(de-news.net) – According to data published by the Federal Statistical Office, a total of 212,400 individuals were engaged in doctoral studies at German universities in 2024, representing a 4 percent increase (7,500 additional candidates) compared to the previous year. The proportion of female doctoral candidates remained relatively stable at 49 percent. The average age of candidates, irrespective of gender, was thirty-one years. Notably, 52,800 doctoral candidates—constituting 25 percent of the total—held foreign citizenship.
The most prominent academic discipline was Human Medicine and Health Sciences, accounting for 60,300 doctoral candidates (28 percent). This was followed by Mathematics and Natural Sciences with 47,700 candidates (22 percent), Engineering with 39,200 (18 percent), and Law, Economics, and Social Sciences with 33,300 (16 percent). Distinct gender disparities were observed: while 77% of candidates in Engineering were male, approximately two-thirds of those in Arts and Art Studies were female.
In 2024, 34,700 individuals commenced doctoral studies for the first time, reflecting an 8 percent increase compared to 2023. Among these, 9,500 were international students, comprising 27 percent of new doctoral entrants—a proportion exceeding that of foreign nationals among the overall doctoral population.