heiDOK – Publish
Special regulations for the publication of dissertations
Dissertations as compulsory publications in electronic form
If the PhD regulations PhD regulations permit this, you can publish your dissertation on heiDOK in electronic form. Other forms of electronic publication must be agreed with the University Library. Please contact your faculty for further details.
Electronic copy
If you choose the electronic format, you can upload your dissertation in the preferred file format (PDF) on heiDOK and publish it fast and for free. Beforehand you must sign a rights form and comply with the other conditions of publication. Please fill out the Xwritten statement and bring it with you when you deliver the printed copy (see below). Please note that for the electronic version the data format PDF/A is required. For information on PDF/ A files, see the information sheet Informationsblatt: Erstellung einer Abschlussarbeit im Format PDF/A an der Universität Heidelberg (PDF).
Printed archive copy
To comply with the publication requirements, you have to deliver a complete printed copy of your dissertation to the University Library - in addition to the electronic form. Please check with your faculty on the exact requirements. For achiving reasons, a ring binding of the printed version is not permitted.
The electronic version must exactly match the print version, including formatting and pagination. This is checked by the University Library upon receipt of the print copy.
Confirmation of compliance with the publication requirements
Please deliver the printed copy during opening hours, Mon - Fri 8.30 AM to 3.30 PM or by appointment to the information center of the Main Library in the city center (IZA) or at the branch library in Neuenheimer Feld (IZN). If your faculty participates in the procedure of the electronic doctoral file via heiDOCS, the University Library confirms directly in heiDOCS that you have fulfilled your publication obligation, so that the doctoral certificate can be handed over to you by your examination authority. If your faculty is not yet participating in this procedure, you will receive the confirmation when submitting your dissertation to the University Library that you have fulfilled your publication obligation. You must submit this confirmation to your examination authority so that the certificate can be handed over to you.
Application for an embargo on the publication of a dissertation
An application for an embargo on publication can be directed to the Dissertationsstelle. This is possible when the dissertation is connected to a patent application, or when the publishers of a journal article require such a delay in publication. More details and the relevant forms can be found on the page FAQ.
Please note that the embargo period due to a journal publication only applies to the electronic full text, not to the bibliographic data including abstract and not to the print version.
Additional publication of the dissertation with a publisher
(Following a mandatory publication in electronic form on heiDOK)
Please note: An additional publication by a publishing house is only possible if the publisher accepts the first publication in an electronic form on Open Access publication server (as heiDOK) and does not claim exclusive rights of distribution. Please check the details of the license terms of your publisher and ensure you reserve the right of an electronic publication on heiDOK.
Please also refer to the information on the portal www.dissonline.de.
Additional publication of a dissertation in electronic form on heiDOK
(After a mandatory publication in a printed form)
If you have already published your dissertation with a publisher, you can additionally publish it on heiDOK in an electronic form to ensure the widest possible dissemination of your work. As an author you are obliged to ensure before electronic publication that no rights of a third party, for example of your publisher, are infringed by an Open Access publication. Please check carefully the regulations of the publisher in regard to parallel electronic publication or self-archiving and check if such a publication is permitted.
