Doctorate in engineering
About 2,600 engineers gained a doctorate from a German university in 2010. In addition to the traditional model of doctoral studies, where the doctoral students themselves look for a doctoral supervisor to supervise their work, gaining a doctorate via a structured doctoral programme or at a graduate college is gaining popularity.
Universities and research institutions often cooperate at regional level with industrial firms. Engineers who are working towards a doctorate are involved in joint research projects and deal with questions from industrial practice. In addition they gain diverse skills which are a good basis for a rapid rise to managerial positions in industry.
As most of the funding for conducting the research projects is obtained from outside the institutions, for example as third-party funds from industry, the doctoral students are paid, which makes it possible to carry out the doctoral research quickly.