Graduate School Changing living environments – perspectives from social and health sciences (LiWa)

The graduate school offers doctoral programmes that fall within one of the center's three research areas:

• Health and well-being
• Digital transformation
• Social change (with a special focus on migration)

Individual doctoral topics are selected and assigned by the professors involved in the graduate school themselves, based on their areas of expertise.

The following professors will be members of the graduate school (in alphabetical order).

• Prof. Dr. Christian Bauer, IREM (Deputy Director), THWS Business School
• Prof. Dr. Harald Bolsinger, IREM, THWS Business School
• Prof. Dr. Christoph Bördlein, IFAS, Faculty of Applied Social Sciences (FAS)
• Prof. Dr. Peter Bradl, IREM (Director), THWS Business School
• Prof. Dr. Tanja Henking, IFAS (Director), FAS
• Prof. Dr. Tanja Kleibl, IFAS, FAS
• Prof. Dr. Rebecca Löbmann, IFAS, FAS
• Prof. Dr. Tanja Mühling, IFAS, FAS
• Prof. Dr. habil. Nicholas Müller, IDIS (Head), Faculties of Computer Science and Business Information Systems, Faculty of Design
• Prof. Dr. Silke Neuderth, IFAS, FAS
• Prof. Dr. Hannah Reich, IFAS, FAS
• Prof. Dr. Ralf Roßkopf, IFAS, FAS
• Prof. Dr. med. Dr. habil. Stefan Sesselmann, MHBA, THWS Business School
• Prof. Dr. Dagmar Unz, IFAS, FAS (Dean)
• Prof. Dr. Thomas Wosch, IFAS, FAS

The graduate school only awards the degree Doctor rerum socialium, the German "Dr. rer. soc.".

Do you have further questions about a doctorate at the LiWa graduate school or admission as a professorial member?

Please contact the administration office:

promotionszentrum-liwa[at]thws.de

The mailing address for the graduate school is:

Technische Hochschule Würzburg-Schweinfurt
CAF - Promotionszentrum LiWa
Münzstr. 12
97072 Würzburg

The requirements for admission to doctoral studies are set out in the doctoral regulations (see above).

There is no general answer to this question as various aspects must be taken into consideration:

• the doctoral degree regulations of the university you are currently enrolled at
• the doctoral regulations (Promotionsordnung) of the graduate school
• the regulations on the type and scope of the qualification programme
• the progress of your doctoral project
• disciplinary and inter-disciplinary achievements which can be accredited for the intended qualification programme of the graduate school

It must be assessed on a case-by-case basis whether changing the institution is formally possible and also whether this would entail unintended consequences (e.g., delays, lacking access to resources or required networks, etc.).

As part of the doctoral center, all doctoral candidates must complete a mandatory qualification programme. This consists of a set number of compulsory and elective elements that must be completed in four different modules:

• Module 1: Fundamentals of Research Responsibility
• Module 2: Research Methods and Teaching
• Module 3: Networking and Cooperation
• Module 4: Science Communication

Further information on the training program are provided in the “Richtlinie zur Art und Umfang des Qualifizierungsprogramms” (see Downloads).

The financing of doctoral projects in the graduate school does not differ from the financing of other doctoral projects. Here are your options:

• Employment as research associate with the higher education institutions involved: For this, please check the job postings of THWS or contact potential supervisors directly. In general, this employment is financed through third-party funding, which the professors apply for with the funding parties.
• Funding by a doctoral scholarship programme: Students and research associates at THWS can search for scholarships and awards in the ELFI funding database. Furthermore, the mystipendium.com portal contains an extensive collection of scholarships. Applications for scholarships must be submitted by the candidates themselves. 
• Extra-occupational doctorate (see next question)
• Financing by individual means (savings, family, ...)

No, doctoral projects at the graduate school do not involve doctoral degree programmes. Hence no fees are to be paid.

If you want to complete your doctorate with the graduate school, we recommend the following procedure. 

You typically begin preparing for a doctoral program a few months before applying to the graduate school:

• Clarify the basic questions (motivation, framework conditions, doctorate at the graduate school or cooperative doctorate)

  • Information on doctorates in general
  • If necessary, initial consultation with one of our contact persons

• Explore a topic and develop first ideas of a doctoral thesis topic
• Contact suitable professors of the graduate school and acquire them as supervisors/keep an eye on job postings at the same time 
• Narrow down the doctoral thesis topic
• Write a thesis proposal (the doctoral degree regulations contain corresponding information)
• Familiarize with the doctoral regulations and the guidelines of the graduate school

You can then prepare your application for the Doctoral Center.

Admission to the graduate school is based on a written application. The necessary requirements and the documents to be submitted are specified in the doctoral regulations.

Application documents available for download:

1. Application (with original signature by post/house mail)
   1. Antragsformular DE OR Application form EN
2. Supervision agreement with ‘work and time schedule’ (form will be provided, digital signatures are accepted)
   1. Betreuungsvereinbarung DE OR Supervision Agreement EN
   2. Arbeits- und Zeitplan DE OR Work and Time Schedule EN
   3. in the case of secondary supervisors who are not members of the graduate school: if applicable, form "Nachweis der Forschungsstärke für Zweitbetreuende gemäß § 8 Abs. 5 PromO" (please contact us in advance)
3. Proof of the required previous education for admission in accordance with sections 6 and 7 of the LiWa doctoral regulations in electronic form with verification code (digital) OR as an officially certified copy (original by post/house mail), i.e.
   
   1. Certificates of successfully completed university studies, i.e. Bachelor's and Master's degrees or university diploma
   2. foreign certificates must be submitted in an officially certified translation in German or English; the evaluation of the degree according to anabin, or a recognition via ZAB or uni assist e.V. must be enclosed
4. Exposé of 3-5 pages (bibliography is not counted) for the doctoral project to be worked on independently (section 5 (1) s. 4 doctoral regulations LiWa). The exposé should consist of the proposed topic, the state of research, the objectives, the level of innovation and the contribution of the work together with a description of the procedure and the intended methods. Please use 12-point font, 1.5 line spacing, and Times New Roman.
5. Datenblatt zur Statistikerhebung/Statistic survey (please do not submit scan)

All documents must be submitted electronically via email to promotionszentrum-liwa[at]thws.de. Certified documents and the main application form must also be submitted in original form by mail or internal mail. The mailing address for the graduate school is:

Technische Hochschule Würzburg-Schweinfurt (THWS)
CAF - Promotionszentrum LiWa
Münzstraße 12
97070 Würzburg

The next deadline for submitting applications is September 27, 2026.

If you have any questions, please contact promotionszentrum-LiWa[at]thws.de. We also offer two online-sessions for those who want to ask questions:

• 19. August 2026 - 12:00 to 13:00
• 21. September 2026 - 12:00 to 13:00
• Zoom link: https://thws-de.zoom-x.de/j/68075963279?pwd=ibkI4AaVLuzRFZfoT8XYVtrCLRPvQT.1

With the launch of the graduate school, the professors involved in the application process with the Bavarian State Ministry for Science and the Arts become members of the graduate school.

Other interested professors can apply for membership after the graduate school has been launched. The requirements for this will be announced in the statutes of the graduate school.

The graduate school regulations will contain the criteria under which professorial members can supervise and review doctorates. Main and co-supervision are distinguished, the same applies to main and second evaluation.

The professorial members of the graduate school are expected to not only engage in supervision of doctoral candidates and evaluation of doctoral theses but to also contribute to the self-administration of the graduate school and to participate in networking events. One of the main quality assurance components of the center is regular exchange among the members.

• Spokesperson of the graduate school: Prof. Dr. Tanja Henking
• 2nd spokesperson of the graduate school: Prof. Dr. Nicholas Müller

• Operative management: Dr. Christian Lengl