The thesis must be handed in within 4 years of acceptance as a PhD student. If the thesis isn't handed in on time the PhD process is inconclusive and the doctoral status is invalid.

• The four year deadline is extended automatically due to participation in an officially recognized university committee, illness, a disability or other good reasons, pregnancy, bringing up a child, looking after a relative in need of care, stays abroad and employment (e.g. as a scientific assistant). More details about this can be found in §21 of the PhD degree regulations.
• In well-founded cases the faculty council can extend the deadline (a written application must be made before the deadline expires).

The thesis can be written in German or English.

The application for the initiation of the evaluation process for the thesis must be submitted to the dean's office (as an informal letter addressed to the faculty council). The application letter, a list of suggested reviewers and - if possible - all other documents have to be submitted 2 weeks before the meeting of the faculty council. The printed copies of the thesis can be submitted later (up to 2 days before the meeting).

The following must be included with the application:
Note: Due to an FBR resolution, the dissertation can now usually be submitted only electronically - in deviation from the wording of the doctoral degree regulations.

• The dissertation in electronic form (pdf file in pdf/A format). This can be submitted as an attachment to an e-mail to dekanat@cs.rptu.de. The Dean's Office provides an upload link for large dissertations.
  If a reviewer or committee member would like a paper version, a printed copy of the dissertation must also be submitted (after the council meeting).
  The copies must include a title page, page numbers, a one-page summary, a a list of references and the author's CV. Any necessary printed copies must be bound.
  An example of the cover page can be found at the end of this description.
• A publication list.
• A declaration that the thesis is the PhD student's own work, that all sources have been named and that the thesis hasn't been handed in as part of any other examination procedures.
• A confirmation that the PhD fee has been paid in accordance with the regional scale of charges (currently 170 EUR). This fee can be paid
  - cash: building 47, room 1014
  - bank transfer:

  Empfänger:	Landeshochschulkasse Mainz
  Bankverbindung:	Deutsche Bundesbank Filiale Mainz
  BIC:	MARKDEF1550
  IBAN:	DE25 5500 0000 0055 0015 11
  Verwendungszweck:	405 111 22, KST 89 00 000, Promotionsgebühr FirstName_LastName_

• If applicable, suggestions about how the PhD committee should be made up and about the choice of reviewers.

Submission of the thesis is announced at the next faculty council meeting if all the documents have been handed in to the dean's office a week before the meeting. If the documents are submitted later it may be delayed to the next meeting. If the faculty council members don't want to view the files, the evaluation process is initiated immediately. If not, the start of the evaluation process is delayed to the next meeting.