Registration of Master's thesis title and advisor

Note that only professors and persons with habilitation (Dozenten) which are employed by the University of Vienna are allowed to supervise your Master's thesis (see Par. 15 in the Satzung/Studienrecht). Under extraordinary circumstances, persons with a Ph.D. (in mathematics) can be allowed to supervise a thesis; this includes the case that none of our professors are available to supervise that particular thesis topic, and also if the thesis work is conducted within an excellence award. Co-supervision is also possible in this case, if the main supervisor asks for it (form available at the SSC).

Once you have agreed on a topic with a potential advisor, you have to formally apply at the SSC (StudentServiceCenter) (VIA E-MAIL!) with this form, including the signature of your advisor and a tentative thesis title. Along with that form, the following legal form (in German) Kenntnisnahme der Regeln der guten wissenschaftlichen Praxis must also be submitted signed, recognizing the rules of scientific conduct and practice, and agreeing to abide by them (also via e-mail). Typically, the confirmation of advisor and thesis title is only a formality, so you will be contacted only in case of questions or problems (otherwise no explicit notification is sent to you).

Electronic record of exams and completed modules

At least one month prior to the completion of your studies, make sure that your electronic records of exams are up-to-date with all grades assigned to the correct modules (in cases where you do not have the right to move items yourself, ask the SSC for help), and all possible recognition of external grades confirmed (after having picked up the Bescheid über Annerkennnungsantrag, see here in German).

As soon as you have completed all your exams, please reach out to the SSC via e-mail if there are any courses assigned to the wrong module.  In that case, please send us a list with the courses that are currently in the wrong module and to which module those courses belong.

Submission of the Master's thesis

A prerequisite for the submission of the academic thesis is the approval of the topic and supervision (see form), as well as the submission of the form "Regulations relating to good scientific practice" (see form).

The formal requirements for academic theses must be observed. For data protection reasons, no curriculum vitae or affidavit must be included.

Further information on the use of publications in academic theses can be found on the website of the office of the Studienpräses.

For the final step of the submission of the master thesis you have to hand in to the StudienServiceCenter via Email:

• Einreichungsformular
• Sperrformular (optional, if you apply to block the publication)

2 printed hard copies of your thesis have to be submitted as well either via the post or personal appointment.

Please forward the assessment form to your supervisor. The assessment must be sent by email to the SSC at least 14 days before your master defense!

Submission procedure

 

1. Start by uploading your thesis on u:space so that it can be checked for plagiarism. Once you have uploaded the document, you will receive an upload confirmation (“Hochladebestätigung”).

 

2. If any textual similarities are detected between your work and other texts, the study program management will examine whether it constitutes plagiarism. Please do not proceed with printing your thesis until you have received feedback (via email to your u:account) confirming a successful plagiarism check. The printed version must exactly match the electronically submitted version.

 

3. After a successful plagiarism check, you must submit the hard-bound copy of your thesis. You will need to present the upload confirmation (“Hochladebestätigung”) for this submission.

 

4. Individual information

 

Please note: From 05.03.2024, the digital version of the academic thesis has to be submitted via u:space.

​​Firstly, you need to review and verify the data in u:space that will be printed on the title page. This information is automatically loaded from university’s database and includes your name and academic degrees, as well as details regarding the supervision of your thesis.

Every thesis must contain a German abstract of at least 500 characters. The abstract is a brief summary of the central points of your thesis. Optionally, you can also include an English abstract.

Please note that depending on the curriculum, an additional obligatory foreign-language abstract may be required.

For the title page of the thesis, there are concrete specifications regarding the layout and the data listed. To ensure that your title page is correct in terms of form and content, the system in u:space will create it automatically 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 check.

 Copyright & image usage

Information about copyright and the correct use of images in scientific work can be found here (in German, with image usage guidelines in English.

The Master's defense

The Master's defense may be officially applied for using the form "Anmeldung zur Defensio", only after having completed the following:

• all modules in your area of specialization (core and electives)
• the modules MOA and MFE
• the submission of your Master's thesis.

The Master's defense starts with a 30-minute presentation by the candidate in front of the defense committee, followed by an exam on a subject chosen from the scientific area of the thesis by two examiners (one of them is usually the advisor). The defense committee consists of the two examiners and a head (Chair) of the committee. We recommend that you try to find an agreement about possible dates with the two examiners. When the possible dates are fixed write an e-mail to vorsitz-mathematik@univie.ac.at to ask for a Chair of the defense: the subject of the e-mail should be the "Studenkennzahl" (066 821), and in the body of the e-mail, be sure to include the topic of your thesis. When a Chair for the defense is fixed, send the SSC via e-mail the form Anmeldung zur Defensio.

Approximately two to four weeks after a successful defense, your documents about your Master's degree will be sent to you via e-mail and you may apply for the academic ceremony of the University via u:space.