A cumulative PhD thesis must include:
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the three published or submitted papers
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an "umbrella", which comprises a detailed introduction of the topic of the dissertation, a comprehensive discussion, a curriculum vitae with a list of publications, and a copyright declaration.
As written in the GHS regulations, a doctoral candidate is required to submit at least three scientific papers to peer-reviewed journals. The following guidelines should be followed:
- One paper for which the candidate is the first author must be accepted for publication. In case of a first shared authorship, two papers with a shared authorship are required.
- Two further papers for which the candidate is the first author or co-author must have reached the peer-review stage.
- Please note that study protocols or letters to the editors will not be recognized as the three publications needed as a part of the PhD thesis.
Requests to deviate from the number and types of papers needed for publication under special circumstances can be submitted to the Steering Board.
Candidates are asked to indicate the status of their publications: (P) = published; (A) = accepted; (R) = in revision; (S) = submitted, as well as the type of the publications: (OA) = original article; (SM) = systematic review; (MA) = meta-analysis (NR) = narrative review.