Doctoral programmes at TU Wien

General

There are three doctoral programmes at Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien):

E786 - Doctoral Programme in Technical (Engineering) Sciences
E791 - Doctoral Programme in Natural Sciences
In smaller numbers also: E784 - Doctoral Programme in Social and Economic Sciences

These programmes provide the legal framework for doctoral studies, but an enrolment for one of them does neither include the supervision nor the funding. These issues have to be organized on your own. Therefore, the admission process includes the following steps: (i) Find a supervisor, (ii) Get funding, (iii) Apply for admission at the university. All of these steps are described below. It usually takes three years of full time work to complete a doctoral programme, although this period is not fixed and depends on your research progress and your supervisor. The major task is independent research guided by your supervisor, only a very small portion is allocated to coursework.

Supervision

Even if not a formal prerequisite to acquire the admission, looking for a subject and a supervisor in advance is strongly recommended (except for “Doktoratskollegs” - see below). To find what you are looking for, you may browse through the websites of the departments, institutes and research units and simply contact scientists working in a research field that interests you. An excellent starting point for such a quest is the TISS address book. You can also give the Organization Structure or the Studyguide a try.

Funding

There are several options to get funding. Remember that the enrolment for a doctoral programme does not include any funding.

Full or part time employment as research assistant at the university: Ask your supervisor or check the university bulletins (in German only) for open positions. Sometimes offers are posted in the Euraxess database. Beside the research for your PhD thesis, you may be expected to do teaching, administrative work and other research not related to your thesis.
“Doktoratskollegs”: These are special PhD programs covering selected research fields where funding (part time employment) is provided for doctoral candidates. Check at their websites for open positons. A list of available “Doktoratskollegs” is provided here.
Grants: You can also apply for funding on your own: A helpful overview provides the Austrian Database for Scholarships and Research Grants. Be aware that not all grants include social security.

Doctoral candidates having an employment contract are paid according to the collective bargaining agreement for university staff.

Admission

Before starting your studies, you will have to apply for the general admission to PhD-studies at the Department for Studies and Examinations (Studien- und Prüfungsabteilung). For this, a master degree related to a field of studies offered at TU Wien is the most important requirement. The application will then be examined by the responsible Dean of Studies. A complete application for admission must be submitted by 1st September for the winter semester or by 1st February for the summer semester at the latest (exceptions only for citizens from EU and EEA countries).

There are no general language requirements for PhD candidates. In most cases, knowledge of the English language is sufficient, but check with your supervisor.

The detailed PhD programme according to the curriculum, i.e. your subject and coursework, is then agreed with your supervisor and the Dean of Studies (Studiendekan).

Fees

The tuition fees are € 363,63 per semester. Regular students with EU citizenship, citizenship of EEA countries, students from Switzerland and refugees under the provisions of the Geneva Convention are exempted from paying the fees for the first four years of study. A detailed list with study fees sorted by country of origin can be found here.

Resources

Information provided by Vienna University of Technology: Admission and special requirements for foreign students, curriculum:

Applications for Admission and Information Sheets provided by the Department for Studies and Examinations:

Information for incoming researchers:

EURAXESS Austria: Comprehensive information for incoming researchers: Jobs, fellowships, grants, visa permits, work permits, social security, taxation, daily life. Addresses of Service Centres and Local Contact Points at the universities.
Welcome Guide for students: General information about studying at the TU Wien (arrival, registration, legal stuff, visa, culture,....) .
Ausländerinnenreferat der HTU: Unit of the students representatives at the TU Wien responsible and trained for helping foreign students.
Buddynetwork: Student-run organisation whose primary goal is to promote social contacts among foreign and local students at Vienna University of Technology.

About FSDR

The Fachschaft Doktorat (FSDR) is part of the Austrian students' association. The FSDR is the representation body for doctoral (=PhD) candidates at the Vienna University of Technology. The Fachschaft Doktorat should be seen as an open association of doctoral candidates. Since we are independent of any political organization everyone is welcome to participate and introduce his/her ideas. For more information about us do not hesitate to write us an e-mail fsdr(at)fsmat.at !

Eurodoc

The European Doctoral Candidate Initiative: EURODOC is the European-wide federation of national associations of Ph.D. candidates and, more generally, of young researchers.