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Technical University of Munich
TUM emphasizes the accessibility to all TUM facilities and buildings (Photo: Pexels)

Inclusion

Studying and doing a doctorate with a disability or chronic illness is still not a matter of course. To help students and doctoral candidates with disabilities or chronic illnesses participate equally and independently in their study program, doctoral research, and campus life, TUM and its institutions are constantly working to expand target-group-specific support offerings and to improve accessibility.

Doing a doctorate with a disability or chronic illness

The conditions for a doctorate at TUM are continuously reviewed and adapted to ensure that they are compatible with the realities for doctoral candidates with disabilities. In this context, the last revision of our TUM doctoral regulations included the possibility of compensation for disadvantages in §20 of the doctoral regulations. TUM doctoral candidates who are unable to take all or part of their oral examination in the intended form due to a chronic illness or permanent physical impairment now have the opportunity to adapt the format/design of the examination to their needs.

There are no time limits for a doctorate at TUM. You can, therefore, discuss your weekly working hours and the progress of your doctorate directly with your doctoral supervisor and organize them according to your needs.

Do you have School-specific questions regarding accessibility and inclusion? Contact our diversity contact points in the Schools:

If it is foreseeable that you will not be able to continue researching your doctorate for a few months due to health impairments, longer therapies, or rehabilitation but would like to remain enrolled at TUM, you can take a leave of absence for a maximum of two semesters. During a leave of absence, your student status is maintained so that you can continue to use the student benefits and services. However, semesters on leave do not count as semesters of study. Your "enrollment clock" is stopped during a semester of leave and only continues to run when your semester(s) of leave has ended. Further information on leave of absence and the corresponding deadlines (!), which also apply to enrolled doctoral candidates, can be found on the website of the TUM Center for Teaching and Study. 

Offers of the TUM Graduate School

At the TUM Graduate School, we promote the inclusion of all doctoral candidates and are continuously expanding our support options.

Doctoral candidates who are unable to attend the three-day mandatory TUM-GS kick-off seminar in person due to a lack of accessibility and/or other special personal circumstances have the opportunity to participate in one of the two virtual kick-off seminars. If you would like to take advantage of this offer, please contact our kick-off seminar team at kickoff(at)gs.tum.de.

TUM-GS promotes barrier-free participation in all central TUM-GS courses, such as the kick-off seminar and interdisciplinary courses. If you have any questions about accessibility and/or specific personal needs, please contact our TUM-GS Diversity Officer, Ms. Zizheng Zhang (tel. 089.289.10631, zhang(at)zv.tum.de).

Financial support options

Doctoral candidates who want to carry out an internationalization activity abroad but have to expect significant additional costs due to their family situation and/or special needs can apply to the TUM-GS for two additional funding schemes tailored to their individual situation. Doctoral candidates whose doctorate has been delayed due to pregnancy, parental leave, childcare, serious chronic illness/impairment or caring for relatives are offered financial support in the form of the TUM-GS Diversity Degree Completion Grant.

To support doctoral candidates in balancing research and family life, the TUM Graduate School has introduced the TUM-GS Family Mobility Allowance, as a mobility scheme to support doctoral candidates during research stays abroad. The TUM-GS Family Mobility Allowance is a monthly allowance for immediate family members who accompany the doctoral candidate during his/her international research stay of at least 3 months.  

The family allowance of 400 EUR/month is designed to financially support additional expenses caused by accompanying partner and/or underage child but can also be applied for other persons, e.g., parents, if the doctoral candidate requires extra care due to special health/mobility issues. Besides the 400 EUR/month, a further 200 EUR/month can be applied for each additional underage child. The TUM-GS Family Allowance can be applied for a maximum period of 6 months. 

Further information on the application process and other TUM-GS mobility schemes can be found in the ‘Internationalization’ section. 

The TUM-GS Diversity Supplement Travel Grant supports subject-specific stays abroad by doctoral candidates with family obligations and/or special health/other needs.

The Diversity Supplement Travel Grant is a supplement to the travel expenses incurred for family members (e.g. child(ren)) of doctoral candidates who absolutely must travel with the candidates due to special circumstances. Doctoral candidates who face significant additional costs when traveling due to physical disabilities or special needs can also apply for this supplement.

The doctoral candidate can apply for up to 500 euros per trip for the travel expenses actually incurred. Applications are submitted directly to the TUM-GS Management Office. Further information on the application process and other TUM-GS mobility schemes can be found in the ‘Internationalization’ section. 

With the TUM-GS Diversity Degree Completion Grant, the TUM-GS supports doctoral candidates in every field of research during the final phase of the doctorate. This grant is meant to support doctoral candidates whose doctorate has been delayed due to pregnancy, maternal/parental leave, child care, severe illness/disability or by being a care of family members.

Please note that delays in the doctoral process caused by the Coronavirus alone cannot be supported by the TUM-GS Diversity Degree Completion Grant. 

The typ and the amount of the grant vary according to your current source of funding (whether you are employed by TUM or are a scholarship holder).   

More information can be found in the respective information sheets: 

The The TUM-GS Degree Completion Grant Application Form can be downloaded here. 

PROMI – Promotion inklusive

PROMI, a project of the University of Cologne, is aimed at anyone interested in the topic of doctorate with health impairments, disabilities, and chronic physical or mental illnesses. PROMI is an information platform for doing a doctorate with disabilities and offers helpful information for doctoral candidates and those interested in doing a doctorate, as well as for doctoral supervisors. The TUM-GS is part of the PROMI network. https://promi.uni-koeln.de/

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