Doctorate with external partners
Doctoral studies at Freie Universität Berlin can also be conducted in cooperation with external partners. These include non-university research institutions such as Max Planck or Leibniz Institutes, universities of applied sciences, companies, or foundations. The collaboration can take the form of an employment relationship (usually as a research assistant), shared supervision, and/or membership in a doctoral program. It is important that your affiliation with the university is clearly established—meaning you are admitted to the doctoral program in the relevant department and enrolled as a doctoral student—and that you are well-informed about the doctoral regulations applicable to you, so that all legal requirements are met by the time you submit your dissertation and you can complete your doctorate promptly.
Doctorate with external partner
Image Credit: Pudelskern
"I was based at the RKI in Berlin as I worked on my PhD which was through the FU Berlin/DRS. This was mainly during years when COVID still impacted in person teaching, so almost all of my FU Berlin coursework was online. You will need to be very proactive about getting clear what coursework and requirements exactly need to be completed early on in the process, to prevent unpleasant surprises later on when time/funding may be running out. It is very helpful to have good contact with PhD students who are further along in the process, who will be able to help you sort out some of these requirements. Be prepared that you might feel at quite a remove from the other vet students doing a PhD at the FU, unless you are able to participate more fully with in person coursework and events. I only had contact with the Promotionsbuero staff by email. If possible, it may be worth introducing yourself in person so that you create more of an interpersonal connection. They will be very important for you to guide you through the administrative requirements of your PhD."