PhD students can be employed within the framework of an exploration project, provided that the employment contract is secured for the entire course of the project. Furthermore, in this case, the doctoral candidate must provide evidence that he or she has secured funding beyond the three years of the project until the end of the applicable standard period of study (“Regelstudienzeit”).

The securing of funding by means of a letter of support must be discussed and prepared individually within the respective BUA institution and submitted with the application.