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Guidelines For Doctoral Programms

Before applying for a doctoral program

Get accustomed to the doctoral programMs offered by the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna

“The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna offers four doctoral programs (Dr. Phil., Dr. techn., Dr. rer. nat., Ph.D. in Practice). The first three (the philosophical doctorate, the technical doctorate in Architecture, and the scientific doctorate) can be enrolled without any admission exam; in this case, one has to hand in an accepted Ph.D. proposal) although applicants need to fulfill specific admission criteria. These may vary according to the doctoral program chosen. Please find out the exact admission criteria by clicking on this link – especially the study plans listed on this site.
There is an admission examination for the PhD-in-Practice Program, which combines arts-based research Ph.D. projects at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. Please find more detailed information on this program and the application procedure in the FAQs on the PhD-in-Practice homepage.
As a doctoral candidate enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, you are entitled to study according to the curriculum selected. Still, you are not entitled to any financial support (scholarships or grants).”Doctoral Center of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna

Read the Curriculum

Check the Curriculum listed for the doctoral program you wish to pursue (links above). This will give you all the information on the structure of the study, the requirements, and the time frame. As it is a binding legal document, the curriculum is only in the German language, but you can ask for translation if needed.

Registering

You have your research topic, you decided to study at the academy, and have already gotten familiar with the curriculum of your chosen doctorate program, possible supervisor(s), and funding possibilities? Great! Now you can register for the study.

Deadlines: The most important thing to keep in mind here (stated in the curriculum) is that in a maximum of one academic year after you register, you have to submit your “Dissertationsvereinbarung” “Dissertation agreement” (signed by your supervisor) together with your Expose. Missing this deadline will have negative repercussions regarding your eligibility for the funding possibilities offered by the Academy (which does not apply to funding provided by the doctoral center). However, you can extend this deadline by another year by sending in a request (contact the doctoral center for guidance in this process).

Important: check the expose handing in or expose extensions deadline here.

“The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna offers four doctoral programs (Dr. Phil., Dr. techn., Dr. rer. nat., Ph.D. in Practice). The first three (the philosophical doctorate, the technical doctorate in Architecture, and the scientific doctorate) can be enrolled without any admission exam; in this case, one has to hand in an accepted Ph.D. proposal) although applicants need to fulfill specific admission criteria. These may vary according to the doctoral program chosen. Please find out the exact admission criteria by clicking on this link – especially the study plans listed on this site.
There is an admission examination for the PhD-in-Practice Program, which combines arts-based research Ph.D. projects at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. Please find more detailed information on this program and the application procedure in the FAQs on the PhD-in-Practice homepage.
As a doctoral candidate enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, you are entitled to study according to the curriculum selected. Still, you are not entitled to any financial support (scholarships or grants).”

Doctoral Center of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna

Where do you register?

at the Registrar’s Office

“Please find any information on admission and enrolment and the documents required here. The respective deadlines for admission (so-called Continuing Registration) are provided on the following page.” source

https://www.akbild.ac.at/en/research/center-for-doctoral-studies/faqs/copy_of_beginning-of-the-doctorate?set_language=en#Inscription

Beginning the ph.D.- your first year at the academy after inscribing!

For the writing of the Expose, you can find guidelines, as well as workshops (check the following section for more information)

If you don’t submit your Dissertationsvereinbarung in the first year of your study (pay attention; it refers to the academic year, so two semesters), and you don’t have an approved prolongation of the deadline, you don’t qualify for the social scholarship, for the Lektor_innenprogramm, nor the last stage of Ph.D. scholarship. However, if you submit at a later date, you are still eligible for the funding offered by the doctoral center (short research scholarship abroad, travel costs for conferences, etc.)

When working on the expose for the academy of fine arts, remember that most fundings require an Expose, but this will be a different document than the one you submitted to the Academy.

Get on newsletters (akbild research newsletter) and the newsletters of the funding possibilities you want to apply to.

Meet your peers! (We, the student representatives of ÖH Doc, organize networking events, and so does the doctorate center, which has a welcoming session at the beginning of each semester, that is thought especially for new students to connect.)

Finding a supervisor

Although one can register without having a confirmed Ph.D. supervisor, we encourage you to contact prospective supervisors beforehand. You can find a current list of available supervisors here: https://www.akbild.ac.at/en/research/center-for-doctoral-studies/forms-and-documents/2021_2022_ListofDissertationandPhDSupervisors.pdf

You can also check current research Ph.D. projects at the academy here to understand which supervisor would be best for your research topic. Finding a supervisor is a crucial step for your doctorate. Therefore we encourage you to allocate enough time for this and start the process as soon as possible.

Start to research funding possibilities for your research.

Many scholarships for doctoral studies have time limits. Depending on your inscription date or finalization of your previous studies, it is recommended to research possible funding(s) before inscribing to the study program. Try to plan where you can apply your research and when. This will make the process of your Ph.D. easier and will increase your chances of finding and receiving funding.

Check the section on Fundings below.

Writing your Dissertation

Congratulations, you have your Dissertationsverinbarung approved; now you can start actually writing the dissertation. Writer’s block? Don’t worry; we gathered a list of resources you can use.

Tipps: from the classes, you can choose  ECTS (that you need to list in the Dissertationsvereinbarung/ dissertation-agreement). For example:

Completing your Dissertation

The last stage of your doctorate is critical and requires lots of attention to detail. After writing your text, there is still a lot to do to finish your thesis. Note here the academy offers a scholarship for this exact stage of your study: https://www.akbild.ac.at/de/forschung/doktoratszentrum/faqs/abschluss-des-doktorats

Check all the formalities you need to fulfill in advance:

https://www.akbild.ac.at/en/research/center-for-doctoral-studies/stages-of-doctoral-studies read from Preparation for the Admission for Approbation of the Dissertation onwards

Don’t forget to pay attention to the courses listed in your Dissertationsvereinbarung. Also, make sure you have the certificates for the courses issued.

Plan and invest time in choosing external appraisals together with your Supervisor. You can, but you don’t need to contact the nominated persons in advance.

If you write in another language than your native language, have your thesis proofread by a native speaker!

Do a plagiarism checkup offered by the doctorate center! You will get a report immediately.

Check the curriculum version listed on your student files (this could have changed during your studies to a newer version with other facilities). If you wish to update to a newer version, get in touch with the Studienabteilung (contact person Alexander Meitz)

Useful To Do’s

  • Take part in workshops: ÖH Doc offers workshops on a regular basis
  • Follow the mailing list of the doctorate center for updates:
    The doctorate center organizes practical workshops for Ph.D. Students. In addition, there are usually a few workshops per year, announced a month in advance. Registration for these workshops is necessary, and one receives a certificate of participation afterward. Find the activities of the doctorate center here.
  • Co-registration at other universities (for example, uni wien) in order to access library ressources

    Follow the steps described on their website. For assistance, also use the email contact they provide. The co-registration also offers the possibility to enroll in the workshops offered by the doktoratszentrum. Naturally,  priority will be given to the uni when students, but most workshops have more than one date, so it is possible to participate if you pursue it.
  • Doctoral center of Tanz Quartier Vienna

    For research topics connected to performance, body, corporeality, but not only, but Tanz Quartier Wien also has a networking and exchange platform for doctoral students, TQW DOC https://tqw.at/event/tqw-doc-plus-ss-2022/

Tipps:

make use of the scholarships offered by the academy to help your research, such as:

For the scholarships offered by the academy, the deadline of the disseration agreement has to be kept (or officially prolonged)

Funding

The following databases and links can help you:

After you have done your research on funding possibilities, you can also consult with the doctoral center to be sure you checked all the possibilities. Find an overview of the doctorate center here https://www.akbild.ac.at/en/research/center-for-doctoral-studies

Useful links and contacts