We have a clear commitment to quality in our education that also applies to the doctoral program. With this motivation, we have established a Doctoral School Procedure beyond the curriculum’s basic requirements that precisely defines the steps that need to be taken towards successful completion. Its main pillars are quality assurance, transparency, and fairness.

Overview

The doctoral program in computer science aims to provide a strong and productive setting for the doctoral students to become knowledgeable, competent, responsible, and independent researchers, able to contribute technically and scientifically at the forefront of a given subfield of computer science or business informatics.

The doctoral program is based on the official “Studienplan für das Doktoratstudium der Naturwissenschaften/Sozial- und Wirtschaftswissenschaften/Technischen Wissenschaften an der TU Wien”. The doctoral program provides opportunities and sufficient guidance for the students to work and contribute to the given field, working on relevant, non-trivial problems and issues.

It is completed with a dissertation that is independently evaluated and publicly defended to a doctoral thesis evaluation committee and public audience.

The doctoral program at the Faculty of Informatics is structured into the following phases:

Contact: Hilda Tellioglu / The necessary forms can be found here.

Procedure In Detail

The doctoral program will normally take 3-5 years, the duration is independent of funding. In addition to the dissertation, the current standardized program for doctoral students at TU Wien stipulates that a total of 180 ECTS of modules (162 ECTS of which are the dissertation) must be completed. 180 ECTS points are equivalent to three academic years. Students usually complete their degree requirements within three to five years, and are awarded their degree after they submit and successfully defend their dissertation.

Phase 1: Enrollment

First things first: To start a doctoral program, you need to be enrolled at TU Wien Informatics as a student in one of our doctoral schools. Candidates need to find a supervisor before applying for admission to the doctoral program at the admission office. Depending on the educational background of a candidate, supplementary examinations (specified by the dean of academic affairs in consultation with the supervisor) can be required for full equivalence and have to be sit during the doctoral program.

Caution: If you are not officially enrolled as a doctoral student, you will not be able to graduate and successfully complete your program!

For more details, please see our Doctoral Graduation guide.

Phase 2: Proficiency Evaluation

At the earliest half-a-year after enrolling in the doctoral program and at the latest 1.5 years after the enrollment, the proficiency evaluation starts. The purpose of the Proficiency Evaluation is to make sure the candidate has chosen a clear and appropriate path towards the dissertation, concerning research question, methodology, success criteria, publication plan, coursework etc. So while it is important to know the relevant scientific field at that point, it is not important to have many results to show already, like publications.

For details and step by step instructions, please see our Doctoral Graduation guide.

Phase 3: Pre-Submission

It is the responsibility of the doctoral candidate to decide when the thesis is ready for submission and evaluation. When the candidate submits the finished thesis at the dean’s office the submission phase starts.

For details and step by step instructions, please see our Doctoral Graduation guide.

Phase 4: Official Submission

The (possibly corrected) doctoral thesis is bound and submitted to the faculty not later than 6 months after receiving the pre-submission evaluation letter. The final grading (average of the two grades) and the self-contained final reviews are done by the two international experts. There are five grades:

• “Sehr gut (S1) – Excellent” is the best possible grade.
• “Gut (U2) – Good” is the next highest grade.
• “Befriedigend (B3) – Satisfactory” indicates average performance.
• “Genügend (G4) – Sufficient”” is the lowest passing grade.
• “Nicht genügend (N5) – Insufficient” is the lowest possible grade and the only failing grade.

The thesis and the final reviews of the international experts are accessible only to the faculty members and the international experts at the dean’s office for two weeks after the arrival of both reviews.

Phase 5: Defense

The dissertation defense is oral and open to the public. At least one of the international experts is expected to be physically present. The defense consists of a 45 minute presentation of the candidate, that should explain the context and the specific contributions. This will be followed by a question and answer session, starting with the international experts, followed by general discussions with the audience.

The defense is judged by the submission committee. There are five grades:

• “Sehr gut (S1) – Excellent” is the best possible grade.
• “Gut (U2) – Good” is the next highest grade.
• “Befriedigend (B3) – Satisfactory” indicates average performance.
• “Genügend (G4) – Sufficient” is the lowest passing grade.
• “Nicht genügend (N5) – Insufficient” is the lowest possible grade and the only failing grade. In case of “Nicht genügend – Insufficient” the decision is justified in a defense letter and sent to the student.

Notes

• Amendments of May 7, 2020 effective October 1, 2020
• Amendments of May 7, 2017 effective October 1, 2017
• Effective March 1, 2015