Here you can find an overview and frequently asked questions about the PhD at the FGW Brandenburg. We aim for cooperative procedures within the faculty. Therefore, in addition to the primary supervisor, a secondary supervisor with also support the progress of the work.
The first supervisor must be a professor or postdoctoral lecturer of the faculty, or have a secondary membership in the FGW: All professors of the faculty and their contact details are listed here. Our coopted members can be found in this list – the members marked with an E* are authorized for the first supervision of a PhD at the FGW.
Professors or post-doctoral lecturers must be nominated as second supervisors. The second supervisor can also be a member of another institution.
The FGW recommends the use of gender-neutral language in scientific papers according to the guidelines of the supporting universities:
Do you have any questions about doctoral studies at the FGW?
Here we have summarized a few of the most important answers for you.
Who is eligible for primary or secondary supervision?
A primary and secondary supervisor are provided for the supervision of the doctorate.
However, when choosing supervisors, it must be ensured that they have the degree of Dr. med. or Dr. rer. medic. or a comparable title.
Primary Supervisor
The primary supervisor must be a professor or a habilitated member of the Faculty of Health Sciences, joint faculty of the University of Potsdam, the Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane and the Brandenburg Technical University Cottbus-Senftenberg. The primary supervision is the main supervision of the doctoral candidate. Together you determine the dissertation topic. The primary supervisor gives you professional advice, conducts progress discussions with you and prepares a votum informativum. Regular progress reports help you to improve the quality of your work and identify problems at an early stage. This usually helps to get the work done to a quality finish in a reasonable amount of time.
Secondary supervisor
The secondary supervisor should, but does not have to be a member of the faculty, or they can also be a member of another institution. The secondary supervisor should be active in a related field to the topic chosen and thus be able to contribute a second opinion on the work.
Which publications do I need for the dissertation?
The dissertation can be submitted in the form of a cumulative work or in the form of a monography.
If you decided on the Dr. med. and a monography, you must publish an original publication as a first or second author in a specialist journal that is subject to a peer review system in addition to the actual work.
If you decided on the Dr. rer. medic. and a monography, you must publish an original publication as first author in a specialist journal that is subject to a peer review system in addition to the actual work.
For a cumulative work, you submit several publication-based scientific works that are related in terms of content. There must be at least three scientific papers that have appeared in a peer-reviewed scientific journal or have been accepted for publication. There must be at least one work with first authorship and one with second authorship.
What should medical students pay attention to?
Medical students can start a doctorate and apply for admission while they are still studying. As soon as the students have passed the first section of the medical examination (1st state examination), they can submit an application to register their intention to do a doctorate.
At the Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, students must have a certificate of equivalence issued by the examination office, since the first section of the medical examination does not exist here (certificate of equivalence). Please contact the examination office (assessment(at)mhb-fontane.de).
Do I have to submit certified copies?
All certificates and final documents must be submitted as a certified copy. In Potsdam and Neuruppin, your certificates can also be certified on site. Foreign qualifications must be assessed by the Central Office for Foreign Education. All information on this can be found here: https://zab.kmk.org/de/zeugnisbewertung.
What degrees are required for the Dr. med. or the Dr. rer. medic.?
For the Dr. med. you need a degree in human medicine, for the Dr. rer. medic. a completed non-medical degree (diploma, master’s degree or state examination).
