Excellent Research Opportunities - Research enjoys a top-ranking status in Germany. You can go for research at German Universities and several national research centres. The organisations that generally open up research opportunities for international scholars and scientists are:

• Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung (AvH) - The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation offers fellowships to highly qualified doctorate or PhD holders to carry out research projects in Germany.
  http://www.humboldt-foundation.de

• Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - The German Research Society is the central organisation for promoting and supporting research in Germany.
  http://www.dfg.de

• Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Wissenschaften (MPG) - The Max Plank Society is an independent non-profit research organisation with about 80 institutes that focus on fundamental research in natural sciences, bio sciences, social science, arts and humanities, complementing the work of the universities with an interdisciplinary approach. The MPG is planning to start several PhD schools in co-operation with some universities.
  http://www.mpg.de

• Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung ("Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft") - The Fraunhofer Society ("Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft") with its 50 institutes is the leading organisation for applied research in Germany.
  http://www.fhg.de

• Hermann von Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren - Six big research institutions have joined together to form the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres. These are involved in research and development in the fields of chemistry, physics and engineering as well as in biology and medicine.
  http://www.helmholtz.de

• Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz - An organisation connecting pure research and applied research, its also runs approximately 80 institutes network in different fields of science like regional studies, economics and business administration, life and natural sciences, engineering and environmental sciences.
  http://www.wgl.de

Research Training Institutes - Research Training Institutes (Graduiertenkolleg) are university facilities offering special interdisciplinary research topics. Highly qualified post-graduate students can enrol for doctoral programmes. All Research Training Institutes provide merit scholarships that are open for international students.

There are approximately 300 Research Training Institutes , 120 of them being in mathematics, computer sciences, chemistry, physics and engineering. Most of them have an interdisciplinary approach.

Doctorates - Normally, doctoral studies are carried out under the supervision of a professor and do not require course work. The emphasis is on the doctoral thesis ("Dissertation", "Doktorarbeit"). Self-motivation, dedication to the research project and the ability to work independently are important prerequisites.

Since the last few years several universities have adopted the Anglo-American way and offer structured PhD programmes. For example the Research Training Institutes offer a complete programme with course schedule and timetable.

Students can doctoral studies at universities ("Universitäten", "Technische Universitäten") and research institutes like the Max-Planck Society, the WGL Science Association, the Fraunhofer Society and the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres, which closely co-operate with universities. Universities of Applied Science ("Fachhochschulen") do not award doctorate degrees!

Requirements - Before you apply for a doctorate programme at a German university, you have to make sure to meet the formal requirements. Each department or faculty has its own regulations ("Promotionsordnung").

Generally, your Master's degree should be in the same field in which you want to obtain your doctorate. You cannot, for example, apply for a doctorate in mathematics with a Master's degree in chemistry. Additional achievements like additional course work or language certificates may be asked for.

The time needed for completing a thesis on the individual, the subject and the work conditions. The supervisors do not put too much pressure on their students to complete their research and leave the students to finish their research in reasonable time. A doctorate in science takes at least two years, in engineering and humanities, three years.

Finally the thesis, has to be submitted to the faculty. Its size depends on the topic and the supervisor.

You have to find out from your supervisor whether the thesis can be submitted in English. In science and engineering this is normally possible.

After the thesis has been accepted, a viva-voce takes place.

Finding a Mentor and Choosing a Topic - One of the most important steps for doctoral studies in Germany is to find a mentor. Get in touch with professors whose research areas interest you. You can do this networking through your home university, referring to academic publications and via the Internet. German professors are likely to accept you as a doctorate student provided they are convinced that you could contribute to their research. A good research proposal and an outstanding academic record, showing creativity and intelligence could get you the position of a paid research fellow or assitant while pursuing you doctorate.

Here are some useful links :

• The International Office of the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) promotes scientific-technological co-operation with other countries
  http://www.internationales-buero.de
• Have a look at their funding database
  http://www.bmbf.de/en/846.php
• Something about research possibilities in Germany
  http://www.research-in-germany.de
• Map of science and research institutes in Germany
  http://www.forschungsportal.net/index-en.html
• Information on the Research Training Groups
  http://www.dfg.de/en/research_funding/coordinated_programmes/research_training_groups/
• List of Collaborative Research Centers
  http://www.dfg.de/en/research_funding/coordinated_programmes/collaborative_research_centres/
• Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour
  http://www.bmwi.de/english/navigation/root.html
• Index of German foundations
  http://www.stiftungsindex.de/e_index.html

Search by Project - Another way of getting information about research institution is via the database GEPRIS, compiled by the "Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft" http://www.dfg.de./gepris.