Doctoral candidates

The first step on the way to your doctorate in Jena is the supervisor’s agreement. If you have not yet found a supervisor, you will find information on how to find a supervisor on this website.

If you come from a country outside the EU, the EEA or Switzerland, you must apply for a visa at the German mission abroad in your home countryExternal link. We advise you to apply for a visa for research purposes. For this, you must submit a hosting agreement. You will receive the hosting agreement either from your employer (non-university research institute) or, if you will not have an employment contract, from the Graduate Academy.

Please contact the Graduate Academy well in advance of your planned arrival (graduierten.akademie@uni-jena.de).

For the duration of your stay in Germany, an adequate health insurance is required. Please note that you must have insurance coverage from your first day in Germany. Please find more information about the German health care system hereExternal link. Furthermore, the German diplomatic missions abroadExternal link can inform you about which health insurance must be provided to enter Germany.

If you have health insurance in another EU or EEA country, you can use it upon arrival in Germany.

Due to limited capacities, please make sure to find a room for your stay as early as possible. International doctoral candidates have the possibility of applying for a place in one of the three university guesthouses. Information about the guest houses can be found here. Enrolled doctoral candidates can also apply for a room in student housingExternal link.

You can find more information about "Accomodations in Jena" here.

For stays in Germany that are longer than three months, you are required to register your address with the city administrationExternal link within 14 days upon arrival. You will need an identity document and a confirmation from your landlord ("Wohnungsgeberbescheinigung"), which you will receive from your landlord once you sign the renting contract. For registering your address, you will need to make an appointmentExternal link.

If you have an employment contract with social insurance (monthly salary > 450,- EUR), you can choose which statutory health insurance you want to be insured with (e.g. TKExternal link, AOKExternal link or BarmerExternal link).

If you do not have an employment contract with social insurance, we recommend that you take out a statutory health insurance as a voluntary member. Alternatively, you can choose a private health insurance instead of a statutory one. If you prefer to have private health insurance, please note that there are significant differences in the services covered. For more information, please see the information on this websiteExternal link.

If you have health insurance in another EU or EEA country, your health insurance is also valid in Germany. Please contact the health insurance company in your home country for information on necessary formalities and how services can be reimbursed.

As soon as you have arrived in Jena, you should contact your supervisor and conclude the written agreement on the supervision of your doctorate, the so-called Supervision Agreement.

You can find further information here.

Regardless of whether you are employed at the university or finance your doctorate with a scholarship, you will receive the status "doctoral candidate" by admission through one of the faculties of the University of Jena. To do so, you must first register in the online registration portal doc-inExternal link. There you will find the form "Application for admission as doctoral candidate" with the information on necessary documents to hand in with the application. Please submit the application to the dean's office of your faculty.

You can find further information here.

If you are doing your doctorate at University of Jena, we advise you to open a German bank account. There are many different banks in Jena where you can open an account, each with different offers, services and account management fees. To open an account, you need an identity document and the registration certificate of the city (see „Registering your address in Jena“). Non-EU citizens also need a residence permit or visa.

International doctoral candidates who do not come from the EU, the European Economic Area or Switzerland must apply for a residence permit at the Foreigners' Registration Office („Ausländerbehörde“). You should submit your application 12 weeks before your visa expires. The application must be submitted by email (antrag-abh@jena.de). Information on how to apply can be found on this website.

Doctoral candidates at University of Jena have the possibility to enrol with the university. Enrolment is not compulsory, but it offers a whole range of advantages:

• thoska-campus card with a cashless payment function
• Discounts in canteens and cafeterias of the Studierendenwerk ThuringiaExternal link (student services organisation)
• Deutschland ticketExternal link for free use of public transportation (buses and trams and regional rail services throughout Germany)
• Insurance coverage, i.e. for activities at the University Jena, internships and excursions: legal accident insurance and a recreational accident insurance through the student services organisation
• Automatic registration at the library and the university computer centre
• culture ticket: free entrance for exhibitions and other cultural events

You can find further information here.

All doctoral candidates can have an account with the university computer centre. This account contains:

• a university e-mail address (name@uni-jena.de)
• Wifi access at Jena university and at many university locations worldwide via Eduroam
• External access to subject-specific databases of the university network
• Access to software via the University Computer Centre
• Access to computer pools de

If you are not enrolled as a doctoral candidate (see above), please contact the Welcome and Service Desk for Doctoral Candidates and Postdocs to activate your computer centre account.

The Thuringian university identity card, or thoska, is a multifunction campus card, which allows you to identify yourself as a doctoral candidate of Jena University, use the library, photocopy or scan documents, and pay by card in the canteens and cafeterias.

If you are not enrolled as a doctoral candidate (see above), please contact the Welcome and Service Desk for Doctoral Candidates and Postdocs to receive your thoska card.

There are several childcare options for doctoral candidates with children: daycare centres, child minders, the flexible childcare centre on campus, or babysitters. If you need more information about child care in Jena, do not hesitate to contact the University's Family Office.

As a doctoral candidate, you will have the opportunity to take part in qualification workshops and classes on various topics like writing and publishing, project management, or good scientific practise. You may find all offered workshops of Graduate Academy and other university institutions hereExternal link.

• questions about entry and stay (visa issues, citizens' service, immigration office)
• orientation in the city and at the university (search for the right contact person)
• procedures at University of Jena (admission as a doctoral candidate, enrolment, multimedia centre, computer centre, library)
• doctorate and family (finding childcare, kindergarten, school)
• issues and problems of everyday life (finding accomodation, bank accounts, insurances)

Please write an e-mail with your issue to ga-tutor@uni-jena.de. Your contact person is Dr. Alexander Schwarzkopf.