Dissertation

At the end of the doctorate, the dissertation must be published. According to the doctoral regulations (Promotionsordnung, PromO), all dissertations must be uploaded in electronic form to the university’s publication server TUprints (section 19 (1) PromO) – even if the thesis is to be published as a printed book by a publisher (exception). An electronic version (sect. 8 (1 b) PromO) and the Declaration relating to the doctoral thesis and transfer of rights has to be submitted for every doctoral thesis.

Publication on TUprints is simple and free of charge. It leads to rapid visibility of your research results on the internet: With a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), your work receives a unique identifier and indexing in scientific search engines, such as Google Scholar or Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE) is made possible in a timely manner.

The Digital Publishing Team (DPUB) advises and supports you in the TUprints publication process.

Publication of other university theses and scientific papers

Information on doctoral studies at TU Darmstadt, required documents, samples and FAQs can be found on the website of Department II or at your department. The Special Provisions of some departments supplement the general doctoral regulations (opens in new tab).

The current templates for Word and LaTeX can be found on this page: The corporate design of TU Darmstadt

There are specifications for the title page, please pay particular attention to the mandatory information.

Checklist for primary publication on TUprints – PromO sect. 19

  1. Submit the completed form “Declaration on the transfer of rights to the dissertation" (opens in new tab) to the doctoral office or dean's office. The ULB will receive a copy from there. If possible, issue a Creative Commons licence to regulate the use of your work.
    Information on usage rights and CC licences (link to translations licences and kumDissen
    Information on usage rights and CC licences
  2. Register with TUprints.
    • With official TU mail address: self-registration
    • Without TU mail address: Notify Team DPUB to register an account for you.
    • Please note: Use an e-mail address that can be reached in the long term (TUDa address will be deactivated upon de-registration). We will contact you via this address.
  3. Upload dissertation, enter licence and metadata, and submit entry.
  4. Formal review of metadata and document by the DPUB team, prompt feedback to the author.
  5. Publication of the dissertation by ULB after your final approval.
  6. Transmission of the confirmation of publication to the dean's office and author.

Video: How to publish your dissertation in the TUprints repository

For English subtitles, click the cc at the bottom right of the video.

Special forms of the dissertation

A cumulative dissertation contains several articles that have appeared in peer-reviewed publications or have been accepted for publication. This form of dissertation is possible if the “Special Provisions” of the department permit this. The scientific frame of reference of the individual publications is presented in a detailed synopsis.

Options:

  • All journal articles are published in the cumulative dissertation.
  • Journal articles are not published in the document, but only noted bibliographically. Special case: Articles with an embargo period are uploaded separately to TUprints (PromO sect. 20 (3). In this case, please contact for advice.

Publication of cumulative dissertations

In exceptional cases, the doctorate can be completed before the doctoral thesis has been published. This so-called “early completion of the doctorate” is regulated in the Doctoral Degree Regulations under sect. 21 (2). Publication can only be delayed upon request (example: delay of publication for the purpose of primary publication of research results in a scientific journal).

In all cases, the approval of the responsible doctoral committee is required.

According to sect. 20 (1) PromO, the dissertation must be published no later than one year after the oral examination. The deadline is extended to a total of up to five years if proof is provided that the dissertation has been accepted by a publisher for publication in a peer-reviewed journal or as a book. In the case of publication by a publisher, the signed contract must ensure compliance with the deadlines according to sect. 20 (1-3) PromO. Applications for deadline extensions must be approved by the doctoral committee (sect. 20 (2) PromO).

In general, the following applies: After expiry of the requested embargo periods or if the applications for embargo periods are not approved, the ULB automatically publishes the copy uploaded to the university publication server (sect. 20 (4) PromO). This also applies if an industrial or intellectual property right has been granted (e.g. patent application in process) or a print publication has not been published on time. This prevents failure of the doctorate due to non-fulfilment of the publication obligations in accordance with sect. 20 (7) PromO. Therefore it is imperative that the ULB is informed immediately of any deadline extensions

The dissertation (document and metadata) is submitted in TUprints but not yet published. If all conditions are met, confirmation is sent to the dean’s or doctoral office and the certificate will be issued before publication

Patent application

In connection with a patent application, the publication of your dissertation can be considered a so-called harmful pre-publication and, under certain circumstances, prevent patenting or another property right. It is therefore possible to delay publication. Section 21 (2) PromO (obligation to submit an application) still applies.

In addition to the Declaration relating to the doctoral thesis and transfer of rights, you must complete the “Blocking notice on the dissertation due to patent application (Erklärung ”Sperrvermerk zur Dissertation wegen Patentanmeldung") and send it to the ULB via your dean's office. You can find more information and the document on this website of Department II.

Checklist for advanced completion of the doctorate – PromO sect. 21 (2)

  1. Steps 1-4: Checklist for first publication on TUprints – PromO sect. 19
  2. Final approval by author
  3. Transmission of the confirmation of proper submission (document and metadata) by the ULB to the Dean's Office and author
  4. Publication of the dissertation by the ULB after the deadline.

Primary publication by a print publisher and submission of print copies

If you publish your dissertation in print via a publishing house, please deposit the approved electronic version of the document on TUprints after the oral examination (Steps 1-4: Checklist for primary publication on TUprints – PromO sect. 19). In addition, the ULB requires the Declaration relating to the doctoral thesis and transfer of rights. The electronic version of the dissertation is saved internally. However, if the dissertation is not published within the one-year period and the ULB is not informed of any extended submission or embargo periods, it will publish the deposited document on TUprints in accordance with sect. 20 (4) PromO in order to prevent the doctoral project from failing.

You are obligated to submit four print copies to the ULB (sect. 20 (5) PromO). Please send these by post to:

Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Darmstadt
Team Digitales Publizieren
Magdalenenstraße 8
64289 Darmstadt

Alternatively, you can also hand in the books in person at the ULB Stadtmitte to the Digital Publishing team (core business hours: 9 am – 4 pm, S1|20, room 101 or 107)

We will send a confirmation of receipt to your dean's office after further verification steps (e.g. listing in the Verzeichnis lieferbarer Bücher (VLB)).

To increase the dissemination and visibility of your work, please use the opportunity for secondary publication on TUprints .

Doctorate according to the 8th amendment of the PromO

The prior version of the doctoral regulations was in effect until 26 February 2024. If you intend to complete your doctoral degree under the conditions set forth by the 8th amendment (opens in new tab) please file a request with your doctoral admissions board.