Thesis Starter Grants
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Attention.
With the coming into force of the Bavarian University Innovation Act (BayHIG) on 01 January 2023, graduate teaching and research assistantpositions have been abolished.
We are currently working on a solution for the thesis starter grants. Thank you for your understanding.
Are you about to complete your degree or have you recently graduated and would like to do your doctorate at the University of Passau? But you are still looking for bridging funding to work out your doctoral project and acquire doctoral funding (doctoral scholarship or third-party position)? Then apply for our thesis starter grant! In order to provide you with optimal support and financial security during the transition from your studies to your doctorate, the University of Passau has introduced a transitional or "thesis starter grant".
The funding is intended to give you the opportunity, within an initial period of six months, to plan the first steps of your doctorate and to prepare an exposé for application to a doctoral scholarship sponsor or to prepare the acquisition of a third-party funded position. In this way, we would like to support you in starting your doctorate and in obtaining funding for your doctoral project.
Applications can currently be submitted until 28.02.2023.
The next application deadline is expected to be 31.08.2023.
The following presentation is optimised for the desktop view, please understand that there may be display restrictions in the mobile view.
Step 1
Call for Proposals
First of all, take a careful look at the current call for proposals. With the help of the next steps, we will try to make you aware of as many relevant prerequisites, aspects and considerations as possible.
Please read our guidelines for the eligibilty of the thesis starter grant carefully. Only these are binding. All information on our website is for simplified presentation and summary purposes only.
Step 2
Guidelines
(Please note that the guidelines are currently only available in German.)
Step 3
Eligibility to apply
For Undergraduate Law Programme students:
The overall examination mark of the First State Examination for Jurists must be available at the time of application.
To be eligible for a thesis starter grant, you must be in the final phase of your studies, which you are expected to complete within at least second level upper division (or German GPA of 2.3), or have completed your studies within the second level upper division and are planning to do a doctorate at the University of Passau. Please note that you must have completed a degree programme with a grade that entitles you to do a doctorate; find out more about this in the relevant (subject) doctoral degree regulations for you.
Specifically, the finalization of your degree programme must fall within the following time frame,
to be eligible for this application round:
28.02.2022–31.09.2023
Ask yourself whether you can finance yourself with the earnings of a graduate teaching and research assistant who is paid for 80 hours/month (approx. 1120 euros gross per month); if necessary, you may still need supplementary financing, for example, through a part-time job.
Step 4
Financing consideration
Step 5
Funding impacts
For more in-depth information:
Please note that the duration of the fellowship (in the form of employment as a graduate teaching and research assistant at the chair of your designated supervisor after graduation) will already be counted towards your fixed-term qualification period of usually a maximum of 6 years according to § 2 Paragraph 1 Sentence 2 Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz (WissZeitVG).
Think about the topic and the subject area in which you would like to do your doctorate.
Step 6
Rough subject/thematic classification of the doctoral intentions
Step 7
Getting in touch
Contact a chair at the University of Passau whose research area matches your intended PhD topic.
Clarify in a joint discussion whether the professor of the department is willing to supervise your planned doctorate.
Step 8
Supervision agreement
Step 9
Statement of the supervisor
By 28.02.2023 at the latest.
Ask your designated supervisor to complete our relevant statement form and submit it to us by the application deadline
Submit the attachments necessary for the application
as appendices:
Step 10
Creating the attachments
- Outline the main features of your doctoral project on a maximum of one page, describing the idea and the current state of development.
- Draw up a work programme in terms of content and time in which you outline the steps you plan to take during the respective funding months (usually six months).
- Please describe on a maximum of one page your personal motivation for the doctorate and its contribution to your further career aspirations.
- If you already have them, prepare a scan in PDF format of your university diplomas (Bachelor's and Master's diploma); if your university diploma is not yet available, please submit a transcipt of records as PDF file to proof your eligibility as a doctoral candidate.
- Submit a curriculum vitae.
Step 11
Fill in the application form
Until 28.02.2023 at the latest.
Please complete the application form by the application deadline at the latest and attach the requested appendices in the appropriate places on the form. Submit this and wait to receive a confirmation e-mail.
We wish you every success!
Tip
In order to apply, you need a written statement of approval by a professor of the University of Passau who is allowed to and willing to supervise your planned doctorate. Perhaps you can use the time until the next application round to already find a supervisor and get his/her statement (template see above).
![[Translate to Englisch:] Eine Studentin steht in einer Bibliothek und hebt lächelnd ihren Daumen.](/fileadmin/_processed_/e/5/csm_AdobeStock_177757699_a21f7597de.jpeg "[Translate to Englisch:]")
You can apply if
- you are in the final phase of your studies (graduation by 30.09.2023 at the latest), which you are expected to complete within the second level upper division, and are planning to do a doctorate at the University of Passau, or
- you have completed your studies within the second level upper division no earlier than 28.02.2022 and are planning a doctorate at the University of Passau.
If you wish to do a doctorate at the Faculty of Law, the overall examination grade of the First State Examination must be available at the time of application.
Please note that you must have completed a degree programme with a grade that qualifies you for a doctorate. The following information on final grades can serve as a first orientation for this. Additional acceptance requirements may be specified in the subject-specific doctoral regulations. Only the information in the currently valid version of the corresponding doctoral degree regulation is binding!
| Faculty | Diplom, Magister, state examination (German GPA) | Master | Bachelor |
| Faculty of Law | "vollbefriedigend" (Details) | - | - |
| School of Business, Economics and Information Systems | 2,3 (may be changed upon written application of the supervising person) | 2,3 | not possible |
| Faculty of Arts and Humanities* | 2,5 (upon written application of the supervising person, the grade can be lowered by 0,3) | 2,5 | 1,3 |
| Faculty of Computer Science and Mathematics | 2.5** (upon written application of the supervising person, changes may occur) | 2,5 | not possible |
*Teaching students: A doctorate is possible after successful completion of the First State Examination if, within the framework of the teacher training programme, the term paper to be proven for admission to the First State Examination were assessed with at least the grade "good".
**The Board of Examiners for Doctoral Awards may exempt the candidate from the requirement of an above-average degree if the candidate has achieved above-average assessments in computer science or mathematics after graduation and two professors of the Faculty endorse the acceptance.
Yes. You can apply as long as you would like to do your doctorate at the University of Passau and have found a person who is willing to supervise your doctorate and support your application. As a rule, doctorates are supervised by professors.
You will receive a contract as a graduate teaching and research assistant at the University of Passau for 80 hours per month. The remuneration is 14.00 euros per hour (gross).
The earliest possible start date is 01.05.2023, the latest possible start date is 01.10.2023. In principle, however, the start date for funding depends on your study progress. Funding can start when you have completed all your examinations, even if you have not yet received all your grades. If you would like to do a doctorate at the Faculty of Law, the overall examination grade of the First State Examination must be available at the time of application. A later start is possible in justified exceptional cases, but at the latest up to twelve months after graduation.
The funding period is generally six months. The funding can be extended by a maximum of three months. To apply for an extension, proof of an application to a doctoral scholorship provider or an external third-party funder must be submitted to the Graduate Centre office no later than six weeks before the end of the funding period. However, there is no entitlement to an extension.
Please enclose the diplomas, including the diploma supplements and transcript of records, off all degree programmes you have completed. The documents must contain an overview of grades as well as information on the topic and grading of the thesis of your university degrees.
Please submit a current Transcript of Records listing your examination achievements to date instead of your degree certificate. If you would like to do a doctorate at the Faculty of Law, the overall examination grade of the First State Examination must be available at the time of application.
Please contact us at least two weeks before the application deadline. Tell us which documents you are still missing, when you requested them and what the current processing status is. We will then get back to you and let you know whether an application during the current funding round is still possible and, if so, by when you should submit the missing documents.
This is possible in principle. However, as with any other application, you should choose carefully and only attach supporting documents that have a concrete connection to your application.
The decision is made according to the following selection criteria:
- Scientific qualification and performance of the applicant, proven in particular by outstanding academic performance, prizes or other awards for previous achievements during studies.
- Scientific quality and comprehensible outline of the doctoral project
- Comprehensibility of the personal motivation for the doctorate and the contribution to further career planning
The Graduate Centre's collegial management decides on the awarding of the thesis starter grant. The committee is composed of professors and early career researchers from all four faculties.
Yes, that is possible.
After the application deadline, we forward all complete and formally admissible applications to the decision-making committee. After the applicants have been selected by this committee, you will receive an acceptance or rejection letter from the Graduate Centre office. As a rule, we endeavour to notify you of this decision within one month of the application deadline.
Funding is not possible if you are employed by the University of Passau during the planned funding period. It is irrelevant whether you are employed as a student assistant, graduate teaching and research assistant, graduate teaching and research assistant or in a non-academic position during the funding period.
No, this is not possible. Via the thesis starter grant you will be already formally employed as a graduate teaching and research assistant at the University of Passau.
In addition to financial support, you can of course take advantage of the other services offered by the Graduate Centre.
Please note: This website is a brief information. Only the official regulation and University guidelines on the thesis starter grant are legally binding. The content of this website does not claim to be complete.
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