that deal with your subject may also require other accomplishments. For instance, you may need to have successfully completed certain subject modules, practical modules or the basic curriculum before you can be admitted to the thesis.

1.2. How do I find a topic, and how may I formulate it?

The best way to settle questions about your topic and to seek assessors is to approach the teaching unit (in other words, the institute or department within the School) within which you want to write the thesis.

Please note:

On Stud.IP you will find a wide range of topics under the tab

Thesis topics

For each topic, contact persons, a general description and the nature of the work required are shown, e.g.:

• ‘focus on application or other practical aspects’; or
• ‘conceptual/theoretical’

1.3. Who may assess and grade my work?

The thesis will be evaluated by two appointed examiners, who act as assessors . While your request is being processed, you will be supervised by the first assessor.

The topic of the thesis is determined by the first assessor. A member of the university lecturers’ and professors’ group or a private lecturer of the relevant subject must be among the assessors. In individual cases, the competent Examining Board may allow deviations from this rule.

Only holders of a scholarly university degree or an equivalent qualification may be appointed as examiners.

1.4. May the thesis be the work of a group?

This depends on specific circumstances.

If the relevant annex of the examination regulations permits, Bachelor’s theses may be the work of up to three persons.

If the examination regulations permit, group theses can also be submitted at the Master’s level.

In the case of group work, the contribution of each examinee to be assessed must meet the requirements of the examination regulations. They must be clearly definable as an individual module component that can be individually assessed (e.g. with reference to sections or page numbers).

In which cases is group work not allowed?

A group thesis is inadmissible if students are to be involved whose thesis work would be outside the scope of their own examination regulations.

For example: A group thesis is not permissible if it involves students of the MA in Education (Gymnasium) as well as students of the MA in Education (Business education) or the MA in Economics and Law. It is also not possible to take a group thesis with students who are not enrolled at the University of Oldenburg.

1.5. How do I register for the thesis, and how am I admitted?

You register for the thesis after you have selected a topic in consultation with your assessors.

For this purpose, use the Registration for the Thesis form.

The process is as follows.

• Using your email address assigned by the university, address your application to the first assessor.
• After consultation with the second assessor, the first assessor then confirms the topic and the assessment plan and sends the form to the Examinations Office.
• If necessary, the Examinations Office will then seek a decision by the Chair of the Examining Board.
• The Examination Office will inform you by email about the processing time and will admit you to the thesis. You will receive a letter of admission by post. Subsequently, your thesis will be displayed as registered in Stud.IP.

1.6. What are the rules if external persons, i.e. persons who do not belong to the university, supervise my thesis?

Information on this can be found in the following Guidance leaflet:

Information on the acceptance and processing of theses with the participation of companies and organisations outside the university

1.7. Roughly how much time will writing the thesis take?

A general answer is hard to provide.

It is your responsibility to reserve enough time for the preparation and planning of your thesis. How much time you will need will depend on various things, including personal factors.

Are you unsure about the time required or about finding a topic?

We invite you to make use of the university’s advisory services. They are there to help you.

• The Learning Workshops at the Study and Career Counselling Service (ZSKB) offer training and advice on reading and writing academic texts, among other things.

Learning Workshops at the Study and Career Counselling Service (ZSKB)

• Please also note these pointers and recommendations for your graduation:

Timetable for the transition from Bachelor’s to Master’s

Procedure for completing the Master of Education (primary school, secondary school, Gymnasium, special needs education)

Procedure for completing the Master of Education (Business education)

2. While working on the thesis

2.1. how long can i take to write my thesis.

This depends on the provisions of the examination regulations or their annexes that apply in your case. The Examinations Office will officially inform you of the deadline for submission of the thesis.

Note that the work will not be considered to have passed if you do not meet the deadline and do not prove any valid reasons for this failure.

A valid reason is illness on the part of the student. For information on the extension of the deadline for the thesis in case of your own illness, see 2.4. What if I fall ill while working on the thesis? Can I extend the deadline?

Please note: If, in the case of admission to the thesis or the extension of the submission deadline on valid grounds (e.g. illness), the end of the processing period falls between 24 December and 1 January, the processing time will be officially extended to the first working day after 1 January. No action is required from you in these cases.

2.2. Can I withdraw from the thesis project or change the topic after I have been admitted?

If the examination regulations that apply to you allow it, you can change the topic within a specified period.

For example, the Bachelor’s examination regulations stipulate that the student can change the topic set by the first assessor within the first month after admission without giving reasons. A later change is only possible if valid grounds are recognized.

If you are still uncertain, you are welcome to approach us.

2.3. Can I change the topic of my thesis during preparation?

Once you have been admitted to the thesis, its nature, task and topic are officially fixed. A change of topic is no longer permitted.

However, the title of the thesis may be changed with the permission of the first assessor. In the event of a change of title , you must send a confirmation of the change from the first assessor to the Examinations Office before you submit the thesis. To this end, please use the contact form for students.

2.4. What if I fall ill while working on the thesis? Can I extend the deadline for submission?

If you fall ill while working on the thesis (and can be considered incapable of taking an examination), you must provide appropriate proof to obtain an extension.

Please note: Exam stress is not considered a valid ground for extending the deadline.

How should I announce this inability?

The announcement and proof of your inability to take an examination (in this case, the thesis assignment) must be submitted to the Examinations Office without delay. You can submit proof of this inability using the contact form for students.

A certificate of incapacity for work is accepted as proof, unless another form is required by the Examinations Office.

The proof must include a statement on the probable duration of the incapacity for work.

To whom is the certificate to be addressed?

Please always address the certificate to the  Examinations Office  and not to the assessors. If the grounds for extension have been accepted, the assessors will receive a notification from the Examinations Office.

At what stage should I apply for an extension?

Be sure to communicate the reasons for the extension immediately, as soon as possible.

Recommendation: If you are already unwell when you start working on the thesis, do not wait to see if you will be able to submit it in time despite your illness. Instead, request an extension and provide supporting evidence immediately.

Maximum extension An extension will only be granted for a moderate lengthening of the total period assigned for working on thesis. If the extension or extensions granted would double the originally authorized processing time for the thesis, the assignment is to be replaced by a new one.

2.5. I look after my young children and/or take care of close relatives. Can I apply for compensation for the exercise of these responsibilities?

• Students eligible for motherhood protection (under the Motherhood Protection Act);
• students who raise and care for children in a common household; and
• students who regularly care for close relations for at least 10 hours a week

can apply for an extension of the period for working on their thesis.

There is no specific form for this purpose. Use the contact form for students and send it to the Examinations Office.

Evidence and duration

To be granted an extension, you must provide appropriate evidence.

• Child care: confirmation that you form a common household (Haushaltsbescheinigung), to be obtained from your town’s registration office (Meldebehörde).
• Care: A certificate from your health or care insurance firm.

The Examining Board responsible for your case will decide on the duration of the extension.

Are you pregnant? Please contact the Maternity Leave Team of the Admission’s Office in Division 3. Important information and advice can be found on the webpage on maternity leave for students

Maternity leave for students

2.6. How can I get a special arrangement to compensate for chronic illness or disability?

What are the conditions for such a special arrangement.

To be able to claim a special arrangement for compensation, you must prove that you have a long-term impairment that meets the criteria of a disability or chronic illness.

If your disorder does not have the characteristics of a disability or chronic disease, you will not be able to legally claim a special arrangement for compensation.

How do I request a special arrangement for compensation?

You do not need a specific application form. Submit your application to the Examinations Office using the contact form for students.

Who will decide on my application?

The Examining Board responsible for you will decide on your application.

You will be informed of the extent of the compensation.

If the Examining Board considers the application to be unfounded in whole or in part, it will reject the application in whole or in part. The Examinations Office will issue a decision based on the decision of the Examining Board. The reasons for rejection will be communicated in this document.

Do I have to supply proof that I am entitled to a special arrangement for compensation?

Yes. The disability or chronic illness is generally substantiated by a doctor’s certificate or–in the case of mental illnesses–by a statement from a licensed psychotherapist, or by presentation of a disabled person’s pass.

Here, the main point is not the diagnosis but rather the plausibility of the disability or chronic illness. The certificates submitted must show in what way the disability or chronic illness affects the production of the thesis.

The certificate should contain a recommendation on the length of the extension.

Where can I get support and advice?

The University of Oldenburg and Studentenwerk Oldenburg offer a wide range of advisory services, tips and information. Advice for students with disabilities or chronic illnesses is open to all students who feel they are disabled or chronically ill.

Students with a disability or chronic illness

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact the counsellor for disabled students at Studentenwerk Oldenburg:

Studying with a disability or chronic illness

2.7. How should the thesis be submitted? Must I make a sworn declaration?

Current procedure.

Send your thesis as a PDF (1 file) attached to an email to the Examinations Office.

Make sure to address it to the right section of the Examinations Office.

If your examination regulations require a signed sworn declaration (affidavit), you must send it as a PDF file attached to an email message.

Please send the bound copies of your thesis directly to the assessors.

Sworn declaration (affidavit)

The Lower Saxony Higher Education Act (NHG) ( Section 7 para 5 p. 2 NHG ) forms the legal basis for the acceptance of affidavits, in which students declare they carried out the submitted work independently and without impermissible assistance.

You must supply an affidavit if the examination regulations of your degree programme require it. This is the case, for instance, for the single-subject and dual-subject Bachelor’s degree programmes (see Section 13a of their examination regulations). The regulation serves to uphold the quality of exam procedures. It complements older tools for the prevention of scholarly misconduct.

Please bear in mind that submitting an untruthful affidavit can lead to criminal prosecution.

Text of the affidavit

I hereby declare in lieu of an oath that I wrote this thesis independently, using only the cited sources and aids. I furthermore affirm that I have followed the general principles of scholarly work and publication as set out in the Guidelines for Good Academic Practice at the University of Oldenburg.

Guidelines for Good Academic Practice at the University of Oldenburg

2.8. What do I need to know about ‘scholarly work’? What is scholarly plagiarism?

On scholarly work, please see the information provided by the Learning Workshops of the central Study and Career Counselling Service (ZKSB). Under ‘Materials and Links’, you will find helpful pointers and references to the faculties.

Learning Workshops

Materials and Links (in German)

What is scholarly plagiarism?

If you reproduce someone else’s ideas and work in a scholarly text without proper attribution, instead of formulating your own, this is plagiarism. It means passing off someone else’s work or ideas as one’s own.

You must also properly attribute reused content of your own. Otherwise, you will be committing plagiarism. When reusing your own previous work, you must explicitly acknowledge this. For example, insert a note at the beginning of the text or section that says something like: ‘This article uses the results of a seminar paper I wrote for the module [...] as part of the Bachelor’s degree programme in [...]’.

How does the University of Oldenburg deal with plagiarism?

Plagiarism constitutes scholarly misconduct and must be punished for reasons of equal opportunities.

If assessors detect plagiarism, the matter is referred to the Examinations Office and investigated further. If the suspicion of plagiarism is confirmed, the thesis will be assessed as ‘failed’.

In grave cases of fraud, for example the illicit copying of an entire work, or in the case of repeated fraud, expulsion (deregistration) may follow

3. After submitting the thesis

3.1. how and when does the assessment take place, and do i have to take an oral examination afterwards.

The rules state that all examination procedures must be carried out expeditiously. What ‘expeditiously’ means in practice will depend on the case in question. For general guidelines see the relevant examination regulations .

Assessment period

There is no standard duration for the assessment period, as the time required depends on the length of the thesis. The Bachelor’s examination regulations stipulate that theses are to be assessed ‘usually within six weeks after their submission’. Master’s theses are usually to be evaluated within eight weeks of their submission.

If the assessors take longer to assess your thesis than the duration stipulated in the examination regulations that apply to you, the Examinations Office will send them a reminder.

Has the assessment period expired and do you urgently need your final grade? First, contact your assessors. If this does not lead to a solution, contact your

School’s complaints desk

Thesis grade

The thesis is evaluated and graded according to the scale provided in the examination regulations. The grade is determined by the Examinations Office after transmission by the examiners. It is calculated as a weighted arithmetic mean of the individual grades.

After the grade has been determined, you will receive a notification from the Examinations Office by email.

Is there an oral or other examination in the thesis process?

In most of the university’s degree programmes, an accompanying event is organized as part of the thesis process. At this event, the technical foundations of the work are discussed and the achievements and results of the work are reported.

Often the author is also required to ‘defend’ the thesis in a final presentation.

In a few degree programmes (especially at the Master’s level), you are expected to orally present the results of your thesis in a final colloquium that is open to the entire university.

The purpose of these colloquia is to show that you are able to deal independently and in a scholarly manner with interdisciplinary and problem-related questions in the field of your subject and that you can present your insights comprehensibly.

Are you still wondering what the workload of your thesis module comprises and what you need to do in the framework of the module?  Use the contact form for students. The Examinations Office will explain further.

3.2. Can I view the assessment reports on my thesis?

It is not standard policy to provide these reports.

If you would like to view the reports of the assessors on your thesis, you should first ask the assessors themselves.

If you are not granted access, please ask the Examinations Office to allow you to view them. In your request, you should explain why the inspection is of interest to you on legal grounds.

Please be aware that access to the assessment reports and minutes can only be granted within one year after the announcement of the thesis grade.

Please send the application to the Examinations Office via the contact form for students.

The place and time of inspection will be determined in consultation with the Examining Board .

3.3. What can I do if I disagree with the grade of my thesis?

In principle, you have the option of contesting a negative assessment of your work.

However, before launching a formal appeal , you would do well to approach the assessors and ask them to reconsider their assessment, offering persuasive considerations and arguments. Tell the assessors why, from your point of view, the assessment decision is incorrect. It is recommended that you initially contact the first assessor and approach this person with your objections to the assessment.

If the assessors uphold their assessment decision, you are free to contest the assessment in writing.

Please note that you must state very specifically in your objection:

• Why the assessment decision violates your rights, and
• What specifically the assessors should have assessed more favourably.

Only then will the assessment decision be reviewed in an appeal procedure.

The final decision on appeals is taken by the Examining Board .The Examinations Office supports the Examining Board and manages the whole appeal procedure. Objections must therefore be addressed to the Examinations Office.

If you have any questions, please use the contact form for students and the Examinations Office will explain further.

3.4. How many credits do I get for successfully completing my thesis? When will they be added to my record?

The number of ECTS credits awarded may vary from one degree programme to another. While at the Bachelor’s level 15 credits for the thesis module are the standard (12 for the thesis and 3 for the accompanying event), 30 credits are awarded in most Master’s programmes. In Master of Education programmes, the number of credits is different.

To find the answer to your question, consult the examination regulations that apply to you or the annex to the examination regulations that deals with the thesis module. Please feel free to contact the Examinations Office if you have any questions.

Upon receipt of the assessments or evaluations, the Examinations Office will quickly record the submitted grades. At the end of the day on which the grades are entered into the system, you will receive an email informing you that the grade has been credited to your academic record.

3.5. After passing the thesis, do I have to do something to obtain my graduation documents, and when can I expect to receive them?

Yes, the production of the graduation documents does require you to take action.

With the notice that you have been admitted to the thesis, you will also receive a Declaration on the Issuing of the Graduation Documents . Use this form to apply to the Examinations Office for the graduation documents. At the end of your degree programme, you must provide appropriate information on this form so that everything can be taken into account. Please submit this form via the contact form for students.

The form contains questions regarding matters such as:

Non-essential modules

Non-essential modules (also called additional examinations) are modules that have been successfully completed beyond the requirements of the programme. Such modules are only included in the diploma upon request. Additional notice: Master’s modules taken earlier than scheduled are not considered additional examinations.

Disregarding low grades in the overall grade

If the applicable examination regulations permit, the student’s overall grade will be calculated without taking the lowest examination grades into account. This will be done for modules amounting to a maximum of 18 credits in total.

Additional notice: The module examination grades that were not included in the calculation of the overall grade will nevertheless be shown on the diploma and the Transcript of Records.

Indication of specializations on diplomas

If a student has taken several specializations during their studies, the Examinations Office needs to know which specialization is to be shown on the diploma.

Duration of the preparation of the graduation documents

The time needed to produce the documents depends on various factors and is therefore variable.

Non-binding rule of thumb:

• The Examinations Office expects its staff to need around two weeks of work.
• Add to this the time needed to obtain the required signatures in the Schools;
• as well as the time for the delivery of post within the university.

All in all, the production of the graduation documents will take 4-8 weeks .

4. Responsibilities and contact persons

4.1. examinations office.

The Examinations Office of the University of Oldenburg is responsible for the administration of examinations and for the implementation of administrative procedures under examination law.

Examination matters

Three administrative teams are responsible for handling general examination matters. These include:

• the granting of admission to examinations;
• the processing of withdrawals from examinations;
• the granting of special arrangements for compensation;
• the notification of failed examinations;
• the preparation and issuing of graduation documents and certificates; as well as
• the creation of data records for online exam management.

Besides, the Examinations Office supports the work of the Examining Board , especially its Chair, and acts as an intermediary between the students and the Examining Board. The Examinations Office participates in the meetings of the Examining Board in an advisory capacity.

Higher-level special tasks

• Team for credit recognition
• Typing office (e.g. for graduation documents)

Contact persons and organizational structure of the Examinations Office

4.2. Examining Board

The Examining Board perform the tasks assigned to it under the examination regulations . It is composed of several members with voting rights. In general, these are:

• three members of the university professors’ group;
• a member of academic staff who is engaged in teaching; as well as
• a student representative.

In addition, a person from the Examinations Office takes part in the meetings of the Examining Board in an advisory capacity.

Approval by the Examining Board

The approval of the Examining Board is required in the following cases:

• If neither assessor of a thesis belongs to the professors’ group.
• If the thesis is to be written in an institution outside this university and is to be supervised by an external assessor from this institution.

4.3. Assessors

See 1.3. Who may assess and grade my work?

4.4. Feedback and complaints management

You can address comments and complaints on the work of the Academic Examinations Office directly to Division 3.

We will consider your concerns carefully and individually, in cooperation with staff members from the concerned sections of the university. Our objective is to identify areas for improvement and initiate any measures necessary for this purpose.

Send us your feedback via the linked complaints management contact form.

Complaints management of Division 3

Complaints offices outside Division 3

Unfortunately, we cannot deal with feedback that touches on matters outside the scope of Division 3. We hope you understand this.

However, if you, for example:

• are not satisfied with the supervision by your assessors;
• consider the time for assessment to be too long; or
• find the topic or the workload unsuitable;

and you send us critical comments on such a matter, we will gladly take this as an opportunity to inform the School about the criticism without revealing who submitted it. However, it would be better to address such a request with direct reference to the thesis to the complaints desk of your School.

Complaints desks of the Schools

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Formalities for the thesis

Regulations

You can find the regulations applying to both bachelor’s and master’s theses in the §§ of the APSO (General Academic and Examination Regulations) and in the FPSO (Departmental Study and Examination Regulations) of your degree program.   We recommend that you familiarize yourself with these regulations as soon as possible and consult the administrative office of your school or departmental student advising should you have any questions.

Requirements for Admission to the Thesis

To be eligible to register for the thesis, you must fulfill certain requirements, e.g. you must have successfully completed certain modules or have earned a certain amount of credits. Please inform yourself about the admission requirements in the FPSO (Departmental Study and Examination Regulations) of your degree program.  

Registration for the Thesis

Once you have identified your thesis topic and had it approved by your principal advisor, you must register for the thesis. Because the registration process may vary from school to school, we recommend that you consult the information on the websites of your school or your program’s departmental student advising and inform yourself about the registration process. Please note that registration for the thesis is often only possible in a certain cycle of time (e.g. up to the 15th of each month). Be sure to inform yourself early on about deadlines to avoid unnecessary time delays.  

Time Limit for Writing and Submitting the Thesis

The permissible amount of time that may elapse between registering for and submitting the thesis is specified in the FPSO (Departmental Study and Examination Regulations) of your degree program. Further information on registering your thesis and applicable time frames is also available on the homepage of your school or department.

The Use of English in Thesis Titles at TUM

Please follow the guidelines below for the use of English in thesis titles. Submitted documents not complying with these guidelines will be changed/corrected by a representative of the Academic Programs Office or Examination Office to ensure the correct and consistent appearance of all graduation documents at TUM.

Credits and Workload (cp. § 6 (3) APSO (General Academic and Examination Regulations))

Bachelor’s Thesis Depending on the degree program, 6 to 12 credits shall be awarded for the preparation of a bachelor’s thesis. Calculated in hours, this is equivalent to a workload of approximately 180 to 360 hours for the thesis.   Please note that, as a rule, you must achieve further credits while working on your thesis. You will be writing your thesis as “part-time work”.   Be sure to allot yourself a sufficient amount of time! You can find information about the number of credits to be awarded for the thesis in your degree program in your program’s FPSO (Departmental Study and Examination Regulations). Master’s Thesis For the preparation of the master’s thesis, 30 credits will be awarded. Calculated in hours, this is equivalent to a workload of approximately 900 hours for the thesis. For advanced studies master’s programs, 15 to 30 credits will be awarded. You can find information regarding the number of credits to be awarded for the thesis in your degree program in your program’s FPSO (Departmental Study and Examination Regulations).

Submission Postponement and Illness (cp. § 18 (6) APSO (General Academic and Examination Regulations))

If a student cannot meet the first submission deadline for the thesis for reasons beyond the student’s control, the Examination Committee may extend the period for writing the thesis by a maximum of half that period. The student must file an application with the Examination Committee for an extension prior to the first submission deadline, and the student’s supervisor must approve the extension. In such a case, please contact your supervisor as early as possible.   Should you be prevented from working on your thesis due to illness and are able to verify this with medical documentation, then the allocated time period for the thesis will be suspended. You can find important information on dealing with medical documentation here

Submitting your Thesis

Once your thesis is finished, you have to submit it to your department or school within the corresponding deadline. Please refer to the website of your school or department or contact your departmental student advising for the details.

Colloquium or Thesis Defense

The FPSO (Departmental Study and Examination Regulations) of your degree program contains information about further requirements of your thesis such as a supplementary colloquium, a supplementary course, or defense. The module description contains information about the structure of these additional requirements and the pass/fail credit requirement or, respectively, the credit requirement you must fulfill.

The   APSO (General Academic and Examination Regulations) stipulate that, as a rule, the thesis is to be assessed within two months from the date of submission (§ 18 (11) APSO (General Academic and Examination Regulations)). Should your FPSO (Departmental Study and Examination Regulations) stipulate that the thesis module calls for additional credit requirements (such as a colloquium or a thesis defense), the overall grade for the module will be calculated as the weighted average of grades awarded for individual module requirements. The grade weights of individual requirements correspond to the number of credits awarded (§ 18 (12) APSO (General Academic and Examination Regulations)).

If the thesis has not been graded with at least “sufficient” (4.0), you are permitted, once, to submit a thesis on a new topic. To do so, you must register again no later than six weeks from notification of the results. Please note that the thesis and final colloquium may only be repeated once (§24 (7) APSO (General Academic and Examination Regulations)).

Important: Remain Enrolled

For the period in which you are working on your thesis at the TUM, from registration to submission, (+ where applicable, any supplementary requirements in conjunction with your thesis, such as a final colloquium or oral exam) you must remain enrolled in your degree program (cp. § 6 (3), APSO (General Academic and Examination Regulations). Do not forget to reenroll (Rückmeldung) within the prescribed registration time. This also applies if you are writing your thesis externally, i.e. at a company in Germany or abroad.

We appreciate your wishes, suggestions and criticism! Write an e-mail to feedback(at)tum.de .

Having trouble choosing a topic for your bachelor’s or master’s thesis? Our Themenbörse posts current thesis topics from across the spectrum of TUM’s academic departments.

Profilschwerpunkt Urbane Systeme

Inter- und transdisziplinäre forschung und lehre, faqs master's thesis.

• Characteristics of the Study Programme
• M.A. Urban Culture, Society and Space
• M.Sc. Sustainable Urban Development
• Admission Requirements
• Information on Master's Thesis
• Information on Internship
• Contact and Course Advisory Service
• RUHR Lecture
• ESD Certificate
• Advanced Research in Urban Systems (ARUS)

FAQs about the Master's Thesis

The following overview is designed to help in the planning of your Thesis (Master's Thesis). Background of the questions and information are repeated requests to the academic advisor (currently Dr. Elke Hochmuth, a member of both audit committees).

Information given is based on:

• The examination regulations for the Master's Program "Urban Culture, Society and Space (UCSS) ” (particularly § 20, only in German available); Chairman of the Audit Committee (Interim): Prof. Dr. Jens Martin Gurr.
• as well as the examination regulations for the Master's Program "Sustainable Urban Development (SUD) ", (particularly § 20, only in German available); Chairman of the Audit Committee (Interim): Prof. Dr. Jens Martin Gurr.

The FAQ are divided into the following topics:

1. Basic information on the Master's Thesis 2. Selection of the Topic (before the official registration) 3. Registration of Thesis 4. Processing of the Master's Thesis (after registration) 5. Delivery of Thesis 6. Grading of the Master Thesis

All enrolled students from our Study Programmes study according to the new valid examination regulations (regardless of the start of their studies).

Since the winter semester 2018/19 there are new examination regulations. Major changes: The programme “Sustainable Urban Technologies” has been renamed in “Sustainable Urban Development”. Students of this programme who started their studies before the winter semester 2018/19 and still wish to have the title "Sustainable Urban Technologies" on their certificates must submit an application when registering their Master's thesis (cf. 34 (2)). Please ask Ms. Heckmann at the Examination Office.

In addition, changes have been made for both degree programmes: The overall grade of the certificate is calculated from all grades of all modules (cf. §27). This applies to all students who started their studies in winter semester 18/19 or later.

FAQ - Basic information on the Master's Thesis

Q1: How long is the processing time for the Master's Thesis? 6 months (26 weeks) after registration (written application) (see PO §20 (5)).

Q2: What text volume must have the Thesis? The text volume of the Master's Thesis must have at least 28,000 words (excluding bibliography and annex) (PO §20 (9)).

Q3: In what language I have to write the Master's Thesis? Students from "SUD" have to write their Thesis in English. Exceptions must be regulated by the Audit Committee. Students of UCSS can write the Thesis in English or in German (PO §20 (8)).

2) FAQ - Selection of the Topic (before the official registration)

Q4: How can I find a topic for my Master’s Thesis? Certainly during your studies or during your internship you come across some topics, which are more interesting for you than others. You want to have in one of these areas deeper knowledge? So perhaps that might be a topic for your Thesis. If you have found such topic, please discuss it with a potential supervisor and clarify with him/her, whether it is a practicable for a Master’s Thesis. Afterwards please define it exactly under the supervision of your supervisor. Important is also, to have one central research question. Aterwards please register your Thesis at the examination office.

Q5: Can I from a / m lecturers / in a Master’s thesis topic get? Yes of course. Please ask a lecturer of your choice, whether he/she has an idea for a topic for you. However he /she must be a lecturer of our Master’s Programmes (PO §20 (4) and (12)).

Q6: Who can supervise may Thesis ? All lecturers from the Master's Programmes SUD and UCCS can supervise your Master's Thesis. The lecturer you have chosen should be informed and should agree with your chosen topic. Please discuss the topics with him/her and please consider the hints.

Usually, the first supervisor should be from the University of Duisburg-Essen and the second supervisor can be from outside (from another University or from a non-university institution (PO §20 (4) and (12)).

Q7: Can also external persons (i.e. non university members) supervise the Master's Thesis? Yes, but external persons must have at least a university Degree (at least Diploma or Master’s Degree). However, they must be ordered from the respective audit committees. For this purpose, please contact the academic advisor.

Q8: Can I write my Master’s Thesis in another country? You can write your Thesis abroad, but it needs to be registered at the University of Duisburg-Essen and supervised by a professor of the University of Duisburg-Essen. The other supervisor can be a foreigner, who has sufficient English Language skills and have an academic background (academic Degree necessary) (see Q7 and 8).

3) FAQ - Registration of Thesis

Q9: When can I register my Thesis? The Master's Thesis can only be registered if you have acquired 75 credits in your Master's Programme (§20 (2)).

Q10: Where and how can I register for the Master's Thesis? In the examination office; currently the contact person is Ms Heckmann ([email protected]). You will receive an application template from her in which you fill the topic and the name of both supervisors. (both supervisors need to be informed by you and have agreed to the topic). After filling you can hand in the template at the examination office. Then you will receive the deadline for submission. After handing in, you are registered for your Master's Thesis.

Please note that the topic on the template is completely identical to the topic of your finished Thesis ($ 20 (3)).

Please make sure that both supervisors were informed about the topic and they have already agreed to support that topic. Otherwise there could be problems after registration.

Q11: Is there a deadline for registration of the Master’s Thesis? No.

4) FAQ - Processing of the Master's Thesis (after registration)

Q12: Is there a possibility of extension of the processing time? Yes, in justified cases, the processing time can be extended up to 6 weeks. An extension must be requested by writing and the student has to hand in the request to the examination office. The examination office must receive the request two weeks before the given deadline of the Thesis (latest) (§20 (5)).

Q13: What can I do if I get sick during the processing time of my Master's Thesis? The processing time of the Master Thesis will be usually extended for the days of illness. The student has to verify the illness by a medical certificate and has to hand in it as soon as possible to the examination office, especially if the disease is directly related to the deadline of the Master’s Thesis. The Examination Office will calculate from the time of interruption and informs the students about the new deadline. The medical certificate must include a description of the health impairment (about the reference to specific pain). The exact name of the disease is advisable, but not mandatory (Section 20 (5)).

Q14: Can I change the topic of my Master’s Thesis? The topic can only be returned/changed within the first four weeks after registration of the Thesis. The reasoned restitution must be requested and approved through the audit committee. After acceptance you can choose a new topic (§20 (6)).

Q15: Are there any guidelines on the format of the master's thesis? The Master's Thesis must have at least 28,000 words (excluding bibliography and annex) (PO §20 (9)). In addition, please hand it in in a DIN A4 printed and bound (glue binding and no spiral binding) form as well as in suitable electronic form (§20 (8)).

Please select a common and well readable format such as (this is only a suggestion, please feel free to contact your first supervisor for clarifying the format and the preferred citation):

Left Margin: 3 cm; Right margin: 3 to 5 cm; Margin Top: 2.5 cm; Border bottom: 2cm; Footnotes: same page, numbered consecutively; Line spacing (text): 1.5 spacing; Line spacing (footnotes): one line; Font Size (text): 12 point Times New Roman or Arial 11 points; Justified, hyphenation; Font size (footnotes): 10 point Times New Roman or Arial.

5) FAQ - Delivery of Thesis

Q16: Where do I have to submit the Thesis? In the examination office, currently to Ms Heckmann (examination office).

Q17: What exactly, I have to hand in to the examination office on the given deadline? You have to hand in during the processing time three print versions of your Master's Thesis. The print versions must be in a format of DIN-A4 and the prints must be casebound (glue binding and no spiral binding). And please hand in additionally an electronic version from your Master’s Thesis (§20 (8)).

Q18: What should I consider when making? You must hand in your Thesis latest at the given deadline. The Topic of the Thesis must be absolutely identical with the Topic of your application for registration. The Thesis must include a written declaration that you have written the Thesis independently and with no other than the specified sources and aids. And of course all citations have been marked (§ 20 (10)).

6) FAQ - Grading of the Master’s Thesis

Q19: When will I receive usually the grade for my Master's Thesis? According to the examination regulations, the supervisors have to proof the Thesis within six weeks. The process of evaluation, however, can take longer due to the workload of the supervisors (§20 (14)).

Q20: Is there an oral exam for Master's Thesis? The audit committees of SUD and UCSS have determined that students have to absolve only an oral examination, if the marks of the two supervisor of the Master's Thesis differs considerably (a whole or more than a whole grade).

Q21: It is possible to repeat a Master’s Thesis, when I have failed my first Thesis (grading of 5.0)? Yes, once (§21).

Q22: Is my study finished with a successfully passed Master's Thesis (grading at least 4.0)? Your studies will only be completed when you have received a total of 120 credits (incl. 30 credits for the Master's Thesis). So you have to absolve all examinations from all nine Modules.

Fachbereich Wirtschaftswissenschaften

6 \\ master your thesis.

Purpose and topic of the Master’s thesis The Master’s thesis is a written assignment on a well-defined topic. Students may start working on the Master’s thesis from the beginning of the second semester. The Master’s thesis shall prove that the candidate is capable of working independently on a practice-oriented task from the field of the degree programme in a given period of time; using scientific as well as practical methods.

Writing period for the Master´s thesis The time allotted to the Master’s thesis (i.e. the time period from the date of issue to the date of submission of the Master’s thesis) is four months. In the case of an empirical or experimental topic, previous qualifications may be acquired outside the implementation period. The chairperson of the Examination Board shall decide on whether the Master’s thesis deals with an empirical or experimental topic after having heard the examiner appointed as supervisor of the Master’s thesis. The topic and the given task must be such that students can complete the Master’s thesis within the given time period.

How to find a Master´s thesis topic A thesis is essentially a research project relating to your field of study. You can write about almost anything, but many students have a hard time narrowing down their choice of topics or specifically define their final topic. Here are some tips and techniques to help you choose the subject that interests you the most:

• choose courses and topics that match with your interests
• check out our MBA lecturers website and their respective research fields and areas of expertise and find a professor here to supervise you
• check out thesis topics and projects offered on websites of external research institutions or companies
• check the MBA Thesis topics list with Master thesis titles of students that already graduated from the MBA Programme (list only upon request via [email protected] )
• look for journals relating to your interests and check out some of the latest news and information published by other authors and scientists
• ask a teacher or a professor if they have thesis topics available
• for any further help, ask your MBA Support team: [email protected]

Check a list of proposals for Master´s thesis topics that can be supervised at our chair (coming soon!) .

Check the list of Master´s thesis topics of MBA graduates .

Language of the Master´s thesis The Master’s thesis is to be written in English.

Length of the Master´s thesis The length of the Master’s thesis shall range between 18,000 and 20,000 words, depending on the form determined by the Examination Board.

Master’s thesis examiners Upon the student’s request, the Examination Board may also appoint a contract professor or a lecturer with particular assignments to supervise the Master’s Thesis if it is obvious that the topic cannot be supervised by a professor at the Department of Management Sciences. Possible examiners of the MBA in CSR & NGO Programme can be found on the " Lecturers of the MBA Programme " Website. For any individual request, students have to contact their prospective supervisor via E-Mail by offering first idea on their Master´s thesis topic, ask for the possibility to being supervised and request an appointment date.

Writing the Master´s thesis in a company / an organization / an institute With the consent of the Examination Board, the Master’s thesis may be completed at a facility outside of Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University if it can be sufficiently supervised there by an external supervisor, however at least one of both examiners for the Master’s thesis must be a member of the Department of Management Sciences. In this case, your external supervisor has to fill in a separate form " Declaration for External Examiner ".

Admission to the Master’s thesis According to Article 19, paragraphs 1-4 of the Examination Regulations of 2016, Students shall be granted admission to the Master’s thesis if they have acquired at least 30 ECTS credits through their examination performance during the first and second semesters. The Examination Board decides on students’ admission to the Master’s thesis. Admission shall be denied if the requirements according to paragraph 1 of the Examination Regulations of 2016 are not fulfilled or if the documents are incomplete.

Request for Admission ​ The Request for Admission shall be filed with the Secretary's Office on Campus Rheinbach in written form (printed or digital via E-mail to [email protected] ). The student has to provide all necessary information on page one of the document, the second page will be filled out by the supervisor and administration.

Student´s right to withdraw from the request Before the Examination Board announces its decision on the request for admission, students may withdraw the request in writing without stating the reasons and without this having any effect on the number of attempts allowed to pass the examination.

Student´s right to reject the thesis topic Students may, without stating the reasons, reject the thesis topic only once and only within the first three weeks of having been assigned the thesis. In the event of a student re-taking an examination, this procedure is only allowed if the student has not exercised the option of rejecting the topic when implementing the first thesis.

Issue and due date of the Master´s thesis The chairperson or deputy chairperson of the Examination Board, Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Schneider , is responsible for issuing the Master’s thesis. The date on which the Examination Board notifies the student about the topic of the Master’s thesis and the examiners is defined as the date of issue; this date must be documented.

Extension of writing period In exceptional circumstances, the Examination Board may extend the time allotted to the thesis by a maximum of four weeks; students must request such an extension prior to the deadline, specifying the reasons. The supervisor’s opinion on the request shall be heard.

Extension of writing period in case of illness If the implementation period is to be extended due to illness, a sick note must be attached to the application. Students who are unable proceed with their Master´s thesis due to illness shall provide evidence of their illness-related inability by submitting a corresponding sick note from a doctor. If the illness takes more than four weeks, the topic of the Master’s thesis may be returned; the first try shall not be assessed as failed.

Declaration in Lieu of Oath When submitting the thesis, students must declare in writing that they have carried out the thesis independently, using no other resources than those documented and, in the case of quotes, indicated by references. Furthermore, they shall declare that the thesis is neither identical nor bears any similarities whatsoever with a thesis carried out in a previous degree programme.

Submission of the Master’s thesis The thesis shall be bound and submitted in triplicate, along with three digital versions, to the chairperson of the Examination Board by the date specified. The digital versions (provided, for example, on CD-ROMs) shall be attached to the three copies in a file format that can be generally accessed (e.g. pdf and txt, doc or rtf without access protection). The submission date of the thesis shall be documented. There are two options to submit your Master´s thesis:

1. Submission on site (in person or by third person) Please hand-in your thesis on site at the Secretary's Office on Campus Rheinbach  1st floor in B-Building, Room B 131 ​Office staff: Ms Heike Lösch / Ms Stephanie Schmidt Opening hours during the semester: Monday to Thursday: 10.00 am - 11.30 am and 12.30 am - 2.00 pm Fridays: 10.00 am - 11.30 am During the semester break from Monday to Friday: 10.00 am - 11.30 am  ​Telephone number: +49 2241 865 401 E-Mail: [email protected]

Beyond the opening hours of the Secretary´s Office on Campus Rheinbach, please submit your Master´s thesis at the reception desk on Campus Rheinbach, 1st floor in A1-Building, information desk at the left side in the corner Opening hours (Campus Premises) Monday to Friday: 7 am - 10 pm  Saturdays: 7 am - 7 pm   ​Telephone number: +49 2241 865 598 2. Submission via post mail ​In case you are out of town on submission date, you can also send the thesis by postal mail. The time of delivery to the post-office is decisive, these points have to be followed:

• When the MT is sent via postal mail the student has to make sure to do that within the deadline! Deadline for handing MT over to the postal service is the regular MT deadline.
• To prove that the MT is on its way and was sent on time, the student has to send the scan/picture of the receipt ( time, date & recipient visible! ) as well as a pdf version of the MT via email to the secretariat in Rheinbach and put the MBA support team in carbon copy (CC) of your e-mail: [email protected];  [email protected]   
• It is the student's responsibility to check the arrival of the MT. That means to check the tracking number of the delivery and to inform the university of any delays due to errors of the delivery service or potential hold-ups at customs. 

Please use the following receiving address of the university:

Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg ​University of Applied Sciences Campus Rheinbach  ​Fachbereich Wirtschaftswissenschaften ​Studierendessekretariat FB01 B-Gebäude, Raum B 131 Von-Liebig-Straße 20 53359 Rheinbach ​-Germany-

Confirmation of submission of the Master’s thesis Please have your Registration sheet at hand when submitting your Master´s thesis on site. The Secretary´s Office at Campus Rheinbach (or the staff at the reception desk at Campus Sankt Augustin or Campus Rheinbach) will confirm the timely submission of your Master´s thesis in written form on your registration sheet by entering the due date, by signature and university stamp.

Assessment of the Master’s thesis The Master’s thesis shall be assessed by two examiners (first and second supervisor). The thesis is normally assessed through a report of the first supervisor, which is to be produced within 8-12 weeks after submission date. One of them must have supervised the thesis. If the examiners disagree in their assessments, the grade for the Master’s thesis shall be determined by the arithmetic average of the individual grades if the difference between the two grades is below 2.0. If the difference is 2.0 or more, a third person shall be appointed by the Examination Board. In this case, the arithmetic average of the two best individual grades shall account for the final grade. However, the Master’s thesis may only be assessed as ‘sufficient’ (4.0) or better if at least two of the grades are ‘sufficient’ (4.0) or better. All assessment must be accounted for in written form. All master’s thesis’s are checked for plagiarism.

In case of a failed Master’s thesis If a Master’s thesis has not been passed, a new Master’s thesis may be submitted once.

Repetition of a passed Master’s thesis If a Master’s thesis has been awarded a pass, it is not possible to submit a new thesis.

Belated submission of a Master’s thesis A late submission of the Master’s thesis​ is not eligible for the concerned examination period and so won´t be accepted.

Results of the Master’s examination The Master’s examination shall be awarded a pass if all the examinations involved as well as the Master’s thesis have been assessed as being at least ‘sufficient’ (4.0) or ‘passed’. The Master’s examination shall be assessed as failed if one of the examinations has been definitively assessed as ‘insufficient’ or ‘failed’. The student shall be officially notified that he or she has failed the examination and forfeited the entitlement to the final examination; he or she shall also receive an official letter with instructions concerning rights of appeal.

Any further questions on the Master thesis registration and writing process? ​Read the "Master thesis"- Section in the FAQ´s for MBA Students

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Guidelines for the Master’s thesis

The master’s thesis is considered the final outcome of your master project and is also the most extensive scientific work of the study. The basis is identifying an appropriate topic, which is worked on independently, based on scientific theories and methods.

Below you will find important information and related references to the Master’s Framework Examination Regulations (M-RPO) regarding the individual steps before and during the preparation of a master’s thesis, as well as its assessment and evaluation.

You will find a summary of all the information in this downloadable PDF.

Before Registration

Before you register your master’s thesis, choose a topic that is related to your master's program and discuss it with your initial supervisor.

Important information before registration

Compensation for disadvantages.

If you are unable to complete all or part of the master’s thesis in the described form or within the deadline due to a chronic illness, a disability, pregnancy a/o maternity leave, you may apply for compensation for a disadvantage. Accordingly, the Master's Examination Committee may extend the processing time for examinations or the deadline (paragraph 10a and 10b of the M-RPO).

For this purpose, please contact the Diversity Officer ( Diversitätsbeauftragte ) of the University of Erfurt, who is supported by Department 1: Study & Teaching ( Dezernat 1: Studium & Lehre ), or the representative for Studying with Children before proposing the topic of your master’s thesis.

Language of the Master’s thesis

The master’s thesis could be written either in German or English. Should you want to write your thesis in a language other than the above mentioned, you will need to get your first supervisor’s approval before issuing the topic of the master’s thesis (paragraph 21 (6) of the M-RPO). In this case, the master’s thesis must contain a short summary in German as an appendix.

Joint-master’s thesis

The master’s thesis can also be written as a group thesis if its contribution could be assessed clearly and distinguishably. Further details are regulated by paragraph 21 (4) in conjunction with paragraph 21 (1) of the M-RPO.

Supervision of the Master’s thesis

Any professor or other person who is authorized to conduct examinations and hold a teaching position within your master's program can supervise the master’s thesis (paragraph 21 (2) of the M-RPO).

External second Supervisor

You have found a person who does not (regularly) teach at the University of Erfurt, but agrees to review your work? Then you can request the appointment of an external second supervisor. This person must have at least the university degree you are pursuing. Thus, it could be an expert from a company or another university, but their appointment must be justified and well-founded.

Formalities for appointing an external second supervisor

• Clarification of the importance and advisability of appointing an external second supervisor with the first supervisor.
• Submission of a written request to the M-Examination board ( M-Prüfungsausschuss ) stating why this external second supervisor would perform this task to the same extent instead of a professor, or another person authorized to examine at the University of Erfurt. This written application shall be co-signed by the first supervisor.
• Submission of the application along with the contact details of the second supervisor as well as the "Application for issuing the thesis’ topic".

The official form "Application for issuing the thesis’ topic" can be found here. Please use only this form for application.  A translation help is given with this document .

In principle, students who wish to peruse their degree within the standard study period (four semesters) must “apply for issuing the thesis topic with taking into account that handing in the master’s thesis shall be one month before the end of the fourth semester at the latest.” (paragraph 21 (3) of the M-RPO).  

Please note that you should submit your application as well as a current Certificate of Enrolment to the Dean's Office by the 15th of (each) month so that your thesis topic and the start of the processing period can be scheduled for the 1st day of the following month.

The topic and the supervisors will then be approved by the Master's Examination Committee and communicated to you in an issue letter . This letter will be sent to you by the dean's office via e-mail a few days before the start of the processing period. Your confirmation of this letter is required so that the corresponding link can be activated in WISEflow and sent to you.

During the Master's thesis processing period

The deadline for submitting your master’s thesis is 5 months starting from the day you will be notified with the issue letter (paragraph 21 (5) of the M-RPO). As a rule of thumb, the length/word count of the master thesis should not exceed approx. 25,000 words. You should thus keep the topic appropriately brief to fit into the given word count.

The work must contain (from a purely formal point of view) the following elements:

• table of contents,
• list of sources/bibliography,
• page numbers,
• references.

The requirements of any other scientific work apply (Research question(s), research interest, state of research, theory, results, conclusion/further research…etc.).

Further remarks

Return or change of thesis’ topic.

The topic can only be returned once and only within two months after the issue of the master thesis’ topic (paragraph 21 (3) of the M-RPO). For this purpose, please send an informal letter with a short justification to the M-Examination Committee ( M-Prüfungsausschuss ) and submit it via the Dean's Office.

Changing the thesis' topic of the thesis is only possible in justified exceptions. For this purpose, a written request with reasons must be submitted to the Master's Examination Board no later than 4 weeks before the submission deadline (final deadline). This request requires a written statement from your supervisor. Adding an (additional) subtitle is possible at any time without an application. However, this addition will not (!) be shown on the certificate.

Extension of the Deadline

In case you are unable to submit on time due to an illness, you must immediately submit the sick leave notification to Department 1: Study & Teaching (Dezernat 1: Studium & Lehre).  For this purpose, it is mandatory to use the given form.

If the inability to work on the thesis is recognized, the Deadline will be extended according to the respective number of days of illness or delay. After processing the documents received by the Dean's Office for this purpose, students receive a letter with the recalculated deadline.

Submission of the Master’s thesis

To verify that the  submission deadline  has been met, the  date of receipt of the digital submission  via WISEFlow applies.

On the day of submission, you upload your digital master thesis as a PDF file via the platform  WISEflow . This file must not exceed a size of  20 MB  and must (formally) contain the following:

• list of sources and bibliography,
• page numbers

Please make sure that no conclusions can be drawn about your name or address here (personal data - data protection) - i.e. do not insert the title page or declaration of independence in this document!

The  the title page, the valid Certificate of enrolment and the declaration of independence signed by hand in blue must be uploaded in WISEflow as separate files under " Anhangsmaterial "; and furthermore, additional files with attachments or appendices (video recordings, statistics files, etc.) may be uploaded here - these files together must not exceed the size of  1 GB .

After that, you also add the automatically generated cover sheet in WISEflow.

As a last step, click on the "Click here to submit" field in WISEflow to complete the submission. After that, you can download a receipt for yourself and print it out if necessary.

If requested by your examiner(s) , please submit one/two bound printed version(s) of your master thesis to the Dean's Office  no later than 3 days  after submitting your thesis in WISEflow.

Evaluation of the Master’s thesis

After submitting your master’s thesis in due time, the Dean's Office will send it to the respective supervisors. The deadline for the evaluation procedure is based on paragraph 22 (2) of the M-RPO.

The master's thesis will be reviewed by two supervisors and evaluated in accordance with paragraph 15 (3) of the M-RPO. If the grades of both appointed supervisors differ by 2.0 or more, or if one of the two supervisors assesses the thesis as "insufficient", the thesis is to be assessed by a third examiner (paragraph 22 (2) of the M-RPO).

You will receive your grade certificate by mail shortly after the receipt of all experts‘ reports. The Dean's Office will then automatically forward a copy to Department 1: Study & Teaching ( Dezernat 1: Studium & Lehre ).

Second Attempt of Master's thesis

The master’s thesis is deemed not to have been passed if you do not complete your thesis within the deadline of the Master Examination Board or if the two supervisors rate your work as "insufficient" (grade 5.0) (paragraph 23 (2) of the M-RPO).

If the master’s thesis has not been passed for the first time, it can be repeated once on a different topic. A change of the topic of the master’s thesis is only permitted if you did not make use of this option when writing the first master’s thesis (paragraph 21 (3) of the M-RPO). The application can be submittd by the 15th of (each) month (the processing time starts on the 1st of the following month).

If the master’s thesis is also not passed in the second attempt, the right to be examined expires. If you lose your right to take an examination, you will be de-registered (ex-matriculated) (paragraph 23 (2) of the M-RPO).

Contact person

Office hours.

Appointments for the submission of applications and printed master theses are possible by individual arrangement. Appointments and confirmations are made after e-mail request.

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Guidelines for Master’s Theses

There are very few formal requirements when writing your master’s thesis. We have put together the most important of these as well as additional helpful information in our guidelines for master’s theses .

You can also download a style sheet . This is a pre-formatted Word document you can directly use to write your thesis.

Information about academic writing and how to avoid plagiarizing can be found here .

We have also provided a list of past master’s theses to help you brainstorm ideas for your own thesis.

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Final Thesis

For general information on your thesis, please see the General Study and Examination Regulations for Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Programs (§ 26 Bachelor’s Thesis / § 30 Master’s Thesis) .

Topic assignment

Please take note of the following steps required for the assignment of the topic for your final thesis:

• Select a topic and choose an adviser
• Discuss the topic and find a title for the final thesis
• In consultation with your adviser, find a second reader for your thesis
• Fill out and download the form "Application for assigning the topic for the final thesis" via PULS ( Submit Applications / Degree Completion )
• Sign the downloaded form. With your own signature you express your willingness to register your thesis
• The Topic Assignment Form requires the signature of both readers of your thesis as well as of the examination board
• The examination board confirms the final thesis topic (please note that a date is required on the Topic Assignment Form)

Further information:

If you decide to shorten the time frame for submitting your thesis (“ bloc processing ” as stated in BAMA-O Section 26 (5) / Section 30 (5) or BAMALA-O Section 26 (5) / Section 30 (7)), it has to be confirmed by the signature of your chair of the examination board on your application form.

If your Study and Examination Regulations allows to write your thesis in a Language other than German , you need to enclose a German summary to your thesis.

If you are enrolled in a dual-subject degree program (Bachelor’s degree) and consider registering your thesis in your second subject, please see BAMA-O Section 26 (1).

Registering the final thesis with the Student Administration Center/ Examination Office

Once the examination board has confirmed your topic, you may proceed to register your final thesis. Please note the following:

• You must register your final thesis with the Student Administration Center/ Examination Office within one week of receiving confirmation of your topic from the Examination Board . To register your final thesis use the Document Upload Option in PULS . Upload a scan of the signed form.
• If you fail to register your final thesis within the stipulated period, a new topic must be assigned!
• The submission deadline will be determined and communicated to you.
• You will receive an email or letter, stating the date of registration and the submission deadline for your thesis. You will also see the submission deadline on your Transcript of Records („Leistungsübersicht“) in PULS .

According to the Immatrikulationsordnung (Regulations on enrollment), you are not allowed to register your thesis during your leave of absence (Urlaubssemester) .

The topic can only be returned once within the first third of your processing time according to BAMA-O Section 26 (10) / Section 30 (10) or BAMALA-O Section 26 (10) / Section 30 (12).

Final thesis submission

As of November 1, 2023,

• you exclusively submit your final thesis digitally via the Document Upload option in PULS to the Student Administration Center/ Examination Office. You will no longer need to submit three bound copies and an electronic version of your final thesis (e.g. on a CD), that were previously required. Should you no longer be enrolled please use following link to upload your thesis: Upload thesis .
• When uploading your thesis in PULS, please check carefully that you selected the correct version for your submission. The Examination Office will forward the document you submitted first to your examiners. An updated version of your thesis, provided afterwards, will not be forwarded to your examiners.
• You must submit a Statement of Originality in your final thesis. In this declaration of academic integrity you affirm, that the thesis was written by yourself and no sources or aids other than those specified were used. For more information, please see the guidelines on plagiarism provided by the senate. (E.g. “I hereby declare that this thesis is the product of my own work. All the assistance received in preparing this thesis and the sources used have been acknowledged.”) When uploading your thesis in PULS, the included Statement of Originality does not necessarily have to be signed.

According to the General Study and Examination Regulations for Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Programs (BAMA-O / BAMALA-O) the thesis may only be submitted after at least one third of the processing time has elapsed.

The latest date for submitting your thesis, as stated by the Student Administration Center/ Examination Office, only applies if this date is still within your examination deadline according to § 7a BAMA-O/ BAMALA-O . If your examination deadline (§ 7a BAMA-O/ BAMALA- O) expires on Mar 31/ Sept 30, the latest submission date will be Mar 31/ Sept 30 respectively. In case the extension of the examination deadline has been granted, the submission date will be adapted in accordance with the processing time.

If the deadline for submission falls on a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday (state of Brandenburg) , the thesis can also be submitted on the next following working day.

Selection of Elective Modules Relevant to the Final Grade

If more modules have been successfully completed for an electives area on your transcript of records than are required in accordance with your subject-specific regulations, it is possible to select the modules that are to be included in the calculation of the final grade. The form “ Selection of Elective Modules Relevant to the Final Grade ” must be used for this purpose. The form must then be submitted via the Document Upload Option in PULS or by email to the Student Administration Center/ Examination Office , if you cannot access PULS anymore.

Please note that the selection of elective modules relevant to the final grade can only be made once and must be made no later than at the time of submission of the final thesis (BAMA-O Section 27(4), Section 31(2) / BAMALA-O Section 27(5), Section 31(5)). If no selection has been made at the time of submission of the final thesis then the elective modules count in the order in which they were completed until the required number of elective credit points is reached.

Evaluation of the final thesis and thesis defense

The Student Administration Center/ Examination Office forwards your thesis to your examiners (readers). The examiners provide an evaluation of the thesis, explaining the grade given. The first examiner is generally also the thesis advisor. If the second examiner agrees with the first examiner’s evaluation, she/he can shorten her/his own report by just stating her/his consent and mentioning the grade. In any case, the second examiner has to submit her/his own report. If the difference in grades between the first and the second examiner is higher than 2.0 or if one of the grades is lower than “sufficient” (4.0), the examination board will appoint a third examiner.

If your examination regulations state that you must defend your final thesis (disputation or colloquium), please make sure to contact your examiners in a timely manner to set up a defense date.

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German Grading System Explained

Whether you’re a student dreaming of studying in Germany, a parent backing your child’s education in the country, or anyone else, really, this guide has got you covered with a simple and straightforward look at the German grading system. 

We’ll break down those grades and evaluations, so you can make smart choices and set achievable academic targets, whether it’s getting into university or supporting your child’s learning journey.

The School Grading System in Germany

Germany’s school grading system is designed to evaluate students’ performance from primary school through high school. It uses a straightforward 6-point scale, where 1 is the best grade (excellent), and 6 is the lowest (insufficient). In senior high school, a 15-point system is introduced for precision. 

Primary and Lower Secondary Education Grades

How are students in primary and lower secondary schools in germany graded.

Germany’s primary and lower secondary education institutions use a 6-point grading scale, spanning from 1 (excellent) to 6 (insufficient). The lowest passing grade is 4, while grades 5 and 6 represent failing performance. This system assesses students’ performance in various subjects from grade 2 onward, as first graders usually advance without formal grading.

While year-end report cards typically use whole numbers, certain schools may adopt more detailed grading scales, including “1−” (equivalent to 1.25) or decimal grading (1.0, 1.1, 1.2, etc.). Additionally, assessments often include behavior-based grades called Kopfnoten.

Here are the grades used in primary and lower secondary schools in Germany:

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Upper Secondary Education Grades

How are students in upper secondary  schools in germany graded.

When students progress to upper secondary school, known as the Oberstufe in Germany (typically grades 11 to 12 or 13), they transition from the traditional 6-point grading system to a 15-point grading scale. 

This 15-point system assigns a score of “1+” as the highest grade, equivalent to 15 points, and “6” as the lowest, denoting 0 points. These grades ensure precise assessment for students preparing for the vital Abitur exams , crucial for university admissions in Germany.

Here are the points and the corresponding school grades used in upper secondary education levels in Germany:

German University Grading System

How do german universities award grades.

Most universities in Germany use a 1 to 5 (or 6) point grading system to assess their students’ academic performance. 1 and 5 signify both extreme ends of your achievement. If you get 1 on your exam, it means you successfully completed between 90 and 100% of your task. On the other hand, if you got 5, it means your performance has not satisfied the least minimum required to pass.

Given below are marks in the German grading system and their translation in terms of your academic achievement:

Some German universities or departments use a grading system with intervals of three decimals. In this system, grades are limited to values like 1.0, 1.3, 1.7, 2.0, 2.3, and so forth. 

Grades for Law Programs in Germany

How do law schools award grades in germany.

German higher education institutions utilize a distinctive grading scale for law programs , ranging from 0 to 18 points . Within this scale, achieving 16-18 points signifies the highest grade, indicating an outstanding performance. 

Conversely, students who score 1-3 points (Mangelhaft – Deficient) exhibit notable weaknesses, while a grade of 0 points (Ungenügend – Inadequate) reflects the lowest and subpar overall performance. 

This meticulous grading system allows for precise assessment in German law programs. 

Below is a table illustrating the grading system of law programs in Germany:

Grades for Doctoral Programs in Germany

What is the grading system for phd in germany.

Unlike undergraduate and master’s programs, where grades are common, doctoral degrees often involve more qualitative assessments of research and dissertation work. 

Assessment in doctoral programs in Germany often includes the following Latin descriptors:

It’s important to note that the numerical value threshold for these grades can vary depending on how rigorous a particular university’s evaluation process is. Additionally, the highest grade, Summa cum laude , is typically awarded in exceptional cases, highlighting the exceptional quality required to achieve it.

German Grades Compared to UK and US Grades

To secure a spot at a German university, your grades from your prior education will carry substantial weight. However, because the German grading system can vary significantly from the grading system used in your home country, it’s essential to convert your grades to the German system. This conversion is necessary for the university’s admission board to determine whether you meet their specific entry criteria.

To give you a general idea of what your current grades translate into the German grading system, we’ve created a useful conversion table.

How Do German Grades Compare to US Grades?

The German grading system ranges from 1.0 (excellent) to 5.0 (fail), with 1.0 equivalent to an A+ and 4.0 to a D in the US system. Grades below 4.0 are passing, while 5.0 is considered insufficient or failing.

Here’s a conversion chart for the German academic 5-point grade scale to US grades and GPA:

How Do German Grades Compare to UK Grades?

German grades 0.8 and 1.3 correspond to a UK first-class degree, with 0.8 being equivalent to first-class with distinction. Grades from 1.7 to 2.7 are equivalent to upper and lower second-class degrees, while 3.0 to 4.0 range from third class to pass without honours; a 5.0 is a fail.

Here’s a conversion chart for German grades on the 5-point scale to their UK equivalents:

Please note that the conversion charts are for reference purposes and may not apply universally. Different institutions may have their own grading scales and conversion methods for evaluating grades from various systems.

What is the ECTS Grade?

The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is a standardized grading framework used to streamline academic exchanges among European Union (EU) countries. It addresses the challenge of varying interpretations of national grading systems when EU students study in different European countries.

Here’s how ECTS works:

• A (Excellent)
• B (Very Good)
• D (Satisfactory)
• E (Sufficient)
• Academic Credits. Each course in a university program is assigned a specific number of ECTS credits, which reflects the workload required for that course. Typically, one ECTS credit corresponds to 25-30 hours of student workload, including lectures, assignments, self-study, and exams.
• Transcript of Records. When students complete a course, their grades are recorded alongside the number of ECTS credits for that course in a “Transcript of Records.” This document offers a transparent summary of their academic achievements.

Important Note. While ECTS simplifies the assessment of academic credits, it’s not intended to replace the grading system used at the German university where you plan to enroll. It complements the local grading system and enhances the mobility of students within the EU.

The table below shows grades in German higher education and their equivalents in the ECTS system:

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Understanding & Converting German Grades

For those who studied or will be studying in Germany and other German-speaking universities, understanding the grading system might be rather confusing for those used to the UK and US system of grading; this is made worse by the fact that very few people in Singapore are truly familiar with the grading system in German-speaking universities. For this reason, after conducting much research and comparisons, we have put together some useful in-depth information to give you a better understanding of the German grading system!

1. Die Noten  – Understanding the German and the UK/US Grading Systems

Generally speaking, the German grading system is one that is based on banding and each individual grade (called  Note ) are usually awarded based on the following banding descriptors, which range between 1,0 to 5,0. A 0,3 or 0,7 is usually added to the individually listed grades for finer differentiation within the grade band (e.g. a 1,3 is better than a 1,7 although both grades fall under the same  band). For this reason, the following individual grades ( Note ) may be awarded: 1,0; 1,3; 1,7; 2,0; 2,3; 2,7; 3,0; 3,3; 3,7; 4,0; 4,3; 5,0.  The best possible attainable grade is a 1,0 and 4,0 is generally the lowest passing grade, with some universities awarding a 4,3 whilst others do not. Additionally, some universities may also have an additional 6,0 to denote a complete failure (i.e. no re-sits possible).

In addition, an European Credits Transfer System (ECTS) grade, established as part of the Bologna Process to facilitate the transfer of credits between European institutions, is awarded in addition to the German grade. The ECTS grade is usually added in the Diploma Supplement, a certificate which provides detailed information about the programme and the university in which the degree was awarded. It is important to note that the ECTS grade is a ‘relative’ rather than an ‘absolute’ grade, and students are awarded the grade based on their class position in a test or examination as seen in the table below. Based on information provided by the  Hochschulrektorenkonferenz , or the Association of Universities and other Higher Education Institutions in Germany, and the  ECTS User’s Guide,  this is the recommended guideline for the awarding of ECTS grades in relation to German grades:

As seen from the table above, “Mit Auszeichnung” is considered the topmost band where the best grades are awarded, whilst “Befriedigend” is the minimum for a pass grade. However, the use of “Mit Auszeichnung” or “Befriedigend” may differ from university to university and from degree programme to degree programme, with several universities using “Sehr Gut” as the top band instead with a different set of grade requirements (see examples from Universität Mannheim  (Page 14), Universität Heidelberg ,  LMU München , and the Karlsruhe Institut von Technologie ). As such, it would be best to refer to the examination regulations ( Studienordnung ) for the specific degree programme to understand the grading system used for the ranking of students.

Generally speaking, most conversion tables from organisations such as the British Department for Education or the National Recognition Information Centre (NARIC) recognise grades within the top band as being equivalent to a First Class Honours grade, grades within the second band as being equivalent to a Second Class (Upper Division) or 2:1 grade, with the remaining passing grade (namely all grades up to the “Befriedigend” or “Satisfactory” band) generally recognised as being equivalent to a Second Class (Lower Division) or 2:2 grade (Click here for more information).

However, the most important thing to take note about grading in Germany is that just like its education system, grading is highly decentralised and may vary even within a university depending on the faculty or even professor, where some even make it clear that they do not give out the top grade of ‘1,0’ unless they deem a work to be particularly  exceptional ! In fact, top-tier and more competitive universities in Germany are well-known for being rather harsh in terms of grading at times, so much so that several reputable UK universities such as  Imperial College  and  University of Warwick  make it clear in their graduate and postgraduate application websites that they would lower their grade expectations for applicants who graduate from such universities. Most universities, including the so-called “Elite” German universities, typically state a minimum grade of 2,5 to 3,0 (i.e. a grade within the “Gut” or “Befriedigend” band, depending on the university and degree programme in question) for entry into most Masters courses, although the grade expectations may be higher for more competitive graduate NC-courses such as Psychology (2,3 or better).

2. Comparing German Grades against UK and US Grading Systems

Whilst it is very difficult to generalise the way German grades are awarded due to the aforementioned reasons in this section, we have nonetheless done some extensive research and put  together the information we gathered in a table to help those who are unfamiliar with the German system to get a feel of what each German grade is roughly equivalent to.

As mentioned earlier, do note that most UK and US universities also often take the reputation of the individual German universities into account as top tier universities are usually well-known for being harsher in the awarding of grades – for this reason, some leeway and a lowered grade expectation are granted for graduates from such universities. Information for this section have been sourced from and compared against those provided by the following organisations’ and universities’ websites:  UK National Recognition Information Centre (UK NARIC) , the University of Aberystwyth’s EU Qualifications Comparability Calculator (that is based on UK NARIC’s International Comparisons and Grading Transfer System), the University of St Andrews ,  King’s College London (KCL)  and  World Education Services (WES) . The first four sources provide a comparison based on the UK system, whilst WES is a a third-party verification agency in the US that is used by many US universities – such as the Harvard Business School , amongst others – for transcript conversion purposes.

Table Comparing German University Grades to UK, US and Singaporean Grades

**N.B.  The WES and UK NARIC comparisons are for the overall averaged-out grades for German degrees (i.e. Durchschnittsnote or  Gesamtnote ), whilst the German grades compared against the NUS , NTU and SMU grade conversion tables are for grades awarded in individual course modules. Therefore, when converting a degree as a whole (e.g. for purposes of Honours classification), the WES and UK NARIC reference should be used as a guideline. Alternatively, you can calculate your GPA by first converting the German grades into the Singaporean grade equivalent before checking to see how they correspond to the Honours/Cum-Laude & Merit Awards system using the guidelines provided by NUS , NTU and SMU respectively.

Degree with Honours and Classification?

Due to education being under the purview of the individual Federal States ( Bundesland ) rather than the Federal Government ( Bundesregierung) , Germany generally does not have an Honours system nor a degree classification system akin to that of the UK or Singapore. For this reason, with the exception of certain courses such as Law or postgraduate courses, honours – be it latin honours or degree classifications – are very rarely given out at German universities. Some universities might award special distinctions (e.g. “Mit Auszeichnung” or “cum laude”) to students whom they consider exceedingly exceptional (viz. a final grade of 1,1 and better), but this is extremely rare and far between for those completing a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree.

Having said that, the   UK Department for Education recognises the German Bachelor degree as being equivalent to British Honours degrees , meaning that a German BA or BSc is equivalent to a British BA (Hons) and BSc (Hons) . This is also the case for other German qualifications such as the  Staatsexamen , Diplom  or  Magister . For this reason, you should have no worries about having your degree recognised as an Honours degree in Singapore as well as most Commonwealth countries! What is interesting to note is that unlike Singapore and UK system where only certain Honours students are given the option of writing a thesis or dissertation (called a  Bachelorarbeit  or  Masterarbeit ),  all  German university students are expected to write one without exemption as part of their course requirement in addition to attending a colloquium or viva prior to graduation – this is a practice carried over from the former 4 to 5-year  Magister/Diplom  system that has now been phased out. In view of this, you can be assured that the regular Bachelor or Master course in German universities are definitely as rigorous as those courses with Honours back in Singapore or the UK – if not more!

Having said that, the conversion of the overall grade or classification of a German degree for graduate or postgraduate admissions is often done on an individual, case-by-case basis as many Anglophone universities are cognisant of the highly subjective German grading system which may be particularly harsh on students who come from more renowned traditional universities – such a practice is commonly followed by top universities such as Oxford, Cambridge and UCL who have replied to our members’ queries in the past. This is largely due to the widely acknowledged fact that the Universitäten  (Unis) and Technische Universitäten  (TUs) are notorious for being harsher and more stringent in the awarding of grades in comparison to the Fachhochschulen,  even though the latter also award degrees that are technically recognised as being equivalent to those awarded by the traditional universities ( See this article for more information ).

For holders of German degrees who would like to further their studies outside of Germany, Austria or Switzerland, the following universities have provided some rough guidelines as to how the grades of the German degrees would be converted:

• University of Edinburgh (Business School) , Scotland (UK) : An overall grade of 2,5 or better that falls within the “Sehr Gut” or “Gut” band is generally accepted as meeting the university’s expectation of an Honours degree from a good university, with an  excellent  or  very good  classification that is equivalent to a First Class or Second Class (Upper Division) degree classification.
• University of Brighton , England (UK) : An overall grade within the first band (i.e.”Sehr Gut”) is considered equivalent to a First Class Honours degree classification, whilst a grade in the second and third bands (i.e. “Gut” and “Befriedigend”) are considered as 2:1 and 2:2 equivalents respectively.
• University of Warwick, England (UK) : A score of 2,0 – 2,4 is considered as a 2:1, while a score of 2,5 – 3,1 is considered as a 2:2.
• University of British Columbia (UBC) , Canada : An overall grade classified as “Gut” according to the German banding system is considered equivalent to a Second Class (Upper Division) degree classification or 4.0 CAP according to the Singapore university grading system (NUS/NTU/SMU), a Second Class (Upper Division) or 2:1 degree classification according to the UK system, or a B+ average on a 4-point GPA scale according the Canadian or US system. Further individual comparisons can be made on the UBC website which allows users to toggle between the various international qualifications vis-à-vis the expected grades for admission into a UBC graduate or postgraduate course.
• University of Sydney (Business School) , Australia : An overall grade of 3,0 according to the German system is considered as being equivalent to a ‘Credit’ or an overall score of 65% in the Australian system.

Do note that the overall grade and degree classification conversions were provided by the various universities as rough guides and are not meant to serve as an absolute reference for cut-off scores – these are subject to further individual considerations on a case-by-case basis, as well as possible future changes to the conversion agreements!

3. Grading System for Courses graded through  Staatsexamen

In the case of courses such as Medicine and Law where candidate sit for the  Staatsexamen or  Staatsprüfung  instead, a different grading system may be used from the aforementioned. In these instances where a point-based system is used instead of the usual grading system, it is best to refer back to the individual German universities’ websites for explanation on the grading system. For most medical courses that are recognised by the Singapore Medical Council, however, the usual German grading system that is explained earlier on in this section is generally used for most module examinations as well.

Simply the best? Determinants of achieving the highest grade in a doctoral degree in Germany

• Open access
• Published: 15 June 2022
• Volume 85 , pages 1161–1180, ( 2023 )

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• Susanne de Vogel 1  

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In Germany, the final grade of a doctorate is significant for careers inside and outside the academic labor market. Particularly important is the highest grade— summa cum laude . At the same time, doctoral grades are constantly subject to criticism. Thus far, however, neither German nor international studies have examined the determinants of doctoral grades. Drawing on Hu’s model of college grades, this study develops a conceptual framework for explaining doctoral grades and investigates the impact of doctorate holders’, reviewers’, and environmental context characteristics on the probability of doctoral candidates graduating with the highest grade, summa cum laude . Using logistic regression analyses on data from the German PhD Panel Study, the study confirms that high-performing individuals are more likely to achieve the highest doctoral grade. A learning environment that is characterized by supervision security, high expectations to participate in scientific discourse, and strong support in network integration also increases the chances of graduating with a summa cum laude degree. In contrast, being female, having a highly respected reviewer, studying natural sciences, medical studies or engineering, completing an external doctorate, and studying within a learning environment characterized by rigid time constraints are negatively related to the probability of receiving a summa cum laude grade. This study is the first to lend empirical evidence to the critical discussion of doctoral grades and offers insights to ensure the validity of doctoral grades.

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Introduction

Alongside the trend of the massification of higher education over the last decades, there has also been a worldwide expansion of doctoral education (Auriol, 2010 ). Doctoral degrees are particularly on the rise in Germany, accompanied by an increasing search for differentiation, which is reflected, for example, in the establishment of structured doctoral programs. At the same time, the doctorate holds a special significance in Germany, as it is considered a requirement not only for academic careers but also for attaining elite positions outside academia. Thus, an increasing number of doctorate holders compete for very few but very coveted positions (Rogge, 2017 ).

In Germany, the quality of the doctorate is assessed via a final grade, which is awarded upon a candidate’s successful completion of the doctorate. The final grade of a doctorate should reflect the individual quality of the doctorate in a concise and, as far as possible, comparable manner. Occupying the highest position on the grading scale, a grade of summa cum laude should be awarded only to candidates exhibiting outstanding academic achievements. Recent research shows, that doctoral grades, in turn, play a crucial role in shaping the doctoral holders’ future career opportunities. A summa cum laude can, in particular, foster academic careers. Doctoral holders with a summa cum laude degree are more likely to remain in academia after graduation (Jaksztat et al., 2017 ), and a summa cum laude is often a prerequisite for obtaining a professorship. But even outside academia, a summa cum laude degree increases the chances of achieving a leadership position (de Vogel, 2020 ). The declining exclusivity of a doctorate may consequently have led to the doctoral grade becoming a new “employability signal”, thus replacing the doctoral degree as an access key to the highest occupational positions. Doctoral grades therefore may, in turn, reinforce or generate new social inequalities.

Despite—or perhaps because of—the importance of doctoral grades, the grading practices for doctorates have been the subject of ongoing critical discussion. As the summa cum laude degree is awarded with increasing frequency (Consortium for the National Report on Junior Scholars 2017 : 215ff), the quality of the degree is called into question (German Science Council, 2011 ), and doctoral grades are often addressed in the context of grade inflation (Hornbostel & Johann, 2017 ). Moreover, the proportion of doctoral holders granted summa cum laude degrees varies significantly between subjects and higher education institutions (HEIs) (ibid). This also casts doubt on the comparability of doctoral grades. Lastly, the objectivity of doctoral grades is questioned because candidates’ supervisors are usually also the reviewers (German Science Council, 2011 ).

Against this background, an important question becomes “What factors influence the probability of completing the doctorate with the highest grade, summa cum laude ?” Much research has recently been conducted on the determinants of study grades (e.g., Gaens, 2018 ; Grözinger, 2015 ). To date, however, no firm evidence has identified the factors influencing doctoral grades. Studies exploring doctoral success have thus far examined completion (Visser et al., 2007 ; Wright & Cochrane, 2000 ), candidates’ dropout intentions (Alfermann et al., 2020 ) and actual dropout (Jaksztat et al., 2021 ; Wollast et al., 2018 ), time-to-degree (Kim & Otts, 2010 ; Skopek et al., 2020 ; Stock et al., 2011 ), and research productivity outcomes (e.g., publications) during the doctoral phase (Jaksztat, 2017 ). Regarding doctoral grades, the extant literature has thus far identified differences by subject, HEIs, social origin, and gender. However, the existing findings are based solely on descriptive analyses (Enders & Bornmann, 2001 ) or limited to certain subjects, scholarship programs, or HEIs (Enders & Kottmann, 2009 ; Lachmann et al., 2018 ; Röbbecke & Simon, 2001 ). More recent studies investigating doctoral grades in Germany with representative data are not yet available. I am also not aware of any international studies on this topic to date, which may certainly be due to the fact that only a few countries—besides Germany, for example, Austria, Switzerland, France, and Spain (Kupfer & Moes, 2004 )—award doctorates with final grades. The present study aims to fill this research gap by examining the determinants of final doctoral grades in Germany.

To introduce the topic, I first offer an overview of the existing evaluation practices of doctorates in Germany. I then create a conceptual framework that can be used to derive possible factors influencing final doctoral grades. My analyses are based on data from a German PhD Panel Study. Using a multivariate analysis approach, I present findings that extend existing descriptive observations. Thus, the current study can add sound evidence to discussions regarding the value of doctoral grades.

Doctoral degree evaluation practices in Germany

To successfully complete a doctorate in Germany, doctoral candidates must prove their ability to conduct independent research (German Science Council, 2002 ) in two exams: a doctoral thesis and an oral examination. The doctoral thesis may be submitted as either a monograph or a cumulative dissertation. The oral examination usually takes the form of a disputation or, less commonly, a viva voce (“Rigorosum”). The examination committee consists of the dissertation reviewers (typically, two professors) and additional faculty members.

To evaluate the doctoral thesis, at least two reviewers prepare written reports, which include a request for acceptance or rejection of the dissertation and the recommended grade. The overall grade of the dissertation is calculated from the proposed individual grades. The evaluation of the oral examination takes place immediately after the disputation in a meeting of the examination board. After the candidate passes the oral examination, the final doctoral grade is computed from the grades for the dissertation and the oral examination.

Reviewers often hold further roles during the doctoral process. Most commonly, the reviewers are also involved in the supervision of the doctoral project (Jaksztat et al., 2012 ). In case the doctorate is pursued within a research assistant position, the reviewer may furthermore be also the doctoral candidate’s professional superior.

The grading scheme for doctorates is usually defined in the faculties’ doctoral regulations. This alone makes comparability difficult because the grading schemes applied differ between HEIs and even between faculties’ within a HEI. In general, the best possible grade is summa cum laude (Latin for “with highest praise”). This is usually followed by magna cum laude (Latin for “with high praise”), cum laude (Latin for “with praise”), satis bene (Latin for “satisfactory”), and/or rite (Latin for “sufficient”). Failures are graded as non sufficit or non-rite . Around half of all doctorates in Germany are awarded the grade of magna cum laude (German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies 2021 ). However, summa cum laude grades are awarded with increasing frequency.

A conceptual framework for explaining doctoral grades

Just as hardly any empirical studies have examined doctoral grades thus far, the literature also lacks theoretical concepts for explaining doctoral grades. Still, Hu ( 2005 ) has established a theoretical framework for college grades, and other German studies examining course and exam grades in higher education (e.g., Grözinger, 2015 ) have referred to this framework. Unlike the majority of studies on college grading, the multicausal model combines theoretical approaches from economics, sociology, psychology, and education. Therefore, this paper adapts Hu’s model to identify possible determinants of doctoral grades. Consistently, I postulate that doctoral candidates’ , reviewers’ , and environmental context characteristics influence the doctoral grade.

Figure  1 illustrates the conceptual framework I developed to identify determinants of doctoral grades based on existing theories and empirical findings. However, my selection of possible determinants was also driven by data availability. Thus, the model does not claim to be exhaustive, and additional factors might be crucial for explaining doctoral grades. Moreover, the determinants should not be considered in isolation; rather, they should be understood to interact with each other. Footnote 1

Conceptual framework for explaining final doctoral grades

Characteristics of the doctoral candidates

First, I argue that doctoral candidates commence their studies with pre-entry attributes (Kuh et al., 2006 ) that are related to their academic performance and/or impact their reviewers’ evaluations of their doctoral theses. Numerous studies have shown that demographic characteristics , such as gender, parental education, and migration experience, are associated with academic success. The negative effects of having parents without a higher education degree are consistently evident in all educational transitions and success indicators between study enrollment and the doctoral level (Lörz & Schindler, 2016 ). Theoretically, this can be explained by these individuals’ low habitual fit (Bourdieu, 1988 ) with the higher education system, which might make it more difficult for them to meet the (implicit) requirements of academia. They are furthermore less likely to attend well-reputed HEIs (Duta et al., 2021 ) and might therefore be less trained in the practical skills and knowledge required for a successful doctorate. Within the life sciences, Lachmann et al. ( 2018 ) documented a small effect of social origin on the final doctoral grade. Accordingly, I assume that individuals whose parents have a higher education degree are more likely to complete their doctorates with the grade of summa cum laude (hypothesis H1 ). Similar arguments are used to explain why individuals with migration experience face unequal opportunities in higher education attainment (Hinz & Thielemann, 2013 ; Lörz, 2020 ). International doctoral candidates face additional acculturation challenges during their doctorate, which, in turn, can even result in dropout of a doctoral program (Laufer & Gorup, 2019 ). Hence, I expect a candidate’s migration experience to produce a negative effect ( H2 ). With regard to gender, studies show that females, on average, achieve higher study grades (Sonnert & Fox, 2012 ) than do males. In the subsequent course of their careers, however, the gender effect appears to reverse. Females are significantly less likely to pursue a doctorate after graduation (de Vogel, 2017 ) and drop out more often (Jaksztat et al., 2021 ) than do males. First, this may be because even in relationships among academics, the division of household tasks mostly follows traditional role patterns (Rusconi, 2013 ) and females take on more housework and care duties than males. Due to the additional workload, female doctoral candidates presumably have less time to dedicate to a doctorate. Another reason may be because females perceive fewer opportunities for promotion and lower levels of support during their doctoral studies than do males (Jaksztat, 2017 ). At the same time, women in science are subject to an evaluation bias and are rated as less competent than men (Moss-Racusin et al., 2012 ). I assume that these biases may also impact grading practices and, therefore, that female doctoral candidates graduate less often with summa cum laude grades than do males ( H3 ).

Prior school and academic performance can be seen as an indicator of cognitive ability, knowledge, and effort. As Hambrick ( 2003 ) argues, prior knowledge helps an individual to acquire future knowledge. Furthermore, past successes motivate students to work hard in the future (Marsh & Martin, 2011 ). In Germany, therefore, HEI admission processes have always used school performance as a selection criterion, and students’ prior performance has proven to validly predict academic success (Schneider & Preckel, 2017 ). Individuals with good academic performance are more likely to pursue doctoral studies (de Vogel, 2017 ) and successfully complete their doctorates (Wright & Cochrane, 2000 ). Accordingly, I argue that a history of strong academic performance increases the probability that an individual will graduate with the grade of summa cum laude ( H4 ).

Characteristics of the reviewers

Second, previous research suggests that reviewers’ characteristics affect doctoral evaluations (Grözinger, 2015 ). In case doctoral reviewers supervise the same dissertations they review, the reviewers can, during the writing process, direct the progress of the dissertation toward their quality demands. This dual role further implies that the reviewers implicitly evaluate their own performance as doctoral supervisors. Consequently, reviewers who have also served as supervisors likely might not grade objectively and prefer to award the doctorate the highest rating possible. Doctoral candidates whose supervisors were also their reviewers are, therefore, more likely to achieve summa cum laude degrees ( H5 ).

Previous research finds that the reputations of the awarding HEIs or departments play an important role in grading practices (Lombardi & Ghellini, 2019 ). In Germany, however, not the entire faculty but only individual lecturers are involved in the grading process. Gaens ( 2018 ) suspects that examiners with an already strong scientific reputation are more inclined to apply more stringent selection standards; thus, doctoral candidates who complete their doctorates with highly respected reviewers must meet particularly high performance standards to achieve outstanding doctoral grades. Consequently, I assume that a reviewer with a strong academic reputation in his or her scientific community reduces the probability of a candidate obtaining a summa cum laude degree ( H6 ).

A final reviewer characteristic relevant for doctoral grading may be the gender constellation of reviewers and doctoral candidate s. Studies have disproved that a same-gender teacher is advantageous in terms of students’ school grades (e.g., Neugebauer et al., 2011 ). However, research on academic success shows that a same-gender doctoral reviewer increases the probability that the candidate will successfully complete the doctorate (Main, 2014 ) and remain in academia (Gaule & Piacentini, 2018 ). Dissertations supervised by a same-gender lecturer achieve a higher scientific impact (Bu et al., 2020 ). According to Allen et al. ( 2005 ), the positive impact of a same-gender constellation in mentoring relationships can be attributed to the higher level of interpersonal comfort mentees feel in relationships with mentors of the same gender. This, in turn, increases the quality of the mentoring relationship and the support the mentee receives. Furthermore, gender homophily in academia (Kegen, 2013 ; Kwiek & Roszka, 2021 ) can also manifest in reviewers perceiving doctoral candidates of the same gender as more capable and productive and, therefore, awarding them better grades than those of the opposite gender. Therefore, I propose that same-gender reviewers increase the probability that candidates will graduate from their doctoral programs with a summa cum laude degree ( H7 ).

Characteristics of the environmental context of the doctorate

Third, I refer to the environmental context of a candidate’s doctoral education and expect the subject area to impact doctoral grades. Examining the distribution of doctoral grades by subject reveals that summa cum laude degrees are awarded very frequently in some subjects, while hardly at all in other subjects (German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies 2021 ). In the natural sciences, a summa cum laude degree is much rarer than, for example, in economics. In medical studies, moreover, the top grade is hardly ever awarded. Researchers have yet to uncover the mechanisms behind these subject-cultural awarding patterns. I assume that in disciplines, where a doctoral degree is almost the standard qualification, the grade rather than the degree may function as a signal for distinguishing particularly talented graduates. Consequently, I suspect that doctoral candidates in subjects with high doctoral rates receive a summa cum laude degree less often than do doctoral graduates in other disciplines ( H8 ).

The formal doctoral context can also be relevant to doctoral grades for a variety of reasons. On the one hand, doctorates within research assistant positions, Footnote 2 external doctorates, scholarship programs, and structured doctorates differ in their recruiting practices. In structured doctorates and scholarship programs, the selection of doctoral candidates is largely based on standardized procedures and objective, performance-based criteria (Lachmann et al., 2020 ). This is why particularly talented doctoral students may often be found in such contexts (de Vogel, 2017 ). On the other hand, research assistant positions and structured doctoral programs offer particularly beneficial learning and development conditions (de Vogel, 2020 ; Lachmann et al., 2020 ). Furthermore, research assistant positions may be advantageous because the department heads often also assume the roles of supervisor and reviewer, and reviewers may want to reward their staff with high grades. External doctorates stand in stark contrast to other doctoral contexts. External doctoral candidates complete the requirements of the doctorate, usually alongside employment in the non-academic labor market, in their leisure time and cannot benefit from close professional relationships with their reviewers. Access to the doctorate is not formalized, and external doctoral candidates experience the least supportive learning and development conditions (de Vogel, 2020 ). For the life sciences, it has already been demonstrated that employment outside academia during doctoral studies has a negative effect on the doctoral grade (Lachmann et al., 2018 ). Consequently, I conclude that summa cum laude degrees are less likely in external doctorates than in other formal doctoral contexts ( H9 ).

Finally, educational psychologists argue that the learning environment is a significant factor in students’ educational success. First, scholars have identified the supervision of the doctoral project as a crucial environmental aspect for doctoral candidates’ success (Alfermann et al., 2020 ; Castelló et al., 2017 ; Jaksztat et al., 2021 ; Skopek et al., 2020 ). Indeed, the presence of an experienced scientist at one’s side offering professional support and advice throughout the research and writing process is crucial for candidates to successfully complete a doctoral project. Accordingly, the German Science Council ( 2011 ) asserts that secure supervision is essential to ensure the quality of a candidate’s doctoral project. In contrast, doctoral candidates who are left on their own for parts of the doctoral phase or who must seek a new supervisor during the course of their studies may struggle to achieve excellent academic performance. Thus, I assume that a secure supervision increases the probability of graduating with a summa cum laude degree ( H10 ). In addition to formal supervision of the doctoral project, the quality of the doctorate can benefit further from evaluation by other peer researchers. Publication-based dissertations already capitalize on this further quality assurance mechanism. Learning environments that place great emphasis on exposing the doctoral project to academic discourse—e.g., through participation in conferences—may, therefore, increase the likelihood of a candidate graduating with a summa cum laude degree ( H11 ). Studies of academic success also emphasize the importance of academic integration. Jaksztat et al. ( 2021 ) demonstrate that doctoral candidates who engage in frequent exchanges with other doctoral candidates are less likely to drop out of their doctoral programs. Contacts in the scientific community may also be relevant for academic achievement because they increase candidates’ identification with the academic profession and thus enhance their motivation to perform to the best of their ability. Furthermore, well-integrated doctoral candidates may be more likely to acquire (tacit) knowledge regarding the (implicit) quality requirements that apply in academia. Hence, learning environments that offer support in developing scientific networks should increase the likelihood that candidates will complete their doctorates with summa cum laude degrees ( H12 ). Existing research consistently finds that completion rates are higher when funding is secure (Kim & Otts, 2010 ; Skopek et al., 2020 ; Stock et al., 2011 ; Visser et al., 2007 ; Wollast et al., 2018 ). Doctoral candidates with secure funding are probably better able to focus on their doctoral studies than are those who must constantly seek new income sources or who must pursue side jobs along with their studies. Therefore, more secure funding should also increase the probability of a doctoral candidate receiving a summa cum laude degree ( H13 ). By contrast, I expect rigid time regulations to have a negative effect on doctoral achievement. Although Stock et al. ( 2011 ) find no influence for the length of the doctorate on candidates’ success, I believe that doctoral researchers whose program is clearly time-limited are likely to feel strong pressure to finish within the time allotted, and this pressure may have a detrimental impact on the quality of the doctoral project. Thus, I suspect that rigid time constraints reduce the probability of candidates completing their doctorates with the grade of summa cum laude ( H14 ).

Data and methods

The dzhw phd panel study.

To examine the determinants of candidates achieving the top doctoral grade, I employed data from a German PhD Panel Study (10.21249/DZHW:phd2014:4.0.0), which is being conducted by the German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW) and funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The target group comprised all doctorate holders who had completed their doctorate at a German higher education institution (HEI) with the right to award doctorates in 2014. The initial survey was conducted in 2015 (about one year after completion of the doctorate) using a paper-and-pencil questionnaire. Subsequently, annual follow-up surveys continue online. The study focuses primarily on the doctorate holders’ activities and further career paths within and outside of academia. The initial survey retrospectively requested information on each doctoral graduate’s doctoral phase and previous educational history.

The study was designed as a full survey. However, data protection requirements prevented the project team from communicating directly with the doctorate holders; therefore, the team relied on participating HEIs to contact the doctoral candidates. Of the 146 HEIs that had the right to award doctorates in 2014, 80 HEIs fully supported the survey, and 32 HEIs partially supported it (i.e., single faculties or subjects participated) by forwarding the questionnaires to their doctorate holders. Nineteen HEIs had no completed doctorates during the relevant period. Of the 28,147 individuals in the basic population (Federal Statistical Office 2020 ), the team was able to contact 19,916 (70.8%) via the participating HEIs. Of these, 5,408 doctoral graduates took part in the survey, which corresponds to a response rate of 27%. As an item-nonresponse analysis did not reveal any noticeable missing value patterns, I assume that using complete cases only, at least for the present research question, may not lead to biased results. Subtracting individuals with missing values on the variables relevant to the analyses, my sample thus consists of n  = 3,899 doctorate holders. No systematic biases could be identified at the HEI level—due to non-participation by HEIs—with respect to the type of HEI (e.g., university, university of education, theological university, art academy), number of doctorates, or state. To correct for biases in the sample with respect to the doctorate holders’ gender, field of study, and region (East/West), post-stratification-weights provided in the scientific-use-file were included in the analyses. Footnote 3

Table 1 presents the operationalization of the variables that are the focus of this work and their distributions. The dependent variable is the final grade with which the doctorate holders completed their doctorates. The information was recoded into a variable with two categories, which indicate whether each doctorate was completed with the highest grade ( summa cum laude ) or a lower grade ( magna cum laude , cum laude , satis bene , rite , or other/no grade awarded ).

The doctoral candidates’ characteristics consist of the following demographic information: gender , migration experience , and parental education. Prior academic performance is measured via final school and study grades . The reviewers’ characteristics include variables that indicate whether the main supervisor was also a reviewer , the perceived main reviewer reputation in the scientific community of his or her subject, and the gender constellation between the doctoral holder and all his or her reviewers. The environmental characteristics account for the subject area , the formal doctoral context , and the perceived conditions in the learning environment . The instrument measuring the perceived learning environment conditions in the doctoral phase includes scales to measure the subjective supervision security , perceived expectations to participate in scientific discourse during doctoral research, and experienced support in network integration (de Vogel et al., 2017 ), as well as funding security and rigidity of time constraints .

As a control variable, I calculated the proportion of summa cum laude doctorates per subject in the respective HEI . For this purpose, I used information from the Federal Statistical Office on the final grades of completed doctorates by subject per HEI. Footnote 4 In some cases, very few doctorates were completed per year by subject/HEI. Hence, I computed the proportion of the completed doctorates from 2012 to 2014.

Analytical approach

To test the hypotheses, I perform a multivariate logistic regression analysis to estimate the probability of completing a doctorate with the grade of summa cum laude . Initially, I calculate three separate models displaying the effects of (1) the doctoral graduates’ characteristics, (2) the reviewers’ characteristics, and (3) the environmental context characteristics. This facilitates conclusions about the explanatory power of the three characteristic groups. Computing an overall model, I then examine whether the effects observed in the individual models also persist when all other covariates are taken into account. All four models control for the proportion of summa cum laude doctorates per subject/HEI. To increase the comparability of the variable effects between models (Mood, 2010 ), I report average marginal effects (AME). The changes shown represent average predictions for the impact on probabilities to graduate with a summa cum laude degree. Because I use weighted data, I calculate robust standard errors. As a robustness check, I repeated the analyses with unweighted data and yield stable results. To assess the goodness of fit of the logistic regression model, I report the McFadden pseudo- R 2 . A higher value corresponds to a better model fit. Lastly, I assessed the basic assumptions underlying logistic regression analyses, which are the absence of multicollinearity and influential outliers in the data, and linearity in the relationship between the continuous predictor variables and the logit. The results verified that prerequisites are met.

In a second step, I use the findings from the logistic regression analysis to define profile groups of doctorate holders with high and low risk of obtaining a summa cum laude degree. I calculate predictive margins to show how cumulative advantages and disadvantages translate into different probabilities for graduating with the highest grade.

Determinants of a summa cum laude degree

The results of the logistic regression analysis used to estimate the probability of completing the doctorate with the grade of summa cum laude are displayed in Table 2 . Considering, first, the impact of the doctorate candidates’ characteristics reveals mixed evidence for the effect of demographic characteristics. Contrary to H1 , parental education does not have a significant effect. The overall model also yields no significant impact for migration experience ( H2 ). However, the likelihood of receiving a summa cum laude degree is an average of 5% lower for migrants compared to doctorate holders without migration experience when only the doctoral candidates’ characteristics are included. Further analyses reveal that the significant impact occurs when performance indicators are controlled. Footnote 5 This suggests that doctorate holders with migration experience are a selective, high-performing group whose migration experience proves to be detrimental when performance is held constant. Supporting H3 , women have an average of 6% lower probability of obtaining a summa cum laude doctorate than do men. Compared to the first model, the gender effect in the overall model decreases by 2 percentage points, indicating that gender differences in the characteristics of the reviewers and the context may contribute to the disadvantage of women. As expected, a history of higher GPAs also exerts a positive effect on the likelihood of a candidate receiving a summa cum laude degree ( H4 ). Effect sizes remain fairly stable across models.

According to my theoretical assumptions, the characteristics of the reviewers also influence the probability of obtaining a doctorate with a grade of summa cum laude. The reviewer’s scientific reputation has a small negative effect when controlling for all covariates in the overall model only ( H6 ), indicating that the representation of reputed reviewers may not be homogenous across all disciplinary fields. The assumed effects of a supervisor who is also reviewer ( H5 ) and of the gender constellation between reviewers and doctoral holders ( H7 ), however, do not prove significant in the overall model. Because they show significant effects in model 2, it is reasonable to assume that the reviewers’ characteristics are related to the characteristics of the doctoral candidates or the environmental context. Bivariate analyses indicate, for example, that there are subject-specific differences. 5

Finally, the results support the expectation that the environmental context also determines the probability of a candidate receiving a summa cum laude degree. Consistent with H8 , the chances of obtaining a summa cum laude degree differ between subject areas. As expected, the probability of receiving a summa cum laude degree is significantly lower in subjects with high doctorate rates (natural sciences 7 percentage points, medicine 10 percentage points) than in economics and the social sciences, where doctorates are less common. However, candidates in the field of engineering are also less likely to earn a summa cum laude degree (7 percentage points). In addition, significant differences exist between the formal doctoral contexts ( H9 ). The likelihood of receiving a summa cum laude degree within external doctoral programs is, on average, 13 percentage points lower than in internally funded research assistant positions. Finally, the learning environment plays a significant role in explaining doctoral grades. As expected, a learning environment that offers a secure supervision ( H10 ) and promotes discourse participation ( H11 ) and network integration ( H12 ) increases a candidate’s chances of graduating with a summa cum laude degree. However, the findings do not support the hypothesized positive impact of financial security ( H13 ). The expected detrimental effect of rigid time constraints is confirmed ( H14 ). Overall, the effect sizes of the contextual factors remain relatively stable with and without controlling for doctoral candidates’ and supervisors’ characteristics.

The McFadden’s pseudo- R 2 of 0.19 indicates a good fit of the overall model. Environmental influences appear to play the most important role in achieving a summa cum laude degree.

High and low probability profiles

Findings from the logistic regression analysis indicate which factors are beneficial or detrimental to achieving a summa cum laude degree. I use this information to compare the chances of graduating with the highest degree between groups with a high respective low probability profile. Figure  2 illustrates the predictive margins for the high and low probability profile groups in the subject areas economics/social sciences —a subject area where doctoral rates are low—and the natural sciences , where doctoral degrees are very common. I stepwise compose the high probability group as follows: male, high prior academic performance, doctorate within an internally funded research assistant position, and good learning environment conditions during the doctoral phase. The low probability profile is defined as being female, exhibiting low prior academic performance, obtaining an external doctorate, and having a poor learning environment during the doctoral phase.

Predictive margins in high and low probability groups. Predictive margins based on model 4 in Table 2 ; academic performance: school and study GPAs (high 80th percentile, low 20th percentile); learning environment: secure supervision, discourse participation, network integration (good 80th percentile, poor 20th percentile), rigidity of time constraints (good 20th percentile, poor 80th percentile); unlisted covariates were set to mean values. DZHW PhD Panel Study, n  = 3,899; weighted data

In the high probability profile group, the probability of males graduating with summa cum laude is 25% in economics and social sciences and 14% in natural sciences. If being male is combined with good prior academic performance, the chances increase to 42% respectively 25%. In case the doctorate is furthermore obtained within an internally funded research assistant position, the probability to receive a summa cum laude rises to 50% in economics and social sciences and 32% in natural sciences. With a good learning environment during the doctoral phase, the chances of achieving the highest grade ultimately amount to 74% respectively 58%.

Regarding the low-risk probability profile, in both disciplines, women are less likely than men to earn a summa cum laude (17% in economic/social sciences, 9% in natural sciences). The probability of receiving the highest grade in a doctorate decreases even further to 10% respectively 5% if they were comparably low performing in school and previous studies. An external doctorate, accompanied by a poor learning environment during the doctoral phase, makes it almost impossible to achieve a summa cum laude in both disciplines.

As this comparison illustrates, the accumulation of (dis-)advantageous factors produces strong differences in the individual probability to graduate with summa cum laude .

The present study investigated the determinants of doctoral grades in Germany. Its aim was to identify factors influencing the achievement of the highest grade, summa cum laude . The conceptual framework was based on Hu’s ( 2005 ) model for explaining college grades, which I adapted to explain doctoral grades using additional theories and research findings on academic success. My analyses of a nationally representative sample of doctoral graduates show that doctoral grades are the result of an interplay between the characteristics of the doctoral candidates, the reviewers, and their environmental context. More precisely, the findings suggest that individuals with a history of strong school and study performance are more likely to achieve summa cum laude degrees. A learning environment that is characterized by supervision security, high expectations to participate in scientific discourse, and strong support for network integration also increases the chances of a summa cum laude degree. In contrast, being female; having a highly respected reviewer; studying the natural sciences, medicine, or engineering; completing an external doctorate; and studying in a learning environment with rigid time constraints are negatively related to the probability of receiving a summa cum laude grade.

This study is the first to provide representative findings on the determinants of doctoral grades in Germany that extend beyond descriptive analyses. Its results demonstrate that the prior academic performance of the doctoral researchers is a greatly significant predictor. Indeed, summa cum laude doctorates are more often awarded to high-performing doctorate holders. In this respect, doctoral grades appear valid after all. Nevertheless, the often criticized subject-specific practices of awarding grades do prove to be a major factor in explaining summa cum laude doctorates. This study also confirms the impact of the reviewers’ reputations. Consequently, my results support the ongoing debate about the lack of objectivity and comparability of doctoral grades.

In the context of higher education massification, the present findings are in particular significant if final doctoral grades are understood as a new selection criterion for access to the highest occupational positions (de Vogel, 2020 ; Jaksztat et al., 2017 ). Research assistant positions offer the best chances to obtain a summa cum laude , but a rising number of doctoral candidates enroll in structured doctoral programs. Along the increasing differentiation of the doctoral landscape, a growing number of doctoral candidates embark on doctorates in many different contexts, which apparently do not provide equal starting conditions for their subsequent careers. Since the choice of formal doctoral context also depends on gender and parental education (de Vogel, 2017 ), this may be a possible mechanism for reproducing social inequalities.

Even beyond formal doctoral context choices, doctoral grades seem to contribute to gender inequalities to the disadvantage of women and could thus add to the lower participation of women at later academic career stages (Lörz & Mühleck, 2019 ). Just like migration experience, the study could not find an effect of parental education. One possible reason may be that social disparities primarily emerge at educational transitions (Lörz & Schindler, 2016 ), such as doctoral enrollment.

However, this study also offers initial guidance on measures that may contribute to a fair grading process and possibly help doctoral candidates to excel. To ensure a more objective assessment of doctoral candidates, it may help to separate the roles of reviewers and supervisors, as recommended by the German Science Council ( 2011 ) and already implemented in many structured doctoral programs and other countries. Furthermore, to prevent discrimination—e.g., by gender or migration experience, grading could be completed via anonymous peer-review procedures, such as those applied to the publication of journal articles. Finally, the results suggest that positive learning environment conditions contribute to doctoral success. Ensuring stable supervision and institutionalizing discourse participation and network integration in the doctoral phase may thus improve the quality of doctorates. External doctoral candidates could particularly benefit from this support. Apparently, problems with funding manifest not in decreased performance but in prolonged time-to-doctorate or dropouts (Skopek et al., 2020 ). Employment contracts and scholarships should therefore be sufficiently long and provide adequate financial resources to enable doctoral candidates to focus on their doctorate.

A major limitation of this work lies in its selection of factors to examine, which was restricted by data availability. As a multi-topic survey on doctorates, the DZHW PhD Panel Study collects information on many (potentially) relevant influencing factors. Still, some information that could be relevant for explaining doctoral grades, such as science-related self-efficacy beliefs or the main reviewer’s gender, is missing. Another shortcoming is that the DZHW PhD Panel Study begins its survey after the participants have completed their doctorates. On the one hand, this implies that the survey gathers some information, such as the perception of the learning environment during the doctoral phase, retrospectively. Consequently, these data may be affected by the candidates’ doctoral outcomes. For this reason, the analyses also omitted information regarding the candidates’ personality traits or initial motives for pursuing the doctorate. On the other hand, the respondents to this survey represent a selective group that includes only successful graduates. Doctoral candidates who experienced poor learning environment conditions, for example, may have dropped out of their doctoral programs and were, therefore, not included in the sample. Uncovering any (potential) bias in this regard would require panel studies that commence with the beginning of participants’ doctoral studies. Once it has gathered sufficient longitudinal observations of successful graduates, the DZHW National Academics Panel Survey (NACAPS) will enable causal analyses of doctoral success.

Because doctoral grades are so significant for careers in Germany and are, at the same time, always subject to criticism, it is essential to further investigate the factors influencing doctoral grades. Important are efforts to uncover the reasons behind women’s poorer chances of receiving a summa cum laude degree. Findings here could contribute significantly to the discussion of gender inequalities in (academic) careers. It would, moreover, be interesting to know what role the reviewers’ attributes play in this regard and whether or not they contribute to unequal opportunities for women. The findings of this study suggest that doctoral grades may also be affected by the gender constellations between reviewers and doctoral candidates, his/her scientific reputation, and by the reviewer’s simultaneous (or not) position as supervisor. However, these effects appear related—e.g., through moderation or mediation—to the characteristics of the doctoral candidates themselves and/or to the characteristics of the environmental context. Future studies may illustrate the relationships between predictors through structural equation modeling, e.g., multi-group analyses by subject area. In the light of massification and differentiation, path analyses could also be used to investigate the extent to which subjects and formal doctoral contexts exert a direct and indirect effect on doctoral grades and subsequent career success—and thus produce social inequalities. Against the backdrop of increasing proportions of summa cum laude grades, there is a need for longitudinal analyses to investigate how these proportions develop and to explore which determinants become more or less important over time. To draw implications beyond Germany, finally, future research should investigate whether these findings can be reproduced in other doctoral grade awarding countries. Particular interesting would be studies carried out in countries where doctorates are less popular and/or have little significance outside the academic world.

Data availability

The dataset analyzed during the current study is available at the Research Data Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (FDZ-DZHW) in the form of a scientific use file (10.21249/DZHW:phd2014:4.0.0). The Stata/SE 17 code is available upon request at FDZ-DZHW.

Subject area and prior academic performance, for example, have been found to impact the choice of doctoral context (de Vogel 2020 ). The doctoral candidates’ attributes and the environmental context in turn may influence how the reviewers are comprised. Recent research on social inequality in higher education suggests that there may be an interaction effect between social origin, gender, and migration experience (e.g., Lörz 2020 ).

In Germany, there is no proper distinction between teaching and research assistant positions, since research assistants are often also involved in teaching.

The post-stratification-weights were calculated using the iterative proportional fitting (IPF) raking procedure, which adjusts the marginal distributions of the characteristics gender, field of study, and region in the sample to those in the population. For a detailed description of the weighting procedure, see Brandt et al. ( 2020 ).

The official data on final doctoral grades provided by the Federal Statistical Office were compiled by the German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (2021) and are accessible at http://www.forschungsinfo.de/promotionsnoten/

Results are available upon request to the author.

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Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. This work was supported by an internal research funding by the German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW, Deutsches Zentrum für Hochschul- und Wissenschaftsforschung). The data utilized—the German PhD Panel Study—were collected as part of the project “Careers of PhD Holders—doctorate conditions, career entry and career development of doctorate holders from the 2014 examination cohort” funded by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung) under grant 16FWN014 and 16FWN017.

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How Iranian students can master integration into German academia

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Eleven MIT undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni have won Fulbright grants to embark on projects overseas in the 2024-25 grant cycle. Two other students were offered awards but declined them to pursue other opportunities.

Funded by the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers year-long opportunities for American citizen students and recent alumni to conduct independent research, pursue graduate studies, or teach English in over 140 countries.

MIT has been a Fulbright Top-Producing Institution for five years in a row. MIT students and alumni interested in applying to the Fulbright U.S. Student Program should contact Julia Mongo, MIT Fulbright program advisor, in the Office of Distinguished Fellowships in Career Advising and Professional Development.

April Cheng is a junior studying physics with a minor in mathematics and is fast-tracked to graduate this spring. They will take their Fulbright research grant to the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Potsdam, Germany, where they will study different statistical techniques to infer the expansion rate of the universe from gravitational waves. They first developed an interest in gravitational waves and black holes at the MIT LIGO and Caltech LIGO labs, but their research spans a wide range of topics in astrophysics, including cosmology and fast radio bursts. Cheng is passionate about physics education and is heavily involved in developing educational materials for high school Science Olympiads. At MIT, they are a member of the Physics Values Committee, the physics mentorship program, and the MIT Lion Dance team. After Fulbright, Cheng will pursue a PhD in astrophysics at Princeton University, where they have received the President’s Fellowship.

Grace McMillan is a senior majoring in literature and mechanical engineering with a concentration in Russian language. As a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award recipient, she will teach at a university in Kazakhstan. McMillan’s interest in Central Asia was sparked by a Russian language immersion program she participated in during her sophomore summer in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, funded by MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI). She is excited to help her students learn English to foster integration into the global academic community. During her time at MIT, McMillan has conducted research with faculty in nuclear science; earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences; and the Digital Humanities Lab. Outside of academics, she has been an active member of her sorority, Sigma Kappa, and has served on the MIT Health Consumers’ Advisory Council for two years. After Fulbright, McMillan hopes to attend law school, focusing on education reform.

Ryan McTigue  will graduate this spring with a BS in physics and mathematics and a concentration in Spanish. With a Fulbright award to Spain, he will do research at the University of Valencia’s Institute of Molecular Science focusing on the physics of two-dimensional multiferroic nanodevices. He is looking forward to improving his Spanish and getting the opportunity to live abroad. At MIT, McTigue became interested in condensed matter physics research with the Checkelsky group, where he focused on engineering materials with flat bands that exhibited correlated electron effects. Outside of research, McTigue has been a mentor in the physics department’s mentoring program and a member of the heavyweight men’s crew team. After his Fulbright grant, McTigue will begin a PhD in physics at Princeton University.

Keith Murray ’22 graduated from MIT with a BS in computation and cognition and linguistics and philosophy. He will receive his MEng degree in computation and cognition this spring. As a Fulbright Hungary research grantee at the HUN-REN Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Murray will design generative AI models inspired by the primary visual cortex with the goal of making AI models more interpretable. At MIT, Murray’s research experiences spanned from training mice to perform navigation tasks in virtual reality to theorizing about how neurons might compute modular arithmetic. He was also a member of the men’s heavyweight crew team and the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. After Fulbright, Murray will pursue a PhD in neuroscience at Princeton University.

Maaya Prasad ’22 completed her undergraduate education at MIT with degrees in both electrical engineering and creative writing and will graduate this month with an MS in mechanical and ocean engineering. Her thesis research focuses on microplastic detection using optical sensing. Prasad’s Fulbright fellowship will take her to Mauritius, an East African island country located in the Indian Ocean. Here, she will continue her master’s research at the University of Mauritius and will work with local researchers to implement a microplastic survey system. While at MIT, Prasad joined the varsity sailing team with no prior experience. Her time spent on the water led her to pursue marine research at MIT Sea Grant, and she eventually earned an honorable mention to the 2023 All-American Sailing Team. After Fulbright, Prasad hopes to pursue a PhD in applied ocean engineering.

Anusha Puri is a senior majoring in biological engineering. Her Fulbright award will take her to Lausanne, Switzerland, where she will conduct cancer immunology research at the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research. At MIT, Puri’s work in the Weinberg Lab focused on understanding mechanisms that drive resistance of breast cancer to immunotherapy. On campus, she founded and serves as president of MIT’s premiere stand-up comedy group, Stand-Up CoMITy, leads MIT’s Bhangra dance team, and is the editor-in-chief of the MIT Undergraduate Research Journal . She looks forward to engaging with teaching outreach and practicing her French in Switzerland. After her Fulbright grant, she plans to pursue a PhD in biomedical science.

Olivia Rosenstein will graduate this spring with a BS in physics and a minor in French. Her Fulbright will take her to ENS Paris-Saclay in Palaiseau, France, where she’ll deepen her education in atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics. At MIT, Rosenstein has worked in Professor Mark Vogelsberger’s group researching models of galaxy formation and the early universe, and in Professor Richard Fletcher’s group on an erbium-lithium experiment to investigate quantum many-body dynamics in a degenerate mixture. In France, she will expand on the skills she developed in Fletcher’s lab by contributing to a project using optical tweezer arrays to study dipolar interactions. After Fulbright, Rosenstein plans to return to the United States to pursue a PhD in experimental AMO at Caltech.

Jennifer Schug  will receive this spring an MEng degree in the Climate, Environment, and Sustainability track within the MIT Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. During her Fulbright year in Italy, she will conduct research on carbon storage in the Venice lagoon at the University of Padua. Schug is excited to build upon her research with the Terrer Lab at MIT, where she is currently investigating the effectiveness of forestation as a carbon sequestration strategy. She also looks forward to improving her Italian language skills and learning about Italian history and culture. Before beginning Fulbright this fall, Schug will study ecological preservation in Sicily this summer through an MIT-Italy collaboration with the University of Catania. After Fulbright, she hopes to continue researching nature-based solutions as climate change mitigation strategies.

Vaibhavi Shah ’21 earned a BS in biological engineering and in science, technology, and society at MIT, where she was named a Goldwater Scholar. She is now a medical student at Stanford University. As a Fulbright-Fogarty Fellow in Public Health, Shah will use both her computational and humanities backgrounds to investigate sociocultural factors underlying traumatic surgical injuries in Nepal. While at MIT, she was on the executive board of GlobeMed and the Society of Women Engineers, and she hopes to use those experiences to amplify diverse voices in medicine while on her journey to becoming a neurosurgeon-scientist. After Fulbright, Shah will complete her final year of medical school.

Charvi Sharma  is a senior studying computer science and molecular biology with a minor in theater arts. As a Fulbright English teaching assistant in Spain, she is excited to engage in cross-cultural exchange while furthering her skills as a teacher and as a leader. In addition to teaching, Sharma looks forward to immersing herself in the country’s vibrant traditions, improving her Spanish proficiency, and delving into the local arts and dance scene. At MIT, through Global Teaching Labs Spain and her roles as a dynaMIT mentor, an associate advisor, and a captain and president of her dance teams Mirchi and Nritya, Sharma has served as a teacher of both STEM and dance. Her passion for making a difference in her community is also evident through her work with Boston Medical Center’s Autism Program through the PKG Public Service Center and as an undergraduate cancer researcher in the Yaffe Lab. After Fulbright, Sharma plans to pursue an MD and, ultimately, a career as a clinician-scientist.

Isabella Witham is a senior majoring in biological engineering. As a recipient of the Fulbright U.S.-Korea Presidential STEM Initiative Award, she will conduct research at Seoul National University’s Biomimetic Materials and Stem Cell Engineering Lab. Her work will involve creating biomimetic scaffolds for pancreatic cell transplantation to treat type I diabetes. While in South Korea, Witham aims to improve her language skills and explore cultural sites and cities. At MIT, she worked in the Belcher Lab on nanoparticle formulations, was a tutor for MIT’s Women’s Technology Program, and volunteered as a Medlink. After her Fulbright fellowship, she plans to pursue a PhD in biological engineering.

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