4.3 PhD Thesis
The following rules apply to the PhD Thesis:
PhD projects are defined as independent scientific work which advances the state of the art in the respective research field. Usually, the PhD Thesis summarizes this scientific work in writing and puts it into a larger context. As a rule, the PhD Thesis, reviews and the PhD Thesis Defense at Constructor University must be in English. Only for professional or contextual reasons the Dean may grant an exception to this rule.
The Thesis must include:
• a title page with name and logo of Constructor University, the name of the Academic Department, the title of the PhD Thesis, the degree aimed for, the author, and a list of all members of the Dissertation Committee with the Chair named first and by mentioning the full name, academic title and affiliation of each member. Cooperation partners and/or institutions may be named on the title page by adding the corresponding logo,
• an English summary (irrespective of the language of the Thesis),
• a (Statutory) Declaration on Authorship by the PhD student that the Thesis has been written independently and has not been submitted at another university for the conferral of a PhD degree,
• a list of publications and conference contributions of the PhD student. If co-authored manuscripts are included in the PhD Thesis a “Statement on Contribution” and a "Declaration of Consent” as described below are required for that part of the PhD Thesis.
It is possible to receive a PhD degree at Constructor University based on a cumulation of articles under the following conditions:
• The articles need to be framed by an introduction (that develops the larger theoretical context of the Thesis), a discussion and a common thread that is leading through the different papers.
• The number and status (published, accepted, submitted) of articles necessary is decided upon by the Dissertation Committee.
• The student must submit, as an integral part of the Thesis, a “Statement on Contribution” defining his/her contribution to each article along with the PhD Thesis. The “Statement on Contribution” must also contain title, co-authors, journal, status, and date of submission/acceptance (if applicable). With his/her signature the student declares that all co-authors and the PhD Advisor agree with the information given in the “Statement on Contribution”.
• Only articles with significant contributions of the candidate may be added to the cumulative
PhD Thesis. Exceptions from this rule need acceptance by the Dissertation Committee.
• Upon submission of a cumulative PhD Thesis the student must insure that the thesis does not contain any infringement of rights of third parties. With respect to all claims made by third parties against Constructor University for infringement of their rights by the thesis, the student will indemnify Constructor University against such claims at first request, including the necessary costs of legal defense. Prior to the publication of the PhD Thesis the PhD student must submit “Declarations of Consent” of all co-authors.
The following number of copies of the Thesis must be submitted for review:
• one hard copy per member of the Dissertation Committee,
• one hard copy for Registrar Services,
• one hard copy for the Dean,
• one hard copy for display in the Information Resource Center (IRC).
In addition, the PhD student must upload an electronic version of the Thesis to a plagiarism check platform defined by the university. The Registrar Services sends the Thesis to the reviewers, as well as to the other members of the Dissertation Committee, the Dean and the IRC. The Thesis must be on display at the IRC for at least two weeks before the Defense and thus made public to the Constructor University community.
The reviewers are expected to submit their reviews of the PhD Thesis within eight weeks unless a shorter review period is agreed upon within the Dissertation Committee. At least three regular members of the Dissertation Committee, including one external member and the Chair of the Dissertation Committee, each furnish a written report. Additional members of the Dissertation Committee have to at least submit a written review or participate in the Defense. The reviewers submit their reviews to the Office for Doctoral Education. Reviews need to include a summary evaluation of the Thesis as “pass”, “fail" or "with distinction". In case amendments are necessary before a decision about pass or fail can be made, these need to be specified in the review.
Once all reviews have been submitted, the Office for Doctoral Education distributes the reviews to the members of the Dissertation Committee, Registrar Services, and to the respective Dean. The reviews must be on display in the Office for Doctoral Education for a minimum of 5 working days prior to the day of the Defense (not counting the actual day of the Defense). The PhD student and Constructor University faculty are eligible to read the reviews. The PhD student may receive hard copies of the reviews in case the respective reviewer agrees. The PhD Thesis is accepted once the Dissertation Committee unanimously evaluates it as pass. In order for a PhD Thesis to be evaluated "with distinction", all reviews that have been submitted to the Office of Doctoral Education must suggest an evaluation "with distinction". If at least one member or all members of the Dissertation Committee evaluate the Thesis as “fail”, the evaluation process is stopped and the Chair of the Dissertation Committee is informed by the Office of Doctoral Education. The Chair of the Dissertation Committee, in cooperation with the Dean, determines whether the PhD student can resubmit the PhD Thesis and under what conditions. In case of detected plagiarism the evaluation process is stopped and the Dissertation Committee meets to review the case. If the suspected plagiarism is substantiated, the Thesis may not be resubmitted.