Doctoral Track

It is possible to begin the Doctoral Track at any time during your master’s program. You can opt for the Doctoral Track directly when applying for a spot in the master’s program, or you can first settle into the master’s program to get to know the content and your professors better. For some students, the decision to pursue a doctorate after completing their master’s degree doesn’t become clear until shortly before graduation; of course, joining the program at a later stage is also possible.

1) Check admission requirements

2) Identify a potential research topic and write a short outline

3) Contact potential supervisor(s), discuss supervision and sign a supervision agreement
You can find more detailed information on steps 2) and 3) on our websites regarding the doctorate.

4) Conduct a selection interview with your supervisor and the spokesperson of your doctoral research group

5) Submit application for admission to the Doctoral Track

All required forms can be found at the bottom of this page.

•  A "very good" Bachelor's degree (or equivalent). In this case, "very good" means a final result of at least 1.7 or proof that you were among the top 10% graduates in your final year of study
• Bachelor's thesis with a grade of 1.3 or better
• An outline of a potential research project and
• Admission to a Master's programme at the Leuphana Graduate School and at least registration in the first semester

Proof of the admission requirements must be provided at the time of application. If an application for admission is made in the first Master's semester, proof of the Bachelor's degree can be provided by the end of the first Master's semester at the latest.

The Graduate School offers information slots about the Doctoral Track at various times during the academic year and for different target groups. Here you can find out everything about the admission requirements, the modules of the doctorate and your benefits.

The Master's Student Counselling Service will also be happy to advise you on how to integrate the Doctoral Track into your current Master's degree programme.

Our Doctoral Student Counselling Service will help you with processes relating to admission to the doctorate, and the Leuphana Writing Center regularly holds workshops, e.g. on writing exposés.

We look forward to seeing you!

The next info session will take place on January 22nd 2026 from 4 to 5 p.m. via Zoom. Register now!

The Writing Center offers individual writing consultations and, once a semester, information sessions on writing the exposé:

• How to Find a Topic, Conduct Research, and Get Started on a Major Writing Project or Thesis

Information on these and other events can be found by clicking on this link to the GradSkills website.

On this page, you can find currently offered doctoral topics by supervisors of the five schools. Of course, you can also come up with your own topic yourself. 

The Doctoral Track requires parallel admission to both your master’s program and the doctorate. The legal basis for the Doctoral Track is provided by the faculties’ doctoral regulations. Before submitting your application, please familiarize yourself with the general requirements for pursuing a doctorate at Leuphana as outlined in these regulations.