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The promotio sub auspiciis (prasidentis rei publicae) is Austria's highest academic honour.

History
The award began in the 17th century, when the best students of Philosophy at the University of Vienna were invited to the Palace of the King of Austria, who recognised their achievements for the country by presenting them with a gold medallion embossed with his profile. In the following century, this tradition became more widespread and was called "promotio sub regis" (under the eye of the King) or "promotio sub imperatoris" (under the eye of the emperor). Since the end of the Austrian empire, it has been known as "sub auspiciis praesidentis", indicating the President as head of state. In the modern presentation ceremony the President honours the best students of the land with a gold ring decorated with the emblem of Austria, along with the words "sub auspiciis praesidentis".

Requirements
The recipient of this honour must be of exemplary moral character. They must have passed their doctorate and all requirements for the doctorate in the regular duration of time with the best possible grade, which in Austria traditionally is "pass with distinction".

Matura
High school begin with four years of Oberstufe, consisting of all basic subjects and some elective subjects. Achievement is rated from 1 (sehr gut; excellent); 2 (gut; good); 3 (befriedigend; satisfactory) ; 4 (genügend; sufficient) to 5 (nicht genügend; failed). Grades in all four years have to be above 1.5. High school ends with the Matura, which contains a formalized overall assessment. Possible results are: Here the best possible grade pass with distinction must be given.
 * "mit ausgezeichnetem Erfolg bestanden" (pass with distinction: an average of 1.5 or better, no grade below 2),
 * "mit gutem Erfolg bestanden" (pass with merit: an average of 2.0 or better, no grade below 3),
 * "bestanden" (pass: no grade below 4);
 * and "nicht bestanden" (fail: at least one grade 5).

Diploma
In Austria the Diploma curriculum is divided into three parts: 1) The first diploma examination (prediploma), which has to be completed in up to 3 years 2a) The first part of the second diploma examination, which has to be completed within 5 years 2b) The second part of the second diploma examination contains the diploma thesis (this has to be completed between 6 and 12 months) and its '"rigorosum"' in front of the examining board (which has to be completed in one to two months after submitting the diploma thesis). (Note: The title rigorosum is now only allowed for PhD-curricula and the Diploma Curriculum in Medicine; in all other cases it is called the final exam).

After absolving a Diploma-program in Austria the academic title "Mag. rer. nat" (for natural science) or "Mag. phil" (for philosophies and social science) is given. The overall assessment of the Diploma has to be "pass", when there is no grade lower than 4. The grade "pass with distinction" can be given:
 * if the average of all examinations in 2a is at least 1.5 and there is no grade lower than 2;
 * if the diploma thesis in 2b has a grade of 1.0 and
 * the final exam must also be assessed with "pass with distinction", requiring a unanimous decision from the examining board that the candidate performed outstandingly

The requirements are the same for the Bachelor's and Master-Degree (grades at least 1.5, no grade lower than 2 and excellent Bachelor- or Master thesis), but a student who wants to have a promotio sub auspiciis with a Master also must have a Bachelordegree pass with distinction, for it is the prerequisite to study the Mastercurriculum.

PhD
The Austrian doctoral degree depends on a PhD-Thesis (Doktorarbeit) and an oral examination. If both parts are rated with 1.0 the overall grade "pass with distinction" is given, otherwise it is only "pass". There are no Latin honours like in Germany.

Literatur

 * Walter Brunner, Die Promotio sub auspiciis, Wien : Bundesministerium für Wiss. und Forschung 1990 ISBN 3-85456-231-4