Enrolling or registering as a doctoral research student

The process explained

Enrolling or registering for a PhD at Saarland University is a two-step process:

  • Step 1: Faculty acceptance and entry in the faculty's register of doctoral students (often referred to as 'admission as a PhD student')
  • Step 2: Enrolment or registration as a doctoral student in the SIM Portal

Please note that you need to complete both steps. Once you have been admitted by the faculty, you must also enrol or register with the university.

Step 1: Faculty acceptance and entry in the register of doctoral students

Applying to and being accepted by the faculty in which you wish to undertake your doctoral research is often referred to as 'entry in the faculty's register of doctoral students'. This step is mandatory. Once you have found a supervisor for your doctoral research project, you must contact the faculty's doctoral studies office or the Dean’s Office, whose staff will check whether your academic qualifications meet the requirements for admission as a doctoral student. If the criteria are met, you will receive a number of documents to be completed, including the doctoral supervision agreement. At the end of this process, you will receive confirmation that you have been entered in the faculty's register of doctoral students or be issued with a certificate or confirmation from the Dean's Office.

Step 2: Enrolling or registering as a doctoral student

Once you have been admitted as a doctoral student in your faculty, you must either enrol or register at Saarland University to officially obtain student status. If you choose to enrol as a doctoral student, you will receive a student ID card; if you prefer to register as a doctoral student, you will receive a doctoral student card.(The difference between enrolling and registering is explained further own on this page.) Note: You can only enrol or register as a doctoral student after you have been entered in the faculty's register of doctoral students (Step 1).

Once you have been added to the list of doctoral candidates or you have received a certificate of confirmation from the Dean’s Office, you must enrol or register at Saarland University via the SIM portal. This can be done at any time. A list of the documents you will need to submit when enrolling or registering can be found on the enrolment documents web page.
If you have any questions about how to use the SIM portal, please refer to the SIM Saarland support pages.

Online enrolment / registration

Note: If you are about to start studying for a doctoral degree and you still have an active UdS ID code ('HIZ-Kennung' or 'UdS-Kennung') because you were previously enrolled at Saarland University, you do not need to go through the enrolment procedure. Simply submit a request to transfer to another study programme in the SIM student web portal. To do this, you will still need to upload the certificate of confirmation you received from your faculty's doctoral studies office or from the Dean’s Office.

What is the difference between 'registration' and 'enrolment'?

Please note that you can apply to change your doctoral student status ('enrolled' or 'registered') at any time. Applicants must specify the semester from which the change is to take effect. Request to amend your doctoral student status.

To enrol as a doctoral student, you will need to pay the semester fee. As an enrolled student, you will be issued with a student card (UdS Card) and a nationwide public transport pass (Deutschlandsemesterticket). You also get the other benefits associated with student status, such as reduced rates in the Mensa campus canteen. Enrolled students are also automatically covered by the personal accident, theft and public liability insurance from Studierendenwerk (Saarland Student Services).

Registration as a doctoral student costs €5 per semester. This includes personal accident, theft and public liability insurance cover from Studierendenwerk (Saarland Student Services) and a Saarland University doctoral student card. The card, which is optional and free of charge, gives you access to university facilities and to staff rates at the Mensa campus canteen. Please note that if you are issued with a doctoral student card, a student card (UdS Card) will cease to be valid.