Information for reviewers, examiners, and lecturers

Current doctoral degree regulations stipulate that the thesis examining process should include at least one external reviewer. Each reviewer should work independently, without consulting the other reviewers, and submit their reports within 8 weeks.

Unfortunately, it is not always possible for nominated reviewers to receive prior notification. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Should you be unable to adhere to our deadline, you may reject our request and return the copy of the doctoral thesis. However, should you decide to accept our request, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your time.

You may wish to make use of our referee reporting template when preparing your report. The template is available for download in our Links and downloads section. Please feel free to compose your report in a different format should you so wish.

Please feel free to highlight any shortcomings or mistakes as part of your report. You may request corrections. Please distinguish

• between major points of criticism – where both the issue raised and the quality of the correction will impact the grade awarded
• and minor issues – which can be rectified easily prior to producing the final bound copy.

Please ensure any request for corrections is clearly stated. The Doctoral Commission will only formally request corrections if such a request is made by the referee at the end of their report. Once corrections have been made, you will receive a copy of the corrected thesis and be asked to submit a final evaluation.

The oral doctoral examination takes place either in the form of a disputation or in the form of two individual examinations:

Disputation

• The disputation takes place before an examination board appointed by the doctoral commission.
• The examination board consists of two members or deputy members of the doctoral commission and one or two expert subject representatives.
• Before the examination board, the doctoral candidate must present the research question, methodology, results and critical evaluation of his/her work (presentation). This is followed by a discussion with the examination board.
• The presentation and discussion may be in English.
• The length of the examination varies between the Standard Track and the Advanced Track: In the Standard Track, the presentation lasts a maximum of 15 minutes, the discussion about 10 minutes. In the Advanced Track, the presentation lasts a maximum of 25 minutes, the discussion a minimum of 35 and a maximum of 45 minutes. The doctoral candidate in the Standard Track may request that the examination time be extended to the time allotted for the Advanced Track.
• A member of the examination board will keep a record of the disputation, which will contain the essential contents of the examination.
• A grade will be awarded for each of the presentation and discussion. (The grading scale can be found on this page).
• The disputation is passed if the presentation and discussion are each graded at least "rite".
• The grade "non sufficit" must be justified in writing.
• The result will be communicated to the doctoral candidate immediately afterwards.

Individual examinations

• The individual examination takes place in the presence of an assessor.
• In the individual examination,
  [doctoral regulations 2012] the doctoral candidate presents his/her work. The examiner will examine the subject of the thesis and, in particular, aspects of the thesis that fall within the examiner's area of expertise.
  [doctoral regulations 2017] the doctoral candidate presents the research question, methodology and results of his/her work in a maximum of 15 minutes. The examiner will examine the thesis and, in particular, aspects of the thesis that fall within the examiner's area of expertise.
• The exam usually lasts 30 minutes.
• The examiner shall keep a record of the examination.
• The doctoral examination in the form of two individual examinations is passed if each individual examination has been evaluated with at least "rite".
• The grade "non sufficit" must be justified in writing.
• The result of each individual examination is communicated to the doctoral candidate immediately afterwards.

The overall grade of a doctorate consists of four sub-grades, two for the written performance and two for the oral examination:

• The dissertation is evaluated by two reviewer. Each reviewer assigns one of the grades listed below. 
• If the oral examination is taken in the form of two individual examinations, then one of the grades listed below will be awarded for each individual examination.
• If the oral examination is taken in the form of a disputation, then one grade is awarded for the presentation and one grade for the discussion.

The final grade is the arithmetic mean of the four sub-grades.

There are five grades:

• summa cum laude (excellent, 0)
• magna cum laude (very good, 1)
• cum laude (good, 2)
• rite (duly conferred, 3)
• non sufficit (failed, 4)

• summa cum laude (excellent, 0)
  Independently developed performance with high scientific research value and excellent in terms of applied methods and form. 
• magna cum laude (very good, 1)
  Independently developed performance with considerable scientific research value and very good in terms of applied methods and form. 
• cum laude (good, 2)
  Independently developed performance with scientific research value and good in terms of applied methods and form
• rite (passed, 3)
  Independently developed performance with scientific research value and satisfactory in terms of applied methods and form. 
• non sufficit (failed, 4)
  Performance that fails to meet the "rite" criteria.