Dissertation Completion Fellowship 2026/27

Deadline: Tuesday, Oct 20, 2026, 11:00am

The Dissertation Completion Fellowship aims to support doctoral and PhD candidates in the final phase of the dissertation / PhD project until the completion.

Funding for

Regular students (“ordentliche Studierende”) of all doctoral and PhD studies of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna or of the University of Art and Design Linz can apply for the fellowship.
The applicants should convincingly convey that the successful finalization of the dissertation or the PhD project is possible during the fellowship.
The expected quality of the dissertation or the PhD project is a central criterion in the selection process.

Requirements

The fellowship can only be awarded once per person during the whole doctoral / PhD study period.
Applications can be submitted either in German or in English.
The fellowships have to be started within six months after the applicants have been informed about the award of the fellowship (between January and June 2027).
The net income or the amount of other sources of funding (e.g. grants, fellowships, etc.) must not exceed EUR 1.121,-- per month on average during the fellowship. This amount represents the highest stipend according to the Studies Grant Act (as of Sept. 2025).
The scholarship recipient commits to presenting their dissertation/PhD project at the next PhD colloquium of the University of Art and Design Linz or the next Graduate Conference of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, depending on their respective institution of study.

Application

Completed application form in the online submission platform (required fields must be filled in)

The following documents need to be uploaded:

Current Record of Studies ("Studienblatt")
Approved Dissertation Agreement / PhD-Project Agreement / Supervision Agreement (Dr.techn) (Academy of fine Arts Vienna) or PhD-Supervision Agreement (University of Art and Design Linz) -- incl. signatures and exposé
CV of the doctoral / PhD candidate, including publication list and / or listing of previous artistic activities and artistic portfolio
Abstract of the dissertation or the PhD project (max. one page)
Detailed work and time plan for the completion of the dissertation thesis or the PhD project, including the planned date of submission
It has to be convincingly conveyed that the dissertation or the PhD project can be completed during the fellowship.
Annotated table of contents of the dissertation or project outline of the arts-based PhD project, indicating which chapter / which part has been completed and to what extent
Existing parts of the dissertation or the PhD project, e.g. completed chapters, a video project, the documentation of a performance, etc.

Furthermore, a letter of recommendation of the supervisor is necessary, which particularly addresses the following aspects: scientific / artistic qualification of the applicant, expected quality of the dissertation or the PhD project, as well as an assessment of whether the completion of the PhD is feasible within the indicated time frame.

The signed letters of recommendation have to be sent as scans by the supervisors directly to doktoratszentrum@akbild.ac.at via email until submission deadline.

Amount of the scholarship

Overall, six fellowships for six months each can be awarded (4 Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, 2 University of Art and Design Linz). The amount of the fellowship is 1,200.- Euro per month.

Funding from third parties (stipends, grants, etc.) has to be announced immediately.

Should the requirements and conditions of the fellowship not be met by the recipients of the fellowship (for example, by exceeding the allowed maximum income, through missing documents, etc.), the fellowship has to be repaid.

The Dissertation Completion Fellowship cannot be combined with other scholarships from the Center for Doctoral Studies.

No later than two months after the fellowship has ended, a final report (1-2 pages max.) has to be submitted per email.

Deadlines

There is one deadline per year.

Deadline 2026: Tuesday, 20 October 2026, 11 h

Criteria for the awarding and decision-making process

The awarding is decided by a jury for the fellowships on the basis of a review of all applications. The jury meeting will take placeon 4 December 2026.

The scholarship is awarded on the basis of the submitted documents and according to the financial possibilities. The expected quality of the dissertation or PhD project and a convincing demonstration that it can be successfully completed during the fellowship are the central selection criteria.

The applicants enjoy no legal right to funding.

The applicants will be informed by email about the results of the selection procedure shortly after the meeting of the jury.

Incomplete and not timely delivered submissions cannot be considered for funding.

There will be an online information session on the call, submission, and procedure of the Dissertation Completion Fellowship at the beginning of October - details will follow.

For further information please contact Sabine Priglinger (doktoratszentrum@akbild.ac.at)

submission form

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