Oliver Lepsius Oliver Lepsius Oliver Lepsius (born 2 February 1964) is a German professor of jurisprudence at the University of Bayreuth. His public profile was raised in 2011 by the scandal involving Germany's Defence Minister, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg. It was determined that the youthful minister's doctoral dissertation, awarded in 2007, had been over-dependent on plagiarism. The university revoked the doctorate and the minister resigned. In public interviews Oliver Lepsius, the university's professor of jurisprudence expressed his anger very powerfully over the affair. Oliver Nicolai Lepsius was born in Munich. By the time he completed his school leaving exams ("Abitur") he was attending
Doctorate des universités") and to the title of Research Director ("Directeur de recherche") in national public research agency such as CNRS, INRIA, or INRA. Today, the doctorate ("doctorat") is a research-only degree. It is a national degree and its requirements are fixed by the minister of higher education and research. Only public institutions award the doctorate. It can be awarded in any field of study. The master's degree is a prerequisite. The normal duration is three years. The redaction of a comprehensive thesis constitutes the bulk of the doctoral work. While the length of the thesis varies according to the discipline,