Things to know about the doctoral programs

Please note theAdmission requirements for the doctoral programat the DS Educational Science with a specialization in Adult and Continuing Education or Inclusive Education or Social Pedagogy or Elementary Education or Pedagogy.

The following applies to the interdisciplinary doctoral program:

Step 1
First of all, a research topic and a supervisor are required to apply for admission to the doctoral program. Supervision can only be provided by habilitated members of the doctoral school. In consultation with the supervisor, the application for admission to the doctoral program and admission to the doctoral school must be recorded in writing and, in addition to the student's and supervisor's details, must also include the study program to be applied for (selection of the curriculum), a working title and a brief description (as an enclosure) of the research objective or research question and the supervision agreement.

Furthermore, a second supervisor must be chosen and optionally a mentor. These can be persons with a teaching authorization (habilitation) at a university or research institution if they are habilitated in the field or sub-field to which the dissertation is to be assigned. The mentor's task is to support the doctoral candidate and the supervisor with regard to adequate training and effective supervision and to monitor the progress of the dissertation project.

Please also note the information on the admission process for the interdisciplinary doctoral program linked here!

Step 2:
The second step is to apply for the doctoral program using the application tool of the University of Graz.
The following documents are mandatory for this online application:

• Application for admission to the doctoral program and admission to the doctoral school
• Current photo/photo (according to the criteria for passport photos)
• Photo ID (passport or identity card)
• e-card
• Proof of completed studies
• List of courses attended during the preliminary studies
• Application for admission to the degree program
• exposé
• curriculum vitae
• Letter of motivation

The following applies to the humanities doctoral program:

1st step:
Preliminary agreement with a supervisor about the supervision of the dissertation (personal interview) and the dissertation topic must be completed. Supervisors can only be habilitated members of the respective doctoral school. This preliminary agreement is intended to simplify the further process of admission to the program and registration at the doctoral school.

In addition to the data of the student and the supervisor, the program to be applied for (selection of the curriculum), a working title and a brief description (as an attachment) of the research objective or research question must also be provided. This form must be submitted to the relevant head of department and head of the doctoral school for approval and then sent by email to urbi.doktorat(at)uni-graz.at. The Dean's Office will then approve the application by the responsible Dean of Studies.

Step 2:
Admission to the doctoral program is granted by the Study and Examination Office. For admission, you will need proof of completion of a relevant master's or diploma program (diploma examination or master's certificate, sponsorship notification) as well as a copy of the completed and signed form"Preliminary Agreement and Registration for Doctoral Studies". You will automatically receive this copy after approval by the responsible Dean of Studies to the e-mail address you provided on the form.

Writing an exposé. The exposé (description of the dissertation project) must contain the following points:

• the objectives and research questions,
• a detailed discussion of the literature on the current state of research,
• the research methods,
• the scientific added value and the project implications,
• a timetable (the duration of the doctoral studies is at least 6 semesters) and
• a comprehensive bibliography.

The exposé must convincingly demonstrate the meaningfulness and feasibility of the dissertation project.

Conclude a supervision agreement with the supervisor and select a mentor. In any case, only a person with a teaching qualification (habilitation) who belongs to the respective doctoral school may be considered as supervisor of the dissertation. As a rule, the mentor must also be chosen from among the members of the doctoral school. If necessary, other persons with a teaching authorization (habilitation) at a university or research institution can also be applied for as mentors if they are habilitated in the field or sub-field to which the dissertation is to be assigned. The mentor's task is to support the doctoral candidate and the supervisor with regard to adequate training and effective supervision and to monitor the progress of the dissertation project. The form "Supervision Agreementfor Dissertations" for the humanities doctoral program must be completed in full, signed and then submitted to the Dean's Office of the URBI Faculty (Examinations Office, Merangasse 18) together with the exposé.

Form: Supervision agreement for dissertations for the humanities doctoral program

Based on the documents submitted, admission to the doctoral school is now granted by the Dean of Studies.

Determine the compulsory and elective subjects and select the courses: Use the "Protocol sheet for doctoral studies" to determine the name of your dissertation subject and elective subject after consultation with your dissertation supervisor. You should also enter the planned courses in this form to ensure in advance that these courses are suitable for the compulsory subject, the elective subject and, if applicable, for the interdisciplinary methods subject. Please note that these must be courses that are offered specifically for the doctoral program. In any case, courses that are also assigned to a Bachelor's degree program are excluded. The decision on the admissibility of the elective subject or courses is the responsibility of the relevant Dean of Studies.

The following subjects can be chosen as compulsory and/or elective subjects in the doctoral program at the Doctoral School of Education:

• General pedagogy
• Adult and continuing education
• Social pedagogy
• Elementary education
• Inclusive pedagogy

If you are considering using various academic achievements (conference contributions, workshop participation, etc.) instead of courses in the elective subject, please contact the URBI Examination Office (Merangasse 18) to discuss the exact procedure.

Guidelines of the Doctoral School for the recognition of academic achievements

Form: Record sheet for the doctoral program in the humanities

Is the title of my dissertation still up to date: Please notify us immediately of any changes to the title of your dissertation using the"Change of dissertation title" form. Please note the processing time in the examination office. Changes to the title must be notified in good time (at least 2 weeks) before submission of the dissertation. An independent change or a change by the supervisor in UGO is not permitted!

Form: Changing the title of the dissertation

Please note: The entire dissertation, especially the title page, must meet the requirements of the "ÖNORM - Recommendation for the external design of university theses". The Dean's Office provides sample title pages on its website. These templates can be used and, of course, adapted to the dissertation in terms of formatting and font/font size. The use of logos on the title page is not permitted. For data protection reasons, no declaration of honor may be attached to the thesis!

Cumulative dissertation: In the interdisciplinary doctoral program, you can submit a cumulative dissertation for review. However, such a dissertation must fulfill certain formal criteria in order to be approved for review by the Dean of Studies. These are

• the "Guidelines of the Director of Studies regarding the writing of cumulative dissertations, if these are provided for in the curricula"
• formal requirements in the curriculum (§ 7 para. 2) or the"Guidelines of the Doctoral School of Education for cumulative dissertations"
• In the case of publications with several authors, you must describe your specific achievements for the respective publications as precisely as possible in the dissertation so that a separate assessment of your achievements is possible.
• If the publications have not yet been published, please provide evidence of the status of the respective publications (e.g. acceptance letter or screenshot of the online submission system).

Download: ÖNORM - Recommendation for the external design of university theses

Download: Sample title page

Download: Guideline of the Director of Studies regarding the writing of cumulative dissertations, if these are provided for in the curricula

Download: Guidelines of the Doctoral School of Education for cumulative dissertations

Proposalof the assessors of the dissertation:
Humanities Doctoral Studies:
According to the curriculum, the supervisor of the dissertation is also an assessor. They have the right to nominate at least one other person to assess their dissertation.
Interdisciplinary doctoral studies:
At least two assessors must be appointed. At your request, three assessors can also be appointed. The primary criterion is the professional suitability of the selected persons. Ideally, at least one assessor should not come from the University of Graz.

You submit your proposal using the form "Announcement/Change of reviewers of the dissertation" at urbi.doktorat(at)uni-graz.at. Prior consultation with the responsible Dean of Studies is recommended.

Please note that the Dean of Studies is free to assign additional reviewers to the dissertation.

Electronic submission

Once your dissertation has been submitted electronically, it will undergo a formal check (title page, compliance with the guidelines of the Director of Studies and the curricular requirements for publications, ....). If there are any discrepancies, you will be contacted by a member of staff from the Dean's Office. If everything is in order, your thesis will be approved in UGO. The plagiarism check is then carried out and the thesis is forwarded to the assessors in digital form.

As soon as all reviews have been received by the Dean's Office and approved by the responsible Dean of Studies, the grade of the dissertation is entered in UGO. From this point on, you can access the reviews.

The submission of the dissertation for assessment is independent of the status of the courses to be completed and is therefore possible at any time!

If necessary, a well-founded application for temporary exclusion of use (blocking) of the diss ertation can be submitted.

Submission of the courses:

In any case, it is necessary to submit a correct record sheet to the Examinations Office in order to complete the degree program. This can be done at any time, but at the latest when the dissertation is submitted to the Examinations Office.
You can find information on the recognition of substitute coursework for academic achievementshere, amended in December 2022.

Form: Record sheet for the humanities doctoral program

Form: Record sheet for the interdisciplinary doctoral program

Registration for the final examination: The prerequisite for taking the final examination (viva voce/defensio) is the positive assessment of the dissertation and the positive completion of all examinations specified in the curriculum. Registration for the viva voce/defensio must be submitted to the Dean's Office using the"Registration for viva voce" form and must be submitted at least three weeks before the planned examination date (2 weeks notice period). If one of the above-mentioned requirements is still missing two weeks before the planned date (e.g. an expert opinion), the registration is invalid and a new date must be arranged. When scheduling your appointment, please bear in mind that the statutory review period for dissertations is four months from the complete submission of the dissertation to the Examination Office.

The place and time of the viva voce is generally to be coordinated by the student him/herself. If you require assistance in finding a room, please contact the Dean's Office. Travel expenses for external examiners cannot be covered by the faculty. However, it is possible to have a member of the examination board join you via Skype if necessary, provided that all members of the examination board agree.

Form: Registration for the viva voce