dissertation

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A dissertation (short Diss. ), PhD , rare doctoral thesis , dissertation or doctoral writing , also officially Inauguraldissertation , inaugural or introduction dissertation is a scientific work to obtain a doctoral degree in a scientific university with doctoral degrees. For promotion in addition to publishing the dissertation (is Hochschulschrift ) either an oral examination ( viva voce ) or an oral defense of the dissertation ( disputation ) is necessary.

overview

The word "dissertation" comes from the Latin word dissertatio , which means "argument", "discussion" or "detailed discussion". Originally, the dissertatio was a kind of thesis paper that was supposed to supplement and prepare the core performance of the doctorate, the disputatio . Over the centuries, the weighting of the dissertation and the oral procedure was reversed. The volume of the initially very short dissertations grew to several hundred or more pages.

The dissertation is the most complex and most important part of the doctoral procedure , which includes an oral examination called Rigorosum , Defensio or Disputation . Depending on the country and faculty, a further part of the performance can be a doctoral program lasting several semesters. The process of the doctoral procedure differs from university to university and within a university there may be differences between the individual faculties. There are no generally applicable rules for the course of the doctoral procedure, even if a trend towards standardization can be observed in the course of the Bologna process .

Only when a candidate has fulfilled all the requirements of the doctoral procedure is it completed and the doctoral degree is awarded by the faculty . The actual doctoral procedure on the technical side is completed with the positive assessment of the written and oral performance, which is documented with a corresponding certificate .

In Germany, a doctoral degree can often only be used after the dissertation has been published. Notwithstanding this, some examination regulations allow a “Dr. des. ”( Doctor designatus ) after a successful oral examination. Prior to the introduction of the Bologna regulations, a doctoral degree acquired abroad had to be nostrified . This meant that the title was only allowed to be used in Germany after the relevant state ministry of education had determined that it was equivalent.

In contrast to an exam , master's degree or diploma thesis , which is created under the guidance of university lecturers and is usually only intended to reflect the current state of research, a dissertation is an independent scientific work that should generally contain a research-based increase in knowledge. It is usually created at an institute under the supervision of a professor or private lecturer , who is traditionally called a “ doctoral supervisor ” (or “doctoral mother” in the case of professors), mentor or supervisor . According to most of the German and Austrian doctoral regulations, a second supervisor must be appointed from the start; this can also be a member of another university. Normally, the supervisors have to be qualified as a professor , at some universities junior professors are also allowed to supervise doctorates. The dissertation can also be written outside of the university, i.e. without being employed or enrolled at a university, and submitted "externally" to it.

Content and form of dissertations

Depending on the subject, a dissertation deals theoretically, hermeneutically or historically with a subject or it describes and interprets empirically or experimentally gained knowledge. German and English are equally permitted as languages ​​in many German doctoral regulations; other languages ​​are possible depending on the subject. Especially if the work was done as part of an international cooperation project, English is often mandatory these days, especially in the natural sciences.

A dissertation should prove that the candidate knows how to work independently and scientifically. As a rule, it should contain new knowledge about the selected subject and be methodologically sound. A dissertation is therefore a full-fledged research work. Knowledge of the relevant research literature and the usual way of working in the subject area, drawing verifiable conclusions and embedding one's own work in the scientific context are also important for demonstrating the ability to carry out independent academic work. There are usually no regulations on the amount of text in a dissertation. The volume varies greatly depending on the area and is between 200 and 500 pages for monographs in the humanities subjects , while in the natural sciences it is only around 30 to 150 pages.

German medical dissertations are a special case : depending on the type of work (clinical / experimental, prospective / retrospective), the amount of work and time required varies greatly. While some papers are comparable to those in other science subjects, there are also many dissertations that are completed within a year. For this reason, there is a debate about standardizing doctoral requirements.

Certain forms are customary or prescribed in the doctoral regulations of the faculty or department for structuring, quoting other work and formal proof of independence . Fraud (e.g. through the involvement of a ghostwriter ), proven plagiarism or the transfer of extracts from third-party texts without citing the source can also subsequently lead to the revocation of the doctorate and possibly to criminal consequences.

Depending on the doctoral regulations, three to five copies of the thesis must be submitted in bound form and usually together with the PDF file on CD-ROM to the relevant dean's office . Today, the work must often be submitted as a file, because plagiarism affairs have led many faculties to an examination of the work with the corresponding software.

In the phase after the disputation, the work is prepared for publication , whereby, depending on the doctoral regulations, up to six specimen copies must be submitted in printed form at your own expense (double-sided printing is then common). If the university has an online publication point, the specimen copies must be submitted there together with the upload of the PDF document to the relevant publication server. In some doctoral regulations, publications in microform (e.g. microfiche ) are also permitted as a possibility, which has become largely uncommon today.

Some faculties or subject areas also offer doctoral candidates the option of publishing their dissertations as part of a series and sending them in an academic exchange, for example the DGK Series C of the German Geosciences.

In many subjects, however, it is still considered to be much more prestigious if the dissertation is published as a monograph by an established specialist publisher. The problem of financing usually arises here, as the publisher usually demands a subsidy for printing costs , and additional costs, for example for the acquisition of image rights , can also be added depending on the type of work. Only a few particularly well-known, peer-reviewed publication series do not require printing subsidies.

The delivery variants have been harmonized by the Standing Conference . In the current version of these basic features for the publication of dissertations, which has been valid in this version since 1997, the possibility of electronic dissertations is already explicitly mentioned. This decision should now have been implemented throughout Germany in the doctoral regulations of the individual faculties and universities.

Cumulative dissertation

In the natural sciences in particular, cumulative dissertations (including collective dissertations ) are increasingly permitted as doctoral theses , in contrast to a monograph that used to be common . In other countries they have been used for a long time. Instead of the monograph, the doctoral student submits a number of related publications in specialist journals; three articles are usually required, although depending on the faculty, they do not necessarily all have to be published by the time they are submitted. Since the content of cumulative dissertations is also checked for scientific quality in an independent process, for example in the peer review process of recognized specialist journals, the research results also receive a larger audience compared to many scientific monographs that were previously available in only a few libraries as long as they were have not been published separately as a book by a publisher. The quality standards of these publications thus correspond to internationally valid conventions. On the other hand, the time required is more difficult to determine than with monographs. Apart from the form of publication, the essence of the cumulative dissertation hardly differs from a conventional monograph-based dissertation.

PhD student

A graduate student , doctoral graduate (in Austria common name) or doctoral student is a student who is the academic degree of Doctor seeks. Mostly this happens after the diploma , master's or magisterial degree or the state examination . Doctoral students who are not employed as academic staff at a university can, for example, apply for a scholarship from a gifted support organization or a thematically appropriate graduate college to finance their work, or they can be financed by an employer other than the university for the period of their doctorate (so-called " external doctorate "). It also happens that during a doctorate the livelihood is wholly or partially from savings or grants, e.g. B. is financed by parents.

requirements

With a few exceptions, the prerequisite for a doctorate and thus for the preparation of a dissertation is a university degree (diploma, master's degree, master's degree or state examination). The so-called undergraduate doctorate, in which the course was completed directly with a doctorate, was possible in some fields in the past, but has now largely been abolished. The doctoral regulations of the department concerned with the research area at the respective university regulate further details . In principle, a research project in a country other than the studying is art possible. However, there are doctoral regulations that provide for a degree in the same subject area or a minimum grade for admission as a doctoral candidate.

As a rule, after completing their studies, interested parties apply to the Dean's Office for admission as a doctoral candidate and state their research topic. If he has already found a potential supervisor for the desired research topic in advance or has defined a topic together with a potential supervisor, he can suggest this in his application. Otherwise, the dean's office can usually help to find a supervisor who is familiar with the topic. But an unsupervised doctorate is also possible.

In some subject areas it is common for doctoral theses to be published in specialist journals or research databases with the name of the person in charge and the supervisor. This avoids the duplication of topics, but also opens up the possibility of professional exchange; In some cases, completed or abandoned work is also displayed in this way.

Preparation of the work

Dissertation by Fred Uhlman , 1925

Timeframe

The time available between choosing a topic and submitting the work has been and is handled differently by the various subject areas . While dissertations were often completed within a year in the first half of the 20th century, the period lengthened to around two to five years in the second half.

As a rule, the faculties do not set fixed periods of time, as the duration of the doctorate can be extended, for example, due to unexpected research results, necessary trips, etc., personal circumstances of the doctoral candidate can also play a role here (raising children, caring for relatives or simultaneous employment, etc.) . The provisions of the respective doctoral degree regulations apply, in which it is determined whether deviations are possible and, if so, under what conditions.

For example, according to Section 6, Paragraph 2 of the doctoral regulations of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Hamburg in the version dated July 7, 2010: “As a rule, the dissertation should be submitted after three years and the process should be completed after four years (standard processing time). "

According to Section 4, Paragraph 6 of the doctoral regulations of the Medical Faculty of the Eberhard Karls University Tübingen in the version of August 10, 2009: “Acceptance as a doctoral candidate is granted for three years. An extension of this deadline can be requested by the doctoral student and supervisor with justification. "

The regulations for obtaining the academic degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Dr. phil.) At the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main in the version dated June 26, 2001, valid for the fields of social sciences, educational sciences, psychology and sports sciences, evangelical theology , Catholic theology, philosophy and history, linguistics and cultural studies, modern philologies and geosciences / geography, stipulated in Section 4, Paragraph 3, Clause 3: “The topic of the dissertation should be such that it is expected to lead to a doctorate in two to three years can lead."

The following applies to foreign students: A residence permit for a doctorate in Germany is granted for a maximum of five years. The legal basis includes Section 20 (6) No. 4 of the Residence Act .

If the period of the doctorate can in principle be handled flexibly, it should be noted that doctoral positions, graduate colleges etc. are usually limited in time; If a corresponding position expires before completing the doctorate, continuation can be made more difficult by lack of income or terminated access to research facilities (e.g. laboratories).

PhD positions

In the natural sciences in particular (partly also in medicine and the humanities), due to the scope of the topics, the work on the dissertation can be carried out within a limited period of 3 to 4 years as part of a paid doctoral position. Because of the extensive research required and the size of the dissertation, it can take five years or more to complete, which is taken into account in the extension of the deadlines.

In most cases, such doctoral students are involved in the research, and often also in the teaching, of a university institute . In this case, the university pays remuneration group 13 on the basis of the TV-L. Often only "half" positions (usually 65%) are allocated, and full positions in subjects such as computer science and engineering are often full. Even colleges or technical research institutes are eligible, while purely external dissertations in many non-arts subjects are rare. PhD positions are financed from budget funds (permanent positions), from project funds ( third-party funds ) or through a grant .

PhD studies

For some years now, some universities in the German- speaking area have prescribed special doctoral studies of two to four semesters for some subjects . Abroad, these doctoral programs with so-called scientific research doctorates and the Ph.D. common.

Start of the dissertation while studying medicine

In all subjects, a university degree with at least a grade of “good” is the prerequisite for starting a dissertation. In the case of human medicine , the doctoral regulations usually allow them to begin with a dissertation during their studies; a minimum grade for graduation cannot be required. In this way, the degree “ Dr. med. “Can be reached at the end of your studies. The scope of the workload for medical dissertations ranges from a few weeks to several years. Medical dissertations are therefore difficult to compare and do not always represent a full scientific achievement: the shortest dissertation in medicine in Germany was accepted at the University of Münster in 2014 . For this reason, the German “Dr. med. ”is not recognized today in the Anglo-Saxon region as a research doctorate , but rather equated with a master's thesis like a professional doctorate , unless an independent academic achievement can be proven in a specific case. The German Science Council has taken a similar position since 2009.

Self-reliance

The dissertation must often contain an affidavit stating that it is based on independent work. It does happen, however, that the service is provided in full or in part by a " ghostwriter " in return for a fee . In addition to the rejection of the work or the subsequent revocation of the academic degree, civil or criminal consequences are also possible if such an approach becomes known.

PhD procedure

For the form of the dissertation, the doctoral committees usually issue guidelines in order to establish the framework for a neat and uniform appearance.

The finished dissertation is submitted to the relevant faculty , which initiates the doctoral procedure and appoints a doctoral committee. The formal procedure of the procedure is laid down in the doctoral regulations of the faculty.

The committee checks the formal criteria and decides on acceptance or rejection. When approved, two are university professors or habilitated university teachers for a written appraisal requested the dissertation. If the two reports differ significantly in their assessment, a third report can be requested. Some faculties require a third assessment even if the first two suggested the grade summa cum laude. Assessments and dissertations can then be viewed for a certain period of time (usually two weeks) in the faculty administration "open to the faculty" and possible objections can be registered.

If the dissertation (the written performance component of the doctoral procedure) is assessed positively, the oral performance component follows - the Rigorosum ("strict examination" in the doctoral subject) or the disputation , which is also called defensio (public defense of the thesis).

The Rigorosum is an oral examination and extends to related subject areas , which are usually covered by two minor examinations . The examiners are three to five university professors or lecturers , including the reviewers of the dissertation, only one of whom must belong to the faculty or university to which it was submitted.

The disputation consists of a (university) public lecture (usually 20 to 30 minutes) and a subsequent one-hour discussion / questioning (= actual defense). Today, the lecture is usually given on the topic of the dissertation, but there are also faculties (e.g. the philosophical faculties in Tübingen and Kiel ) where the candidate has to present a topic that is not related to the dissertation.

Because the type of doctoral procedure varies greatly from subject to subject and from one university to another, a direct comparison is hardly possible, but only indirectly via the reputation of the university or the mentor.

After successfully completing the procedure, the dissertation must be published . This can be done by a publisher, in a specialist journal, self-published, as a microfilm or, more recently, digitally ( online publication ) - see below. As a rule, the published text should correspond to the submitted and appraised version, but sometimes the reviewers recommend a (partial) revision or abridgment. Depending on how much time has passed before publication, however, a revision or addition may be useful with regard to newer research literature in the relevant subject area that has appeared in the meantime. Some doctoral regulations also require the supervisor or reviewer to explicitly approve the publication, especially if the published version deviates significantly from the submitted version.

Only with the publication of the dissertation are all performance components of the doctoral procedure completed. The doctoral degree is awarded and may be used by the candidate after the certificate has been issued. The doctoral degree proves the ability for independent scientific work. The award of doctoral degrees and other academic degrees is the primary right of the faculties .

Assessment levels of a dissertation

For the doctorate in Germany (example here: grading scale of the LMU Munich) and Switzerland, depending on the doctoral regulations for the respective doctoral degree of a university, the following assessment levels apply:

Germany Switzerland
summa cum laude "with the highest praise, with distinction, excellent"; D-grading scale: 0.5 to 0.7 opus eximium "outstanding work" summa cum laude “excellent”, Swiss grading scale: 6; or insigni cum laude “very good”, Swiss grading scale: 5.5
magna cum laude “with great praise, very good”; D-grading scale: 0.7–1.5 opus valde laudabile "very commendable work" magna cum laude “good”, Swiss grading scale: 5
cum laude “with praise, good”; D-grading scale: 1.5-2.5 opus laudabile "praiseworthy work" cum laude “satisfactory”, Swiss grading scale: 4.5
rite “regular, satisfactory, sufficient”; D-grading scale: 2.5-3.3 opus idoneum "suitable work" rite "sufficient", Swiss grading scale: 4
insufficienter, non sufficit, non rite “insufficient” or sub omni canone “below any standard”; D-grading scale:> 3 insufficienter, non rite "insufficient" "Unsatisfactory", Swiss grading scale: <4

The assessment levels can all be designated in German and supplemented with “passed”. In some cases, the translations of the Latin names of the notes into Arabic number systems vary greatly from university to university. For example, a “cum laude” only gives a grade of 1.6 and a “rite” a grade of 2.2. Some doctoral regulations provide for intermediate grades, such as satis bene between cum laude and rite . Others completely dispense with a translation into Arabic notes. Still other universities do not use Latin names for grades. Many publishers only accept works that have been rated at least magna cum laude . In Austria, dissertations are graded according to the normal grading system from 1 (very good) to 5 (insufficient) without intermediate grades.

There are also doctoral regulations that do not contain any assessment levels. For example, according to §17 of the doctoral degree regulations of the Technical University of Munich, dissertations are to be assessed as “passed with success” or “failed”. A “passed with distinction” ( summa cum laude ) can only be awarded for the overall performance if the assessment of the dissertation and the oral examination is consistently consistent .

When implementing academic degrees obtained in the Netherlands, it should be borne in mind that most Dutch universities and colleges only have one award level, cum laude . Equating the Dutch cum laude with the German rating would therefore not be correct. This also applies to Spain.

Publication of the dissertation

In some countries, especially in Germany (but not in the Anglo-Saxon region and not in Austria), the publication of the dissertation is an integral part of the procedure. This is to ensure that the work is permanently accessible and that the knowledge gained through it can be generally received. In connection with various cases of plagiarism , it has also been shown that the obligation to publish also enables the author's working method and the requirements of the respective supervisors to be publicly checked.

The details are regulated by the individual doctoral regulations. Among other things, the doctoral student must provide the university with a certain number of deposit copies . The doctoral students can rarely earn money from their dissertation, as the topics deal mainly with niche topics and the publications are therefore mainly purchased from libraries. The editions are usually small: more than a hundred copies are rarely sold, and more than 300 to 400 are rarely printed. However, the institute or the university library occasionally takes over the dispatch of a larger number as part of the usual scientific exchange of documents if the topic corresponds to the focus of its research . Most doctoral regulations stipulate a certain period (often two years after the oral examination) within which the dissertation should be published; an extension of this period is sometimes possible on request.

The publication can be done:

  1. at a publisher : There are publishers specializing in dissertations and specialist publishers .
  2. Self-published printing .
  3. as a microform .
  4. as an electronic publication .

The publication is verified by submitting a prescribed number of printed copies to the faculty or the university library , which generally forwards one copy to the German National Library or the Austrian National Library .

To 1: Especially in the humanities, the inclusion of the work in a regular publishing program , preferably in a series of publications , is considered particularly honorable. Often the publisher has to be paid a subsidy - usually around 2,000 euros , but sometimes significantly more - which means a considerable cost factor in the “total bill” for the effort of becoming a doctor. However, there is the possibility of applying for special printing grants. As a rule, however, the top grade is required for this; some institutions that award such scholarships are also thematically oriented and therefore only support certain dissertation topics or specialist areas. Doctoral students from some faculties, such as political science , are now also using digital service providers or self-publishing platforms for their dissertations because of the high cost of the grant .

Regarding 2: Some institutes have their own series of publications for the publication of dissertations (e.g. " Series of publications by the Institute for ..."). However, inclusion of the work in such a series does not always mean that a printing allowance is also accepted.

To 3: Publication as microfilm or microfiche has become unusual today, as these media have largely been replaced by electronic forms of publication. However, some older doctoral regulations still provide for this type of publication as a possibility.

Re 4: More and more universities are also recognizing digital online publications . They should usually be available as PDF files. As a rule, however, these documents must be issued by a specific institution, e.g. B. the respective university library or a platform maintained by the faculty (see above). This is to ensure that they are not removed again after a short time, but are permanently accessible and unchanged. Therefore, for example, the (exclusive) publication on a private homepage of the author is usually not recognized. An online publication usually excludes publication in a classic, renowned specialist publisher, since such publishers generally do not accept work that has already been published on the internet. Conversely, the author usually completely assigns the rights to his text to the publisher and is then no longer authorized to publish the work on the Internet (or elsewhere).

All four forms have their advantages and disadvantages. The main factors are:

  • Costs: Electronic publication, which is often taken over by the university, is the cheapest. This is followed by self-publishing, then publication by a specialist publisher (this can also incur considerable costs for the author).
  • Availability: For the reader today it is most gratifying when the book is available free of charge on the Internet. How long the publication actually appeared on the Internet was often questionable in the past, but now most doctoral regulations require online publication that is permanently secured. Nevertheless, publication in book form still has its advantages, as the advertising of renowned publishers promotes awareness of the work. In addition, in the humanities disciplines, it is very desirable that published work be received by the professional world - for example through reviews . However, reviews are almost exclusively devoted to printed books.
  • Prestige: A publication by a renowned specialist publisher promises the most prestige . In quite a few subjects it is almost a prerequisite for a further university career today. This is followed by the various forms of self-publishing, book-on-demand and online publication at a considerable distance .
  • Time: Online publication is the fastest way of publication; when published in a traditional publishing house, a year or more may elapse from submission, mainly through the acquisition of printing subsidies (but to a lesser extent also for editing, image editing, typesetting, etc.) from the dissertation to the finished book. Since the doctoral degree can usually only be used after publication, this period (e.g. when planning a professional career) must be taken into account as part of the doctoral phase.

In the past, dissertations were sometimes only published in part ("partial print"). This was common in Germany, especially in the economically difficult period after the two world wars, but it did require the approval of the faculty. Publication as an article in a scientific journal was also common, but is now mostly ruled out due to the size of today's dissertations.

In some doctoral regulations it is stipulated that the published work must be provided with the express reference that it is a dissertation from the university concerned; The names of the supervisors and the date of the oral examination must sometimes also be given. Where this provision is missing, the printed book is sometimes only recognizable as a dissertation if you read it carefully.

Withdrawal or return of the doctoral degree obtained through the dissertation

Deprivation

In the event of deceptions about the doctoral achievements such as subsequently proven plagiarism within the text of the dissertation, the doctoral degree obtained through the doctorate can be withdrawn. The extent of the written-off positions and the question of whether the work would still exist as an independent scientific work without the plagiarism are fundamentally irrelevant.

return

Well-known legal scholars disagree on whether someone can do without his doctorate or whether only the responsible university can decide on it. The prevailing opinion is represented by the emeritus law professor Hartmut Maurer (University of Konstanz) in the Handbuch des Wissenschaftsrechts : The doctoral degree represents a personal right "which can be waived as long as public interests do not conflict".

This is a general principle of administrative law , says university lawyer Hans-Wolfgang Waldeyer (Münster).

In principle, neither see any public interest that would rule out the waiver from a legal point of view. You are thus negating the question of whether a holder of a doctoral degree generally enjoys a higher trust, which is therefore worthy of protection, and which no one - including himself - is allowed to break with impunity.

The legal scholar Werner Thieme writes on the other hand: By renouncing the attacked doctor tries to avoid the withdrawal of the doctoral degree and "thereby also the accusation of plagiarism , of deception ". Since the academic degree had been awarded by a public examination authority, it could not be brought "to expire" by a unilateral private declaration and make the formal revocation superfluous.

The same controversy was already waged in the professional world in 1988, when the Schleswig-Holstein member of the state parliament and lawyer Trutz Graf Kerssenbrock returned his doctorate because of alleged procedural defects in the doctorate. He has now been rehabilitated. Since then, universities have tended, in cases of deception, to 'let the grass grow over the matter' by doing without.

Court decisions

The Frankfurt Administrative Court ruled that in a doctoral thesis every line of thought and every footnote that did not originate from one's own intellectual achievement but from the work of someone else should be identified as such. As far as complete passages from the work of another author are not marked in a dissertation, the independence of the scientific achievement is misled, stated the administrative court of Baden-Württemberg. The VG Berlin also revoked the doctoral degree in one case after it became clear that only 95 of a total of 294 pages of the dissertation were not affected by the plagiarism allegation and that there were also very obvious matches with passages that were taken almost verbatim in some cases.

In Bavaria , 2006 was assessed as follows: A doctoral student at the University of Regensburg had "approx. 35 pages from 16 different third-party works “taken over word for word, eight of them without references; "In a total of around 130 places [are] verbatim text copies"; a further 235 lines of takeovers without sufficient labeling were added later. The second reviewer therefore rejected the work as "insufficienter". The doctoral candidate's lawsuit, however, was dismissed as follows:

"The plaintiff's objection that she did the work to the best of her knowledge and belief and never had an intent to deceive is irrelevant, since as a doctoral student she had to be aware that such an approach is inadmissible in scientific work. The Senate does not consider it credible that the plaintiff was so ill during the relevant period of the preparation of her dissertation that she therefore lacked the ability to understand the illegality of her conduct, as the plaintiff did two in the period before, during and after the preparation of her dissertation Has passed state exams and completed the traineeship. She was also able to produce a work that met the requirements of a dissertation. Apart from that, however, it does not matter at all, since it would have been easy for the applicant to interrupt the doctoral process. "

Access to dissertations in libraries

After the assessment and acceptance, the author gives the university library free copies of the university publication for inventory in accordance with the respective doctoral regulations . He either gives the library printed copies or electronic files. The library takes a record of the title and puts it online. Each online dissertation is given an individual URL address. The National Library also issues a so-called URN . Publishing houses usually leave the works they have published to the national library. Self-published dissertations are handed over to the National Library by the university library. Nevertheless, it sometimes happens that the German National Library does not have a copy of the respective dissertation or is able to record it.

This procedure is intended to ensure that copies of the dissertation are permanently stored and accessible in at least two libraries. Rumors circulating again and again that certain prominent persons have had their dissertations "blocked" or have given instructions to remove them from all libraries are not correct, as can easily be determined in individual cases by researching a union catalog . At most, the works of known people are classified as rare by the libraries in order to avoid theft or damage, so that prior notification is necessary.

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : University publications  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Dissertation  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Wiktionary: Doctoral thesis  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Wikibooks: The Medical Dissertation  - Learning and Teaching Materials

Individual evidence

  1. sueddeutsche.de , July 8, 2009.
  2. Principles for the publication of dissertations dated April 29, 1977 in the version dated October 30, 1997; Resolution of the Conference of Ministers of Education. Online (PDF, 2 pages; 14 kB)
  3. Gerhard Wiegleb: The cumulative dissertation , in: From research and teaching, June 2013 (academics.at).
  4. Cumulative Dissertation: Doctor on Installments. Die Zeit , October 22, 2007, accessed on August 2, 2018 .
  5. For example, dissertations in the subject of art history were always published in the journal Kunstchronik , now in a database: http://www.zikg.eu/forschung/redaktion-kunstchronik/arttheses
  6. http://www.uni-marburg.de/fb13/studium/promotion Information from the University of Marburg on the duration of a doctoral thesis in the Department of Physics
  7. Doctoral Regulations of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Hamburg, version of July 7, 2010 ( Memento of December 28, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF file; 102 kB)
  8. Doctoral Regulations of the Medical Faculty of the Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, version of August 10, 2009 ( Memento of January 9, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 99 kB)
  9. Regulations for obtaining the academic degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Dr. phil.) Or Doctor of Philosophy (Dr. phil.) At the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main, version dated June 26, 2001 ( Memento dated 31 December 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF file; 153 kB)
  10. Quote from the University of Frankfurt ( Memento from July 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  11. http://www.academics.de/wissenschaft/traditionell_promovieren_36202.html Oliver Wasse: The traditional doctorate - only something for lone fighters
  12. Article “University awards doctoral titles for three pages” from May 16, 2014.
  13. https://bildungsklick.de/hochschule-und-forschung/meldung/wissenschaftsrat-bemaengelt-qualitaet-des-dr-med/
  14. http://www.uni-siegen.de/fb12/dekanat/forschung/promotion/downloads/promofb12neu_2006.pdf Attachments to the doctoral application from the University of Siegen, Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, $ 5: doctoral application
  15. University of Munich grading scale. (PDF) University of Munich, accessed on December 24, 2016 .
  16. ↑ Grading system at Swiss universities according to the Rectors' Conference of Swiss Universities
  17. ^ University of Münster: University of Münster grading scale. (PDF) Retrieved December 24, 2016 .
  18. ^ University of Freiburg: University of Freiburg: grading scale. Retrieved December 24, 2016 .
  19. TUM doctoral regulations, status 2014. Accessed on April 14, 2020 .
  20. Gemma Pörzgen: Doctor Digital - Bringing your own dissertation to a publishing house gives her prestige. But the Internet is cheaper and faster. Digital publishing also depends on the subject. online in Der Tagesspiegel from February 18, 2014
  21. VGH Baden-Württemberg decision of October 13, 2008, 9 p. 494/08: Plagiarism in a dissertation
  22. a b c d Hermann Horstkotte, zeit.de of February 22, 2011: Guttenberg's waiver does not protect against punishment
  23. Frankfurt Administrative Court confirms withdrawal of the doctoral degree due to fraudulent deception - VG Frankfurt - 12 E 2262/05
  24. ^ VGH Baden-Württemberg, decision of October 13, 2008
  25. ^ Decision of the VG Berlin
  26. Extract from the decision of the Bavarian Administrative Court , judgment of April 4, 2006 - 7 BV 05.388 - , BayVBl. 2007, 281