Onboarding for International Doctoral Candidates
The TUM Graduate School Onboarding course is an onboarding offer designed for international doctoral candidates embarking on their TUM doctoral journey. The program offers a structured pathway to acclimate to the new living and research environment, understand the prerequisites for a successful doctorate at TUM, and explore the extensive support services and resources available. Throughout the Onboarding course, new doctoral candidates will be guided to navigate potential intercultural challenges of integrating into the German research culture and learn techniques to enhance their resilience & self-management skills. The TUM-GS Onboarding course ensures a smooth transition, fostering a sense of security and care and promoting rapid integration into the new environment and the TUM Community.
Program Elements
The Welcome Session of the TUM-GS Onboarding for new international doctoral candidates provides essential information about basic business etiquette in German academia and the TUM Doctoral Model. Participants will also learn about their roles in research, teaching, and administrative work as doctoral candidates and research assistants within their respective research groups. The Welcome Session will also provide an overview of TUM’s and TUM-GS’s academic support services, transferable skills training offers, and services available for personal development and well-being on and off campus.
Learning outcomes:
By the end of the day, participants will have gained
- Knowledge of basic business etiquette in German academia;
- A brief introduction to TUM’s history, recent developments, and understanding of TUM as a state-funded corporation under public law;
- Understanding of the requirements of the TUM Doctoral Model, what they can expect from their doctorate, and what is expected from them as doctoral candidates;
- Overview of TUM’s and TUM-GS’s support infrastructure and services offers for doctoral candidates.
Time and date:
Tuesday, 17 March 2026, 09:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Location:
The Welcome Session will be held remotely.
The three-day intercultural training prepares international doctoral candidates to successfully acknowledge, understand, and navigate challenging situations in their everyday research at a German university. By addressing the cultural dimensions in the German university context, the workshop supports participants in understanding the cultural differences, such as communication style, feedback culture, and perceptions of hierarchy. Furthermore, the workshop offers effective communication strategies and enhances their relationships with supervisors and colleagues. Through the training, participants will acquire relevant competencies for their intercultural and diverse doctoral context, as well as their everyday working & research life. They will also gain support to understand how to adopt these competencies to enhance their doctoral journey at TUM and their personal satisfaction and well-being.
Learning outcomes:
By participating in the intercultural training, participants will
- Acquire awareness about how culture influences their behavior and the perception of their behavior by others in everyday research situations;
- Better categorize possible uncertainty factors and feel strengthened in dealing with uncertainties;
- Learn how to communicate effectively across cultural boundaries;
- Reflect on their expectations regarding their doctorate and the collaboration with their supervisors and colleagues;
- Learn how to deal with “culture shock” and develop helpful adaptation strategies;
- Exchange their experience, views, and solutions for dealing with intercultural challenging situations.
Upon request, participants may benefit from individual one-on-one intercultural coaching sessions following the course.
Time and date:
- Wednesday, 18 March 2026, 09:00 a.m. – 05:00 p.m., and
- Thursday, 19 March 2026, 09:00 a.m. – 05:00 p.m., and
- Friday, 20 March 2026, 09:00 a.m. – 03:00 p.m.
Location:
TUM Graduate School, Boltzmannstr. 17, 85748 Garching (TUM Campus Garching-Forschungszentrum)
On Saturday after the intercultural training, participants of the TUM-GS Onboarding Program in the summer semester can join our Munich guided tour on the theme “Munich during National Socialism and Resistance” and learn about Munich's unique role in the Third Reich.
Discover the shadows and resistance of this period on a walking tour through Munich's historic city center. We will start at Königsplatz, go to Karolinenplatz, Brienner Strasse, the Square of the Victims of National Socialism to the Feldherrnhalle, and go through Hofgarten to the Haus der Kunst. The walking tour concludes at the main building of Ludwig-Maximilians University (LMU), where you can visit a free exhibition about the resistance group "Weiße Rose." The tour will provide you with insight into the role these places played during the National Socialist era.
Date: Saturday, 21 March 2026, 10 a.m.
This tour is part of the Welcome@TUM-GS Event Program for new doctoral candidates. Find out more about our other events in the summer semester of 2025 here.
Eligibility
To be considered for the TUM-GS Onboarding Program, candidates must:
- have a master's degree from a non-German university and move/have moved to Germany to pursue a full doctorate at TUM (no guest doctorate);
- have preferably started their stay in Germany/at TUM in the summer semester 2025 or in the winter semester 2025/26;
- provide a supervision confirmation from a doctoral supervisor at TUM in the form of the signed Supervisor Confirmation Form (available on the registration page here).
Registering for the program confirms that you meet the eligibility criteria.
Please note that the TUM-GS Onboarding course is for doctoral candidates who have already obtained a supervision confirmation from a doctoral supervisor at TUM at the time of course registration. Applicants who have not yet found a doctoral supervisor at TUM are not eligible for participation.
What Else?
- The TUM Graduate School Onboarding course is free of charge.
- By registering for the Onboarding course, you register for both course elements, and participation is mandatory in both elements to obtain the program certificate.
- Upon availability and request, TUM doctoral candidates based at TUM Campus Heilbronn or TUM Campus Straubing may receive accommodation support near TUM Campus Garching-Forschungszentrum for participation in the three-day intercultural training.
- There are 21 spots available for the TUM-GS Onboarding course. Places will be assigned based on eligibility and the chronological order of application.
- The entire TUM Graduate School Onboarding course will take place in English.