Doctoral study programme in philosophy

Provided you hold a qualified master’s degree, you can apply for admission to our doctoral study programme and earn your doctorate (Dr. phil.).

All professors and university lecturers, including PrivatdozentInnen (lecturers), teaching at the department may supervise dissertations. If you are interested in doctoral research, please contact your potential supervisor first. Detailed information about individual research areas is available on the departmental staff page and on the individual pages of our teaching staff.

You will find expansive information about the doctoral study programmes offered at the University of Konstanz in the doctoral programme regulations.

To apply for doctoral studies, please contact the Division of Student Affairs and Teaching. All necessary information on the application process is available from the university's Doctoral Researcher Portal.

Co-teaching by doctoral candidates and authorized lecturers

Doctoral students may be admitted as co-teachers of courses under the supervision of the main supervisor and after consultation with the first supervisor. The joint teaching of doctoral candidates and authorized lecturers is understood as a qualification measure for early career researchers.

Criteria for admission are (at least one must be fulfilled)


1. preparation and realization of a scientific conference with external contributors Preparation and realization of a scientific conference with external contributors as co-organizers and with an own scientific contribution (lecture, paper).

2. participation in external scientific conferences (e.g. summer school, junior researcher conferences, conferences) with an own contribution (e.g. in the form of a scientific poster, presentation, paper).

3. own specialist publications (academic articles in journals, anthologies, etc.).

4. acquisition of a doctoral scholarship on the basis of a peer-reviewed research exposé, which was awarded via a competitive selection procedure.

5. successful application for a publicly advertised staff or doctoral position that was filled via a competitive selection procedure.

The main supervisor notifies the intention of a joint course as part of the curriculum planning, taking into account the above guidelines. The main supervisor of the doctoral thesis must agree. The faculty council votes on the admission to joint teaching as part of the approval of the teaching program.