Wine Campus member universities receive independent right to award doctorates
Doctoral dissertations have always been an integral part of research activities at the Wine Campus. Until now, doctoral examinations have been conducted exclusively at partner universities in Germany and abroad. Since the spring of 2026, five universities in Rhineland-Palatinate have also been authorized to award doctoral degrees, including the Wine Campus partner universities in Bingen and Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences. This marks a milestone for applied research at universities. As Wine Campus professors, Prof. Dr. Maren Scharfenberger-Schmeer and Prof. Dr. Dominik Durner from Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences, as well as Prof. Dr. Jochen Bogs from Bingen Technical University of Applied Sciences, are members of the “Medical & Environmental Life Sciences” doctoral cluster. From now on, they are authorized to examine doctoral candidates at universities under the new doctoral regulations.
Doctoral candidates at the Wine Campus are currently conducting research in eight ongoing, application-oriented projects on the topics of integrated process control in winemaking, fungus-resistant grape varieties, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in wine quality control, the development of a rapid test for harmful microorganisms in wine, non-alcoholic wines, and gene expression studies in winemaking yeasts.
Further information is available in the press release from the Ministry of Science and Health
The photo shows Minister Clemens Hoch presenting the certificate to representatives of the Wine Campus, the Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences and the Bingen Technical University of Applied Sciences, as well as the University of Applied Sciences Koblenz and Trier, as part of the “Medical & Environmental Life Sciences” doctoral cluster. (Credit: Prof. Dr. Maren Scharfenberger-Schmeer)