Master’s degree & Fast Track
In many regards, the Fast Track program is a model unique within the German academic landscape. For the first time ever, Leuphana has taken a new path in promoting young academics in Germany. Each year, up to thirty of the best bachelor's graduates are offered the opportunity to embark on their doctoral studies while still doing their master's studies. This will shorten the time it takes to earn a doctoral degree by at least one year.
Students can apply for the Fast Track program once a year. Up to 30 graduates holding a superior B.A. degree can apply at the end of their first master's semester (deadline 15 January). Students interested in the program are recommended to use the first months of their master's studies to become familiar with the contents of their specific major, to get in touch with the relevant professors and to talk with them about their dissertation project and ways of specializing in their major. This is especially important for candidates who have not graduated at Leuphana.
Prerequisites
- Admission to the master's studies (major)
- Proof of special qualification: distinguished bachelor's degree (1,5 and better or ECTS-grade A), a convincing proposal for your planned dissertation project as well as a preliminary confirmation by the advisor (usually a Leuphana professor entitled to award doctorates)
- A convincing personal selection interview with the admissions committee
Application deadline and application form
The deadline for all Fast Track applications ends on 15 January every year. This date has been chosen on purpose to avoid coincidence with the application deadline for the master's studies (1 June), so that the final B.A. degree and the grade of the bachelor's thesis can be taken into account. The request form for participation in the modules of the semi-structured doctoral program please find below in the download section. Please hand in this form at the Graduate School together with the required proofs of qualification.
Admission and taking on the Fast Track
The candidates are selected by a commission consisting of the Head of the Graduate School and the chair persons of the doctoral commission. At the end of the first semester the candidates are actually admitted to the Fast Track so that they can attend the modules of the doctoral program with the beginning of their second semester (summer turn). In agreement with the advisors, the master's students admitted to the Fast Track are attached to a specific doctoral collegium.
Completion of the master's studies and admission to the doctoral program
After having completed their master's studies, the Fast Track students have to apply for the admission to the doctoral program. This is due to the Lower Saxony Higher Education Act (NHG) which has set up a completed master's degree and master's certificate as a prerequisite for the application. The modules of the doctoral program the Fast Track students have to attend, are recognised when admitted to the doctoral program.
