Cumulative Dissertation

Introduction

The guidelines for cumulative dissertations were published on the 3rd July 2013 in the Bulletin of the TU Wien. They are the result of discussions between the curricular commission for the doctoral studies and the vice rector for academic affairs with substantial contributions by the Fachschaft Doktorat.

A modification of the guidelines for cumulative dissertations were published on the 2nd July 2014 in the Bulletin of the TU Wien.

Here you can find the guidelines for cumulative dissertations (only in German). A translation of these official guidelines is available in section TU Wien Guidelines.

Your supervisor and the dean of studies have to approve on the thesis agreement if you want to produce a cumulative thesis instead of a monograph. It is highly recommended to gather some information about the customs at the department to avoid trouble when submitting the thesis. Some faculties provide additional guidelines for cumulative thesis.

Procedure

At the beginning of your studies, you should ask yourself whether you want to write a cumulative dissertation or a monograph. When doing so, the following should be kept in mind:

  • Does it make sense to produce a cumulative dissertation in my field of study or for my specific topic?
  • Can the obligatory number of publications (three, see below) be reached within the available period of time?
  • Does the supervisor and the dean of studies agree in producing a cumulative dissertation?

One doesn’t have to ultimately decide what type of thesis to create at the very beginning of the studies, but rather when it is time to write down the thesis. Furthermore, the type can be changed at any given time in a mutal agreement of student and supervisor.

TU Wien Guidelines

The following text is a summary of the current guidelines. It is hereby clarified that the only valid text is the German one, published in the above mentioned Bulletin.

§ 1 Agreement on a cumulative dissertation

Normally, a dissertation is written as a monograph. By mutual agreement between student and supervisor and after approval by the dean of studies, a cumulative dissertation may be composed.

§ 2 Composition of the thesis

At least three scientific peer-reviewed publications have to be included. If the student is a co-author, his/ her contribution to the paper must be made clear in the introductory chapter. The context of the publications used themselves as well as the relation to the field must also be presented there.

§ 3 Structure of the thesis

 (1) The cumulative dissertation consists of

  1. an introductory chapter
  2. the scientific publications

(2) The introductory chapter has to cover

  1. the investigated problem
  2. the aims
  3. the methodology
  4. a short summary of the scientific publications
  5. and the scientific contribution to the field of study.

​§ 4 Evaluation and submission

The same rules apply as for monographic theses.

§ 5 Legal validity

(1) These guidelines come into effect on 1st October 2013.
(2) § 1 as published in the Mitteilungsblatt 2014, 15. Stück, Nr. 165, comes into effect on 1st October 2014.

Faculty Guidelines

As the dean of studies has to approve in the thesis agreement when you want to write a cumulative thesis, there are additional guidelines by some faculties.

Architecture and Planning

No addtional guidelines are provided on the homepage.

Civil and Environmental Engineering

The addtional guideline can be found on the faculty homepage. In summary the guideline additionally specifies:

  • A cumulative dissertation must be reported to the Dean’s Office at the beginning using the form “Announcement of a doctoral thesis” and approved by the Dean of Studies.
  • The cumulative dissertation must contain at least three published or accepted scientific articles in internationally recognized internationally recognized scientific journals or books with scientific peer-reviewed scientific journals or books with scientific editing.
  • The introductory chapter must be at least 20 pages long, preferably 30-35 pages, and must contain the following:
    1. the problem statement,
    2. the objectives
    3. the methodology,
    4. a summary of the scientific essays,
    5. the scientific contribution of the dissertation,
    6. conclusions of the work or outlook on open research agendas.
      research agendas.
  • The reviewers must not be co-authors of the submitted publications. Furthermore In the case of co-authorship, the supervisor must only provide a statement, an additional review by the supervisor cannot be considered.

Electrical Engineering and Information Technology

According to the homepage of the faculty. Additionally the two conditions must be fulfilled:

  • At least three scientific publications according to § 2 must be accepted for publication as first authorships of the doctoral candidate in Q1 journals. Reviews are not permitted.
  • Obligation to submit a Quantified Credit Author Statement (Q-CRT): All publications submitted as part of the cumulative dissertation must be accompanied by a Quantified Credit Author Statement (Q-CRT). This must be signed by at least 3/4 of all co-authors.

Informatics

No addtional guidelines are provided on the homepage.

Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

According the the homepage, the cumulative thesis must be approved by the dean of studies when the topic is submitted.

Mathematics and Geoinformation

No additional guidelines are provided on the homepage.

Physics

The additional guideline can be found on the faculty homepage. In essence, the guideline specifies that, for interdisciplinary and and cumulative dissertations, more than two external reviews are usually required. In accordance with the decision of the faculty council, cumulative dissertations in the faculty of physics should only be carried out in justified special cases.

Technical Chemistry

Cumulative thesis are possible, according to the homepage of the faculty.