Oral Defence

When and how can I register for the oral defence?

Once you have fulfilled all the prerequisites for your oral defence, i.e. you have had your submitted courses approved, have uploaded and submitted your thesis, submitted the results from the plagiarism check and the pass marks from your reviewers have been uploaded onto the campus system, the ‘Register for your final exam’ link will appear in the ‘Applications / Make a new application’ section of the Student Portal.

Important! Your oral defence can take place at the earliest five weeks after submitting your application.

Who are the members of the examination committee?

Curriculum 12W
Regulations according to Curriculum 12W § 7 (2):
The examination board consists of three people with a venia docendi (authorisation to teach) in an appropriate subject. The reviewers can be members of the examination board as long as they are not acting as your supervisor as well. Your supervisor takes part in the viva, however is unable to vote. The rector of studies sets up the examination committee at the request of the relevant programme director and appoints the chair. Students can propose examiners.
Curriculum 12W
Regulations in accordance with the Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt Statute Part B § 13 (2):
Doctoral programmes conclude with a public viva. A viva is a final examination in front of an examination committee; regulations concerning the viva are set out in the curriculum. Regulations from § 12 (5) and (7) are to be applied. Examiners are to be appointed in accordance with § 12 (2) and (3), whereby at least one expert reviewer has to be appointed as member of the examination committee. Students can propose examiners. The supervisor can be a member of the examination committee, however is unable to vote.
Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt Statute, Part B
Please contact all members of the examination committee, agree a date and time and notify them of the composition of your examination committee in your online ‘Register for your final exam’ application.

Curriculum 18W
Regulations according to Curriculum 18W:
The examination committee consists of at least three voting members with a venia docendi (authorisation to teach) in a relevant subject; membership must include at least one reviewer. Supervisors can be members of the examination committee, however are unable to vote. Students can propose examiners.
Curriculum 18W
Regulations in accordance with the Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt Statute Part B § 13 (2):
Doctoral programmes conclude with a public viva. A viva is a final examination in front of an examination committee; regulations concerning the viva are set out in the curriculum. Regulations from § 12 (5) and (7) are to be applied. Examiners are to be appointed in accordance with § 12 (2) and (3); membership of the examination committee must include at least one reviewer. Students can propose examiners. Supervisors can be members of the examination committee, however are unable to vote.
Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt Statute, Part B
Please contact all members of the examination committee, agree a date and time and notify them of the composition of your examination committee in your online ‘Register for your final exam’ application.

FAQ

How long does the viva last and what form does it take?

A viva is an oral final examination, taken publicly in front of an examination committee. During the viva, the student’s thesis is presented and discussed. The examination committee then withdraws to assess the viva. The precise structure of the viva (length of the presentation, the type of presentation, etc.) varies from discipline to discipline, however the viva usually lasts approximately one hour. It is a good idea to attend another viva at a department in a relevant subject before doing your own. You can find the dates for upcoming final examinations here.

Skype calls from external members of the examination committee

Upon request or if easier to organise, external examiners can also attend the viva via Skype. This request must be made in the online form when registering for your final examination. As a thesis student, you must be present at the viva in person, as must the chair and most of the examination committee members.

If, when registering for your final examination, you state that an examiner will be participating in the viva via Skype, Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt will take responsibility for all technical and organisational aspects to ensure the smooth running of the video conference. All the relevant information about your viva (time, location and room, your name, contact details, names of the members of the examination committee, Skype name for the external examiner) is obtained in advance by Central Computing Services (CCS). Approximately half an hour before your viva, technicians will be there to set up the equipment and connect to the examiner.

Are external examiners’ travel costs reimbursed?

External members of the examination committee can receive reimbursement for travel costs related to the viva. Further information can be found in the guidelines. If you have any other questions, please contact Dr. Rebecca Unterberger.

Why can’t I find the ‘Register for your final exam’ link?

The ‘Register for your final examination’ link will appear under ‘Applications / New applications’ in your campus system account once all the prerequisites for your viva have been fulfilled, i.e. all of your submitted courses have been approved, your thesis has been uploaded and submitted, the results of the plagiarism check have been provided and a pass mark for your thesis has been uploaded into the campus system.

Austrian grading scale

Universities Act 2002, § 73. (1) Successful […] theses […] are marked as ‘excellent’ (1), ‘good’ (2), ‘satisfactory’ (3) or ‘sufficient’ (4), while unsuccessful theses are marked as ‘insufficient’ (5). Intermediate assessments are not permitted.

Overall assessment: ‘Passed with distinction’, ‘passed’, ‘failed’.

How is my overall mark calculated?

Mark for the viva
plus mark for the thesis.
Thesis ‘excellent (1)’ plus viva ‘excellent (1)’ or ‘good (2)’ equals ‘Passed with distinction’.
Thesis ‘good (2)’ plus viva ‘excellent (1)’ to ‘sufficient (4)’ equals ‘Passed’.
If one of the marks is ‘insufficient (5)’, unfortunately your overall mark is a ‘Fail’. In this instance, you have the option to repeat your viva.
Legal basis:
- The University of Klagenfurt Statute Part B section 12 (8b): If, in a Doctoral degree programme, the thesis has been assessed as “excellent” and the viva has been assessed as “good” or higher, the overall assessment shall be “passed with distinction”. Otherwise, the overall assessment shall be “passed”, as long as the viva is passed. If a Doctoral degree programme concludes with a comprehensive Doctoral examination, the assessments of the two subjects are to be taken into consideration when determining the overall assessment, in addition to the assessment of the thesis. The overall assessment shall be deemed to be “passed with distinction” if the thesis and one subject have been assessed as “excellent” and the other subject has been assessed as “good” or higher. Otherwise, the overall assessment shall be “passed”.
- The University of Klagenfurt Statute Part B section 25 (22): Section 12, Paragraphs 8a to 8d shall enter into force the day after the announcement in the university bulletin and shall be used for all academic degrees or for the completion of a phase of the programme of study as of 01.03.2018. The academic degrees or the completion of a phase of the programme of study shall be the date on which the assessment of the last requirement in accordance with the curriculum takes place.

Do you have further questions regarding the oral defence?

Please contact:

Amanda Veladzic, BA

Campus-Portal profile