Cumulative dissertations

For a cumulative dissertation, you combine several scientific articles that you were involved in writing into one doctoral thesis with the help of a mantle text. Here we explain exactly what you need to bear in mind and what requirements must be met.

A female student reads in a work area of the Philologicum.

What is a cumulative dissertation?

For a cumulative dissertation, you summarize several scientific articles, in the creation of which you were involved, into a doctoral thesis with the help of a mantle text.

Requirements for a cumulative dissertation:

  • You do not have to apply specifically for a cumulative dissertation.
  • Publications that are to be part of a cumulative dissertation must
    1. at least be accepted for publication, AND
    2. appear in a journal that has a subject-specific impact factor in the Journal Citation Report that lists it in the top 80%. (Instructions on how to determine whether a journal is in the top 80% can be found here).
  • As a rule, you need at least 2 articles, at least one of which must be published as first author.
  • A shared first authorship is possible and will be counted as a regular first authorship. As with co-authorship, you must be very explicit about your own contribution and justify why the first authorship was shared.

The following forms of publication may not be used as the main part of a dissertation, or only in individual cases:

  • Short Report – if it corresponds to a publication on original work in form and content, then it can be used. Subject to decision on a case-by-case basis by the Doctoral Committee.
  • Letter – if it is published in a journal with a double-digit impact factor and the data presented is equivalent to that of original work, then it can be used. Subject to decision on a case-by-case basis by the Doctoral Committee.
  • Methodological Publications. Subject to decision on a case-by-case basis by the Doctoral Committee.
  • Meta-Analysis – you can submit a maximum of one meta-analysis for your cumulative dissertation. The second publication must be based on original work. Cochrane reviews and comparable systematic reviews are treated as equivalent to a meta-analysis.
  • The following publication forms may not be used: review-articles, case studies.
  • Unpublished manuscripts, review-articles and case studies; as well as short reports, letters and methodological publications, were not found sufficient after case-by-case evaluation by the Doctoral Committee, may be included additionally in the dissertation if they are necessary for the understanding of the dissertation. They must be clearly marked as additional contributions and are to be placed as an appendix at the end of the dissertation. These additional contributions can in no way replace the two main articles. Additional contributions can only help to provide better scientific context and a more complete picture about the candidate’s scientific work. Please note that the Apendix of the dissertation is not a "collection point" for manuscripts and articles. Use regular citations to refer to published articles to provide context. The doctoral committee may reject dissertations with include an accessive amount of papers in the appendix.
  • Please note: If you registered for your doctoral project in human medicine, dentistry and human biology (Dr. med., Dr. med. dent. and Dr. rer. biol. hum.) before October 1, 2018, i.e. according to the "old doctoral regulations", then publications that you would like to use in your cumulative dissertation may not be part of another ongoing or completed cumulative dissertation!

Formal structure of a cumulative dissertation

  1. The dissertation can be submitted in German or English. For the Ph.D. you must write your thesis in English!
  2. Title page (title, name, place of birth, year)
  3. Affidavit
  4. Table of contents
  5. List of abbreviations
  6. List of publications
  7. Confirmation of co-authors
    The contribution of all co-authors must be confirmed and submitted separately. This also applies to additional contributions.
    The forms for the confirmation of co-authors are generated for you in your Campus Portal. Please use these templates.
    Please do not include the confirmation of the co-authors in the thesis, but submit them together with all other documents with your thesis and upload it fully signed to your Campus Portal account.
  8. Introduction
    The publications must be preceded by an introduction (5 - 10 pages, German or English) with a description of the research project, which makes clear which overarching question links the individual publications and which aspects are covered by the individual publications.
    In the case of co-authorship, your own contribution to the publication must be clearly stated in the introduction for each publication and, if applicable, the additional contributions. This also applies to articles for which you are the first author.
    It is strongly recommended that you present your own contribution in a separate chapter.
    In the case of publication-based dissertations with only one very high-quality publication, the introduction must be very detailed and place the work very well in the scientific context (approx. 10 pages).
  9. Summary
    The summary must be available in German and English.
    Please note: For the Ph.D., points 8. and 9. combine to form an "introductory summary", which must be written in English.
    For publication-based dissertations with only one very high-quality publication, a detailed summary must be written in your own words (usually 2 pages). In this summary, the doctoral candidate's own contribution must be clearly explained (ideally in a separate chapter).
  10. Publication I (including full details of title, authors, journal, year, issue. The publication must be included in the dissertation you submit for review; a link to the publication is not sufficient at this point).
  11. Publication II (including full details of title, authors, journal, year, issue. The publication must be included in the dissertation you submit for review; the link to the publication is not sufficient at this point).
    Of course, more than 2 publications can be submitted for a cumulative dissertation, as long as they also fulfill the requirements listed above.
  12. Bibliography
  13. Acknowledgments
  14. Curriculum vitae

Publication-based dissertations with only one publication

  • For doctoral candidates in human medicine and dentistry who registered after October 1, 2018 (i.e. who fall under the new doctoral regulations), you can submit a publication-based dissertation with only one high-quality publication.
  • Requirements:
    • You are the sole first author of the publication AND
    • The publication has appeared in a journal which, based on its impact factor, is among the top 30% in the respective field of research AND
    • The publication is an original work.
    • The introduction to the dissertation must be very detailed and place the work very well in the scientific context (approx. 10 pages).
    • The summary must be very detailed and written in your own words (usually 2 pages). In this summary, your own contribution must be clearly explained (ideally in a separate chapter).

Please bear the following in mind:

The basis for the assessment of cumulative dissertations is not the paper itself, but your contribution to the respective publication!
This is why you have to present your own contribution to each publication in the introduction. The best way to do this is in a separate small chapter. Here you should explain exactly what your contributions to the publication were.
This declaration must be available for all articles and is always required if there is more than one author, i.e. even if only your supervisor has co-authorship.

Since publications that are to be part of a cumulative dissertation must have been demonstrably produced as part of the doctoral project, the doctoral supervisor or at least one of the TAC members must also be a co-author of the publications.

Please note: If you registered for your doctorate in human medicine, dentistry and human biology (degree objective: Dr. med., Dr. med. dent. and Dr. rer. biol. hum.) before October 1, 2018, i.e. according to the "old doctoral regulations", then publications that you would like to use in your cumulative dissertation may not be part of another ongoing or completed cumulative dissertation!

Information on submitting your dissertation and templates for your cumulative dissertation

Here you will find information on submitting your dissertation and Word templates that you can use as templates for the structure of your cumulative dissertation.

Download

Guidelines cumulative dissertations (PDF, 96 KB)

What are you looking for?

More information about Google data transfer in LMU's Privacy Policy.