The Quality Circle for the Doctorate (QZP) is a network currently spanning four federal states at seven locations, in which representatives of graduate schools and institutions for the promotion of early career researchers work together.

By developing a broad range of supervision, support and qualification measures, the conditions for doctoral studies at many universities in Germany and Europe have improved considerably in recent years. This structural development is aimed at creating a highly attractive research environment for young academics.

In this context, the QZP sees itself as a driving force, especially in German-speaking countries, whose combined expertise and experience in promoting young researchers form the basis for the further development of transparent and binding quality and procedural standards for doctorates. The research performance and the supervisory relationship between the supervisor and the doctoral candidate remain at the center of the entire doctoral process.

With this in mind, the network is developing practice-oriented instruments to improve the structuring of doctoral studies and the supervisory relationship. These are, on the one hand, the two handbooks Doing your doctorate. Making conscious decisions and getting off to a good start and Shaping a Doctorate together with recommendations for action for supervisors and doctoral candidates. The second is the workshop “Doctorates well supervised” for doctoral supervisors at member institutions.

During their studies, students often develop an increased interest in further research activities and the idea of doing a doctorate arises. However, a doctorate is a very individual and independent concept and requires good planning. For this reason, the question of whether and how is becoming an increasingly important topic in individual counseling.

For this reason, the Quality Circle for the Doctorate (QZP) has set itself the task of providing an initial guide for those interested in and starting a doctorate and published the brochure “Doing your doctorate. Making conscious decisions and getting off to a good start” in February 2019. It is now available online. You can obtain the print version from GUT if required.

The development of a wide range of supervision, support and qualification measures as part of our structured doctoral training has generally improved the conditions for doctoral studies. Of course, research performance and the supervisory relationship between supervisors and doctoral candidates remain at the heart of the entire doctoral process.

In September 2010, Our QZP network published the handbook “Shaping a Doctorate Together - Guidelines for Supervisors and Doctoral Candidates”. The paper is intended to help support the process of making doctoral supervision even more efficient.

Due to high demand, we have been offering the 4th German-language and 3rd English-language edition since September 2018, which was supplemented in 2020 by the section "Doing your Doctorate. Making conscious decisions and getting off to a good start" was added.

We supplemented the 2nd edition from July 2012 with a list of questions on mutual expectations (p. 30 et seqq.), which we created based on input from participants in our pilot workshop for doctoral supervisors in March 2012, as well as an English-language version.

In the sense of a supervisor biography of the doctoral process, the aim is to provide suggestions for the preparatory, working and final phases of the doctorate and to sharpen the understanding of all those involved for organizational issues, problems, technical details and support measures in the individual phases and stages.

In order to enable supervisors and doctoral candidates to read the paper as specifically as possible, it is addressed separately or specifically to the respective target groups.

Content (for both target groups):

• Before the doctorate
• Between preparation phase and work phase
• Final phase
• Conflict situations on the path to a doctorate - and how to resolve them

You are welcome to download our manual as a PDF file (see below) and then place it on the Internet as required. Our only request is that you do not change our paper and that you indicate our authorship and send us the link for information purposes in the event of further use and/or publication on the Internet. Thank you very much!

Doctoral candidates, prospective doctoral candidates and supervisors are welcome to obtain the print version from GUT on request.

You can view the following German and English PDF versions online here:

Version für Betreuende, 4. Auflage, 9/2018

Version für Promovierende, 4. Auflage, 9/2018

"Shaping a Doctorate Together" - Guidelines for Supervisors" (3rd edition, 9/2018)

"Shaping a Doctorate Together" - Guidelines for Doctoral Candidates" (3rd edition, 9/2018)

"Doing your Doctorate. Making conscious decisions and getting off to a good start" (1st edition, 1/2020)