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PhD Enrollment //
Research & Employment

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Here we have collected an overview of topics around PhD or PostDoc studies, research funding, salary and unemployment. You will find basic information on formalities, whom to contact and where you will find further information.

You might also want to have a look at our Welcome Guide, where we have summarized a lot of useful information in a comprehensive way.

Please do not hesitate to contact us in case of any questions!

Sometimes the Immigration Office or International Office require proof that your foreign degree is equivalent to a German qualification. The easiest way to check is to find out whether your degree certificate and your higher education institution are both listed and recognized as equivalent in the exact same form as on your certificate for your exact discipline in the German anabin database of foreign higher education qualifications.

If your certificate or higher education institution are not listed as recognized in the database, you may be required to have your foreign degree certificate(s) assessed by the Central Office for Foreign Education – Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen (ZAB), subject to an assessment fee per certificate. Note that in order to have your degree certificate assessed, it may need to be translated into German by an authorized translator first. Degree certificates issued in German, English, French or Spanish need not be translated before they can be assessed, but the Immigration Office may still require an authorized translation. Please check with your officers at the Immigration Office or International Office.

The enrollment process for PhD students at the University is coordinated by the International Office – Akademisches Auslandsamt and realized in cooperation with your faculty.

Please check your acceptance letter for dates, opening hours, and the list of documents to bring (e.g. original of your Bachelor and Master degree certificates, health insurance certificate, etc.). After handing in all documents, you will receive your student ID.

Along with self-financing or funding from your home country/institute, you can ask your academic advisor in Dresden, if there is an existing exchange program that can help you to fund your project.

In addition, there are various German sponsors and foundations that offer grants to graduates, doctoral candidates and professors, that enable them to stay for an extended period of studying and/or research.

You have secured a contract of employment with a Dresden research institution? Congratulations! Of course, you want your salary to make a positive difference for your available income and potentially also for the immigration office’s evaluation of whether you can sustain yourself and your family. Hence it is worth looking at and understanding the components of your salary, namely the deductions, which result in the difference between your gross and your net salary.

Ideally, if you know that your current contract of employment is ending within the next few months, you have been actively exploring options of an extension or which other jobs may be available in your institute or partner institutes, already. As long as you only have an oral promise or a “maybe” from your supervisor for an extension, you should not simply rely on things working out. As long as your new employer and you have not signed a new contract, you remain obliged to report to the Federal Employment Agency – Agentur für Arbeit as a jobseeker, 3 months before your current contract ends.

As a jobseeker who has previously paid contributions to unemployment insurance (deducted from your salary), you may be entitled to claim unemployment benefits.

However, for holders of temporary residence permits it is important to note that some options of financial government support for jobseekers will harm your residence status. As a rule of thumb, only support given regardless of your present income is not harmful. In most cases, Arbeitslosengeld I/ALG I will not harm your residence status. There may be other types of support not mentioned here for specific needs/circumstances. In any case, if you hold a temporary residence permit, please consult with us in advance if you consider applying for any type of government support!

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Where to find us
Address
Einsteinstraße 9
01069 Dresden
Opening hours
Monday to Friday
10 a.m. till 3 p.m. (please make an appointment in advance)