Mandatory Elements
Within the framework of the TUM Graduate School(link is external), the Medical Graduate Center 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 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 MGC/TUM School of Medicine comprises the following mandatory elements:
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 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 MGC.
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 MGC, 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 MGC.
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)
Taking part in a Kick-Off Seminar(link is external) 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.
Attending a Good Scientific Practice seminar is compulsory for all doctoral candidates registered as of January 1, 2017 at the School of Medicine, and for members of other thematic graduate centers. This two-hour seminar is regularly offered by the MGC (apply through DocGS(link is external), search for “Good Scientific Practice Medicine”). You may also attend an equivalent event with comparable content (for example “Cite it right“ or „Search, Cite, Publish Compact Course Literature research and Citation – Focus on Medicine” fromt the TUM University Library; in other cases MGC decides about the equivalence). The introduction into good scientific practice contained in the kick-of seminar is not sufficient to achieve this qualification element.
Attendance should take place within the first six months of your doctoral project.
Important documents:
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 MGC(link sends e-mail) if you are unsure whether a journal meets these criteria.
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.
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 MGC 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 (link sends e-mail)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
Publication (old doctoral regulations)
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.