Doctoral studies

Assessment of the dissertation

The dissertation written as part of the doctoral studies program is submitted to two reviewers, who are proposed by the doctoral students together with the supervisors and selected by the Studienpräses. The supervisor him/herself can only act as a reviewer in justified exceptional cases; in this case, the second reviewer must always be an external person.

The reviewers have a maximum of four months after submission of the dissertation to write a review. If the dissertation is assessed positively by both assessors, the student can register for the defensio. If the dissertation is assessed negatively by one of the assessors, it is submitted to another person for assessment. If this person also assesses the dissertation negatively, the result is negative and the dissertation must be revised before it can be resubmitted.

Defensio

If the dissertation has been assessed positively and all the work prescribed in the curriculum has been completed positively, the doctoral candidate can register for the defensio at the responsible StudyServiceCenter.

The defensio is a board examination that includes the presentation and defense of the Master's thesis as well as an interview about the academic environment. It must be taken in front of an examination senate (at least three persons qualified in accordance with § 14 and § 15 of the statutes). This examination senate is put together by the head of the degree program, who either chairs it or appoints an examiner to chair it. The chairperson keeps the examination record.

Final documents

Award certificate

The awarding of academic degrees is the responsibility of the responsible study program director (SPL) by means of a notification as soon as the graduates have successfully completed all examinations prescribed in the curriculum and submitted the positively assessed academic thesis.

The notification must be issued within four weeks of fulfillment of the requirements. No application by the student is required; the student has a duty to cooperate in the assignment of courses in the examination pass. The notification is issued in German and English, but the name of the university and the academic degree are not translated.

After the notification has come into force, graduates are entitled to use the academic degree awarded. Participation in the academic ceremony is voluntary and has no legally binding character.

The award certificate is only issued once in the original with the data that appears in the database of the University of Vienna at the time of issue. A duplicate is issued in the event of demonstrable loss of the award certificate or a change of name. Since April 2020, the certificate has been issued electronically and sent with an official signature.

Graduation certificate

The certificates of completion of doctoral studies list the modules according to the curriculum as well as selected extension curricula or alternative extensions.

The degree certificate is only issued once in the original with the data that appears in the database of the University of Vienna at the time of issue. A duplicate will be issued in the event of proven loss of the award certificate or a change of name. Since April 2020, the certificate has been issued electronically and officially signed.

Diploma Supplement

The Diploma Supplement (attachment to the diploma) is issued to all graduates with their degree certificate by the responsible SSC. The aim of the bilingual Diploma Supplement (German/English) is to increase transparency in higher education and to facilitate the academic and professional recognition of qualifications.

It contains:

• Information on the type and level of the qualification
• Information about the completed degree (study requirements, course of study, assessment scale)
• standardized information on the respective higher education and study system

The Diploma Supplement is not a substitute for a CV or the original degree certificate and does not guarantee automatic recognition. It is now used in most EU/EEA countries.

At the end of the degree program, a module evaluation is determined for each module, which is calculated from the average value of the assessments within the module weighted according to ECTS points. Using the same procedure, the examination results in all modules of the degree program are used to determine the overall assessment of the examination results.

The module assessments and the overall assessment of the examinations are shown in the Diploma Supplement to two decimal places. If there are subject specializations in the curriculum, their completion is also noted.