The program takes three years to complete and awards a PhD degree to graduates. During the first year, participants acquire the basic knowledge necessary for working in an interdisciplinary manner. Building on this foundation, the second and third years are dedicated to seminars in related fields, a research stay abroad, additional optional workshops, and especially to doing research on a PhD thesis. For the duration of the entire program, students attend an accompanying research seminar. In addition, DIBT Law students are actively involved in the activities of the Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law in the areas of teaching, research and research management, in order to prepare them for a career in scientific research and academia. All courses are taught in English.

DIBT provides the opportunity to conduct research in the following areas:

• Determination of taxable profit

• Locational decisions

• International coordination of business taxation

• Business taxation, tax administrations, enforcement and compliance

Within these research areas, more specific research topics may include:

• Dual Resident Companies

• International Tax Coordination and National Tax Sovereignty

• Tax Treaties and the concept of “Value Creation”

• Business decision and tax administrations

• Business Decisions and Tax Environment

• Taxable Losses, Loss Carry Forwards and Optimal Tax Policy

• Tax Liability Side Equivalence and Tax Evasion

• Enforcement and backfiring effects

• Business Taxation and Hybrid Financial Instruments

• The Digital Economy

Once admitted to DIBT, students can expect to obtain a top-quality education preparing them for a rewarding academic career or a highly specialized position in other, non-academic national or international institutions. DIBT's faculty is very well connected in the academic community and draws on extensive expertise to provide training for doctoral students and supervise their research.

The DIBT is an initiative between three leading WU academic institutions

• Business Taxation Group

• Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law

• Department of Economics 

Also part of the initiative is Prof. Kirchler, a Guest Professor from Vienna University

• Department of Occupational, Economic and Social Psychology

Cutting-edge standards in both research and teaching are guaranteed by a faculty comprised of renowned scholars who have published in the most prominent journals of their respective research fields and have proven their willingness and ability to promote interdisciplinary cooperation. The visiting professors, all internationally recognized leaders in their respective fields, form an integral part of DIBT and add yet another dimension to the top-level academic education offered by DIBT.

Students will be introduced to the international scientific community and afforded various opportunities to build a network of their own. They will also become an integral part of the cutting-edge research team working at WU in the fields of law, business and economics.

The program is open to students from all countries, provided they hold a master or equivalent degree primarily in law, business, economics, psychology or, in exceptional cases, in other disciplines, if they have a sufficient background in taxation. Applications can be submitted using the online application tool,  which is open between November 1^st and February 15^th. Please also see our FAQ section for more details on how to apply.

DIBT is funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). Only a small number of students can be admitted.

For DIBT PhD students, tuition fees are waived. There is a limited number of employment contracts available to students in the amount of approx. € 2,650 per month (tax and social insurance will be deducted from this amount). WU always goes the extra mile to provide an ideal research environment for the selected students.