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:
- Fill out and sign the form "Notification of Master Thesis Topic and Supervisor". Your supervisor also has to sign this form.
- Submit this form together with the “Regulations relating to good scientific practice” form by email at commscience@univie.ac.at.
We will notify you as soon as the topic has been approved and entered into the system.
Submission of your Master's Thesis
For actual information on the submission of your Master's Thesis, you may always refer to the Graduation: step-by-step by the SSC-Social Sciences. Nevertheless, we have also made an effort below to collect the most important information on the:
Important Information
Before the submission of your thesis, please take into account the following important information:
- 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,
found on the website of the SSC-Social Sciences.
Thesis Submission Dates
Please note the dates for the thesis submission, which are connected with the deadlines for the registration for the Master's Examination in the overview of the examination weeks below.
Electronic Submission of your Thesis via u:space
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.
- 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.
- If you have any questions about the uploading procedure itself, please contact
- the First Level Support of the University Library at u-theses.ub@univie.ac.at
- Once the plagiarism check has been completed, you will receive a notification via email. If you have any questions on the procedure taking place AFTER the uploading of your thesis and the plagiarism check itself, you may contact
- the Second Level Support of the Studienpräses Office at e-einreichung@univie.ac.at
You can find detailed information about the submission procedure:
- On the Graduation: step by step of the StudiesServiceCenter Social Sciences.
- On the website of the Studienpräses Office, currently available only in German, but where you can also find unofficial translation versions in English of the formal requirements when submitting scientific theses.
Submission of the Digital Version of the Master's Thesis to the SSC
- You may then complete the process of the online submission of your Master's thesis by sending the signed upload confirmation ("Hochladebestätigung") by e-mail to the StudiesServiceCenter Social Sciences (SSC) at ssc.sozialwissenschaften@univie.ac.at.
- The SSC will then forward the electronic version of your Master's thesis to your supervisor. Your supervisor will have eight weeks from the date of the electronic submission to evaluate your Master's thesis.
Please note the relevant submission deadlines for the respective examination weeks.
If you wish to submit your thesis late, you must arrange this with your supervisor, not with the SSSt or SSC.
Submitting the Printed Version of your Thesis
After the successful electronic submission of your Master's thesis, please send two printed copies of your Master's thesis to the SSC within ten working days, either by post or by depositing them in the NIG (portier), so that they can be forwarded to the University libraries by the SSC Social Sciences.
As soon as the Master's thesis has been assessed, you will be informed by the SSC by e-mail.
Please note -- A thesis will be assessed negatively if, after submission, it is discovered in the course of the assessment that it seriously contravenes the rules of good scientific practice.