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Admission requirements

(1) As a prerequisite for admission to doctoral studies the candidate must have completed either a Master’s degree, which has been acquired in a two-year Master’s degree programme of 120 ECTS credits, or a total course of studies of at least 300 ECTS credits with a Diploma or equivalent qualification from a German university or from a university located in one of the Bologna signatory countries, in a relevant subject area according to Paragraph 3, and the candidate must be particularly suitable for this degree programme according to Paragraph 6.
Academic titles from universities in countries other than the Bologna signatory countries require a declaration of equivalence to the degree programmes as specified in Paragraph 1 in accordance with the proposals of the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) submitted to the Secretariat of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany (abbr.: Standing Conference / KMK) for the recognition and assessment of foreign certificates of education, which are listed on the website www.anabin.de.
The grades in foreign certificates of education must be converted into the German grading system.

(2) Deviating from Paragraph 1, a candidate enrolled in a Master’s degree programme in a relevant subject area who has successfully completed examinations to the extent of 60 ECTS credits in this programme is also eligible for admission, if his/her examination results in the Master’s degree programme so far show an average grade of 2.0 or better, and a Bachelor’s degree with a grade of 2.0 or better is also presented.
The average grade calculated from the examination results to date in the Master’s degree programme is considered in lieu of the Master’s degree grade or grade of an equivalent certificate of education in the procedure of establishing particular suitability according to Paragraph 6, regardless of whether the final result of the master examination deviates from it.

(3) The decision as to whether the subject(s) of previous degree programmes as specified in Paragraph 1 is(are) closely related to the proposed doctoral studies (relevance of the subject area) is made by the selection committee. A prerequisite for the relevance of the previous studies is proof of basic knowledge in the subject in which doctoral studies are to be taken up:

  • a) Subject Agricultural Science: evidence of knowledge in the field of environmental and resource economics or crop science or agricultural ecology or agricultural business operations or sustainable agricultural economy to the extent of at least 6 credits;
  • b) Subject Business Administration: evidence of knowledge in the field of environmental and institutional economics or production and logistics or sustainability to the extent of at least 6 credits;
  • c) Subject Law: evidence of knowledge in the field of environmental law to the extent of at least 6 credits;
  • d) Subject Social Sciences: evidence of knowledge in the field of the social significance of sustainability and the protection and utilisation of biodiversity, including analysis of cooperative actions on the part of entrepreneurial, governmental and social actors in these areas, to the extent of at least 6 credits;
  • e) Subject Biology: evidence of knowledge in the field of biology of biodiversity or didactics of biology or social and communication psychology to the extent of at least 6 credits;
  • f) Subject Philosophy: evidence of knowledge in the field of practical philosophy to the extent of at least 6 credits.



The selection committee may establish relevance of the subject area on condition that any studies as specified in Clause 2 which have not yet been performed are completed within two semesters; in such case, the establishment of relevance and the admission to doctoral studies are conditional on presenting evidence that the missing studies have been performed; such evidence must be received within two semesters from enrolment at the University (preclusion period). If such evidence is not furnished within the preclusion period, the establishment of relevance and any admission letter based on it become ineffective.

(4) Candidates who are neither able to furnish evidence of a German university entrance qualification nor have acquired their Bachelor’s or Master’s degree or equivalent from a German university must have sufficient knowledge of the German language. Evidence of such knowledge must be furnished according to the examination regulations of the German language test for university admission of prospective foreign students (DSH) by way of a test with an overall result on the DSH-2 level. Candidates exempted from the German language test for university admission according to the examination regulations of the German language test for university admission of prospective foreign students at Georg August University Göttingen are not under obligation to take a test; this applies in particular to candidates who have furnished evidence of the required German language proficiency by passing the Test of German as a Foreign Language (TestDaF) and attaining level 4 (TDN 4) in at least 4 categories, or by passing the German language part of a preparatory course assessment test.

(5) Deviating from Paragraph 4, candidates who furnish evidence of sufficient knowledge in English are exempt from furnishing evidence of German language proficiency. Candidates with a native language other than English can furnish evidence of sufficient knowledge of English by presenting minimum results in an internationally recognised test, such as:

  • a) Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English with the grade “passed” or better
  • b) Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English with the grade “passed” or better
  • c) "International English Language Testing System" (IELTS) level 7 or higher
  • d) at least 550 points in the paper-based "Test of English as a Foreign Language" (TOEFL)
  • e) at least 213 points in the computer-based "Test of English as a Foreign Language" (TOEFL)
  • f) at least 80 points in the “New internet-based TOEFL - Test of English as a Foreign Language”
  • g) UNIcert, level III
  • h) C1 or C2 test certificate according to CEFR (Common European Framework of References)



Successful completion of the test must not date back more than two years prior to lodging the application for admission to doctoral studies. Candidates who have spent at least two years of studies or employment in an English-speaking country within the last three years prior to lodging the application for admittance, and candidates who have completed a degree programme in English, are exempt from providing evidence of having taken a test. The selection committee will decide whether or not any evidence of sufficient knowledge of English other than the evidence mentioned above will be accepted.

(6) All candidates are also required to comply with the conditions for admission to doctoral studies laid down by their respective faculties.