Fast-Track Program

During the completion of the master’s degree program, scholarship funding for the duration of at least one year should be in place.

Further information on scholarships can be found on the page: Scholarships. Scholarship funding may also be possible through a department at the Institute of Psychology. The respective guidelines for awarding scholarships of the UHH apply.

For the two years following the master's program, employment as a research assistant at UHH is sought.

Applications are open to outstanding BSc graduates who can provide proof of supervision by a professor at the Institute of Psychology at UHH.

• Outstanding completion of a bachelor's degree, and outstanding university entrance qualification (e.g. Abitur).
• Candidates must have passed a bachelor's examination in a degree program relevant to the dissertation project.
• Candidates require a confirmation of supervision from the head of the department in which the dissertation will be carried out.
• Candidates must apply for a master's degree program in Psychology (M.Sc.) or Psychology with a focus on Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy (M.Sc.) from 01.05.-15.06. via the CampusCenter and receive a letter of admission.

Admission to the Fast-Track Program can only be granted if an assessment review has been carried out by the "Ausschuss für Nachwuchsförderung" as well as the designated main supervisor and head of the department in which the project is conducted.

The Fast-Track Program stipulates that the dissertation project must be supervised by a five-member supervisory committee, consisting of

• a chairperson,
• a 1st dissertation reviewer (supervisor),
• a 2nd dissertation reviewer (co-supervisor),
• a 1st disputation reviewer and
• a 2nd disputation reviewer (Supervisory Committee Proposal Form PDF). 

Candidates are independently responsible for finding the supervision commitee within the first year of the program.

The Fast-Track Program stipulates that in the first year after the start of funding, 60 credit points (CP) must be successfully obtained within the respective master's program and that the master's degree must be obtained in the second year after the start of funding.

An application at the beginning of the second year of the master’s program is possible if the prerequisites and conditions are met. This involves the acquisition of 60 credit points (CP) in the first year of the master's program, which will be specified as a condition upon acceptance. These credits must be proven to the responsible doctoral studies office of the Institute of Psychology by the beginning of the grant period on November 1st. In this case, the master's degree must be obtained in the first year after the start of funding.

Upon successful completion of the Fast-Track Program, candidates can apply for a PhD position limited to 24 months.

Application deadline: The application period ends on August 31, 2025

In advance, candidates should have already informally contacted and sent a CV as well as a motivational letter to the head of the department in which the dissertation is being carried out, to receive a confirmation of supervision and confirmation of follow-up funding.

The complete application documents must be submitted within the application deadline:

• Fully signed, informal application for admission to the doctoral procedure,
• Copies/scans of the degree certificate/ diploma (Abitur; Bachelor's degree): Certificate, Transcript of Records, Diploma Supplement (if issued)[1]
• Completed and fully signed supervision agreement (form PDF),
• Copy/scan of the university entrance qualification,
• Completed and fully signed research outline (form PDF),
• Copy/scan of identification document (e.g. ID card, passport, visa),
• Curriculum vitae in tabular form,
• Only if applicable: A statement that you have previously applied for admission to a doctorate at another university, at another faculty of the University of Hamburg or at another department of the Faculty of Psychology and Human Movement Science of the University of Hamburg (with complete information)
• List of publications (if available),
• Assurance of a scholarship for at least one year
• Informal assurance from the responsible head of the department that a position can be advertised in the department to finance the last two years of the Fast-Track Program (with at least 50% of the regular weekly working hours), for which candidates can apply according to the information above if they have successfully complete the first two years of the Fast-Track Program (see above).
• Letter of motivation,
• Letter of admission for the degree program Psychology (M.Sc.) or Psychology with a focus on Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy (M.Sc.).

The responsibility for a complete and timely submission lies with the applicants. Please understand that late applications will be rejected for formal reasons.

Once a supervisor has been accepted and admission to the master's degree program has been granted, the subject-relevant doctoral committee will apply for admission to the fast-track doctoral procedure. The responsible doctoral studies office of the Institute of Psychology will forward the decision to you. In the event of a positive decision, the supervising committee will be informed of the appointment as a supervising committee and the positive outcome by the doctoral studies office of the Institute of Psychology.

[1]  If the graduation documents were issued in a language other than German or English, candidates must submit a certified translation (in German or English). If already issued, the certificate, reports transcript of records and diploma supplement must be submitted (the latter two are required for degrees outside of Germany).

If you have any questions about the Fast-Track Doctoral Procedure, please contact the doctoral studies office of the Institute of Psychology (promotion.pb"AT"uni-hamburg.de).