Assignment of doctoral/ PhD thesis reviewers

TIP: We recommend that you start this procedure 6 months before the planned date of the public defence.

The dissertation will be assessed by two external experts in the respective research field (habilitated or equivalent qualification) who are preferably located outside of Austria. The doctoral candidate, together with the supervisor(s), is entitled to propose three reviewers for their dissertation. The final approval of the reviewers is the responsibility of the Studienpräses.

Qualification of reviewers: "Reviewers will be members of the appropriate scientific community, have excellent scientific and academic credentials and be either qualified professors or hold an academic qualification equivalent to that of an Austrian professorship (habilitation)" (see Doctoral studies und travel costs for external reviewers/examiners, p. 1). To ensure that your dissertation is assessed as objectively as possible, the proposed reviewers may not have a close personal or professional relationship to your supervisor or affiliation with your workplace/subunit and should not be co-authors of your dissertation.

Steps to take

  •  Obtain the approval from the supervisor.Obtain the consent of the proposed reviewers.
  • Complete the SL/D3 form.
  • Send the form together with an abstract (if possible in German and English, download the SL/D4 form) and short CVs of the proposed reviewers (incl. list of recent publications) by e-mail to the respective StudiesServiceCenter.

The StudiesServiceCenter will inform you about the assignment of the reviewers by the Studienpräses by e-mail within four weeks.

PLEASE NOTE: At the latest when you submit your dissertation, you must submit the application for the assignment of examiners. However, it is advisable to do this about six months before submitting your dissertation.

Doctoral thesis / PhD thesis

Your doctoral thesis has to fulfil certain formal requirements. Detailed information can be found on the homepage of the Center for Doctoral Studies and in the information sheets of the Studienpräses (e.g. 'Guideline - Use of publications in scientific theses', German version or English version).

General formal requirements

  • PLEASE NOTE: Pay particular attention to the cover page rules (see next section).
  • A German and, if possible, an English abstract must be included (no more than 250 words each). If the thesis is written in English, a German abstract must be included in the appendix.
  • Do not include any personal data in the document from page 7 onwards. Due to changes in data protection legislation, since 23 February 2016 uploaded diploma theses, master's theses and dissertations are transmitted to plagiarism software companies in pseudonymised form. The first 6 pages of the uploaded document (title page and possibly acknowledgements) are automatically removed.
  • Do not include a CV in the thesis.
  • If you insist on doing so, please sign a form when you submit the print version of your thesis stating that you have been informed about any privacy issues.
  • Please note that images are also subject to the citation rules, i.e. you must cite the sources and adhere to copyright law when using images. In case of doubt, it is recommended to include the following text in connection with the sources used for the thesis: "I have endeavoured to find copyright holders of the images and have obtained their permission to use the images in this thesis. If you feel that a particular image has not been attributed correctly, please contact me".
  • Please note that the formatting of the text must allow for binding in A4, portrait format, printed on both sides. (Therefore, pay attention to the respective text indents for binding on even and odd pages).

Formal requirements cover page

According to the Studienpräses, a correctly designed title page must be included when submitting a thesis. Otherwise, the thesis will be rejected. In this case, the student has to re-upload the thesis to the plagiarism server via u:space.

  • A template (Pharmacy and Nutritional Sciences and Sport Science) and instructions for filling in the information are available for download below.
  • The logo of the University of Vienna must be in the top-right corner (see template).
  • The title page must be in German and English. However, you do not have to translate the title of the thesis. Please include only the title in the language in which the thesis was written.
  • Correctly specify any academic degrees you have already obtained, if these were recorded at the time of your admission (you can check this in the student record sheet). If the degrees have not been recorded, please omit them or submit a request for adding them to the Admission Office. To do so, scan your degree certificate(s) (final document) and send them to master.zulassung@univie.ac.at by e-mail. The Admission Office team will add the academic degree(s).
  • Specify the academic degree you are applying for (see template).
  • Specify the year of submission twice (once after 'Wien,' and once after 'Vienna,').
  • Specify the degree programme code correctly: as stated on the student record sheet, beginning with UA, followed by the degree programme code.
  • Specify the degree programme correctly as it appears on the student record sheet.
  • The official supervisor(s) must be listed including all their academic degrees. Please use u:find to search for the supervisor, copy their entire name line including all academic degrees and paste it in the cover sheet.
  • Joint supervision should only be listed if it has been officially requested and approved. Otherwise, please delete this line from the cover page.

In case of doubt, please check with the respective SSC first, as you will have to resubmit the thesis to the plagiarism server if you listed wrong persons on the cover page. Simply send the cover page to Ernst Castellitz (Pharmacy and Nutritional Sciences) or to Gerald Heissig (Sport Science) by e-mail.

SPECIAL CHARACTERS in your name: If your name contains any special characters (e.g. Ć Ø Š Œ Ň Ő Ů Ł Ñ, etc.) that cannot be displayed on your student record sheet, please inform us when submitting your record of examinations or when submitting your thesis. Please provide proof by submitting a copy of your passport and a printout on which your name is spelled correctly. This is the only way to ensure that the degree certificates and final documents are issued correctly.

Formal structure of cumulative dissertations (theses by publication)

  • All sections – irrespective of the printing format of the original publication – must be copied onto DIN A4 format sheets. Consecutive numbering of all sheets, including publications, is mandatory.
  • For details on the table of contents, preamble, synopsis of publications/manuscripts, concluding discussion and abstract for the thesis by publication, please refer to the Guidelines - Use of publications in scientific theses (cumulative scientific theses) issued by the Office of the Studienpräses in October 2023.
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Plagiarism check

Preparing and creating the PDF file

  • The topic of the dissertation must be registered and approved. Otherwise, the plagiarism check cannot be carried out. Also, any optional joint supervision must have been approved if you specify it on the cover page. Before uploading your thesis to the u:space thesis server, please follow the instructions under "Formal requirements". You may also upload supplementary materials.
  • The uploaded PDF version and the hardbound thesis must be identical. Therefore, please send only the PDF file that you uploaded to u:space to the bindery. The plagiarism check must always be carried out BEFORE printing and submitting the hardbound work.
  • If you are converting your thesis to PDF format on your own, make sure that you create a file of the type PDF/A-1 or PDF/A-2 and that all fonts used are included in the document. You can find detailed information about creating PDF files in the links below.
  • If you have enclosures that cannot be converted into PDF format as well as PDF files that exceed 40 MB, the first level support of the Vienna University Library provides assistance: e-theses.ub@univie.ac.at.

Uploading your thesis

  • Log in via your u:space at https://uspace.univie.ac.at/ and enter the metadata (e.g. author, title of the thesis, degree programme code). If the hardbound copy of your thesis includes multimedia material (images, videos, software, etc.), please specify this in your abstract.
  • You may also request a thesis embargo for a period of one to no more than five years (section 86, para. 2 of the 2002 Universities Act). The application (SL/W3 form 'Blockage of thesis') must be submitted to the SSC together with the other submission documents (see step: Submitting the thesis).
  • After entering the metadata, upload the doctoral thesis in PDF format.
  • However, you can also restrict online availability. This can be done indefinitely without a thesis embargo and without giving reasons. However, your thesis may still be borrowed from libraries if you do not request a thesis embargo. For further information, please see the information sheet at the bottom of this page.
  • Confirmation of the upload: After uploading the dissertation, you will see a confirmation including the metadata as well as a confirmation of the successful upload, which you will also receive via e-mail. Please save this confirmation, sign it on page 3 and send it to the SSC together with the remaining submission documents (see step: Submitting the thesis).
  • You will be notified by e-mail when your dissertation has passed the plagiarism check.

Please note

  • If you have uploaded your thesis by mistake, you can only withdraw it AFTER the plagiarism check has found it to be acceptable.
  • Once you have uploaded your thesis, you cannot correct typing or formatting errors neither in the uploaded version nor in the hardbound version (exception: changes to incorrect cover pages).
  • If you have any questions or problems during the upload, please contact the first level support of the Vienna University Library at e-theses.ub@univie.ac.at.
  • In case of jointly written theses according to the part of the University of Vienna’s Statutes governing university studies (section 15, para. 6), each author has to upload the thesis.
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Submitting the thesis

Hardbound copy

  • The hardbound copy of your thesis must be identical in content to the uploaded electronic version.
  • You must submit at least 3 hardbound copies of your dissertation to the SSC to be delivered to the libraries. If the reviewers assigned to you accept PDF files, you may send the PDF version of your thesis to them following the plagiarism check. If the reviewers do not accept PDF files, you must submit 2 additional hardbound copies (i.e. 5 in total). We will send the assessment forms (together with the hardbound copy, if applicable) to the reviewers if the plagiarism check has been successful.

Supporting documents

Before submitting your dissertation, please e-mail the following documents either to the  SSC Life Sciences (doctoral programmes in Pharmacy and Nutritional Sciences) or to the SSC Sport Science (PhD programme in Sport Science):

  • Copy of the notice of admission to the doctoral programme (only for non-consecutive admission)
  • Completed record of examinations/Prüfungspass (on page 3, enter the ECTS credits to be used according to the doctoral thesis agreement in the ECTS extent of your curriculum; on page 2, enter only the requirements according to the notice of admission, if available)
  • Signed confirmation of the upload to the plagiarism thesis server
  • Curriculum vitae
  • Optional: form SL/W3 'Blockage of the thesis': You must submit the embargo request together with the thesis, specifying a plausible and detailed reason (e.g. patenting, use of sensitive data). Requests submitted at a later date cannot be considered. You will be informed by e-mail whether and for how long your request has been approved; if your request is rejected, you will receive an official notice.

Special characters in your name

If your name contains any special characters (e.g. Ć Ø Š Œ Ň Ő Ů Ł Ñ, etc.) that cannot be displayed on your student record sheet, please inform us when submitting your record of examinations or when submitting your thesis. Please provide proof by submitting a copy of your passport and a printout on which the name is spelled correctly. This is the only way to ensure that the degree certificates and final documents are issued correctly.

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 Contacts

Doctoral programmes in Pharmacy and Nutritional Sciences

Postal address

StudiesServiceCenter Life Sciences
Universität Wien
UBB, University of Vienna Biology Building
Djerassiplatz 1
1030 Wien

Contact details

Mr. Ernst Castellitz
Tel: +43-1-4277-50100
E-mail

PhD programme in Sport Science

Postal address

Studienservicecenter Institut für Sport- und Bewegungswissenschaft
Universität Wien
Auf der Schmelz 6
1150 Wien

Contact details

Mr. Gerald Heissig
Tel: +43-1-4277-59302
E-mail

IMPORTANT: (i) For data protection reasons, all e-mail enquiries must be sent from your u:account email address. (ii) Enquiries from former students sent from private e-mail accounts will not be answered unless a scanned official photo ID is attached.

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 Guidelines