Thesis/Dissertation Scholarship

The call is made twice per calendar year.

Applications are to be submitted by the students themselves and can be submitted to the Dean’s Office of the School of Business, Economics and Social Sciences on the following two dates:

• 1^st Date: April 22, 2024 – May 31, 2024
• 2^nd Date: September 16, 2024 – October 25, 2024

For applications in the Doctoral Program, please note that the 1st date in 2024 will belong to the academic year 2023/24 and the 2nd date will belong to the academic year 2024/25.

Thesis/Dissertation Scholarships serve to support Master’s Theses and Doctoral Theses of students of degree programs that have not yet been completed and involve special costs (e.g. stay abroad, extensive literature search, empirical studies).

In the Doctoral Program, applicants may submit their applications in two different academic years. In general, a specific activity can only be funded once (cumulative funding of an activity is not possible).

In accordance with the Career Advancement Plan for Women (“Satzungsteil Frauenförderungsplan”) and the Equal Opportunities Plan (“Satzungsteil Gleichstellungsplan”), women are particularly encouraged to apply.

Eligible to apply are regular students with Austrian citizenship and foreigners and stateless persons with equal status according to § 4 StudFG (beneficiary group according to §§ 2 to 4 StudFG as amended).

A scholarship may not be less than EUR 750,- and not exceed EUR 3,600,- for one academic year. The award is made within the framework of private-sector administration. There is no legal entitlement to a scholarship. The award is independent of the social need of the applicant. It is also possible to disburse a scholarship in several installments/partial amounts during the course of an academic year.

The following minimum requirements must be met:

• Beginning or carrying out of a thesis that has not been completed.
• The thesis must be worthy of support in terms of content and method
• It is not possible to submit applications for activities that took place in the past.
• Funding is only available for activities that are started within one year of the funding commitment.
• Proof of a favorable academic record (= eligibility for study grants) in the respective study program
• The applicant must fulfill the entitlement period according to the StudFG (§ 18 in its current version) in the respective study program. The period of entitlement is to be extended accordingly under the conditions of § 19 StudFG idgF. The student must provide proof of the existence of an extension as defined in 19 StudFG in its current version.

• Application Form
• Confirmation of Registration
• Copies of all Bachelor’s, Diploma or Master’s Degree Certificates or proof of academic achievements that do not appear on any degree certificate.
• Current Record of Studies (“Studienblatt”) (printout from UNIGRAZonline)
• For students in the Doctoral Program, notification of acceptance of the exposé.
• Description of the content of the planned work
• Cost breakdown and financing plan (notification of whether additional funding has been applied for or whether a grant has been awarded)
  If there are any changes to the activity, cost breakdown or financing plan, this must be announced immediately!
• Assessment by a university teacher (usually the supervisor) as to whether the work is likely to be carried out with above-average success on the basis of previous academic performance and the proposals for carrying out the work, and whether the costs are reasonable.
• If the duration of studies is exceeded, the relevant evidence (maternity leave, illness, military service, stay abroad) must be submitted.

Submit the application and all supporting documents via email to the Dean’s Office of the School of Business, Economics and Social Sciences (sowi.foerderstipendium(at)uni-graz.at) by the application deadline.

Incomplete applications or applications with missing and/or deficient documentation will not be considered for scholarship award.

The awarding of the scholarships is made by the Vice Dean of Studies ao. Univ. Prof. Dr. Christian Klamler. Applicants will be notified of the decision in writing. There is no legal claim to the award.

If necessary, 25% of the amount can only be paid after a report on the proper use of the awarded amount has been submitted.

The report on the proper use of the funds (including supporting receipts) must be submitted to the Dean’s Office of the School of Business, Economics and Social Sciences within the period stipulated in the scholarship contract.

If a report on the proper use of the grant amount is not submitted within the set time limit or if the amount is not used for the intended purpose, the granted grant amount will be reclaimed or not paid out.