Publication of the Dissertation - Formalities and Steps

• The procedure for publishing the dissertation is set out in § 26 of the Doctoral Regulations.
• Information on the pre-publication of parts of the dissertation during the doctorate.

Contents:

1. Printing authorisation/imprimatur for the dissertation to be published
2. External form of the dissertation to be published
3. Reduction of the deposit copies
4. Submission of the deposit copies to the GSH and the University Library
5. Issue of the doctoral certificate
6. Conditional issue of the doctoral certificate upon submission of a publishing contract
7. Delayed publication by the University Library

1. Printing Authorisation/Imprimatur
    for the Dissertation to be Published

• After the doctoral colloquium, you will receive both the reviews of your dissertation and the review copies, in which the reviewers usually also give instructions for revising the dissertation for publication. However, further revision instructions can also be issued later on. Accordingly, you revise your dissertation in consultation with your reviewers in order to obtain the imprimatur (i.e. approval for publication of the dissertation); this is done according to the following guidelines.
• Before the dissertation is finally printed, any changes requested by the reviewers must be made accordingly. Afterwards, you must submit the printed version together with the manuscript in paper form or electronically to the reviewers for approval. If the version meets the reviewers' expectations in all respects, the first reviewer will send an informal letter or email to the office on behalf of all reviewers with their approval for printing. The Director of the Graduate School will then issue the imprimatur by letter. In cases of doubt, the Joint Doctoral Commission can decide (§ 26 (8) of the Doctoral Regulations).

Sample text for the request for the imprimatur (by email to the GSH office):

"I/we agree to the publication of the dissertation by Mr/Mrs XY with the title 'XXX' and ask the director for the imprimatur".

IMPORTANT: If the doctoral certificate is to be issued with a specific doctoral subject, this should be agreed within the Doctoral Committee and with the candidate as soon as possible, but no later than the vote on the final title of the dissertation and the granting of the imprimatur. Accordingly, the following passage should be added to the above-mentioned sample text:

"The Doctoral Committee, in consultation with Mr/Mrs XY, wishes to issue the Doctoral Certificate with mention of the specific doctoral subject 'XXX'".

2. External Form of the Dissertation to be Published

in accordance with § 26 (1,3) of the Doctoral Regulations.

For further information on the publication procedure, the various publication options, etc., see § 26 of the Doctoral Regulations.

1. The title page of the ten mandatory copies of the dissertation to be submitted must - irrespective of the chosen form of publication - be designed textually (not externally) according to the specified template (for pages 1 and 2 of the thesis; docx).
2. Please note:
   a) Four deposit copies must be submitted to the GSH and six copies to the University Central Library (UB). You can hand in your printed copies during the opening hours of the Central Library at the information desk at Hubland or make an appointment there for the hand-in and/or a personal consultation. You will then receive confirmation of receipt immediately or the University Library will send it to the GSH office if the documents are complete; if the documents are not complete, the University Library will write to you by e-mail.
   b) If you publish by a publisher or e.g. Würzburg University Press , the texts for the title page are predefined; in this case, please stick the page(s) with the above-mentioned sample text (docx)at the very front of the deposit copies.
3. If the dissertation is published via the book trade, the publication must be labelled as a dissertation on the back of the title page or the second page, stating the place of dissertation.
4. The four deposit copies to be submitted to the GSH must also include a short copy of the academic CV in the appendix (1 page); this is no longer necessary for the six copies to be submitted to the University Library for data protection reasons.

3. Reduction of the Deposit Copies

If the thesis has been published in a scientific journal or as a publication available in bookshops or if a publishing contract duly signed by all parties has been submitted in accordance with § 26 (3), the minimum number of 150 printed deposit copies is reduced to three for the Graduate School and two for the University Library for theses with a particularly complex or costly print design (e.g. extensive illustrations).

In this case, please send your informal, reasoned request by e-mail to the Managing Director.

4. Submission of the Deposit Copies to the GSH
     and the University Library

In order to be able to issue the doctoral certificate, you must submit four deposit copies to the GSH office:

• The four deposit copies in accordance with the above requirements;
• the routing slip signed by the candidate with the GSH confirmation of admission to the examination with confirmation from the University Library that the deposit copies have been duly submitted there,
• if applicable, a separate confirmation from the University Library.

5. Issue of the Doctoral Certificate

Once the correct receipt of the deposit copies at the GSH has been established, the GSH can issue the Doctoral Certificate; if requested separately, with mention of the specific doctoral subject (for further information, see 1. above). The certificate contains the supplement with your academic achievements within the framework of the doctoral study programme "Humanities", which is an integral part of your certificate. The certificate will be issued with certified copies and signed by the Director of the GSH and the President and sealed by the Sealing Office at the University's Central Administration.

As soon as we receive the certificate back from the Central Administration, we will send it with a cover letter and a pre-formulated reply letter, which you must sign and send to us to confirm receipt of the certificate. IMPORTANT: The doctoral process is not finalised until we have received your confirmation letter and you are then entitled to use the doctoral title. In order to ensure the smooth despatch of the certificate, please inform us of any changes to your postal address as soon as possible.

Please note: The entire process of issuing and despatching your doctoral certificate generally takes at least three weeks and cannot be shortened. Please take this into account when making your plans.

6. Conditional Issue of the Doctoral Certificate 
     on Presentation of a Publishing Contract

According to § 26 (8) of the Doctoral Regulations, it is generally possible to apply for the certificate to be issued before the dissertation is published. For this purpose, the imprimatur as well as a publishing contract signed by all parties must be submitted, in which all formal requirements according to § 26 (1 and 3; see above under 2.) are fulfilled.

IMPORTANT:

• With regard to the issue of a Doctoral Certificate on the basis of a submitted publishing contract, we expressly point out that the Graduate School will only award the doctorate on condition that
  a) the dissertation is actually published on time in accordance with § 26 of the doctoral regulations and
  b) the deposit copies are also sent to the University Library and the Graduate School on time.
  This means that even if a publishing contract is submitted, the one-year publication deadline, which begins on the day of the doctoral colloquium, applies and all benefits are lost if this deadline is not met (§ 26 (9)).
• Furthermore, we expressly point out that the Graduate School may revoke the award of the doctoral degree if the conditions specified in § 26 of the Doctoral Regulations are not fully met.

7. Delayed Publication by the University Library

• In justified cases and at the joint request of the candidate and the first supervisor, delayed publication is possible in accordance with § 26 (6) of the Doctoral Regulations if the publication by the University Library is preceded by publication in a scientific journal or by a scientific publisher as a digital monograph.
• Delayed publication then takes place automatically one year after submission of the deposit copies. In exceptional cases, the Joint Doctoral Committee may grant a further postponement of one year upon justified request. The University Library must be notified by the candidate before the end of the one-year submission deadline, otherwise publication will take place automatically.
• The dissertation must be published in the University Library Repository after three years at the latest.