Magdeburg (dpa/sa) - After ten years, the doctoral centers at the universities of applied sciences (HAW) in Saxony-Anhalt are to be evaluated. However, the decisive factor is not so much the year, but the number by which you can actually evaluate it, said Saxony-Anhalt's Science Minister Armin Willingmann (SPD) on Friday after the summer session of the Science Council in Magdeburg. "Now it's just getting started." For about a year now, doctoral degrees have also been available at doctoral centers at the four universities of applied sciences. There are a total of five PhD centers in the state, some of which are cross-university.
According to Willingmann, the average processing time for doctoral theses in Germany is three to four years. "You should maybe have two runs." But it is right and good that the model will be put to the test after a few years.
On Friday, the science council recommended that the doctoral college for applied research at the universities of applied sciences in North Rhine-Westphalia be given the right to award doctorates. The approach in NRW includes a central umbrella structure with thematic and technical substructures. Saxony-Anhalt followed Hesse in implementing the right to award doctorates - with decentralized approaches. Other federal states are currently working on the right to award doctorates for universities.
