Doctoral Agreements

Section 67 (Paragraph 2, Sentence 3) of the Higher Education Act provides for the conclusion of a doctoral agreement, which must be guaranteed by institutions of higher education. Doctoral agreements set out jointly agreed rights and obligations of both the doctoral candidate and the supervisor(s) in order to clarify mutual expectations and to ensure an optimal supervisory relationship for both sides that is tailored to individual needs.

The CGS provides doctoral researchers at the University of Wuppertal with a model doctoral agreement that is based on the DFG's recommendations for drawing up supervision agreements. If desired, the ZGS will be happy to support the individual drafting of such an agreement.

You can find a sample doctoral agreement here.
The DFG's recommendations for drafting supervision agreements can be found here.
The recommendations for "Safeguarding Good Scientific Practice" (DFG) can be found here.
The doctoral agreement of the Institute of Educational Research in the School of Education at the University of Wuppertal can be found here.

Supervision agreements can vary greatly in scope. They should at least contain (1) the parties involved, (2) the topic of the dissertation (working title, if applicable), (3) the promise of the doctoral candidate to report regularly on the progress of the doctoral project, and (4) conversely, the promise of the supervisor to receive regular reports on the progress of the doctoral project.

In addition, supervision agreements can take other aspects into account. These include detailed information on the tasks and duties of doctoral researchers and supervisors, a detailed work and time schedule for the doctorate, participation in further training, and working conditions (workplace, internet access, laboratory access, and other resources).