Certificate Doctorate plus
The certificate Doctorate plus can be acquired in the following tracks: Research, Research Management, Business and Organizations Track. In recognition of the training you received in Doctorate Plus courses, doctoral students from the University of Bonn can apply for the certificate when they have earned at least 50 units, of which at least 40 units must be earned in the track in which the certificate is issued.
The certificate is jointly issued by the Bonn Graduate Center and its cooperating institutions: Career Center, Human Development, Bonn University and State Library, International Office, Gender Equality Office and Bonner Zentrum für Hochschullehre.

Requirements
One unit generally corresponds to 45 minutes of course time; units are awarded as follows:
- Half-day workshop: 4 units
- Full-day workshop: 8 units
- Two-day workshop: 16 units
- Supplemental individual reflection: 1 unit per half-day workshop
Up to 5 of the 50 units required for a certificate may be acquired by completing courses outside of the Doctorate plus program – for example, courses offered by the Bonner Forum Biomedizin or another institutions. The same workshop cannot be credited for two certificates (e.g. for the Doctorate plus Certificate and the Certificate of the Bonner Zentrum für Hochschullehre).
In addition, up to 8 units from our E-Training offer can be credited for a certificate.
Completion of your doctoral thesis is not required in order to receive a certificate.
Requesting Your Certificate
When you have fulfilled the requirements for receiving a certificate, please contact the Bonn Graduate Center via email or mail and provide the following:
- Name of the track for which you want the certificate to be issued
- Certificate of attendance for each course attended (as scan or copy)
- Mailing address (otherwise you will receive the certificate by email)
BGZ Contact
Email: graduiertenzentrum@uni-bonn.de
Postal Address:
Alte Sternwarte
Poppelsdorfer Allee 47
53115 Bonn
Certificate in Your Bag?
Apply Now for an Add-on and Advance Your Career
You are a doctoral student, a graduate with a doctorate or a post-doc (up to two years after the doctorate) and have obtained a doctorate plus certificate in one of the tracks? Then you can apply for the track-specific add-on:
Research Add-on
If you have acquired a certificate in the Research track, you can apply for a two to four part one-on-one career coaching with focus on academic career paths. The coaching can be conducted in German and English as well as face-toface or online.
Research Management Add-on
With a certificate in the Research Management Track, you can apply for a one to four day job shadowing in the Division of Research and Innovation Services or other institutions of the university and gain insight into research management. Places are allocated according to availability.
Regardless of the acquisition of a certificate, within the framework of Erasmus+ funding, employees and enrolled doctoral students have the opportunity to spend several days shadowing at a partner university or research institution abroad.
Business and Organizations Add-on
Have you received a certificate in the Business and Organizations track? Then apply now for a two part one-on-one career coaching with focus on career paths outside of academia. The coaching sessions (90 and 60 minutes) can be conducted in German or English as well as face-to-face or online.
Get your career on track with our add-ons!
The three Tracks
Would you like to stay in research after your doctorate and work as a scientist at a university or a research institution? Then benefit from our workshops in the Research Track and find out what good scientific practice means, how you give a scientific lecture or what methods and instruments you can use to enrich your research and teaching.
Would you like to work in an exciting and growing professional field at the interface between science and administration? Then this track is the right choice for you. You can acquire knowledge and interdisciplinary skills that are particularly useful for a career in research management. Research managers work primarily at universities and research institutions, but also at funding institutions and science policy institutions. The workshops deal with topics such as university organization and science law, chairing meetings, strategy and leadership in science.
Learn more
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Would you like to pursue a career in an organization or company outside of the science sector after completing your doctorate? The workshops in our Business and Organizations Track equip you with skills and knowledge that will qualify you for positions in, for example, industry and an NGO or to run a startup. Among other things, our workshops help you successfully master the application phase, sharpen your profile and take on management tasks.
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From Modules to Tracks: Transition rules when acquiring the certificate
Until the winter term 2020/21, 50 units in workshops in at least two different modules were required for the Doctorate plus certificate. Starting from the summer term 2021, the four modules in Doctorate plus willl be replaced by the three career tracks.
Until the winter term 2023/24, the following transition rules apply:
Anyone who has already attended workshops in individual modules can apply for the prior version of the Doctorate plus certificate after acquiring 50 units by the end of the transition period. The respective modules are not listed in the certificate.
If you want to acquire a new Doctorate plus certificate in one of the three tracks, you can include up to 10 units from workshops before the introduction of the three tracks.
Contact
Also see
Qualification
Find out more about our wide range of offers, from good scientific practice to our Doctorate plus and Postdoc plus qualification programs.