END: How do you submit your thesis?
Here you will find all the single steps for submitting your thesis, doing your defence and awarding your final degree.
Please contact the PhD and Habilitation Office of the Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy by email or phone in order to start the submission process, ONLY having all the required documents.
Forms filled in by hand will not be accepted! To edit the PDFs, please save them locally. Open the PDF forms (not in the web browser) and fill them out electronically before printing.
The submission process step by step
1.1 Either: the original and the copy of the employment contract in a public service institution (i.e. Federal Government, Länder, municipalities, universities etc.). Scholarships are not considered as employment contracts. The contract should not have been expired more than 3 months before submission.
or: a criminal record certificate (“Fuehrungszeugnis zur Vorlage bei einer Behoerde § 30 Abs. 5 BZRG”). Please apply for it online or personally at the local administration office (KVR Kreisverwaltungsreferat). It should be sent to the Promotionsbuero (Attn. Frau Wuehrer) and arrived before your thesis submission appointment will be fixed. Please apply timely! (validity: 3 months).
1.2 Online form "Thesis submission". Please fill out the form carefully if you plan to submit the necessary documents to the doctoral office in the near future and send it before contacting the PhD office. Please note that the data will be automatically deleted after approx. 2 weeks. By submitting the documents, the form should still be online. Please click on "Login" on the online form page after entering your registration data to create an account. Select a language (at the bottom right) by choosing "German" or "English". Press "Submit" to save the registration on the server and send it. Before you leave the page, please print out the form (button "Application data as PDF") and sign it by hand. After the successful submission, the online form will be deleted.
1.3 curriculum vitae in German or English with the complete contact details (address, nationality, date and place of birth, study details, etc.) and your original signature.
1.4 Two bound copies of your thesis (DIN A4, no spiral binding). The thesis must contain a “Table of Contents” and a “Summary” of the whole thesis as well as the form Sample title pages.pdf (PDF, 13 KB). Please do not forget to sign in original at the second page. A CV at the end is optional. The entire title should not be written in capital letters or completely in italic.
1.5 Application for admission to the thesis defence (PDF, 24 KB)
1.6 Affirmation in lieu of an oath (PDF, 13 KB)
1.8 Confirmation concerning the proper return of one’s workplace (PDF, 36 KB). The form must be signed by the doctoral supervisor (if applicable, by the external supervisor) (if necessary, it can also be signed digitally).
1.9 Examination Board Members (PDF, 47 KB) signed by the doctoral supervisor of the Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy (if necessary, it can also be signed digitally).
The examination board is composed of six members of the Faculty for Chemistry and Pharmacy. Only two of them could be “external” (not member of our Faculty) and belong to another LMU faculty or to another university in Germany or in a foreign country. In case of external members above all abroad, a confirmation by the supervisor could be necessary, stating the current position of the person, if the committee member’s title corresponds to a German title W2 / W3 (full professorship) or at least to a German PD position (depending on your committee composition!). At least four members must be full-professors (W2 / W3). The remaining two members may be selected from the groups of: associate / extraordinary professors (Apl.-Prof.), honorary professors (Hon.-Prof.), retired professors (Prof. i.R.), Privatdozent (PD) or group leaders authorized by our Faculty Council.
ONLY valid for the Dep. Chemistry: According to the 55th Dep. Directors Board on 16/01/2013 among the first four committee members of the list must be a „Fachfremde*r“, it means someone whose field of research is different than yours.
1.10 Einwilligungserklärung Disclose (PDF, 140 KB) for the digital procedure.
1.11 Applicants who have ever been enrolled at the LMU (main studies and / or doctoral studies) should please enclose a "Immatrikulationsbescheinigung" or "Studienverlaufsbescheinigung".
After having received the positive feedback via email that the documents are complete the candidate himself / herself should send his / her thesis (in an appropriate MB-size including his / her signature on the second page) and his / her CV as PDF in 1 email to all members of the doctoral committee and in CC to the PhD office.
Furthermore, the details of the oral examination [(date (also weekday), time (when the examination begins), building and room-No. or the full address if not on Campus, as well as the name of the person who will pick up and bring back the examination papers (no students or scientific staff, only administration employees like secretaries!)] should be communicated in an extra email to the PhD office after the Umlauf started.
Please note that an examination date can only be arranged with the examination board (Decision of the Faulty Council on 15/11/2023):
- after receiving the confirmation that your submission was successful
- both evaluations have been uploaded on time, provided that the "Umlauf" can be started (s. possible closing notifications of the PhD and habilitation office)
- since that moment the examination can take place no earlier than 3 weeks.
The PhD office requests the two evaluators to upload their evaluations (Gutachten) as PDF with signature within 3 months after the thesis submission (§ 10 Promotionsordnung). The evaluations should also be sent by post with the original signature as soon as possible. You can get the information if the upload of both evaluations was accomplished from your supervisor. She/He has the access details of the cloud during the whole process.
After the upload of the two digital evaluations, the committee members will be requested by the PhD office to confirm by upload their acceptance or refusal of the thesis within 4 weeks (§12 Abs.3 Satz 3 Promotionsordnung) after the notification email by the PhD office (Umlauf).
The official invitation to the oral examination could sent by email only if the circulation (Umlauf) has been accomplished. The invitation deadline is at least one week (§2 Abs.4 Satz 1) before the examination date. The supervisor is responsible for the technical organization of the examination after receiving the official invitation, if an online meeting would be necessary.
The candidate should arrange the date of the defence (Rigorosum) with all the 6 members of the examination board.
The examination could be fully in person or as a hybrid event (the members of the committee can either be present or connected via video conferencing systems (DFNconf, Meet (LRZ), Zoom).
However, at least one examiner, preferably the (internal) supervisor (and also committee chairperson) should be physically present in addition to the candidate in the examination room.
The exam minutes are taken over by the examiner of the Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, who receives the examination documents.
Corrections, changes or additions for the thesis made by the committee members or by the PhD office must be notified to the minutes-taker before or during the examination. The candidate should be informed about them at the end of the defence and receives also a provisional certificate (no validity!).
In order to receive the final degree certificate, following documents should be submitted to the Publication Services Dissertations of the University Library within one year after the examination:
- this form signed in original by the internal supervisor. After the oral examination (PDF, 128 KB).
- 6 corrected printed and signed copies of your dissertation (in DIN A4 or DIN A5 format). Select a language (right below the page header) by choosing "German" or "English".
- An upload of your thesis
In addition, in the case of delivery with a blocking note:
Only after receiving your final degree certificate are you lawfully allowed to bear the title “Dr. rer. nat.” Misuse of titles is punishable by imprisonment for up to one year or a fine (Penal Code § 132a).
Approximately four up to eight weeks after having delivered the depository copies to the University Library you can email the PhD Office to inquire if your degree certificate is ready for pickup.
The PhD candidate can collect the certificate by himself/herself or let collect it by an authorised representative with an Authorization to collect the PhD degree certificate (PDF, 17 KB) (a document signed in original like this template), a copy of the PhD candidate's ID-card and the ID-card of the person, who collects the certificate.
Please note: the provisional certificate you received after the oral examination does not yet entitle to use the title "Dr. rer. nat.". Designations such as "doctor designatus" (Dr. des.) or similar are also not permitted. According to § 17 Section 3 of the Promotionsordnung, only after receiving the final degree certificate may the title "Dr. rer. nat." be officially used.