Overall mark

The doctoral process is concluded with an overall mark, which is decided by the doctoral panel. The overall mark is the average of the dissertation mark and the oral examination mark. The dissertation mark is usually given a greater weighting. To evaluate the dissertation and the candidate's performance during the oral examination and for the overall mark, the traditional Latin terms or the corresponding German terms may be used. The following scale of marks is normally used:

  • Scale of marks
    LatinGerman Explanation
    summa cum laudeausgezeichnet Outstanding work
    magna cum laude sehr gutVery praiseworthy work
    cum laudegutAbove-average work
    ritegenügend, bestandenWork that satisfies average requirements
    insufficienter ungenügend, nicht bestanden Overall, not usable work

The mark of "summa cum laude" is normally only awarded if the dissertation and the oral examination are unanimously evaluated by the reviewers and examiners as "summa cum laude". Faculties which are entitled to confer doctorates may impose additional requirements for the awarding of this mark, for example the preparation of additional reviews. This is defined in the doctoral regulations.