Publication of university publications
The Service Point Publication Management can advise you on all matters related to publishing at Ulm University.
According to §§ 14–16 of the DNBG (German National Library Act), doctoral theses and Habilitation theses must be published. Bachelor’s or Master’s theses are only published on the advice of the relevant supervisor.
Many of the steps required for the publication of a doctoral thesis apply equally to a Habilitation thesis (postdoctoral teaching qualification).
Guidance on publishing your thesis
Before publication
You can also find all the important information about publishing your dissertation in our information sheet (german version).
Bibliography management software : Use this to create your bibliography (the Medical Faculty's citation style is available via Zotero).
For data protection reasons, please do not include personal information in your CV on OPARU —such as your email address or home address — and list only your year of birth instead of your full date of birth. We recommend submitting a strictly academic CV (optional).
Please also adhere to data protection guidelines in the dedication and acknowledgments sections and do not mention any names from your personal surroundings.
Once your dissertation is published in OPARU, all content will be permanently available electronically and can be found, for example, through a Google search.
Please publish your dissertation with a title that has not been used before (e.g., as the title of an essay or another book).
If you have already published content from your dissertation in scientific articles, you must indicate this through citations (self-citations) in the body text, as well as under figures and above tables.
Additionally, please include a summary page - for example, as the third page - with the heading “Parts of this dissertation have already been published in the following academic articles:” and then list your articles with their complete bibliographic information and copyright notices.
If the rights do not belong to the author and further reuse is not authorized by the author’s contract or the copyright notice on the publisher’s website, you can obtain standard rights for the reuse of your article or single figures through the “Copyright Clearance Center.” To do so, open the article page on the respective publisher’s website and follow the instructions under the link “Request Permission”. You will usually receive a free license. Keep this with your documents.
In your monographic dissertation, include the rights notice specified by the license directly below the respective figures.
If you write a cumulative dissertation, insert a separate page before each article containing the complete bibliographic citation and the rights notice.
When publishing sientific articles used as part of your dissertation, please also refer to our copyright guidelines in our information sheet.
If you reuse figures without modification, take care not to use too many figures per article and ensure that you discuss them in greater depth within the text. For figures that are merely illustrative, you will need a licence. To modify figures, you require an editing licence from the rights holder(s) (usually the publisher); a standard licence is generally not sufficient. This also applies to your own figures, if they have already been published. If you subsequently reuse parts of your doctoral thesis in a scientific article, you must cite your thesis in accordance with the usual regulations
A graphical overview of the possible uses of figures can be found here.
Further guidance on figures and other topics concerning copyright can be found in the copyright information sheet.
Publication process
Choose how to publish
Usually, a doctoral thesis at Ulm University is published in the institutional repository OPARU. To do so, please upload your thesis directly:
OPARU
Please read the instructions on how to publish a paper and the legal information beforehand. If you no longer have a kiz account, you can register with your private email address.
When publishing on OPARU, it is not necessary to email us the file in advance for review. The file is checked automatically within OPARU.
Alternatively, publication with a publishing house or, in justified exceptional cases, as a print-only publication is possible.
Publication with a publishing house:
If you are publishing with a publishing house, please contact the Service-Point PM as early as possible. The published monograph must include a statement indicating that it is a doctoral thesis completed at Ulm University.
Upon receipt of three copies of the monograph, together with a confirmation from the publisher of a minimum print run of 150 copies*, we will issue the submission confirmation for the doctoral studies office. Please then contact your doctoral studies office to arrange the handover of the certificate.
* If published in a Ulm University series, only three printed copies need to be submitted in the case of a print-only publication.
Cumulative dissertations:
A cumulative dissertation comprises the author’s own articles, preferably in the publisher’s layout, and is usually published on OPARU. Should there be legal issues preventing publication on OPARU, a print-only publication is possible for a cumulative dissertation.
Exception: Submission of 15 printed copies:
Only in justified exceptional cases (e.g. copyright issues) may a print-only publication be agreed for monographic dissertations. It is essential that you clarify this in advance with the Service-Point PM.
In the event of a print-only publication, please ensure that you send the PDF by email to the Service-Point PM for a formal check before printing.
Dissertation declaration form
Please send us the required dissertation declaration form, fully completed and signed, as an email attachment to kiz.publikationsmanagement(at)uni-ulm.de.
Printed mandatory copy for the library
Binding type:
The hardback must be produced in A4 format with a permanent adhesive binding of bookbinder’s quality or a thread-sewn book block.
As long-term archiving must be guaranteed, binding types featuring metal strips, spirals, clips or other metal parts (e.g. metal corners), as well as clear plastic folders, will not be accepted.
Paper type:
White, wood-free and acid-free 100g paper.
Cover and title page:
The colour and design of the cover are up to the author. The cover must be followed by a title page on white paper. The formal details (Dean, examiner and date of the doctoral awarded) must appear either on the reverse of the title page or on a separate sheet.
The Faculty of Engineering, Computer Science and Psychology provides its own title page template for the Dr.-Ing. degree.
Print mode:
You may choose between single-sided or double-sided printing. Please ensure that the dissertation is formatted accordingly (e.g. for double-sided printing, page numbers should be centred or alternate between the left and right margins).
Printed copies that do not comply with these guidelines will not be accepted. They cannot be returned and will be destroyed.
The following mandatory copies must be printed for the kiz archive at the central library:
- OPARU publication: one hardcover
- Print publication of a cumulative dissertation: two hardcovers and three softcovers
- Print publication of a monograph: two hardcovers and 13 softcovers
Please note that for OPARU publications, the PDF on OPARU and the printed mandatory copy must be identical.
Please arrange the printing and binding to the required standard through an external provider. No copies are printed at kiz.
Please wait for the print approval following a formal check of the PDF by the Service-Point PM before placing your print order!
Once the Service-Point PM has checked the PDF, you can hand in your printed copy(ies) in person at the kiz Service-Point PM during opening hours, or send them by post to:
kiz / Kommunikations- und Informationszentrum
Bibliotheks-Zentrale
Service-Point PM
Albert-Einstein-Allee 37
D - 89081 Ulm
Completion of the publication and certificate
Once the Service-Point PM has checked the documents received (OPARU upload, statutory copy(ies), dissertation delcaration form), the submission will be confirmed by email to the relevant doctoral studies office (CC doctoral student).
Please then contact your doctoral studies office to arrange the handover of the certificate.
Please allow sufficient time for the thesis to be reviewed. You should allow for a processing time of approximately four weeks.
Your dissertation will be made available on OPARU following the completion of internal processing steps, as the final stage of the publication process.
You will receive an email from the system once your dissertation is online.
If you have any questions about the publication process for your thesis, the team of the Service Point Publication Management will be happy to help you.
We would also be happy to assist you in person on site.
More about: University publications
Dissertations
Anja Rahner-Engel, Jessica Fröbus, Milena Katlewski
Telephone: +49 (0)731 / 50 - 31428
Writing and publication consultation
Charis Brem
Telephone: +49 (0)731 / 50 - 22490
Publication consultation
Dr. Jonas Mirbeth
Telefon: +49 (0)731 / 50 - 31456
Open Access Representatives
Uli Hahn, Gold OA
Dr. Jonas Mirbeth, Green OA
Open Access Funding
Claudia Mühlhäuser
OPARU (Technical Support)
oparu (at) uni-ulm.de
Forms
Instructions
- Dissertations Checklist (in german; english version will follow soon)
- Information sheet: Copyright
The German National Library (DNB) lists all published dissertations in Germany:
- Link to DNB (in German)