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Cumulative Thesis

Cumulative dissertations must always be applied for before submitting the doctoral thesis.
Please use the appropriate application form.

Terminology

As a rule, dissertations are so-called monographs, i.e. completely new scientific works written from scratch (specified in the Doctoral Regulations of the Faculties of Natural Sciences, § 14 (1)).

Deviating from this, it is possible to apply for several peer-reviewed, published or accepted publications by the candidate to be recognized as a dissertation. In this case, this is referred to as a cumulative dissertation.

Requirements

The requirements for a cumulative dissertation are listed in the Doctoral Regulations of the Faculties of Natural Sciences under § 14 (3). Some essential points here are

  • The candidate is the first author of at least two of the papers; shared first authorship is counted proportionately (two first authors: 0.5, three first authors 0.33 etc.).
  • The publications represent the gradual processing of a topic.
  • The publications have already been published partially or completely, or at least two papers have been accepted for publication in peer-reviewed international scientific journals.
  • The publications are in a close temporal and factual context.

In this case, the publications must be preceded by a scientific classification and discussion (approx. 20 pages), which is comparable to a scientific review article. Please refer to the Doctoral Degree Regulations for the relevant requirements. The main points are

  • Based on the current state of science, the scientific problem (objective) on which the work is based has to be formulated.
  • Based on the current state of science, the own results have to be classified and documented by representative references.
  • The thematic context of the publications is clear; the scientific methods used to work on the scientific problem are presented.
  • The scientific results achieved and the progress of knowledge gained for the scientific problem are presented.
  • If several authors are involved in the publications, the individual performance of the doctoral candidate must be definable and assessable.

Application

The application for a cumulative dissertation must be submitted before the thesis is submitted. Please use the appropriate application form. Please fill out this form and send it to us digitally by email pruefungsamt-natwiss. In the text of the email, please list any additional publications to be considered as well as the corresponding DOI number (Digital Object Identifier) for all publications to be considered and, in the case of shared first authorships, the respective number of first authors.

Please note that it takes at least two weeks to approve the application.

FAQ

Is it a problem if my supervisor is a co-author on one or more of my publications?

No, the same rules apply here as for shared authorships in general. The person of the co-authorship is irrelevant.

Can I also use review articles for my cumulative dissertation?

In principle, yes, as long as they meet the above-mentioned requirements for the publications to be used in accordance with the doctoral regulations. Please note that the dissertation will be assessed and evaluated on the basis of the publications used.

Can I use conference proceedings for my cumulative dissertation?

Pure conference proceedings usually do not fulfill the above-mentioned requirements for publications to be used according to the doctoral regulations, especially with regard to peer review. However, if a conference proceeding has resulted in a publication published in a peer-reviewed international scientific journal, this can of course be used.

Can I submit more papers as part of the cumulative dissertation than those required or specified in the application?

In principle yes, the above requirements are minimum requirements. However, please note that all publications included in the dissertation will also be included in the assessment.