PhD School Admission
Admission Process
Admission is based on a competitive examination of the applicants, guaranteeing a high level of quality. After a first screening of applications, shortlisted students will be contacted for interviews. Austrian residents will be invited for face-to-face interviews, applicants from abroad will have phone interviews. The outcome of the interviews forms the basis for the final acceptance.
Who Is Eligible?
The PhD School is open for national and international students (not limited to the European Union), with an objective of a 50% share of international students. The PhD Pogramme addresses students from Western European countries and North America as well as from Eastern Europe and Asia. Furthermore, a women’s quota of at least 40% is intended (averaged over 3 years).
Applicants should have obtained a master's degree with distinction.
Students who have not yet obtained their master's degree must be able to hand it in by June 30th 2009 at the latest.
Application Deadline
All deadlines and other important dates are available on the PhD School intro page.
How to Apply
All information provided in the application form must be accurate and complete. In case of any subsequent corrections please contact the Administration of the PhD School and DO NOT submit the form a second time. If we receive two or more application forms from the same person, we will not consider any of them.
All correspondence will be made via e-mail using the e-mail address you have specified in the online application form. Please check your e-mails regularly and keep your mailbox ready to receive.
All application documents, except the hard-copy of your application form, can be handed in electronically, via e-mail.
Application Form
Download the application form (PDF)
Together with the application form (filled-out and signed), the following documents have to be provided:
-
Evidence of prior achievement
- Degree certificate (Master degree or higher) of a post-secondary education institution, including
- Course transcripts and an
- Explanation of the grading system/s used in these degree certificate/s
- Abstract of diploma / master thesis
- CV
-
Motivation letter
- Explaining why prospective students wish to study at the Vienna University of Technology, and
- Why he/she wants to do a PhD
- Research proposal (optional):
detailing objective of research and methodological approach - At least two letters of recommendation
(we have no guidelines or templates regarding letters of recommendation) -
Certificate of English language proficiency
(see below for details) -
Scan of the applicant's passport
(only the pages with picture and personal data)
Non-EU-citizens (excl. Swiss nationals) also need to hand in officially certified transcripts of their:
- Degree certificate(s)
- STEP 1
Please merge all documents into a single PDF file. The file size should not exceed 5 MB. Upon request you must be able to provide us with all the original documents within 10 days. After submitting the form you will get an e-mail that informs you whether you have submitted a complete application. You will not receive any automatically generated e-mail.
- STEP 2
Return the original of your completed and signed application form IN HARD COPY to the Administration of the Vienna PhD School of Informatics.
English Language Proficiency
Non-native English speakers need to ensure that their English proficiency meets the PhD School’s requirements. Therefore, candidates need to demonstrate an adequate level of English language that will enable them to benefit fully from their courses.
The PhD School accepts the following tests/scores for English language qualifications:
-
TOEFL score of at least 550 paper-based, 217 computer-based
or 81 internet-based.
Please use the code number [4465] when indicating our institution as a score recipient. - IELTS score 6.0 or higher
- CAE score B or higher
These tests are NOT required of native English speakers, or if the primary language of instruction at the university attended was English.
Students with higher English scores (IELTS 6.5, TOEFL 580/237/88, CAE A) will be preferred. However, command of the English language can be proven in many ways, depending on a student’s prior education. In this case, any certificates, diplomas, etc. a student has obtained should be handed in as a part of the application documents. Nevertheless, the TOEFL/IELTS/CAE tests are strongly recommended for PhD School students.
Applicants’ adequate level of English language will also be surveyed during the application interviews (see above). In case of insufficient language qualifications, students may hand in their certificates of English language proficiency by the end of the first study year.