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Doctoral Dissertation Opportunities

Requirements

  • Applicants must meet the requirements of the doctoral regulations of the Faculty of Law and Economics.
  • In general, only applicants who have achieved a grade in the honours / predicate area in the first or second state examination are accepted for supervision. The German university focus subject mark must be 10 points minimum. A dispensation can only be considered in exceptional cases, for example, in the case of special educational background, special practical experience or special language skills. Mannheim graduates are given preferential consideration.
  • Interested parties are kindly requested to send their doctoral inquiries to the Chair holder by mail. A curriculum vitae in tabular form together with copies of the high school diploma, legal examination certificates and seminar reports as well as other meaningful documents must be attached.
  • The doctoral application should contain indications of our main research areas and at least one concrete proposal for a doctoral topic (exposé of maximum 4 pages). A specification will take place in a personal conversation if necessary. Proposed topics should deal with legal issues that are of relevance to legal practice. There should also be indications of the current state of research and the need for further investigation.
  • The research project should be in line with the research priorities of the chair holder. This means that topics from general civil law, private insurance law, unfair competition and antitrust law as well as intellectual property law can be considered. Questions of other commercial law may also be of interest in individual cases.
  • International and/or comparative law references are highly appreciated.

Supervision

Together with the doctoral students, a schedule for the completion of the doctorate is agreed upon, which is tailored to the needs of each individual. The Chair holder aims to complete the doctorate within 18 months. However, a longer period of time is suggested for  doctorates in-service.


The Chair holder is regularly available to doctoral students. “Quarterly meetings” are intended to provide an opportunity to present the progress of work and discuss any problems that may arise. In addition, the Chair offers PhD student discussion groups at regular intervals for the exchange of ideas and scientific discussion. Moreover, the Chair arranges the necessary contacts to the practice and contacts to host universities abroad for comparative studies

Information by the dean‘s office

Kindly review the current regulations and procedures governing the doctorate of the School of Law and Economics, Department of Law at the University of Mannheim.