Master's Thesis

The Master's thesis serves as proof of the student's ability to work on academic topics independently and in a way that is justifiable in terms of content and methodology. The topic of the Master's thesis must be chosen in such a way that it is possible and reasonable for the student to complete it within six months.

The topic must be taken from one of the compulsory modules. If a different topic is to be chosen or if there are uncertainties regarding the assignment of the chosen topic, the decision on admissibility lies with the Director of Studies. (see also Master's curriculum 2017)

As soon as you have completed the Master-Seminar (MA-SE), you can submit the topic of your Master's thesis. The topic must be registered at the latest when you want to submit the finished thesis.

Please find some of the most important points concerning the writing and submission of your Master's thesis below. There are: 

Registration of the Master's Thesis Subject & Supervision

As soon as you receive your grade for the SE Master Seminar (MA-SE), you can register the topic and supervision of your master's thesis. For this, you need to:

We will notify you as soon as the topic has been approved and entered into the system.

Key Guidelines for Writing Your Master’s Thesis

Please take into account the following important information regarding the format and length of the thesis.

First of all, please consult your supervisor to decide which of the following two options you will choose for your Master’s thesis:

a) Monograph:
In this case, the thesis should comprise approximately 25,000 words (roughly 60 pages), excluding the title page, abstract, references, figures, tables, and/or methodological appendices.

b) Journal Article:
This option should only be chosen in agreement with your supervisor. The aim is to produce a manuscript ready for submission to an academic journal, with the potential for publication. The manuscript should be 8,000–10,000 words, excluding the title page, abstract, references, figures, tables, and/or methodological appendices. It should comply with the submission guidelines and style of the chosen journal (e.g., APA format). Please consult your supervisor to select a thematically appropriate journal in your field.

Secondly, please find the following resources on the SSC-Social Sciences website:

  • a reference on the new data protection regulations,
  • a quick overview of the entire process of submission,
  • the formal requirements for the submission of academic texts.

Our Head of Studies strongly urges reviewing these guidelines provided by our SSC prior to the writing of your thesis.

Submission of your Master's Thesis

For actual information on the submission of your Master's Thesis, you may always refer to the Key Guidelines for Writing your Master's Thesis found above and to the Graduation: step-by-step by the SSC-Social Sciences. Nevertheless, we have also made an effort to collect the most important information on the submission of your thesis below:

Thesis Submission Dates

Please note that:

  • the dates for the online submission of your thesis to the SSC Social Sciences and
  • the deadlines for registration for your Master's Examination

 are interconnected.

For an overview of the relevant dates/deadlines, please click on the button below.

Uploading the electronic version of the master's thesis to u:space for a plagiarism check

As mentioned above, as soon as you have completed the writing of your Master's thesis, you need first to electronically upload the thesis in PDF format to u:space for a plagiarism check. 

  1. For the cover page or title page of the thesis, there are specific requirements regarding the layout and the data listed. To ensure that your title page is correct in terms of form and content, the title page is automatically created from your data during the upload procedure via u:space. Simply download it and add it to your finished thesis. For more information, please see the relevant reference about the Cover Sheet in the "Graduation: step by step" by the StudiesServiceCenter Social Sciences.
  2. If you have any questions about the uploading procedure itself, please contactOnce you have uploaded the electronic version of your master's thesis via u:space, you will receive an upload confirmation ("Hochladebestätigung"). (You will receive this form as the last step of the electronic submission process via u:space.) Print out the upload confirmation from u:space and sign it.
  3. Once the plagiarism check has been completed (approximately one week after uploading the thesis), you will receive a notification via email to your univie email address. If you have any questions on the procedure taking place AFTER the uploading of your thesis and the plagiarism check itself, you may contact

For detailed information on the submission procedure, please visit the following websites:

Online Submission of the Master's Thesis to the SSC-Social Sciences

After the plagiarism check has been carried out (approximately one week after the uploading of your thesis via u:space), you will receive an e-mail prompting you to online submit your master's thesis to the StudiesServiceCenter.

Please note: A submission of the digital version of the Master's Thesis to the SSC is only possible once you have received the e-mail notifying you that the plagiarism check has been completed.

  1. You may then complete the online submission of your Master's thesis by sending the signed upload confirmation (known also as "Hochladebestätigung" as mentioned above), by e-mail to the StudiesServiceCenter(SSC) Social Sciences at ssc.sozialwissenschaften@univie.ac.at.
  2. The SSC will then automatically forward the electronic version of your Master's thesis to your supervisor, who will then have eight weeks to evaluate your Master's thesis.

Please note the relevant online submission deadlines and thesis' grading deadlines by your supervisors in the respective examination weeks found above.

** If you would wish to online submit your thesis to the SSC-Sciences later than the appointed deadlines and yet, that your supervisor grades your thesis within the official deadlines (i.e., in less than eight weeks), you must arrange this directly with your supervisor — not with the SSSt or SSC. **

Submitting the Printed Version of your Thesis to the SSC-Social Sciences

After successfully submitting your thesis online, please send two printed copies of your Master's thesis to the SSC Social Sciences within ten working days, either by post or by depositing them at the porter's desk in the NIG building, so that they can then be forwarded to the University libraries by our SSC.

As soon as the Master's thesis has been graded, you will be informed by the SSC by e-mail.

Important: A thesis will be graded negatively if, after online submission, in the course of the assessment (grading) it is found to seriously violate the rules of good scientific practice.