Stäckel completed his degree in 1884 and gained his PhD a year later with a thesis entitled The Motion of a Particle Across a Surface which was inspired by the work of, among others, Euler, Lagrange and Jacobi .
Stäckel natapos ang kanyang degree sa 1884 at nagkamit ng kanyang PhD sa isang taon mamaya na may tisis may karapatan Ang Motion ng isang particle sa buong isang Surface na kung saan ay inspirasyon ng trabaho ng, bukod sa iba, Euler, Lagrange at Jacobi.