Formal details and rules concerning the admission to the TELIS programme are documented in the admission regulations (Zulassungsordnung; currently available in German only). Central prerequisite is the fulfilment of entry requirements for studies at the doctoral level at the University of Oldenburg. These are specified in §7 of the Doctoral Regulations (Promotionsordnungen, regarding Dr. rer. pol. and Dr. jur.; currently available in German only).      

In general, admission to doctoral studies in the areas of Business Administration and Economics requires an excellent or very good Master’s degree (or equivalent) in the respective discipline (with an average of 2.5 or better, in the German grading system).

Pursuing doctoral studies in the area of Law requires at least ‘upper satisfactory’ (vollbefriedigend) upon completion of the first or second state examination in Law (Juristische Staatsprüfung), or Master’s degree in Comparative and European Laws (LL.M.) of the University of Bremen and the Hanse Law School with an average grade of 2.5 or better.

Supervision of the doctoral thesis can be provided by any professor of the University of Oldenburg working within the intended area of specialization.

In case prospective supervisors offer vacant researcher positions that allow the accompanying completion of a doctoral dissertation or scholarships, applications should be made directly as for any job or grant.

In addition, there is the possibility to pursue doctoral studies without holding an official position at the University of Oldenburg, in the status of an ‘external’ doctoral student. In this case a request for supervision will have to be made by taking direct contact with a professor in the area of intended specialization.

Crucially, before formally applying for admission to the TELIS programme a professor’s statement confirming supervisory responsibility for the period of drafting a research proposal has to be obtained.

Subsequently, the application for the TELIS programme is directed to the Admission Committee (Zulassungsausschuss) of the department of Business Administration, Economics, and Law. The application can be submitted any time of the year. The application is conducted by submitting the application form (Zulassungsantrag) and the required documents (as laid out in §7 of the currently binding Doctoral Regulations (Promotionsordnungen) regarding Dr. rer. pol. and Dr. jur.; in German only) except for the research proposal; these are:

• a letter of motivation
• CV and copies of relevant diplomas
• a short statement regarding the planned financing over the course of the doctoral studies and work on the dissertation.

Admission to full status as doctoral student

The TELIS programme is intended to assist doctoral students in preparing their research proposal, which is required for attaining full status as doctoral student. This should happen within the first six months, in exceptional cases within twelve months after admission to the TELIS programme. If candidates have a research proposal in agreement with their academic supervisor ready upon the time at which they enter the TELIS programme, they may apply for the programme and admission to full status as doctoral student in one go. In this case they have to add to the set of documents specified above:

• the research proposal, and
• the supervisor’s declaration of willingness to take responsibility for supervising the work on the dissertation (the declaration on supervising work on the research proposal is then redundant).

Even in all other cases the full set of documents required for admission is to be submitted to the Doctoral Committee (Promotionsausschuss) by the end of the second semester at the latest, in combination with the supplementary application form (ergänzender Antrag).

• Prof. Dr. Christine Godt
• Prof. Dr. Hans-Michael Trautwein
• N.N.

After successful admission to the TELIS programme enrolment with the student registration office (Immatrikulationsamt) is mandatory, starting with the upcoming semester.

The respective closing dates for registering to the summer and winter semester are in mid-April and mid-October, respectively (exact dates are to be taken from the websites of the Immatrikulationsamt).