Wine Campus member universities receive independent right to award doctorates
Doctoral theses have always been an integral part of the research activities at the Wine Campus. To date, doctoral examinations have been conducted exclusively at cooperating universities in Germany and abroad. Since spring 2026, five Rhineland-Palatinate universities have also been allowed to award doctorates, including the Wine Campus host universities in Bingen and Kaiserslautern. This is a milestone for application-oriented research at universities. As Wine Campus professors, Prof. Dr. Maren Scharfenberger-Schmeer and Prof. Dr. Dominik Durner from Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences and Prof. Dr. Jochen Bogs from Bingen Technical University of Applied Sciences are part of the "Medical & Environmental Life Sciences" doctoral cluster. From now on, they will be allowed to examine doctoral candidates as part of the new right to award doctorates at universities.
Doctoral students 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, development of a rapid test for harmful microorganisms in wine, non-alcoholic wines and gene expression studies in yeasts used in winemaking.
Further information via press release from the Ministry of Science and Health
The photo shows the ceremonial presentation of certificates by Minister Clemens Hoch to the representatives of the Wine Campus, the Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences, the Bingen Technical University of Applied Sciences and the Koblenz and Trier Universities of Applied Sciences of the "Medical & Environmental Life Sciences" doctoral cluster. (Credit: Prof. Dr. Maren Scharfenberger-Schmeer)