For doctoral students

ASP strongly and actively pursues gender mainstreaming and family-friendly working conditions. In particular, the competitive support instruments which aim to maximally link the doctoral student and postdoctoral career stages are considered to be optimally designed for promoting gender equality and for balancing disadvantages for female candidates. To further promote equal opportunity and family-friendly conditions, Dr. Isabelle Staude has been appointed as coordinator and contact person for gender issues. On request, she will provide advice and support for equal opportunity or family-related topics within the ASP. The support of young female scientists is a cross-sectional task for both the ASP and the Friedrich Schiller University and is taken seriously by both. It creates and secures conditions of equal opportunity for all its members independent of gender and background.

• Regulations for doctoral students' final examinations at the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena
  Note that the English version is provided for the reader's convenience while only the German version de is legally binding.
• The Graduate Academy of the Friedrich Schiller University aims to create a research environment of the highest international standards for doctoral candidates of all disciplines.
• Online administration tool for doctoral procedures at the University (doc-in).

• The Family Office of the University provides information, advice and assistance in all family-related matters. You can also use the university's internet portal for information at any time.
• The Studentenwerk Thüringen provides advice and support for a wide range of social and personal problems.
• The Office for Gender Equality of the university provides information about various ways to support women in their scientific careers. It should be the first point of contact for equal opportunities issues and gender-related discrimination questions.

With the latest doctoral studies regulations (Promotionsordnung), our doctoral researchers have been allowed more freedom regarding the choice of the secondary subject. However, it turned out that many of the requests for a secondary subject in optics and photonics were not accepted despite being very separate from the specific field one was working in. Historically, the secondary subject has been very tightly involved in the final exam just before the defense and was supposed to give the doctoral candidate a broader view outside of his or her field. The new regulation moved away from the former rigorous mode of a final exam to merely an ungraded colloquium at a time chosen by the student. However, if you are lucky, there are ways to avoid that:

1. Address the lecturer of your subject of interest and check whether it can be treated as part of another field. Example: Quantum optics is categorized as optics but could also be accepted as theory if (A) the lecturer and (B) the Institute of Theoretical Physics (in this specific case) agree with this regulation for the individual doctoral exam. The dean may then approve the subject as secondary.
2. Formulate a motivational letter together with your supervisor to approve the secondary subject. Note however, that if this happens too often in one group, no more approval will be given to members of that particular group.

As for international doctoral researchers, there is an increasing number of lectures in English in the regular M.Sc. Physics program. This makes it even easier to identify secondary subjects outside of the regular M.Sc. Photonics program.