General Information

Finding a thesis project and advisor

Enrollment in one of the nine PhD Programs at Innsbruck Medical University is possible only after you have found an advisor who can offer a position as a doctoral student in her or his lab. Before submitting your application for admission, please contact the coordinator of the PhD program you are interested in or go to the homepage of the respective program to see if there are any job openings.

Entrance requirements

Successful completion of a first degree in human medicine or dentistry
Successful completion of a master’s program in natural sciences
Successful completion of an equivalent course of study at a recognized educational institution in Austria or abroad, which provides the conditions for participating in the PhD programs at Innsbruck Medical University.

When applying from abroad, the office of admissions will require an exact description of the previous course of study, its duration, as well as information about the faculty, university and country where the academic degree was obtained.

Please note that a completed work of independent research (master’s thesis) or comparable experimental scientific experience is recommended.

The Vizerektor für Lehre und Studienangelegenheiten will assess the fulfillment of these requirements.

Additional prerequisites

The student needs the support and advice of a supervisor who will guide her or his doctoral studies, in addition to the support of the members of the steering committee.
The student and her or his advisor must agree on the basic program of study and on the title of the dissertation.
The student and her or his advisor will select a suitable program and obtain the approval of the respective coordinator.

Academic degree

Candidates who have successfully completed their doctoral program are awarded the academic degree "Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)".

Please submit the following documents to the Admissions Office in person:

form Application for Admission to the PhD/ Doctor of Philosophy
form Registration for a doctoral thesis
Reply over the award of an equal academic degree (original and copy)
Depending on the academic degree: Proof of the special university maturity (place at university proof where you finished your study)
Transcript (hour's proof)
Abstract of the Dissertation
Valid passport
Resume of your life (Curriculum Vitae)

All documents and transcripts issued by the foreign university must be translated if they are not in German or English. Please consider our guidelines regarding the authentication and translation of documents.

Your documents will be examined by Anja Eckhart in the Admissions Department. However, should additional verifications be necessary, the documents will be forwarded to the Vizerektor für Lehre und Studienangelegenheiten. In this case, the admission procedure will be prolonged.

Deadlines:

Citizen from Austria and EU- citizen must submit there complete documents until 16.04 in the summer term and 16.11 in the winter term.
Non- EU and EWR citizen have to submit there complete documents until 01.02 in the summer term and 01.09 in the winter term.

Graduation from a foreign university

The general requirement for admission to the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Program is the successful completion of a master's program or an equivalent degree program, as regards the duration and course structure, at a recognized Austrian or foreign post- secondary institution of education that offers the required professional background and preparation for entering the program.

Submission of grade reports (credit hours)

Evidence: Credits (Zeugnisse) from MUI and/or certificates from other universities and organizations containing the following informations about the course: topic, date and duration (hours, if possible ECTS point), grade or other indication of successful completion, name and signature of responsible teacher or course leader, name of organization. A table listing all credits (credit calculator) with the signature of your coordinator has to presented with the original certificates.

Submission of the doctoral thesis

You are asked to submit four hard copies of the thesis, the thesis in pdf and three different submission forms ("Submission of a doctoral thesis" and "thesis database" and "Record of PhD Thesise Committee Meeting") to the Admission Office. You may suggest two reviewers (in general one external reviewer and a member of the thesis steering committee, but not the thesis advisor).

Registration of the final graduation examination

You submit a written suggestion about the names of the members of the examination committee (consisting of a chair and two examiners from the respective program- they have to be fixed in the form Record of PhD Thesis Committee Meeting), and the place and date of the examination to the Admission office (c/o Anja Eckhart).

This form I need for the registration of the final graduation examination