Master's Thesis & Exam
Master's Thesis: Registration & Topic Selection
The specific area from which the topic is to be selected is defined in the relevant curriculum (§ 5 (5) Master’s Thesis).
Recommendation: Many of the faculty’s research groups offer students predefined topics (open topics) for supervised master’s theses in their respective research areas.
Submit a topic for your master's thesis
The topic of a master’s thesis and the supervisor must be officially announced and approved before work on the thesis begins.
University professors with a postdoctoral qualification (Habilitation) are eligible to serve as thesis advisors, provided that the topic falls within the professor’s area of teaching. If no advisor with a postdoctoral qualification can be found, an exception may be granted. There is no legal entitlement to supervision by a university lecturer who has not completed the habilitation process. The exact provisions can be found in the Statutes of the University of Vienna.
📭 Submission point: Student Services Center
📄 Forms/Information:
- Form BSP/W1 - Rules of Good Academic Practice
- Form BSP/W2 - Registration of Topic and Advisor
- Basics of the Rules of Good Academic Practice [PDF]
📃 Attachments/Supporting Documents:
- Proof of prior studies
- (Original: Bachelor’s degree certificate and degree conferral notice/admission notice)
- One-page summary
ℹ️ Important note: The supervisor must sign both the form and the summary!
⏲️ According to the university’s bylaws, the maximum processing time is one month, although this period may be extended to two months. Corresponding notifications will be sent via email.
Approval of the master's thesis
In consultation with your advisor, the completed master’s thesis must be submitted for evaluation both in electronic form and in printed form.
The formatting guidelines for academic papers must be followed. For data protection reasons, do not include a resume or a sworn statement.
Recommendation: In order to successfully complete your degree programme, you will need a certificate confirming that all courses and exams specified in the curriculum have been successfully completed. Please request this as soon as possible by sending an informal email to the Student Service Center, including your student ID number.
Submission Process
- You must first submit your paper electronically for a plagiarism check via u:space. Once the upload is complete, you will receive an upload confirmation.
- If textual similarities between your paper and other texts are detected, the programme director will determine whether it is indeed a case of plagiarism.
Please do not send your paper to print until you have received confirmation (via email to your u:account) of a successful plagiarism check. The printed version must match exactly the version submitted electronically. - After the plagiarism check is successful, submit the thesis hardbound to the StudienServiceCenter. You will need the upload confirmation for this.
The printed version (2 copies of the bound thesis) and the signed upload confirmation can be mailed to the StudienServiceCenter or delivered in person by appointment (via email). This should be done within 10 days.
ℹ️ For digital submission via u:space
First, check the data that will be printed on the title page. This information is taken directly from the University of Vienna’s database and includes not only your name and the academic degrees you have already earned but also details regarding the supervision and any co-supervision of your thesis.
Every thesis must include a German-language abstract of at least 500 characters. The abstract is a brief summary of the central points of your thesis. You may optionally include an English abstract as well.
Please note that depending on your curriculum, an additional mandatory abstract in a foreign language may be required.
There are specific guidelines regarding the layout and the information listed on the title page of the thesis. To ensure that your title page is correct in terms of both form and content, u:space will automatically generate it from your data.
Please do not use a title page you have created yourself in advance, as this will not be accepted during the formal review.
📭 Submission point: u:space/Student Services Center
📄 Forms/Information:
📃 Attachments/Supporting Documents:
- Two hard-bound copies of the master’s thesis
- Signed confirmation of the successful upload of the academic thesis
- The thesis topic must already be on file
⏲️ According to the university’s bylaws, the maximum processing time is two months. You will be notified by email upon completion.
Public access to a master’s thesis may be restricted for a maximum of five years, provided an appropriate justification is provided. The request for restriction must be submitted as part of the thesis approval process. Further information on restricting access to theses.
📭 Submission point: Student Service Center
📄 Forms/Information:
📃 Attachments/Supporting Documents:
- Justification for the restriction
The restriction must be confirmed by the advisor on the form, and the justification must be signed by the relevant company!
Confirmation of Courses
In order to successfully complete the degree programme, you must have successfully completed all courses and exams specified in the curriculum.
You can request confirmation of course completion by sending an informal email to the Student Services Center, including your student ID number (processing time: up to 4 weeks).
Registration for the Master's Exam
Once the master’s thesis has been successfully evaluated and proof of completion of all courses required by the curriculum has been provided, students may register for the master’s examination. The master’s examination thus constitutes the final part of the master’s programme.
The master’s examination is conducted as an oral examination before an examination committee, with the committee consisting of at least three members:
- The programme director or a person designated by them chairs the committee.
- The thesis advisor is typically the primary examiner.
- An additional examiner with appropriate teaching qualifications.
The student contacts the members of the committee and coordinates the date with all parties involved. Subsequently, the official registration for the examination takes place at the Student Service Center.
Please note that registration must take place no later than two weeks before the examination date.
📭 Submission point: Student Services Center
📄 Forms/Information:
ℹ️ Important note: The dates listed on the form must already have been agreed upon with the examiners and the chair!
Procedure for the Master's Examination
Master’s exams are open to the public and are announced here on the website and at the Student Service Center via a notice posted in the lobby.
The exam consists of two parts and essentially involves the defense of the content of the candidate’s Master’s thesis:
- Part 1: The candidate presents their Master’s thesis in a 20-minute presentation.
- Part 2: This is followed by the oral examination, including the defense of the master’s thesis, during which basic knowledge of related fields and an appropriate contextualization of the thesis are also required.