Examination Office of the Faculty of Humanities

Doctoral Studies: The Publication of the Thesis


  • Doctoral candidates must publish their thesis. [§ 24 I doctoral degree regulations (PromO)]

  • Conditions imposed by the reviewers concerning changes in content must be considered in the publication. Ruling thereon is passed by the examination board in the event of differences. Once all of the requirements are satisfied, the first supervisor must without delay approve by signature on the revision certificate (appendix V PromO) the final version for publication; in the event that they did not act as an reviewer, the examination board will appoint one of its members to issue the revision certificate. [§ 24 II PromO]

  • The publication must be carried out in one of the following formats in accordance with § 24 III PromO. The number of obligatory copies to be submitted is enclosed in brackets:

    • as a dissertation print (50 copies),
    • in a scientific journal (6 copies),
    • in a scientific publication series (6 copies),
    • as an independent publication in the publishing book trade in printed or electronic form (6 copies) or
    • as an electronic publication via the document server of the Göttingen State and University Library (Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen (SUB) (3 copies) or a comparable scientific information infrastructure (5 copies).

  • The faculty council may permit other publication formats in individual cases. [§ 24 IV PromO]
  • In the case of a cumulative dissertation, no obligatory copies are to be submitted. Instead, a digital file consisting of introduction, chapter overview, abstract and bibliography with links to the included articles and publisher homepages should be deposited on the SUB server. [decision of the faculty council of 27th Nov 2019]
  • Publication in the format of single contributions in publications with external review procedures is also considered a publication, insofar the publications represent the contents of the thesis as a whole. This is confirmed in the revision certificate. The provisions concerning the formalities (see below) apply accordingly. If the thesis is published in parts, but without reflecting the contents as a whole, the provisions of § 24 II-VI PromO (fulfilment of the correction requirements, publication formats, formalities) apply accordingly to the as yet unpublished parts. [§ 24 VII PromO]

  • The obligatory copies must be submitted to the examination office within two years of passing the oral examination. If the doctoral candidate fails to meet this deadline, all rights acquired through the examination become void. The doctoral committee can extend the deadline for submission, but by no more than a further two years. This requires a plausible application filed by the doctoral candidate before expiry of the two-year deadline according to sentence 3. [§ 24 V 2-5 PromO]

  • The obligatory copies should be provided with a title page, that should be designed according to the template in appendix IV PromO. The thesis should be followed by a short c.v. that depicts the scientific educational career of the doctoral candidate besides details about date and place of birth, nationality and duration of study at each one of the universities according to the sequence of their attendance. The doctoral committee may approve exemption from the regulations; they do not apply to the copies of the work published in the publishing trade or in an electronic form. [§ 24 VI PromO]

  • After the obligatory copies have been submitted to the examination office, the doctorate is completed by issuing the doctoral certificate. [§ 25 I 1 PromO] The doctorate degree must not be used prior to this. The designation "Dr. des." is also not permitted to be used. [§ 25 III PromO]

  • Should there be an important reason and upon joint application of the doctoral candidate and his or her first supervisor, publication may be managed initially in the manner that only an abstract is made publicly available for a certain period and not the complete thesis manuscript. An important reason shall apply in particular if

    • a) parts of the thesis were accepted for publication in a journal or a publishing house and prior publication of these parts is inadmissible according to the underlying contract, or
    • b) this is required for the protection of intellectual property, as otherwise the application for property rights would be in jeopardy, the publication depends on the consent of third parties, or scientific data directly connected with the dissertation should first be published in another way. [§ 24 VIII 1-2 PromO]

  • The period during which only an abstract is publicly available ends one year after the date of the passed oral examination. The examination board decides on the existence of an important reason. The application must be made before the date of the oral examination. A further extension may be granted once for a maximum of one additional year; the doctoral committee shall decide on this upon application; the application for extension may only be submitted if the certificate of revision is presented at the same time. The obligatory copies must be submitted by the end of the approved period at the latest. [§ 24 VIII 3-7 PromO]
  • The doctorate may be awarded before the obligatory copies are submitted if

    • a) a publishing contract with an academic publisher is submitted in place of the obligatory copies and the publisher also declares in writing that printing and delivery of the obligatory copies are guaranteed within a period of no more than one year (in exceptional cases upon approval by the doctoral committee: two years) since the oral examination, or another important reason according to § 24 VIII 2 PromO (existence of an important reason, see above) has been proven, and
    • b) a publication according to § 24 VIII PromO (abstract) is made. (§ 25 II 1 PromO)

  • In that case, the completion of the doctoral studies is subject to reservations. [§ 25 II 2 PromO] The obligatory copies (as per § 24 V 1 PromO) must be submitted by the end of the approved period at the latest. [§ 24 VIII 3 PromO]
  • In case of violation of this obligation, i.e., timely submission of the obligatory copies, all rights acquired through the examination, in particular the right to hold a doctoral degree, are suspended. In this case the doctoral certificate shall be returned immediately. However, before the deadline as set forth in § 24 V 2 and 4 PromO expires, the docotoral candidate again has the opportunity to fulfill the requirements for awarding the doctoral degree; otherwise all rights acquired through the examination, especially the right to carry the doctoral degree, shall expire. [§ 25 II 3-5 PromO]