Doctoral Degree Regulations

Transcription

1 Translation, invalid without German language original at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Doctoral Degree Regulations Based on 17, Para. 1 section 1 of the Provisional Constitution of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (Official Bulletin of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin No. 05/2005), on the 12 June, 2005, the extended Faculty Council of the Faculty of Agriculture and Horticulture has issued the following altered PhD-Regulations: 1, 1 General 2 PhD-Performance 3 Acceptance as Doctoral Candidate 4 Rights and Duties of the Doctoral Candidate 5 Preconditions for Admission 6 Opening of the Procedure 7 Dissertation 8 Doctoral Commission 9 Assessment of Achievements 10 Appraisal of the Dissertation 11 Acceptance of the Dissertation and Determination of Disputation 12 Disputation 13 Decision upon Disputation and Graduation 14 Withdrawal, Repetition 15 Depositary Copies and Types of Publication 16 Doctoral Certificate 17 Honorary Doctorate 18 Remedies 19 Intermediate Rules 20 Commencement 3 annexes 1 General (1) The of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin awards the academic degree of a Doctor of Agricultural Sciences (doctor rerum agriculturarum, abbreviated Dr. rer. agr.) and, respectively, of a Doctor of Horticultural Sciences (doctor rerum horticulturarum, abbreviated Dr. rer. hort.) based on a doctoral examination procedure following these rules. (2) The Academic Degree of a Doctor in Agricultural Sciences, respectively in Horticultural Sciences, can with the exception of an Honorary Degree only be awarded once. 2 PhD-Performance The Doctoral Degree is an achievement, which exceeds the completion of studies at a university and is acknowledged as a higher scientific qualification. Precondition for the award of the degree is the proof of the ability to do scientific work in an independent manner. This proof is executed by the submission of a written scientific work (dissertation) as well as by the successful oral disputation. 3 Acceptance as Doctoral Candidate (1) Applicants, who fulfil the preconditions according to 5 and who want to receive the doctoral degree from the Faculty, may be accepted as a doctoral candidate by the Faculty. The application form has to include: 1. A description of the prospective dissertation (preliminary title or working title, problem) and statement about the aspired doctoral degree, 2. a work schedule and timetable with possible suggestions for advisors and departments, for which advisors need to be found and 3. documents according to 6, Para. 2 sections 2,4,5,6 and 7. (2) The Dean of the Faculty veryfies the preconditions and decides on the application after he has checked all possible institutions suitable to act as advisors. (3) The acceptance as doctoral candidate is possible, if the dean states: 1. that the subject area of an important part of the dissertation in the Faculty is represented by a professor or an associate professor und that he is willing to be the advisor and 2. that the personnel situation and the technical equipment are available to carry out the intended dissertation. 1 These regulations were acknowledged by the Senatorial Administration for Science, Research and Culture on

2 2 (4) Reasons which make the fulfilment of the preconditions for the promotion appear unrealistic, and which the candidate can be held responsible for, can, after expiration of the acknowledged timetable or in exceptional cases, lead to a retraction from the acceptance of the candidate by the Faculty Council. The right to apply for admission to the doctoral procedure ( 6) remains unaffected. 4 Rights and Duties of the Doctoral Candidate (1) Applicants, who have been accepted as a doctoral candidate, are eligible for adequate advice and support by the Faculty in the framework of the given personnel and technical resources. (2) Doctoral candidates can be matriculated as students at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin at any time. (3) The candidate is obliged to fulfil conditions concerning study and exam results imposed by the Faculty Council. 5 Preconditions for Admission (1) Precondition for admission to the doctoral procedure is a final Masters or Diploma degree at a university within the Framework Act for Higher Education with a final grade of at least Good. (2) The dissertation can only be carried out in a subject area, which is represented by a professor or associate professor of the Faculty. It is a precondition, that the dissertation or major parts of it have never before been part of a doctoral procedure. The applicant has to explicitly declare this. (3) Alumni of Universities of Applied Sciences with a final Masters or Diploma degree of Very Good may be accepted as Doctoral Candidates, if their qualification for the intended doctoral subject is ensured. The candidate has to undergo an exam which testifies the candidate s knowledge and ability to take up the doctoral qualification. Further exams are not required. (4) If the applicant is an alumnus of a foreign university, the Faculty Council may require an expert opinion by a professor of the foreign university in order to state the equality of the degree, compared with a German degree. If the degree is not in the fields of agriculture and horticulture, the Faculty Council can decide, whether to request additional exams in these fields or to decline the application. 6 Opening of the Procedure (1) The written application for opening of the procedure has to be handed in to the Faculty of Agriculture and Horticulture. (2) The following documents need to be attached to the application: 1. five printed copies of the dissertation, 2. one CV in German language, which especially refers to the scientific background of the applicant, 3. an affirmation, that the dissertation has been carried out single-handedly and without illegal help and that the dissertation has not been part of a doctoral procedure before, 4. a declaration about whether the candidate has already applied for a doctoral program or is already a holder of a doctoral degree, 5. a declaration, that the candidate is informed about the PhD-regulations, 6. a list of publications of the candidate (scientific papers and presentations), 7. testimonials and certificates of universities attended (originals or certified copies) and, 8. if applicable, suggestions for assessors of the dissertation. (3) As a rule, within six weeks the Faculty Council decides about the application after the submission of the complete documents referring to Para. 2. Disaffirmation has to be substantiated in written form. An instruction on right to appeal has to be added. If all preconditions are fulfilled, the Faculty Council starts the doctoral procedure by appointing the doctoral commission. 7 Dissertation (1) The dissertation is a scientific paper, which was carried out by the applicant in single-handed scientific work. Its contents must represent a progress in scientific findings. (2) The dissertation can be based on several single papers or on a joint research paper with a third party. (3) Forms of dissertations are: 1. an unpublished thesis, 2. a fully or partly published thesis or 3. several important own scientific publications regarding one subject to be handed in together with a summary.

3 3 The dissertation must include a self contained description of research work and its results. (4) As a rule, the dissertation must be in the German language. The Faculty Council may decide about exceptions from this rule, if the appraisal is guaranteed. (5) The applicant is obliged to list all tools and people who have assisted and to ensure that he has carried out the dissertation single-handedly. (6) The dissertation requires a title-page following the example in annex 1. An abstract of approx. 1 page must be added. 8 Doctoral Commission (1) At the time of the admission to the doctoral procedure the Faculty Council announces a Doctoral Commission following 8. Members of the Doctoral Commission are the chairperson and at least two assessors of the dissertation. Furthermore, one or more professors or scientists having a PhD may be involved. (2) The chairperson must be full-time professor of the faculty. Assessors may be professors or scientists with PhD also from outside the faculty. The chairperson shall not be representative of the subject area of the candidate. One assessor is the advisor to the candidate. (3) If the dissertation is dealing with problems of more than one subject area or has an interdisciplinary approach, the respective faculties are to be represented adequately in the Doctoral Commission. (4) The main tasks of the Doctoral Commission are: 1. Decision about acceptance and appraisal of the dissertation, 2. Announcement of the date and execution of the public disputation, 3. Assessment of the disputation and 4. Agreement on the final result of the doctoral procedure. (5) The Doctoral Commission meets in private. The members are sworn to secrecy. 9 Assessment of Achievements (1) The final results in doctoral procedures are as follows: Very good (Magna cum laude) Good Sufficient Insufficient (cum laude) (rite) (non sufficit). (2) The final doctoral result is the average of the overall assessments of the dissertation and the disputation. The final result with distinction (summa cum laude) can be awarded if all overall assessments, and for the dissertation all advisory opinions show magna cum laude. 10 Appraisal of the Dissertation (1) The advisory opinions must be furnished independently within twelve weeks from the request. For any transgression of deadlines a written justification has to be provided to the doctoral commission. The advisory opinions must describe the importance of the dissertation in a wider context and must show possible mistakes. In the opinion, the advisor has to recommend either the acceptance or the disaffirmation of the dissertation. (2) If the majority of the advisors assess the dissertation to be better than insufficient, then the doctoral procedure is to be continued by the disputation. If the majority of the advisors assess the dissertation to be insufficient, then the doctoral proceedings have to stop. If half of the advisors assess the dissertation to be insufficient, then the Faculty Council in cooperation with the doctoral commission and the candidate will announce a further advisor, if possible from outside the faculty. If there are only two advisory opinions with assessment-differences of at least two degrees ( 9), then, on proposition of the doctoral commission, the Faculty Council may announce a further advisor. (3) For the assessment of the dissertation, the degrees following 9 Para. 1 are valid. 11 Acceptance of the Dissertation and Determination of Disputation (1) In order to allow all faculty members to get informed, the dissertation has to be displayed within the faculty for two weeks (non-lecture period four weeks). All faculty members have the right to send written notes about the dissertation to the Doctoral Commission. The Doctoral Commission has to appraise these notes and to give a final judgement on the dissertation. The professors of the faculty, the members of the Faculty Council and the PhD-candidate may read the advisory opinions, following sentence 1; the opinions are to be treated as strictly confidential.

4 4 (2) Precondition for the admission of the candidate to the disputation is the acceptance of the dissertation. After expiration of the time limit for the display of the dissertation, the Doctoral Commission decides about acceptance or refusal of the dissertation and about the determination of the disputation. In case of a refusal, the Commission declares the promotion as failed and, after consultation of the Faculty Council, stops the further procedure. The decision has to be handed over to the candidate in written form, including justification and instruction on right to appeal. (3) On acceptance of the dissertation, the head of the Doctoral Commission informs the candidate of the decision and determinates together with the candidate the disputation. There should be no longer than two months between the last incoming opinion and the disputation. The disputation is open to members of the university. The head of the Commission invites at least two weeks before the disputation all members of the Faculty Council as well as professors and lecturers of the faculty by announcement on the notice board to take part in the disputation. 12 Disputation (1) The disputation concludes of a presentation by the candidate about the topic of the dissertation and of an extensive scientific discussion. The aim of the latter is to prove the abilities of the candidate to present and to debate the scientific problems handled in the dissertation. The disputation takes place in German or English languages. (2) The head of the Doctoral Commission is conducting the disputation. He is allowed to exclude the public, if the correct accomplishment of the disputation is not guaranteed. (3) The disputation starts with a presentation lasting 30 minutes, in which the candidate explains the results of the dissertation and pulls them together. The candidate defends the dissertation against criticism, especially by the advisors, and answers to questions by members of the Commission. Questions of the audience can be allowed by the head. The debate shall not exceed 90 minutes. (4) The head of the Doctoral Commission is responsible for the administration of an attendance list and for minutes to be taken about the run and the contents of the disputation. The minutes are to be signed by all members of the Commission. Differing opinions may be added, including the names of the responsible persons. Minutes and attendance list are to be added to the procedure documents. (5) Is the candidate absent from the disputation without permission, then the disputation result is failing. The candidate has to be informed about this decision, including justification and instruction on right to appeal. (6) The disputation can only take place in the presence of the head of the Doctoral Commission and at least two advisors. 13 Decision upon Disputation and Graduation (1) After the disputation the Doctoral Commission decides in a non-public meeting about the assessment of the Disputation and decides under consideration of the concluded assessment of the dissertation (see 11, Para. 1) about the final result of the PhD-procedure following 9, about the form of publication and, if applicable, imposes conditions on the dissertation and the publication. The fulfilment of the conditions, if applicable, must be attested by the advisor by emission of a revision form. The head of the Commission informs the candidate immediately after the disputation about the assessment of the procedure as a whole. (2) In case the disputation gets the result fail, it can be repeated earliest after three and latest after six months. Is the result of the second disputation fail again, then the Commission declares the procedure as fail and gives reasons for the decision. The candidate has to be informed upon the decision in written form, including justification and instruction on right to appeal. (3) Within four weeks after successful disputation the candidate receives an attestation, which includes the title of the dissertation and the final result. This attestation does not entitle the candidate to bear the doctoral title (annex 2). 14 Withdrawal, Repetition (1) If the candidate declares his withdrawal from the procedure in written form before the commencement of the proceedings, the applied documents will be given back to him. The dissertation then counts as not submitted. (2) The PhD proceedings will be stopped upon application of the candidate as long as there are no advisor s opinions submitted. In this case, the

5 5 submission of the dissertation and the commencement of proceedings count as not carried out. A repetition of this application is not possible. (3) Was the result of the PhD proceedings fail and the proceedings have stopped, then the admission to new proceedings by submitting a strongly changed dissertation is earliest possible after one year. In this case the first dissertation has also to be submitted. (4) If before the handing out of the Doctoral certificate it is ascertained, that the candidate knowingly made misleading statements, the Faculty Council will decide upon the closing of the proceedings or that a new admission following Para. 3 can be applied for. In case of doubt the proceedings are to be suspended. The candidate is offered the opportunity to give his opinion on the allegations against him. (5) The Dean informs the doctoral candidate about decisions following Para. 1 to 4, and instruction on right to appeal. also an electronic version, which format and data storage medium have to be agreed by the university library. The candidate confers to the university library of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, to the DBB (Die Deutsche Bibliothek) at Frankfurt/Leipzig and, if necessary, to the DFG- Sondersammelgebietsbibliothek the right to publish the electronic version in data networks and assures that the electronic version is identical with the dissertation. The university library inspects the delivered version regarding readability and compliance with required specifications. The delivery of data, which do not comply with the requirements regarding data format and storage medium, cannot count as publication. In the cases a) and c) the candidate allows the university to produce more copies of the dissertation and to circulate them. In case of a commercial publishing, supported by public money funding for printing costs, an adequate number of copies has to be given to the university library, which will use them for exchanges. 15 Depositary Copies and Types of Publication (1) The dissertation has to be published in a suitable form within two years. If the candidate can prove, that a commercial publisher is found, then the publication deadline can be extended by one year. The Faculty Council decides upon written application about this elongation. If the candidate does not adhere to the agreed deadlines, he loses all rights gained by exams within these proceedings. (2) The dissertation has been given access to the scientific community in a reasonable way, if the author besides one copy for the exam fileshas handed over to the university library: Either: a) 40 copies, all as books as well as photo prints for circulation; a reduction to DIN A5 format is preferable, or b) six copies, if publication in a journal has been stipulated, or c) six copies, if the commercial publisher is circulating them via book trade, a minimum circulation rate of 150 copies has been proven and the rear page informs about the place of dissertation, or d) three copies in a version which can be copied together with an original print and up to 50 further copies on microfiches, or e) four copies on long lasting, wood and acid free paper, and also bound long-lastingly, and 16 Doctoral Certificate (1) The doctoral procedure is closed by handing out the doctoral certificate. It is issued in the German language and has to contain (annex 3): 1. Name of the University and the Faculty, 2. Name, date and place of birth of the graduated 3. Degree awarded, 4. Title of the dissertation, 5. Date of disputation, 6. Final degree, 7. Name and signature of the president of the university and of the dean of the Faculty and 8. Seal of the university. (2) The doctoral certificate must be handed over latest within six months after fulfilment of 15. The doctoral certificate allows to officially hold the academic degree of a Doctor in Agricultural Sciences (Dr. rer. agr.) and accordingly of a Doctor in Horticultural Sciences (Dr. rer. hort.). (3) After completion of the doctoral proceedings the respective files are to be kept in confidence. Within one year the graduated or former candidate has the right of access to the files. 17 Honorary Doctorate (1) The academic degree of an Honorary Doctor of Agricultural Sciences (Doctor rerum agriculaturarum honoris causa, Dr. rer. agr. h.c.) and accordingly of an Honorary Doctor in Horticultural Sci-

6 6 ences (Doctor rerum horticulturarum honoris causa, Dr. rer. hort. h.c.) can be awarded in appreciation of outstanding scientific or other inventive achievements in agricultural and horticultural sciences. (2) The candidate is not allowed to be a member of Humboldt-Universität. (3) Upon nomination by the Faculty Council, which has decided with a two-thirds majority of its members with right to vote by secret ballot, the Academic Senate of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin decides about the honorary doctorate. For the decision making of the Faculty Council, a doctoral commission of at least three professors is appointed by the Faculty Council, which assesses the achievements of the personality to be honoured. (4) The honorary doctorate is executed by a certificate, signed by the president of the university and the dean of the faculty, carrying the seal of the Humboldt-Universität, which recognizes the achievements of the honoured person. accepted or admitted to the proceedings, can apply for proceedings following these regulations. Notices of assessment with regard to the former valid regulations are binding for these regulations. 20 Commencement These PhD-regulations come into effect one day after the publication in the official bulletin of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Annexes: Annex 1 Annex 2 Annex 3 Specimen of the title page of the Dissertation Specimen of the interim report Specimen of the doctoral certificate (5) The universities in the area of application of the Basic Law will be informed concerning the granting of this doctorate. 18 Remedies (1) The applicant, the candidate, and accordingly the graduated has the right to file a complaint to the president of the university against a decision by one of the responsible bodies following these regulations. He may also ask the Research and Young Scientists Committee of the Humboldt- Universität to moderate an amicable adjustment between the involved parties. The deadline for the commencement of a suit within the proceedings in contentious administrative matters remains untouched. (2) If the doctoral regulations allow this, the notice has to contain the following phrase: Against this notification a complaint in the frame of a suit within the proceedings in contentious administrative matters is permitted. The action has to be taken at the administrative court Berlin within one month after notification of the decision. 19 Intermediate Rules (1) Applicants who at the time of the commencement of these regulations have already applied for acceptance as PhD-student or who have been

7 7 Annex 1 Specimen of the Title Page of the Dissertation Title of the Dissertation: D i s s e r t a t i o n for the Completion of the Academic Degree Doctor Rerum Agriculturarum (Dr. rer. agr.) submitted to the at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin by (Surname, First Name, Acad. Degree) (Date and Place of Birth) President of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Dean of the Advisors: Date of Oral Exam:

8 8 Annex 2 Specimen of the Interim Report HUMBOLDT-UNIVERSITÄT ZU BERLIN - The Dean - I N T E R I M R E P O R T Mrs/Mr Born on. in... has undergone an ordinary doctoral procedure at the, following the doctoral regulations of.. and has achieved the following final degree:.. Day of the oral exam:. Topic of the dissertation: Holding the academic degree of a doctor rerum agriculturarum (Dr. rer. agr.) and accordingly doctor rerum horticulturarum (Dr. rer. hort.) is only allowed after the receipt of the doctoral certificate. Berlin,. Dean

9 9 Annex 3 Specimen of the Doctoral Certificate HUMBOLDT-UNIVERSITÄT ZU BERLIN C E R T I F I C A T E The confers on Mrs/Mr (academic title, name, surname) born on in the academic degree of d o c t o r r e r u m a g r i c u l t u r a r u m (Dr. rer. agr.) or accordingly d o c t o r r e r u m h o r t i c u l t u r a r u m (Dr. rer. hort.) after she/he has proven the required scientific capability. Topic of the dissertation: The oral exam took place on. For the overall performance the grade was accorded. Berlin, (seal) (signed) President of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (signed) Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and Horticulture Certified: