The Ministry of Education, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, has successfully worked with officials of the Kultusministerkonferenz (KMK) to allow New Zealand doctoral graduates to use the title �Dr.� in Germany.
The New Zealand Qualifications Authority and Universities New Zealand have also actively contributed to this outcome.
The KMK is the standing conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the federal Lander (www.kmk.org).
While the initiatives to revise the two main KMK resolutions on the use of academic degrees in Germany have not yet received final approval, as an interim solution holders of a PhD degree from a New Zealand university may use
their title optionally in the abbreviated form as �Dr.�
If a holder of a New Zealand PhD needs any confirmation then they may refer to the Central Office for Foreign Education, which is part of the KMK.
This decision is particularly important for German PhD students who are enrolled with New Zealand universities; there were 218 such students in 2011.