PhD students can request a passive semester by submitting an official written request to the Council of the Doctoral School, including a brief justification and the exact beginning and ending dates of the requested passive period (which semesters). Requests for passive semesters must be submitted electronically to the Doctoral School secretary and a physical copy to the Scientific Administration at least three weeks before the beginning of the passive semester.
The supervisor, the head of the department, and the Council of the Doctoral School must be informed in written form of the date and scope of any longer study journeys during the curriculum. In case of a study journey exceeding three months, the supervisor, the head of the department, and the Council of the Doctoral School must be informed in written form about the request for a passive semester/year till the submission deadline as announced in the semester closure information, but no later than three weeks before the termtime. Returning from a passive semester/year, the study journey must be similarly documented in writing.
During PhD studies, at any stage, the suspension of a student's legal status may not exceed half of the training period, so PhD students may request a maximum of 2 passive semesters per stage. During the passive semester, the student is not entitled to student benefits (scholarships, dormitory places, validation of a student card). The PhD student's student status (after a notification by the Doctoral School) is automatically terminated if the number of passive semesters exceeds the maximum specified in the regulations.
Enrollment sheets for semester registration must be filled out and submitted, even in the case of a passive status!