KLU Granted Right to Confer PhDs

Senator Katharina Fegebank and KLU President Thomas Strothotte

Kühne Logistics University - Wissenschaftliche Hochschule für Logistik und Unternehmensführung (KLU) in Hamburg was granted the right to confer PhD degrees on September 7, 2017. The Hamburg Senate adopted the relevant resolution in a session on August 8, 2017. Of the 118 private universities in Germany, only 14 are permitted to confer their own PhDs – and now KLU is one of them.

Download the press release in English or in German.

“Upon granting us the right to confer PhD degrees, the Hamburg Senate drew the logical consequence from our constant top performance in research and teaching. Its approval has put us in the premium segment of academic education,” said Dr. Thomas Strothotte, president of Kühne Logistics University. “Since KLU was founded seven years ago, we have been working consistently and single-mindedly to obtain this right. And in the past three years, all our appointments have been targeted to this major goal.”

Katharina Fegebank, Senator for Science, Research, and Equal Rights, said: “I am pleased that KLU has now officially received the right to confer PhD degrees. For its unflagging, successful work in recent years, the university has truly earned that right – I would like to express my congratulations. This is a very special honor for a private university and is one more indication of KLU’s value. In addition to the students and young academics, Hamburg as a location for science and academia will also benefit from this new jewel in its academic crown because its reputation will grow.”

The latest addition to KLU’s scientific profile also had a positive influence on the Senate’s decision. As a result of its partnership with Bucerius Law School, the Hasso Plattner Institute, and the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, KLU has expanded its interdisciplinary network. The university specialized in logistics and supply chain management also maintains interdisciplinary relationships with other universities in Germany and abroad.

Now that it has the right to confer doctorate degrees, KLU will be able to produce its own Doctors of Philosophy (PhD) in Management and Doctors of Philosophy (PhD) in Political Science and Economics. The PhD degree program at KLU is designed to last four years. In the first two years, the candidates will take courses and begin their research. During the second half of the program, they must write at least three scientific articles for professional journals.

KLU has plenty of experience supervising doctoral candidates. However, it had to rely on partner universities to actually confer the degree. The university has worked most closely with Leuphana University of Lüneburg in this regard and plans to continue the partnership in the future. The University of Hamburg, Hamburg University of Technology and abroad, the University of Groningen, Rotterdam School of Management, and Copenhagen Business School are all partners of KLU.

Currently there are 25 candidates in various stages of their PhD candidacy at KLU. Eight candidates have already completed their dissertations.

 

Learn more about KLU's PhD program.

Download pictures of Senator Katharina Fegebank and KLU President Thomas Strothotte.