Public presentation at the Faculty (FÖP)
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Doctoral candidates must present their dissertation project within the framework of a faculty public presentation (FÖP) within the first year.
Your Dissertation Project
Every project has to be planned from the beginning on in order to be completed successfully – also and especially in scientific work. The length of the entry phase depends on the stage of development of your dissertation project. The research proposal plays a major role when planning your research and doctoral thesis project. It is a thematically and methodologically concise description of your doctoral thesis project. Moreover the research proposal is an important planning instrument that helps you to structure your perennial dissertation project and to realize your doctoral thesis step by step. The clearer you define your research questions, approach and goals, the easier you will manage the realization.
According to §15 (8) study law part of the statutes of the University of Vienna and according to the curriculum, the dissertation project has to be submitted by the end of the first study year at the latest. Doctoral candidates must present their dissertation project within the framework of a faculty public presentation (FÖP) within the first year.
Public Presentation at the Faculty (FÖP)
The public presentation is chaired by the (Vice) Director of the Doctoral Study Programme (DSPL) and attended by members of the doctoral advisory board and your supervisor(s). They will provide feedback to your research projects and evaluate whether the projects meet the scientific standards and if they can be realized successfully in a reasonable timeframe.
Your presentation of 15 to 20 minutes will be in presence or virtual, organized by the VDS CoBeNe in collaboration with the SSC and followed by questions from the advisory board and (Vice) DSPL. The meeting will last about 45 minutes in total.
According to the statutes, doctoral candidates have to pass the public presentation of their dissertation project within the first year. If your presentation is successful, your topic and the supervisor(s) usually get approved by the (Vice) DSPL right after the presentation. If your topic is not approved, you have the possibility to withdraw your application, adapt your research proposal and reapply for the approval of your topic.
Steps towards your Public Presentation
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Guidelines for the Research Proposal (Exposé)
Dimensions of your proposal depend on the current practice in your research discipline (5 - 15 pages, without bibliography). A research proposal has to include the following information:
- Description of the topic of the doctoral thesis project including a clear research question
- Outline of the state of research
- Illustration of the chosen research methods
- Relevant literature
- Choice of supervisors
- Time and work schedule, possibly financial budget and overview of resources
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Registration for the FÖP
To register for the public presentation at the faculty (FÖP), the following forms must to be emailed to vds.cobene(at)univie.ac.at (by the deadlines listed below):
- Registration of the topic of the doctoral thesis and the supervisors (SL/D11)
- Regulations relating to good scientific practice (SL/W1)
- Approval of financial support of the doctoral thesis project (SL/W4), only if additional resources are required, see details in SL/D11
- Exposé as a pdf file not larger than 2 MB and labelled: surname_firstname_student registration number_expose.pdf
The relevant forms can currently be downloaded here.
Dates and registration deadlines
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PhD candidates of the research field Psychology
Please note: These time slots are filled from last to first. This means that if only one candidate registers, only the last time slot (14:45-15:30) will be filled and so on.
Thursday, 5 November 2026, 12:30-15:30 (fully booked)
Registration deadline: 8 October 2026, 24:00Thursday, 10 December 2026, 12:30-15:30 (fully booked)
Registration deadline: 12 November 2026, 24:00Thursday, 21 January 2027, 12:30-15:30
Registration deadline: 17 December 2026, 24:00 -
PhD candidates of the research field Biology
Thursday, 17 December 2026, 12:00 to 15:00
Registration deadline: 19 November 2026, 24:00 -
PhD candidates of the research field Cognitive Humanities
Currently no dates
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PhD candidates of the research field Neurosciences
Thursday, 09 November 2026, 14:00 to 15:30 (fully booked)
Registration deadline: 20 October 2026, 24:00
Tip
Note that the public presentation is mandatory for all VDS CoBeNe PhDs and their supervisor(s).
Visit the public presentations of other PhD fellows! In doing so you can get a first impression of what will be expected from you. Additionally it is a great way to learn about current research projects at your faculty.
Doctoral Thesis Agreement
Beside writing their thesis, doctoral candidates have to earn ECTS (study credits), e.g. through seminars, lectures etc. The amount of credits are defined by the respective curricula. Within the doctoral thesis agreement, the PhD candidate and the supervisor(s) specify in detail how these credits will be achieved. Doctoral candidates are also encouraged to take part in courses teaching transferable skills (e.g. scientific writing, presenting) as well as obtaining other scientific qualifications (e.g. through presentations at conferences, courses in statistics).
Courses should be chosen as to best suit a doctoral candidate's research project and their intended professional career.
The doctoral thesis agreement is concluded after a positive public presentation of your research proposal (FÖP). Your doctoral thesis agreement should be submitted within 4 weeks after passing the FÖP.
The doctoral candidate, supervisor(s) and the (Vice-) DSPL sign an agreement comprising the following points:
- All participants' rights and obligations
- Detailed description of the doctoral thesis project
- Time schedule and specification of financial aspects
- Extent of supervision (frequency of feedback meetings)
- Requirements that have to be fulfilled
The progress of the doctoral thesis project is documented in yearly annexes to the agreement (annual progress reports).