Within the framework of the TUM Graduate School, the Graduate Center of Medicine and Health generates uniform and binding standards in the doctoral education, and offers a doctoral qualification program that consists of subject-related and interdisciplinary elements.
The qualification program ensures that TUM School of Medicine and Health doctoral programs have a consistently high quality. Doctoral candidates are supported in their professional life, as well as in the increasingly important soft skills.
The qualification program designed by TUM-GS and GCMH/TUM School of Medicine and Health comprises the following mandatory elements:
Supervision Agreement and 2-year membership of TUM-GS
The supervision agreement is generated at the time of registration in DocGS and should be thoroughly discussed with supervisor and mentor before submission.
Membership is free of charge for all candidates. The doctoral thesis can only be submitted at the end of the two-year membership.
If you are a member of another Graduate Center, please also include the corresponding signed supervision agreement with the rest of the documents to be submitted.
Integration in the academic environment of TUM
Integration into the TUM academic environment can be demonstrated by being part of a research group of TUM, MRI or one of the public academic research institutions recognized by the GCMH.
If this is not the case, but have a workplace there and work there regularly, this still counts as active participation.
If you do not have a workplace at TUM, MRI or a public academic research institution recognized by the GCMH, and your supervisor is not based at one of these institutions in Munich, then your mentor must be an appointed professor of the Faculty of Medicine. At the end of your doctoral period you must also demonstrate your inclusion into the TUM academic environment by submitting a self-evaluation report and provide proof of attendance for the events that are recognised by GCMH.
Documents needed:
- Plan for the Participation in the Scientific Environment of the TUM
- Self-evaluation report on the Participation in the Scientific Environment of the TUM (to be submitted at the end of doctoral studies)
Kick-off Seminar
Taking part in a Kick-Off Seminar during the first 6 months of your doctoral project serves as first preparation for your scientific work and promotes personal networks. The Kick-Off seminar is organized on a weekly basis by TUM-GS.
Please note: In order to register for a Kick-Off seminar, you must be a member or a provisionary member of TUM-GS! In case you do not have a TUM access, your first supervisor can provide you with a TUM guest access.
Seminar on good scientific practice
Attending a Good Scientific Practice seminar is compulsory for all doctoral candidates registered as of January 1, 2017 at the School of Medicine and Health, and for members of other thematic graduate centers. This three-hour seminar is regularly offered by the GCMH (apply through DocGS, search for “Good Scientific Practice Medicine”). The introduction into good scientific practice contained in the kick-off seminar is not sufficient to achieve this qualification element.
Attendance should take place within the first six months of your doctoral project.
Committee Meetings
The first committee meeting between doctoral candidate, supervisor(s) and mentor must take place 6 to 12 months after joining TUM-GS. At least one further committee meeting must take place during the course of the project.
Important documents:
- Template Feedback Meeting Report
- Thesis Committee Guidelines
Discussion of the doctoral project in the international scientific community
The doctoral research project should be presented in the international community in the form of at least one publication in a peer-reviewed journal (usually as first author).
Please consult GCMH (gcmh.mh@tum.de) if you are unsure whether a journal meets these criteria.
Discussion of the doctoral project in the international scientific community (new regulations)
Everybody that joined the program after Oct 1st 2021 (or all that decided to actively adopt all of the new doctoral regulations) must fulfill one of the following points:
- accepted first author publication in an international, peer-reviewed journal or
- accepted first author conference contribution at an international peer-reviewed conference in combination with a submitted first author publication in an international peer-reviewed journal or
- accepted first author conference paper at an international peer-reviewed conference in conjunction with an accepted coauthor publication in an international peer-reviewed journal.
Subject-related courses of at least 6 SWS (63 hours)
All subject-related courses must be related to the topic of the dissertation and should be attended over the entire duration of the doctoral project. The subject-specific courses are neither offered by the School specifically for this program nor listed centrally – they must be arranged independently by the doctoral candidate and their supervisors, and submitted to the GCMH for approval. The subject-specific courses are neither offered by the School specifically for this program nor is there a list of all courses on offer.
If you have questions concerning the recognition of courses, please contact us with the exact information about the course (program, flyer, etc.).
Some course types that are commonly recognized:
- Summer-/winter schools,
- Method courses, workshops (e.g. EMBO courses, satellite workshops, Felasa-B)
- lab courses, Doctoral seminars, lab-meetings, journal clubs*
- From Summer 2020 we accept conferences, symposia and similar events as subject-related courses:
- up to max. 2 SWS (21 hours) per candidate per doctoral degree
- they have to be closely related to the topic of the dissertation
- the first supervisor has to confirm that the conference was relevant for the candidate
We approve online events, too, if they have an interactive character, i.e. where a live exchange between speaker and participant(s) is given.
Not accreditable as subject-related courses:
- internships
- Offers of virtual universities, webinars, or similar without interactive character (see above)
- soft skill courses (may be credited as transferable skills training)
*Confirmation by running sheet, including the name, date, place, times, topic and signature of the supervisor/organizer
Mandatory Elements FAQ
If the candidate does not have a first author publication, he can file an exception request through the Experimental Medicine Steering Committee. This is only possible in justified exceptional cases.
- This requires:
An explanation from the first supervisor why it was not possible for the candiddate to prepare and submit a first author publication. - A publication list (the doctoral candidate must be able to offer a substitute publication(s) in the form of co-authorship or must be able to demonstrate first authorship in the near future)
- A statement from the first supervisor as to what proportion of the research from the publications was the candidate's.
The legally binding information is outlined in the respective doctoral regulations, which are available here.