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Doctorates: Online Registration and Enrollment – general information

Valid for national and international future doctoral students

For starting a PhD at the TU Darmstadt, an online registration is obligatory; the enrollment as student is optional. Both options are available all year round without deadlines.

To register/enroll, please follow the process below.

Step 3 only applies to international doctoral candidates. “International doctoral candidates” are persons who have acquired their HZB (university entrance qualification) or master's degree abroad. Persons with foreign HZB and Master's degree at TU Darmstadt count like national doctoral candidates.

1. Confirmation of supervision of your department for you planned doctorate

At first, you need a written confirmation of supervision from your PhD supervisor for your planned doctorate.

2. Online Registration / Enrollment in TUCaN

Make your registration / enrollment via the web portal TUCaN (go to the tutorial).

If you have already studied at TU Darmstadt, please use your TU-ID for login. Otherwise, please create a new account. After having completed the online process, an application for registration / enrollment (for national doctoral candidates) or a cover sheet (for international doctoral candidates) will be generated in the portal. Please print out the respective document.

Do not be confused by the terms “application / online application” in TUCaN; for technical reasons, these are used for both registration and enrollment.

  • The “cover sheet” generated in TUCaN
  • Certificates entitling to a doctorate:
    Bachelor's/Master's certificates with overview of subjects and grades, each in officially certified copies and translations
  • Copy of your passport
  • CV (Curriculum vitae)
  • Note: Language certificates are not required.

Once your documents have been received completely, you will be issued a “'letter of conditional admission to doctoral studies”. This admission is not an acceptance as a doctoral candidate! Exclusively the doctoral committee makes the decision about the acceptance.

Additionally, you will receive your “Antrag Einschreibung/Registrierung (international)” (Application for enrollment/registration).

Both documents are available in the TUCaN portal under “My documents”. You will be informed about the provision of the documents by e-mail.

4. Submission of Application for Admission as a doctoral candidate to the department

Please submit the following documents to your department (international doctoral candidates please only after having received feedback from Ref. VIII A, see step 3):

  • Application for admission as a doctoral candidate from your department
  • Written confirmation from your PhD supervisor (depending on the department already included in the application for admission)
  • “Antrag Einschreibung/Registrierung (international)” (Application for enrollment/registration) generated in TUCaN with your signature
  • Certificates entitling to a doctorate (for international doctoral candidates: please check with your department if necessary)
  • If necessary, further documents according to the requirements of the department

Your department will inform you of the PhD Committee’s decision.

If you wish to enroll as a doctoral student, additional documents are required. Please follow the instructions in the TUCaN portal or on the notification from Student Services / International Admission. You will usually receive your documents (student ID / semester ticket, TU-ID) by mail.

Further information

FAQ about PhD studies

General information about PhD studies
PhD Regulations and Special Provisions of the departments