I have been working under the supervision of a Professor at a german University for a couple of years on a research project that could be published soon with me as a first author.
However I am not enrolled in any PhD program. Is it possible to get a PhD if I were to write a PhD thesis based on the work I have done so far without having to enroll on a program.
It seems now like a waste of time to enroll into a PhD program and have to do an additional 3 or so years.
Your best bet is to talk to the professor that is supervising you. Course work is less of an issue in Germany, so you might be able to speed up the process considerably if the professor is willing to accept your research as a basis for the thesis. Whether or not that project is suitable as a basis for a PhD thesis depends on the research that happened and your exact role in it. Maybe your work can count as an entire thesis, maybe it can count as an entire thesis if you do some extra work on, maybe it can count as a chapter, and you need two or three other projects to complete it, maybe it is just not suitable. We don't know, but your supervisor can tell you.
There are three different things you need to figure out independently:
Expect your thesis to be under more scrutiny, and remember during defense the board of examineers is allowed to ask any question on the science subject you want to get your degree in. The question might be more probing if you are 'external' (because they dont know your level of competency). Be prepared for question you last heard (apart from you defense preparation) last time as an undergrad (or master student).
While this might sound discuraging, it is not meant to. Go for it! (but you must address each of these points)
Talk to your professor.
I got my PhD (technically Dr. rer. nat.) at the University of Hamburg and only officially enrolled about a year before I defended my thesis, even though I actually started working on my research about 3 years before that at a Max Planck Institute.
Your mileage will vary. Talk to your professor.
I would imagine it depends quite heavily on the department. In Denmark at the Department for Social Sciences, you may submit a Phd-thesis without being enrolled in a Phd programme. But I would imagine the barrier being quite high, so you should probably be able to show quite an excellent academic performance through your thesis.
https://samf.ku.dk/phd-skolen/english/applicants/submitting_a_phd_thesis_pursuant_to_section_15_2/
It depends on the university (or even the department). You need to read the exact regulations ('Promotionsordnung', etc.)
In most German universities, enrollment is optional. (I would even say, it is not very common.) You rather just submit a thesis; sometimes there is a requirement to indicate your intention to submit a thesis some months in advance. In any case, you need to name a supervising professor.
Whether or not your university/department requires additional publications or exams is very different. Often, the requirements to submit a thesis are (intentionally) left underspecified, which means that it's up to your supervisor to decide whether or not your past research is enough to make a thesis. If your supervisor thinks that 3 more years of research were appropriate, then it's their proper judgement that that time is not 'wasted.'
I would be very surprised if a university allowed you to get a PhD without being enrolled in a program. When universities give out degrees without enrollment, it is generally in the form of things like "honorary doctorates" which are frequently given to commencement speakers and very different from a real PhD. That said, prior work can greatly expedite the process, particularly if you are working with the same advisor. For example, there was a medical doctor who had been doing research with my graduate department who enrolled in our PhD program. He was able to get his PhD by basically continuing the work he had been doing with our department for another two years. He also took a few classes and of course did the milestones such as qualifiers and orals, but it was significantly expedited compared to the 5-7 years which is typical for that department.
However, I would question your motivation for taking this route to a diploma. In my experience people who have done research with PhD labs who do not have PhDs fall into one of two categories 1) people who are still developing 2) people who have gained expertise through another route.
People in category 1) are the most common. These are individuals who have gained some research experience by working in academia. However, in most cases, while they may have the same number of publications as might be expected of a graduate student,the process of getting those publications is very different. They have generally been given a project that is better defined and with a clear path forward. A PhD student on the other hand would have had a higher level of expectation define their own project and a will likely have to try more avenues before finding one that works out. If this is the case for you, then your experience will certainly help you out, but it is not sufficient to receive a PhD. In fact, many PhD departments (such as my own) consider this type of research and publication record a prerequisite for enrolling in the PhD program.
The people in category 2 are more unusual. These individuals really are thought leaders in their fields who have made a significant impact in those fields. Despite not having a PhD, they are sought out as collaborators and are frequently asked to give talks in their area of expertise. This is the category I would put the medical doctor I previously described in. In general, these people don't really need PhDs as the recognition of expertise that it conveys has already been granted to them by the members of that academic community. While I certainly could understand the desire for the title, it is unlikely their career will be significantly impacted by holding it. If this is the case for you, you should have no trouble finding an institution who will jump at the opportunity to collaborate with you in exchange for an expedited PhD process.
Until a few years ago, "PhD programs" were unknown in Germany, and I am not aware that any large number of faculty boards in Germany have abolished the classic Individualpromotion. Actually all these novel (or often not so novel) "programs" I know are just a recommended addon, on which nobody formally forces you.
You can apply to be accepted as Doktorand by your Fakultät (or "Fachbereich", the department, not the university) on one day, and submit your thesis on the next. Maybe the board will find it a bit weird to vote on both on the same meeting. ;)
I would be surprised if submitting a thesis based on a single paper were enough.
In North America, the cover page of the thesis usually indicates that the work is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree. The other requirements are usually courses; it’s not so uncommon to have talented undergraduate publish as a first author, but this does not grant them a PhD.
It is regrettable that you should think it a waste of time to enrol in a PhD program. Learning is best done through contact with a mentor, and through discussion with others. Publishing is overly focused to provide the fully enriching perspective achieved through the patient training that is recognized by the degree.
