All around the world, demand for highly-qualified, internationally-trained young academics and scientists is growing - and each year around 25,000 people choose Germany as their place to earn a doctorate. Around 120 universities in Germany offer opportunities for graduates to follow up their academic studies with a doctorate.

The best way to find out which universities in Germany offer which doctoral programs is to consult www.higher-education-compass.de.

The Classic
Traditionally, the production of a doctoral thesis or dissertation has been the core element of the doctorate in Germany and there is no binding curriculum. Students agree their topic with a supervising professor and then produce a thesis or dissertation as a piece of independent research work. Since there is no curriculum, there is also no set length for doctoral studies and no obligation to attend courses, which makes it doubly important that the doctoral student is personally motivated and works well with their academic supervisor.

Structured Degree Programs
Recent years have seen the increased popularity of structured doctoral programs, which are more similar to the structure of doctoral programs offered in North America. Many of these programs have an international focus. They offer doctoral students the following advantages:

• Flexible admission for foreign applicants, e.g. graduates holding a Bachelor's degree
• English largely used in courses and everyday work
• Team-based doctorate, frequently involving joint research projects which ensures that a constant process of exchange takes place with other doctoral students and supervisors
• Supervision agreement between the university and the doctoral student which allocates at least two supervisors to each doctoral student
• Interdisciplinary approach through the participation of several faculties / departments
• Research at the cutting edge of science
• Intensive supervision under the institutional responsibility of the university
• Curricular programs, both in core subject and cross-disciplinary fields
• Delivery of key skills, so-called "soft skills", such as presentation techniques, scientific writing
• Extra-departmental supervision and guidance, such as joint leisure activities and assistance with everyday problems.

In total, Germany's universities currently offer around 360 structured doctoral programs, of which around 130 have an international focus. Some of these are listed in DAAD's database of International Degree Programs in Germany, while other program providers are listed on DAAD's International website.

Funding
At present, practically all doctoral programs in Germany are tuition-free. DAAD offers a wide range of funding opportunities with which you can finance anything from a short-term research project to a full doctoral program in Germany