NARIC guide on Higher Education Systems in the European Union

The degree Master of Philosophy (Mag. phil.) is granted when the
following conditions are met:
(b) fulfilment of the language requirements (reading knowledge of German, English and Latin and ability to speak and write
in German or English);
(c) a Master’s thesis approved by the candidate’s director, is handed in to the director of studies;
(d) a five-hour written examination on a question concerning one of four topics proposed by the candidate and approved by
the chairman of the board of examiners is completed;
(e) a one- to two-hour oral examination on four questions and on the written examination is taken and passed.
II.3.3. Academic recognition of final qualifications for purposes of further study
FHL
No doctorate studies are available at the FHL. However holders of an FHL diploma can enter the graduate programme in the
same subject at an Austrian technical university. Those who obtain a diploma can also be admitted to postgraduate studies as
described under section I.1. These short-term studies are also open to students holding a diploma in architecture, engineering,
natural sciences or computer sciences which they received at other higher education institutions. The course programmes are
completed with the presentation of a diploma thesis. A certificate is granted.
IAP
In order to enter into the final cycle of studies, the studies for the
doctorate, the possession of a Master’s degree in philosophy, or its
equivalent, is required.
The doctoral programme is estimated to take three years (although in practice it may take longer). The programme includes
one year or two semesters of courses designed to facilitate the writing of the doctoral
dissertation. The programme of studies for the doctorate includes 24 credit hours (two semesters) beyond the Master’s degree.
Four credit hours are given for preliminary research on the doctorate, the results of which must be presented orally in two
doctoral seminars or Privatissimum. Admission to the doctoral programme is subject to approval by the rector and the faculty
committee of the IAP, who ascertain whether the applicant possesses the capacity for independent research, a necessary
condition for admission.
The required doctoral dissertation must be an original contribution to knowledge. The final examination for the doctorate
follows the completion of all course requirements, the completion of a doctoral dissertation (approximately 200 pages in
length), approved by the director and handed in to the director of studies.
The final examination consists of:
(a) an oral Rigorosum, a two-hour oral examination ranging over themes from systematic philosophy and from the history of
philosophy;
(b) an oral, public defence of the dissertation.
It is expected that the dissertation will be published as original research.
The Doctor of Philosophy (Dr. Phil.) is granted.