Doctoral Thesis
The doctoral thesis
The distinction between cumulative and essay-based dissertations is purely legal. If you submit a dissertation with at least two papers already published, it is legally a cumulative dissertation. Otherwise, it is an essay-based one. Operationally, however, this has no impact, as both types are handled in the same way. It is therefore irrelevant that “cumulative” instead of “essay-based” is stored in DocDaten.
The formal bases are determined by the doctoral regulations and in consultation with your supervisor.
If you have any further questions, please refer to our FAQs or contact the team at the Doctoral Office.