Deadline for Admission to Doctoral Examination - September 2025
In case you are planning to apply for your doctoral examinations by 22. September 2025 (thesis submission by 05.10.2025), please note the deadline to inquire the signatures from the allocated GSfBS coordinator this time is Wednesday, 17.09.2025 12:00 (noon).
We can only assure a smooth processing of your requests if they reach us by the indicated date.
To facilitate the procedure, please comply with the following
- You have filled the application form correctly and completely; the application has been signed electronically by you and your (formal) advisor
- IMPORTANT: Note that Section 6 "Acknowledgement by the Department's Graduate School" in the "Application for admission to the Doctoral Examination" form is meant to be filled by the coordinators. DON'T tick or select any of the options, DON'T enter any comments in this part of the form.
- It is recommended to coordinate with your examination committee in advance to determine the date of the defense within the examination period.
Members of specialised programmes
- You inform the coordinator of your programme and have them Cc'ed when you contact the GSfBS. The coordinator comments on the fulfillment of the mandatory core curriculum.
- If the coordinator of your programme is not available or not informed, the points for GSfBS-only members need to be followed.
GSfBS-only members (no additional membership in specialised programme)
- You have uploaded all documents associated with your TAC meetings to the GSfBS G-folder in Docfile.
- In your email to us, you include the exact dates of all TAC meetings you had during your PhD.
- You have uploaded the certificate of attendance of the Good Scientific Conduct workshop to the GSfBS G-folder in Docfile
Out-of office notification:
Please note that Katerina Vlantis will be out of the office from August 12 to August 20 and again from August 27 to September 9, 2025. Requests received during these periods will be reviewed upon her return and addressed based on their importance and urgency.
Doctoral Candidates seeking consultations are encouraged to drop an email the soonest to arrange an appointment.
Thank you for your contributions: We have reached more than 195 registered participants and will have 110 posters.
Posters should have the size A0 (84,1 x 118,9 cm). Portrait or landscape should both work on the poster boards (120 x 150 cm inner area)
Welcome to the Graduate School for Biological Sciences
In May 2006, the University of Cologne established an international, broadly based graduate school in the biological sciences providing students with opportunities for training in fields ranging from molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, ecology and evolution, and including all the major microbial, plant and animal model organisms. Based on a phase of systematic experimentation in earlier, small-scale graduate programmes in which we have developed and tested methods for an improved graduate training, we developed a structured programme for the graduate school of the department for biology. A large variety of specialized graduate programmes is partly unified under the GSfBS umbrella and a core programme is available for all graduate students in all areas of biology. It fosters the excellent scientific connections between research groups in the basic science and medical research institutes in the University and the Max Planck Institutes for Plant Breeding Research, for the Biology of Ageing and for Metabolism Research and exploits them for the benefit of the graduates.
