Stages of Doctoral Studies

Doctoral studies at the Academy of fine Arts Vienna are roughly structured along four milestones:

1. decision on the topic, the supervisor, and submitting the Dissertation/PhD Project Agreement
2. research and writing the dissertation
3. submission of the dissertation/PhD project
4. Defensio (thesis defense) or Rigorosum

The file (download on the right side) illustrates the stages of the doctoral studies at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna from the very beginning to graduation. Each phase is explained in greater detail below. The processes described reflect the current curricula of our doctoral/PhD studies (Dr. phil., Dr. rer. nat, PhD-in-Practice). The stages of the doctoral studies in Architecture (Dr. techn.) deviate in some points, which is, however, mentioned in the respective text passage. Please also note our FAQs, which provide you with information on many topics concerning the doctoral/Ph.D. studies.

In the Doctorate Handbook you will find all the necessary information on doctoral studies at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. In addition, the handbook offers a guide to writing an exposé as well as information on how to start a doctoral program.

Enrollment

You will need to pre-register online and enroll personally at the Registrar's Office. This is possible during fixed registration dates (usually September-October for the winter semester and February-March for the summer semester). Please find a list of the documents required under Admission to doctoral studies. Additionally, please note that for the Doctor of Technical Sciences (Architecture) program, you will have to submit a confirmation of supervision already at this stage.

For admission to the PhD-in-Practice program, you need to pass the admission procedure; please inform yourself about the process and the deadlines: PhD-in-Practice.

Applicants who have not completed their diploma or Master's studies in Austria must submit proof of the equivalence of their international degree before admission. Please contact our Registrar's Office for further information and consider that the proof for equivalence takes two months.

Specification of topic/title and supervisor(s), and writing your exposé

At the beginning of your doctoral or PhD studies, you will be required to fix the topic of your doctoral thesis and your supervisor (and second supervisor if applicable) and write an exposé.

PLEASE NOTE: Please use your official Academy e-mail address as you will receive all relevant information on your studies, on job advertisements etc. via this address, or, alternatively, arrange for having your e-mails forwarded to another address (Forwarding).

Dissertation Agreement

Within your first year of enrollment of a Dr. phil., Dr. rer. nat., and PhD-in-Practice program, you are required to prepare a Dissertation Agreement (Dr. phil., Dr.rer.nat.) or PhD Project Agreement (PhD-in-Practice) and to submit it to the Registrar's Office. This is not required for candidates in the Doctor of Technical Sciences (Architecture) program.

It is possible to request a deadline extension for the submission of the Dissertation Agreement under certain conditions. For this purpose, please consult this information sheet.

IMPORTANT: You will be notified of the authorization of your Dissertation Agreement via e-mail to your Academy email account. Therefore, please make sure that you check this account regularly, or have it forwarded to another email address of yours.

PLEASE NOTE: Once your Dissertation Agreement has been authorized, you are eligible to apply for the grants offered by the Center for Doctoral Studies.

Entry of abstract and short biography into the Academy Online system

After receiving your Dissertation Agreement, the Registrar's Office will enter the data of your doctoral thesis into the Academy Online System. You can see your thesis data in your Academy Online account one to two weeks after submitting your Dissertation Agreement. From then on, you will be able to enter and adjust all required texts (abstract, short biography, and full-text version of your thesis) yourself. Please provide your abstract in German and English; your profile (a short biography) must be either German or English.

PLEASE NOTE: Before submitting their thesis, doctoral candidates themselves may change any of their data that has been fed into our online system.

Writing the doctoral thesis

In addition to doing research, writing your doctoral or PhD thesis and passing several courses relevant to your doctoral studies, you are advised to acquire relevant skills and competencies by e.g. attending workshops etc. You will find some detailed information on workshops for doctoral candidates hosted by the Center for Doctoral Studies here. Additionally, exchanging information and networking with other PhD candidates (by attending relevant conferences, talks, etc.) have often proven very beneficial. The department Art | Research | Support and Center for Doctoral Studies regularly send out newsletters providing more information on such events; therefore, please make sure to check your Academy email account at regular intervals.

Submitting the doctoral thesis

After completing your doctoral thesis, you are required to add a title page and an abstract in both German and English as well as a profile. Please find a template for your title page here.

As soon as you have completed your doctoral thesis, you can submit it electronically. For this purpose, please log onto the Academy Online system and upload a PDF of your thesis. Please note that after submitting the PDF, you are not permitted to make any changes to your thesis! The bound copies must correspond exactly to the submitted PDF. This is why you are not allowed to correct any typos afterward.

The uploaded PDF version of your dissertation will be subjected to a plagiarsim check

The PDF version of the dissertation uploaded to AkademieOnline will be subjected to a plagiarism check. The resulting report will later be forwarded to the appraisers for evaluation. 

After uploading your thesis, you and your supervisor(s) will receive notification that your thesis can now be assessed and graded.

After uploading your thesis, you are required to submit the following documents to the Registrar's Office:

• Two bound copies of your doctoral thesis (no spiral binding!)
• Form "Declaration on Oath" (to be found here)
• Form "Admission for Approbation" (to be found here)

The Registrar‘s Office proves the formal aspects and qualifications. According to a strict order they send requests to the potential appraisers. Please note that this process might take a while.

Preparation for the Admission for Approbation of the dissertation (Dr.phil., Dr.rer.nat., Ph.D. in Practice)

Together with your supervisor(s) you have to prepare a list of three potential external appraisers, who you have to indicate within the form "Admission for Approbation" (to be found here). One of them will then be chosen to provide the second evaluation. Beforehand, please ensure that each of the external appraisers listed in the mentioned form is willing to provide such an evaluation and attend your thesis defense in Vienna or online. You also can discuss with your supervisor(s) who might be eligible as an external appraiser. Basically, such appraisers have to be professors or members of faculty of the Academy or another university who are officially qualified to supervise dissertations there (venia docendi), who are experts in the respective field of your doctoral thesis, and who have not been involved in your supervision. The Registrar's Office will prove the qualifications formally. Please find the form here. Please note that obtaining the “venia” will extend the whole process of your submission.

Please be aware that potential appraisers need to have the so-called “venia,” which is stated by law (UG). Normally, this means a habilitation and/or a professorship; lecturers from UK or Scandinavia need to prove that they have already successfully supervised Ph.D. candidates.

Appraisal and Assessment

Two appraisals are required for the assessment of your thesis: an appraisal by your supervisor (should you have two supervisors, they will submit a joint appraisal) plus an appraisal by an external appraiser who has not been involved in the supervision of your thesis.

In the Doctor of Technical Sciences (Architecture) program, the second appraiser is the second supervisor.

The supervisor and the external/second appraiser will receive the thesis paper from the Registrar's Office as a PDF. With it, they will also receive the report of the plagiarism check. Please note that the appraisers have a maximum of four months to assess and evaluate. To ensure that you can keep your preferred Defensio or Rigorosum date, you should submit your thesis at least six months before the scheduled day.

The final grade of the thesis is the mean value of the two grades given by the respective appraisers/supervisors.

You will be notified via email as soon as both appraisals have been submitted to the Registrar's Office. You can register for your Thesis Defense or your Rigorosum during the next registration dates.

Registration for the Defensio / Rigorosum

The Defensio (Dr.phil., Dr.rer.nat., PhD-in-Practice)  is an oral and public presentation and defense of your thesis before an examination panel (“Prüfungssenat”).

The Rigorosum (Dr.techn.) is a comprehensive oral examination on the sub-area of the scientific subject to which the dissertation topic is assigned, as well as on a further sub-area which is meaningfully related to this subject. It is a public event.

You are allowed to register for the Defensio or Rigorosum as soon as you have

1. successfully completed all the courses required by the curriculum and
2. both appraisals have been submitted, with a positive final grade for your thesis.

After submitting both appraisals, the Registrar’s Office informs your supervisor to nominate an examination panel and save the date for your Defensio or Rigorosum. The examination board must be approved by the committee (Curricularkommission). Please fill in the form to apply for admission to your Defensio or Rigorosum (to be found here) and submit it to the Registrar's Office.

Before submitting these two forms, please clarify the desired date of your Defensio or Rigorosum with all examination panel members. The best way to do this is to first contact the relevant institute manager.

Announcement of your Defensio or Rigorosum

The examination panel and date of your Defensio or Rigorosum must be approved by the Vice-Rector for Art | Teaching.

The Defensio or Rigorosum must be held in public according to the law and therefore announced in advance. The Center for Doctoral Studies will announce it on the Academy's website, in the Academy's newsletter, and in case of the PhD-in-Practice via SAR Announcement.

For the announcement, please send the following documents/information in German and English to the Center for Doctoral Studies (doktoratszentrum@akbild.ac.at):

• title of your dissertation thesis or PhD project
• abstract of your dissertation thesis or PhD project
• short biography
• optional: 1 image, incl. copyright information and description of the image

Graduation

After successfully delivering your Defensio or Rigorosum, you have completed your doctoral studies. Congratulations! As soon as your final certificate is ready, you will receive an email from the Registrar's Office (please read this email carefully as you will have to obtain some statistics and a confirmation from the library). Then you can pick up your certificate. Please also notify the Registrar's Office if you wish to participate in the degree award ceremony at the end of June.