Completion of Doctoral Studies Completion of Doctoral Studies
Doctoral Studies at the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences in Economics, Sociology or Political Science are based on Doctoral degree regulations. You can learn more here.
HeiDOCS Online Portal
The online portal heiDOCS is the central database for management of doctoral studies. Please keep your data again up to date before the submission of the dissertation.
Extensions of the Time Period for Doctoral Studies
The admission as doctoral candidate is initially for three years. Extensions of one year each time are possible upon the request. In case of changes in the near term before the dissertation submission, please refer to the PhD office.
Submission of the Dissertation
Approximately 4-6 weeks before the scheduled submission you should contact the PhD office to review the completion of doctoral studies. Five bound copies as well as a digital copy in a searchable format (pdf) of the dissertation are to be submitted to the PhD office. Additionally, the following documents have to be submitted in a printed, completed and signed form.
- An affidavit and instruction
- A declaration of consent stating that electronic data processing programmes may be used to check the dissertation for compliance with general academic standards.
- In case of a cumulative dissertation a supplement form must be submitted according to the subject-related regulations
Regulations concerning Cumulative Dissertations
The prerequisites and guidelines for dissertations, especially for cumulative dissertations, are subject related. Please take into account these guidelines and in case of doubt speak with your supervisor.
Appointment of the Evaluators and Display
After the dissertation had been submitted, the doctoral committee appoints the evaluators . Once the evaluations have been submitted, the two-week inspection period starts. During this time, the doctoral candidate has the possibility to inspect the evaluations on site.
Oral defence
The members of the examination commission are appointed by the doctoral committee. The doctoral supervisor is responsible for the coordination of the oral defence. As a rule, the oral defence takes place in the premises of the faculty.
Publication
The dissertation must be published not later than within two years after the date of the oral defence or a publishing contract must be submitted on condition that the doctoral candidate gives an assurance that the dissertation will be printed and free of charge submission will be provided within three years after the contract date.
Beforehand, the publication has to be approved by the doctoral supervisor.
The publication can occur in the following forms:
- As a digital publication via Open Access on the University Library’s (UB) document server. Additionally, one printed and bound deposit copy of the text and the signed statement (see the link) has to be submitted to the University Library. Other forms of digital publication may be used only upon agreement with the University Library.
- Printed in a series of publications or as a self-contained book distributed by a publisher, provided that proof of a minimum print run of 100 copies is provided. In this case, three deposit copies have to be submitted to the University Library. If the publisher has a print-on-demand process in place to fulfil additional orders, a lower minimum print run may be accepted. It is the responsibility of the doctoral candidate to provide evidence thereof.
A print remark must be added stating that it is Heidelberg dissertation. In case of change of the title it is necessary to point the title of the dissertation submitted.
Additionally to the mentioned deposit copy which must be provided to the University Library, two copies of the published dissertation must also be provided to the doctorate office (faculty dean’s office) and one copy must be provided to each of the evaluators.
Notes on the obligation to publish cumulative dissertations
According to the current doctoral degree regulations, all dissertations must be published at the end of the doctoral examination process via a publishing house or online via UB Heidelberg. This also includes article-based dissertations (cumulative dissertations), even if individual parts (papers) of them have already been published or accepted for publication.
In the case of publication via the UB, the doctoral student must confirm that the UB has the rights to publish online. Without this right, the dissertation can not be published and the doctoral certificate can not be handed out.
It can be a problem, if papers are already published in journals and the publishers hold the rights.
The publishers know this dilemma. They know that dissertations have always be published at the end of the doctoral studies. Normally, they show themselves to be accommodating and allow a (second) publication on the university libraries. The information about whether a publisher agrees can be found e.g. on their websites. According to the UB, for example, the two major publishers Elsevier and Springer agree that papers may also be published in the context of dissertations via the UB. Also uncritical are papers published in open access journals. Here is nothing to prevent re-publication in the context of the dissertation. Whether a journal is an open access journal can be found on the “directory of open access journals” (https://doaj.org/).
Should publishers have conditions for placing the thesis on the author's university website, e.g. display a note in a prominent way, please enter the obligatory message when uploading into heiDOK in the field "Comments and Suggestions (only visible to library staff)". The UB enters this information in the corresponding fields visible for all “Additional information” and “External sources”.
Doctoral candidates are asked to make sure that the publisher agrees with the online publication on UB that is obligatory at the end of the doctoral phase.
Funding and Support
Safeguarding of Good Academic Practice
Good Academic Practice
Cooperation based on partnership and fair competition are the basis for successful work in science. Besides existing laws, a series of mission statements, guidelines and principles have been developed at Heidelberg University in assuming and fostering responsibility of academic conduct.