Organisational points

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If you wish to pursue a doctorate at the University of Passau, enrolment is either optional or compulsory – depending on the doctoral degree regulation applicable. Please consult the relevant doctoral study regulation to find out whether enrolment is required for admission to doctoral study at your faculty.

Currently, the faculties have the following enrolment requirements:

Faculty of Law: not required
School of Business, Economics and Information Systems: enrolment required for a period of 2 semester (§ 3)
Faculty of Arts and Humanities: not required
Faculty of Computer Science and Mathematics: not required

Please address the Dean's Office of your faculty for any enquiries about your doctoral degree regulation.

The benefits of enrolling

In some cases, the doctoral degree regulation that applies to you does not stipulate enrolment. However, it may be to your advantage to enrol for the purpose of your doctorate. The following benefits come with enrolment:

free use of bus services operated by Stadtwerke Passau (semester pass)
student rate in the refectory and cafeterias
discounts at cultural institutions, on travel, etc.
library access
external access to protected IT resources and services via openVPN or eduroam
CampusCard at student terms in the refectory, cafeterias and the University Library (access to textbook collection)

Please note: If they enrol, doctoral students are obliged to pay a semester contribution as well.

Details on enrolment

Technically, a doctorate is a research project and not a degree programme per se. Therefore, enrolment for the purpose of a doctorate does not come with a curriculum.

That said, you are permitted to attend courses offered by the University of Passau that are open to doctoral students and take part in the qualification programme of the Graduate Centre and the courses offered by the Centre for Careers and Competencies.

Enrolment for the purpose of a doctorate is open all year round. To enrol, please follow the instructions below:

Go to the Campus Portal page.
Click the tab called 'Bewerberinnen und Bewerber'.
Perform self-registration under 'Step 2'.
Once you have received your username and password, perform step 3 'Log in and start the application or online enrolment process'.
Print the enrolment application form, sign it personally and send it to the Student Registration Office along with the required documents.

For enrolment you will need the following documents:

enrolment application form (Immatrikulationsantrag), printed and signed
valid personal ID or passport;
certificate of university entrance qualification;
university degree certificate;
proof of having paid the fees and contributions due;
proof of health insurance
proof of admission as a doctoral student in the form of:
- Faculty of Law: professor's confirmation of acceptance as a doctoral student OR the doctoral supervision agreement
- Faculty of Business, Economics and Information Systems: the letter of acceptance to doctoral study issued by the Board of Examiners for Doctoral Awards
- Faculty of Arts and Humanities: the letter of acceptance to doctoral study issued by the Board of Examiners for Doctoral Awards
- Faculty of Computer Science and Mathematics: the letter of acceptance to doctoral study issued by the Board of Examiners for Doctoral Awards

As a doctoral student, you are not bound by any enrolment deadlines and can thus apply for enrolment anytime. However, please note that the full semester will always be counted, regardless of when you enrol, and the full semester contribution will be due.

Please note: By enrolling, you give the Graduate Centre and representatives for academic and artistic staff the possibility to gather data on doctoral study at the University, to contact you and to tailor their offer for early career researchers as required. If you have any related questions, please get in touch! Additionally, you can view the current numbers anytime.

For a doctorate, the enrolment option is available for six semesters. Therefore, you will be automatically de-registered once these six months have expired, unless you are able to put forward sound objective reasons for the extension of your enrolment. To request extension, address an informal letter signed by your supervisor to the Student Registration Office.

You do not need to fear any negative consequences for your doctorate if you are de-registered before you get to complete your doctoral degree. You will be able to complete your doctorate regardless of your student status.

You may request a leave of absence even during your doctoral study.

Even if you do not want to enrol but wish to obtain a ZIM account along with a university e-mail address, you can do so from the Graduate Centre. The ZIM account is needed for a number of purposes, including for registration in Stud.IP, the university's virtual learning environment, or for accessing the University Library's e-media.

On request, external doctoral students who are not enrolled will receive an account and an e-mail address (in the format 'given name-family name@uni-passau.de') Also, you can extend your current account and/or e-mail address on request provided you continue your doctorate but are no longer employed and/or enrolled.

	Enrolment/matriculation	Account for external doctoral students
University Library (check-out)	yes (with CampusCard)	no (a special ID for doctoral students can be requested from the University Library)
University Library (e-media)	yes	yes
Intranet access	yes	no
eduroam	yes	no
Semester bus pass ('Semesterticket')	yes (with CampusCard)	no
Refectory/cafeterias	yes (with CampusCard)	no
Cost	Semester contribution	none
Extension possible	yes (see above)	yes (until completion of doctorate)
Extension after	confirmation by payment of the semester fee	presentation of the current professor's confirmation of acceptance as a doctoral student once every six months
Contact for enquiries	Student Registration Office	Graduate Centre

Whether and how you can or are obliged to take out insurance depends on your employment situation.

As graduate teaching assistant you are automatically obliged to take out insurance. Generally, you will never exceed the income limit for compulsory insurance, or not until later on. You can then either take out private insurance or voluntarily enrol in a statutory insurance plan.

People who are not in salaried employment - which included doctoral students who are not employed and scholarship recipients - are not subject to compulsory insurance. It is for you to decide whether you wish to take out private insurance or enrol in the statutory insurance plan. Both options have direct and indirect as well as medium- and long-term advantages and disadvantages. Wether insurers will allow you to take out insurance as a student up until you turn 30 as gesture of goodwill or insure you on a voluntary basis depends on the individual insurer. Generally, doctoral students are no longer insured as students. Furthermore, insurers classify scholarships differently.

For legally binding information, please contact the Human Resources Division (staff) or seek advice (also advice comparing the various options available) from the insurers themselves. You will also find an overview at academics.de.

Furthermore, a guide on health insurance entitled 'Ratgeber Krankenversicherung' (in German) can be downloaded from the Federal Ministry of Health's website.

The ZIM account is needed for a number of purposes, including for registration in Stud.IP, the university's virtual learning environment, or for accessing the University Library's e-media.

Every employee is given a ZIM account and an e-mail address in the format 'given name.family name@uni-passau.de' when he or she takes up employment. Also, on enrolment, doctoral students are assigned an account and an e-mail address in the format 'account@ads.uni-passau.de'. On request, external doctoral students are given an account and an e-mail address (in the format 'given name-family name@uni-passau.de). You can also extend your current account and/or e-mail address on request, provided you continue your doctorate but are no longer employed and/or matriculated.

When you start your employment or when you enrol, you will receive a CampusCard that allows you to access a variety of services at the University. If you are employed at the University and enrolled for doctoral study at the same time, you are entitled to an ID for employees that additionally gets you discounts at the refectory and the bus pass functionality.

In order to use the semester ticket for the bus, an informal application for the issuance of a so-called supplementary study ID must be submitted to the Student Registration Office each semester. In addition, you can obtain a card for the refectory (with student tariff) against a deposit at the Studentenwerk (Student Union) upon presentation of this supplementary student ID. For further information, please visit the University's help pages.

Books, journals, etc. may only be ordered online and borrowed on presentation of the CampusCard. This card is issued when a person takes up employment at the University or after enrolment as a doctoral student.

The library offers regular guided tours and training courses. Doctoral students without an office at the University can request a carrel in the library for use as a desk. For more information, please contact the library.

Please note: This website provides information in summary form. Only the pertinent legal texts and the official versions of the relevant regulations published in the law gazette are legally binding. The content of this website is not intended to be exhaustive.