There are no fixed dates. You can hand in your 'Application for Admission as a doctoral candidate' at the Faculty's Doctoral Office any time. You must do this at the start of your doctoral research project. Especially if you have a master's degree from an institution outside Germany, start the application procedure as soon as possible. Please send the form to the GSGS manager to have it co-signed (gradschool-geosciuni-koeln.de) and be registered as a GSGS member. First read the comprehensive information by the Doctoral Office on the doctoral procedure.

Yes, as soon as you have been admitted as a doctoral candidate by the doctoral office you need to register as a doctoral student for the duration of you doctoral studies and pay the semester fees. Should you want or need to have a break in your doctoral studies (e.g. maternity or parental leave, care duties), it is advisable to apply for an official interruption of your registration as a doctoral candidate.

You have to be registered and enrolled as a doctoral student at the registrar's office (Studierendensekretariat) for the entire period of your doctoral studies.

Send an e-mail to gradschool-geosci(at)uni-koeln.de and ask to be added to the mailing list. Please state your affiliation (Institute, working group), status (Master's student, doctoral candidate, staff member) and start date.

Are you a GSGS alumna or alumnus and would you like to receive GSGS Alumni News about twice a year, please register your request through https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/gsgs-alumni or send an email to gradschool-geosci [at] uni-koeln.de

The GSGS does not count points for each semester; it works with points per semester on average. So, if you earn 8 points in the first semester and 4 in the second semester, you still have 6 points per semester on average.

GSGS points do not expire; you can build up a "stock" at the start of your project.

A1:
In most cases, this will not be a problem, because you do not have to earn 5 points each semester. You just need 5 points per semester on average, so you can collect point in advance (or afterwards).

A2:
See also membership "on hold"

Please let the GSGS office know from when you will be away. Your membership will be put "on hold" for the time of your absence. Further arrangements are made unbureaucratically.

Please contact the GSGS office. We will make arrangements as unbureaucratically as possible; a medical certificate is helpful. All information will be treated confidentially.

For reasons other than parental leave or illness you can apply to have your GSGS membership put "on hold" for a minimum of 4 months. During your entire GSGS membership, you can apply for up to 12 months of "on hold" time (excluding such time for parental / sickness leave). The decision on whether or not to grant a temporary membership break lies with the GSGS Steering Committee. To apply, send an email to the GSGS manager at least 2 months before the start of the envisaged break period including: start date, end date, the reason for wanting to put your membership on hold.

Seek help! Talk to your supervisor, another doctoral committee member or someone else in your working group. Most people have an open ear to your issues.

Make sure that you do not keep your issues or problems to yourself. Talking about issues is a first step towards a solution.

There are several options across the GSGS and the University from which you may choose according to your preferences. Your issues will be treated confidentially.

Consider approaching:

- a mentor or another person in your institute you can trust;
- the GSGS manager;
- a member of the GSGS Steering Committee;
- the ombudsperson of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences:  Prof’. Dr. Stefanie Walch-Gassner
- Another UoC ombudsperson or someone at the Albertus Magnus Center for early career researchers: https://www.portal.uni-koeln.de/hilfe-bei-konflikten-promovierende.html?&L=1

A1:
If your doctoral committee is still "complete" (according to GSGS guidelines), the committee can function without the absent member. In this case the doctoral committee member who is going on leave is kindly asked to inform the GSGS office of their absence, stating the (estimated) time of absence and copy you and the other DC members in, so that everyone is informed.

A2:
If your doctoral committee is not complete without this member and the absence is shorter than 6 months, meetings / reporting can likely be arrange around the absence. In this case the doctoral committee member who is going on leave is kindly asked to inform the GSGS office of their absence, stating the planned re-scheduling of meetings or report deadlines. He or she should copy you and the other DC member(s) in, so that everyone is informed. If re-scheduling is not possible, see A3.

A3:
If your doctoral committee is not complete without this member and the absence is longer than 6 months or "rescheduling" (as in A2) is not possible, a temporary replacement must be found for the absent doctoral committee member. Your principle supervisor is asked to inform the GSGS office of the change in your doctoral committee and copy in everyone involved.

This is not a problem. During the submission progress you have to quote the final title of your thesis. The doctoral office will than update the title appropriate, also in Docfile and other systems.

It is best to discuss with your advisor first. They may have a strong opinion about who should chair. The chairperson should be someone from a different subject or a different institute than your (and your advisor’s) subject. It is common to get someone from one of the Geosciences, but in some cases a chairperson from another department could be a good option. 
Within Geosciences, you can find all professors through the links in the "Overview of all working groups in the Department" on https://geosciences.uni-koeln.de/en/  (or through the pages of the three Institutes at the top). 
You should definitely talk or write to the person and get their go-ahead before entering their name on the form.