PHD in Art or Music – University of Paderborn
University of Paderborn
Paderborn | Germany (Nordrhein-Westfalen)
PHD in Art or Music
- History and Theory of Art + Cultural Heritage
- Pedagogy of Art, Art Education and Art Therapy
- Musicology and Musical Heritage
- Pedagogy of Music, Music Education and Music Therapy
- Music and Media
- Other fields
Typical Duration of doctorates in Germany: 3-5 years.
Public University
- PhD funded by the university but without a stipend
- Self-funded PhD – you must provide both tuition and your own maintenance
- PhD Fully or partially externally funded, with a stipend, through private or public foundations, scholarships, grants, one or more companies, or public institutions that you have to find on your own
Fees: no tuition fees. Visit the university’s website for information about semester contributions.
Funding resources
Depending on the topic of the project one may try receiving funds from the following scholarship foundations:
https://www.boell.de/
https://www.rosalux.de/
https://www.boeckler.de/
https://www.fes.de/
https://www.evstudienwerk.de/
https://www.studienstiftung.de/
The following database may as well help: https://www2.daad.de/deutschland/stipendium/datenbank/en/21148-scholarship-database/
Dissertation
- Independent scholarly contribution in the doctoral field.
- Language: German, English, French, or Spanish; other languages only by prior approval. If written in a foreign language other than English, include a German summary (10–15 pages).
- May include co-authored/group work if your own part is clearly identifiable.
- Must not have been published as a whole before submission (previously published parts may be accepted by exception).
- Cumulative dissertations permitted only in specified subjects; for your fields, key subject-specific rules include:
- Art History / Art Education: by the time of opening the procedure, ≥2 publications published and the rest accepted; peer review desirable but not mandatory; each publication ≥25,000 characters; ≥2 single-authored; wrapper text 50,000–200,000 characters.
- Music Education: ≥3 peer-reviewed publications accepted at opening; each ≥35,000 characters; ≥1 single-authored; others first-authored; wrapper ≥100,000 characters (co-author contribution must be documented).
- Popular Music & Media: ≥3 publications accepted at opening; each ≥35,000 characters; co-authorship only by justified exception; wrapper 150,000–200,000 characters.
Disputation
- Oral exam (university-public), normally 60–90 minutes; begins with a ~15–20 minute report on the dissertation, followed by discussion.
- One repeat permitted: earliest after 3 months, within 1 year.
Publication
- Publish within 1 year after the oral exam (extensions of +1 year, generally up to two times, possible on request).
- Accepted routes include:
- Open Access via the University Library (with DE & EN abstracts, each ≤1,500 characters, plus metadata, and 1 print deposit),
- Open Access with a commercial publisher under a CC license (plus 1 print deposit),
- Publisher print with run ≥100 (plus 2 print deposits),
- Book-on-demand parallel print + electronic (plus 2 print deposits).
- The examination copy set at submission is: 5 permanently bound paper copies (acid-free) + 1 electronic, searchable version.
- Admission to doctoral study (Zulassung zum Promotionsstudium)
- Submit to the Doctoral Committee:
- Working title + short exposé (1–2 pages)
- Proof of eligibility (see Entry requirements)
- Statement on any prior failed doctoral procedures
- (Recommended) CV
- Supervision agreement should be concluded (time/work plan; rights & duties).
- Enrollment at the University of Paderborn is required during doctoral studies.
- Submit to the Doctoral Committee:
2. Open the doctoral procedure (Eröffnung des Promotionsverfahrens)
- Submit:
- Application to the Chair of the Doctoral Committee
- Proof of university entrance qualification and current enrollment certificate
- Qualifying degree(s) (and, if applicable, certificate of preparatory studies)
- CV (tabular)
- Dissertation: 5 permanently bound copies + electronic searchable file; if the thesis is not in German or English, add five German abstracts (and, if not in English, the German 10–15 page summary)
- For group work: co-author list + joint report detailing your individual contribution
- Embedded declarations in each bound copy (independent work; no prior/parallel submissions; no commercial help)
- (Optional) suggested reviewers/commission members
One of the following:
- Relevant ≥8-semester degree awarding a non-Bachelor title, or
- – Relevant ≥6-semester degree plus appropriate pre-doctoral studies in the doctoral subject, or
- A relevant Master’s degree.
If the prior degree is not sufficiently subject-aligned, up to ~60 ECTS of additional subject studies can be required.
Foreign degrees are recognized if no substantial differences exist; submit a ZAB statement (Central Office for Foreign Education).
Exclusion: applicants who have failed a doctoral procedure twice in the same subject are not admitted.
| Zentrale Studienberatung (Central Student Advisory Service) | zsb@upb.de |
| https://kw.uni-paderborn.de/graduiertenzentrum-kw/promovierende/promovierende https://kw.uni-paderborn.de/graduiertenzentrum-kw |
Languages used within the program and for thesis writing and discussion: German, English, French, or Spanish (other languages by approval; if not in English, a German summary of 10–15 pages is required).
PhD with only theoretical outcomes – no artistic projects/concerts/exhibitions as part of the final project
General information about research in Germany: https://www.research-in-germany.org/en.html
Visa information for extra-EU doctoral candidates: https://www.bamf.de/EN/Themen/MigrationAufenthalt/ZuwandererDrittstaaten/Arbeit/Wissenschaftler/wissenschaftler-node.html