The personal study plan describes the study path you intend to follow in order to complete your degree. Your study plan includes all the courses you are planning to take in each academic year and semester.

The degree structure (=curriculum) of your Master’s programme forms the basis for your study plan.  In most cases there is also room for individual choices, especially when it comes to elective studies.

The study plan is created and updated in SISU – Student Information System.
The study plan is a living document. You can update it during your studies.

1. Get to know your master programme's degree requirements and curriculum. More information: Curriculum
2. Log in to Sisu by using your Aalto username and password.
3. Instructions, tutorials and support for using Sisu system can be found from Sisu Help. 
4. Create a study plan and choose the correct education option as a template based on your major. Select also:
   Master’s degree (when you have completed bachelor’s degree outside Aalto University)
   Bachelor + Master (when you have completed bachelor’s degree completed in Aalto University)
   Bachelor + Master (when you have not yet completed bachelor’s degree at Aalto University but would like to create study plan for the master's studies already)

5. Set the study plan a primary study plan. Note that you can have several study plans but only one can be the primary one.

6. Approval of your study plan. Some parts of the study plan are automatically approved if your selections follow the curriculum of your major. 
   Elective studies need always separate approval but do not have to be approved after every update. Please get the study plan approved at least
   - When you apply thesis topic approval
   - When you apply for graduation

   Note: If you have modified your study plan in Free edit mode, remember to apply for approval already when you are in Free edit mode. 

7. Create a timeline for your studies!
   In this way you can check how much studies you are planning to take, and you can spread the studies more evenly for the duration of your studies.   

8. Your degree certificate will be based on your study plan – So check that your study plan is correct before applying for graduation.

The student advisors are students at the School of Engineering who can help you with various questions related to your studies including information about courses and exams, IT systems (Sisu, MyCourses), transcripts of records and other documents, practicalities related to Master’s thesis and graduation etc. Study advisors specialized in international affairs help foreign students and those interested in international exchange studies. You can meet the student advisors during their opening hours, no reservation needed. More detailed information can be found under programme's conctact page.
 

The planning officer, study coordinator and study affairs secretary take care of the study affairs of the programme. You can always turn to them in questions related to planning your studies, credit transfer, graduation and degree certificates, study right extension and other applications. Please see Contact for more information.

In the beginning of your studies at the School of Engineering you are assigned an academic advisor. Academic advisor is a school professor, lecturer, university teacher or other professional. In the master’s phase,  student's and supervisor's interests (a specific industry or expertise) are as close to each other as possible. If you completed your Bachelor's at Aalto and had an adviser in your Bachelor's studies, your adviser will propably change when you start your Master's studies.
The advisor is a person with whom you  can discuss your study-related goals as well as matters related to research and the field. As the academic advisor is an iron professional in their field, you can get useful tips related to job searching, marketing your own skills, networking and career planning!

In the master's phase, the student and the supervisor meet only when the need for advising, or discussion arises. You have a more active role in arranging meetings and it is encouraged that you confirm already at the beginning of studies how and where to reach the advisor when the need arises. Appointments can be arranged in a way that suits you; video call, phone call, or live meeting.

You can find your academic advisor in MyStudies. If you do not have academic advisor in MyStudies you can contact your programmes planning officer (after orientation week).

Responsibilities of the advisee:

• Contact the academic advisor when the need for guidance, good tips, or reviewing study or future related plans arises
• Recognize and understand the goals of your degree and your degree program
• Monitor the progress of your own studies and keep your study plan in sisu.aalto.fi up to date
• You will get more information about academic advising in your programme during orientation week.

Students have to register for courses in Sisu (see instructions Registration for courses in Sisu). Registration opens generally 28 days before the beginning of the course. The ending dates have variation. See Sisu for the exact dates.  In some cases, the registration may close seven days before the beginning of the teaching period. This may be necessary for practical reasons or if the number of participants needs to be limited. To ensure the access to the course,  it is recommended to register before teaching period starts even if the registration might close later. It is recommended that a student who has registered for a course but is not able to complete it cancels their registration.

The extent of the courses is measured in credits (cr) and is based on a workload where one credit equals 27 hours of work. One year of full-time studies corresponds to 60 credits.

Courses are evaluated on the basis of one of two grading scales:

1. a scale of 0(fail)/1(passable)/2(satisfactory)/3(good)/4(very good)/5(excellent) where 5 is the highest grade; or
2. a fail/pass scale.

However the proficiency in the second national language (Finnish/Swedish) for a bachelor’s or master’s degree is graded using the following scale: fail/satisfactory/good.

If the course comprises of separate assignments, the teacher must inform students of their effect on grading at latest in the beginning of the course.
The most common assessment method is a written examination. Other assessment methods such as oral exams, portfolio, learning diary, demonstration, presentation, exercises, written tasks and project assignments can also be used. Please see more information on examinations below.

Teachers are responsible for checking and grading the examinations and/or other course work within one month from the exam date.

Registration for a course is at the same time registration for the course examination. Registration shall be done separately for examinations or assessments not included in the registration for the course. The registration period for such examinations begins 60 days prior to the examination in question and ends seven days beforehand. Only students who have registered as instructed for the examination have a right to be graded and receive the credits. Only examination registrants may enter the examination hall or online examination site.

If the assessment of a course includes a written or oral examination, a minimum of two possibilities for taking the examination must be arranged each year. To that end, the university organizes evaluation periods, which are confirmed annually together with the academic calendar. Additional opportunities for taking examinations may be provided at the discretion of the teacher. Examinations of extensive courses may consist of two or more parts.

Examinations typically last three hours. Examinees are allowed to arrive up to 30 minutes after the  official  commencement of the examination and they  may  leave  the  examination  hall  with  the permission  of  the invigilators no sooner than 35 minutes after the official commencement.

Accessibility is considered when making arrangements for examinations. Students in need of alternative arrangements for disability or health reasons must contact the examination organizer within the registration period.

For more information, please see Aalto University Examination Guidelines.

The scope of the Master's degree is normatively 120 ECTS. The structure and curriculum of your programme determine what you must study in order to get a degree. In your personal study plan, you define how you plan to fullfill these requirements. In your personal study plan, you may add more than 120 ECTS, but you must remove any non-mandatory courses exceeding 120 ECTS before you graduate. Please that due to degree requirements at Aalto (e.g. language course), the scope will most likely be 123 ECTS.

If you complete extra credits from Aalto, they will be left out of the degree, but you can request a separate transcript of them. Credits of courses that are not included in your curriculum are extra credits by default. If you complete more optional courses than required, you must select which of these credits you want to include in your degree and which are extra. Extra credits will not be transfered to partner universities. Please keep your study coordinator or planning officer informed!

We will transfer all the credits that count towards your degree at the partner university, strictly following the transcript provided by the partner univeristy administration. Aalto University cannot decide on behalf of the partner university which credits are included or excluded, if a policy like this is even available at the partner university. However, at least 50% of the scope of the degree must be completed at Aalto meaning at least 60 ECTS. If you take extra courses and receive more than 60 ECTS from the partner university, be aware that you cannot use them to take less credits at Aalto – you will still need to complete 60 ECTS in order to graduate here, and the scope of your degree will simply be more than 120 ECTS.

The credit transfer between the two universities will be handled by the administrative staff. You don't have to do anything. Usually, the staff has agreed a schedule for transcript exhange when students move from one university to another. However, the administration may not get an automatic notification when you have completed everything and are ready to graduate. Please contact the administrative staff of your second year university when you are about to graduate.

We will translate each individual course grade of your entry university into Aalto grades according to the scaling table agreed in co-operation agreements. Note that failed courses cannot be transferred because Aalto cannot give credits for failed courses.

Credits for Master's thesis cannot be transfered. The Master's thesis is always evaluated independently at Aalto according to Aalto evaluation criteria. In some cases, this might imply that you receive differing grades from the universities where you graduate.

According to Government Decree on University Degrees (794/2004), student shall demonstrate proficiency in Finnish and Swedish language that is required of central government staff in bilingual public organisations under subsection 1 of section 6 of the Act on the Knowledge of Languages Required of Personnel in Public Bodies (424/2003) andt hat is necessary for their own field; and proficiency in at least one foreign language that enablesstudents to monitor progress in their own field and operate in an international setting.

Students with Finnish Bachelor's degree

Compulsory language studies are included as part of the Finnish Bachelor’s degree for students who have studied in Finland and whose language of education is Finnish or Swedish. If the language studies have not been completed in the student’s Bachelor’s degree, the student must take 2 ECTS in the second national language and 3 ECTS in one foreign language, including both oral and written proficiency.

All other students

Students who have received their pre-university education in a language other than Finnish or Swedish, or received their education abroad, are required to complete only 3 ECTS in one foreign language, including both oral and written proficiency. Relevant courses (marked with ‘o’ and ‘w’) are offered by the Aalto University Language Center. There students who have received their education abroad and  who already have excellent command of English (e.g. English as their first language) may choose 3 credits of Finnish or Swedish courses instead, hence not covering the requirement of oral/written proficiency but meeting the language requirement of the degree. If this applies to you, please contact your school’s Learning Services for further advice, as different schools have different procedures for validating this exemption.

Language studies are included in students’ elective studies and are agreed in the personal study plan (HOPS).

Please find more information about language courses and information about learning languages from the Language Centre of Aalto University.

Read thesis guidelines. You can find the pdf of versions of the guide in English and Finnish at the end of this page. 

• Search for thesis topic. If you are planning to do your thesis for a company, more information: Study and educational projects – contracts with organisations outside Aalto University | Aalto University
• Choice and approval of topic. The topic of the thesis is decided in discussions between the student and the possible thesis supervisor. The final choice is always made by the student. Topics may be available in research being conducted at the school or the topic may have to do with themes covered on the courses. The master's programmes may also have their own thesis ‘topic banks’. The master’s thesis topic may also be related to work done during a work placement. In such cases, it is important that the topic and contents of the thesis be discussed also with the possible thesis supervisor before making the topic application. 

• Confirmation of the thesis topic and thesis supervisor is applied on MyStudies. Start your master’s thesis process by creating a thesis record on MyStudies by clicking on “Create a thesis record”.

   NOTE that the approval process may take up to a month!

1. Attend the master’s thesis seminar, if one is organised by your programme. Participation is usually voluntary but recommended.
2. Get to know the thesis evaluation criteria. You can find the evaluation criteria and guidelines in English and Finnish at the end of this page.
3. Thesis template. You can use this template for the thesis: Word Thesis template for all Aalto University schools.
4. Submit the completed thesis to the Turnitin system and to your supervisor. Turnitin is an online platform that reviews the thesis text for originality. Ask your supervisor about their Turnitin practices. For more information see: Turnitin an originality checking and feedback software.
5. Prepare thesis presentation. The thesis process also includes a final thesis presentation which is agreed with the supervisor. The presentation must be held at the latest when applying for the approval and evaluation of thesis.
6. Thesis abstract as a maturity test. The thesis process involves demonstrating conversance with the field and the student's knowledge about the topic, which is done by completing a "maturity test". 
    

As part of the thesis process, you are required to present the final thesis and write a maturity test. 

1. Thesis presentation. See the programme specific requirements and instructions for the thesis presentation. The presentation must be held at the latest when applying for the approval and evaluation of thesis.
2. Maturity test. The abstract of the thesis will serve as a maturity test. The maturity test aims to prove your expertise in the field and topic area of your thesis. Agree the completion of the maturity test with your thesis supervisor before applying for the approval of the thesis. The maturity test is graded either pass or fail.
   
   
   Note: If you have been educated in Finnish or Swedish and have not demonstrated language proficiency previously in a maturity test for a Bachelor's degree, you have to write the maturity test in the language in which you have been educated at the primary and secondary levels (Finnish or Swedish). For more information, please see Maturity demonstration (in the language of education) and contact the planning officer of your programme. 

1. Once you have permission to publish from the supervisor, submit your thesis for evaluation, approval and archiving on MyStudies.
2. Attach the completed, corrected and final version of the thesis to the application and make sure it is the correct PDF/A format. See Aalto University instructions for converting and checking the file format. The thesis file cannot be corrected or changed after the approved thesis has arrived in Aaltodoc publication archive.
3. Check the thesis deadlines and the processing dates in the table below. These deadlines are absolute, and no late applications will be processed. 
    

** Deadline 31.12.2024: Notice the holiday season. Contact your thesis supervisor well before Christmas (24.12.2024).
*** Deadline 31.7.2025: If you are applying for MSc thesis approval and evaluation on deadline 31st of July, contact your thesis supervisor well before mid-June to agree on the schedules during summer holiday season. Also, check that your personal study plan is up-to-date. Contact your programme coordinator or planning officer in any unclear situations.

If you have completed all your studies and master's thesis is your final study attainment, you can submit a request for the degree certificate on Sisu at same time with your application for the approval of your master's thesis.

Before requesting the degree certificate, check that your personal study plan is up-to-date and accepted. Contact your programme coordinator or planning officer in any unclear situations. You can find the specific guidelines and timetables on programme's webpage, under "Graduating".

If you have any questions, please select the contact based on your programme: 

Advanced Energy Solutions, please select the contact based on your major:

Take care that the completed thesis has been submitted for approval and evaluation in mystudies.aalto.fi (see detailed instructions).

To be able to apply for graduation, you must be enrolled as attending for the current semester.

You cannot graduate as a non-attending or passive student (if your study status is either of these, please contact your programme staff).

Submit a graduation application in Sisu immediately after turning in your last study attainment (e.g., a thesis). This does not have to be recorded in Sisu to apply for graduation.

Please respond to the TEK Graduate Survey which will take about 20 minutes.

With this survey, Aalto University collects feedback on the studies, study content and employment of new Master's degree graduates. To develop study programmes and university activities in the future, and monitor employment and salary levels of graduates,it is crucial we hear the voice of students.

Instructions to Sisu https://www.aalto.fi/en/applications-instructions-and-guidelines/request-for-graduation

Keep following your aalto email as you will receive information about the certificate status and pickup. You can either decide to collect the certificate from the Student Service Desk independently, have it mailed to you (e.g., if you live abroad) or participate in a Graduation Ceremony where you get the certificate.

At the end of each academic year, Aalto University also hosts a Ceremony Week. Next Ceremony Week will be organised in June 2025.

Students who, in the course of their studies towards either the bachelor’s or master’s degree, have shown excellent knowledge of the field as well as exceptional maturity and sense of judgment in the thesis may have this recognised in their degree certificate with the phrase ‘completed with honours’. The decision regarding awarding a degree with honours rests with the school.

In the field of technology a degree may be awarded with honours if the weighted average grade of the studies (with the thesis) included in the degree is at least 4.00 and if the thesis grade is 4 or 5.

In the field of economics and business administration a degree may be awarded with honours if the weighted average grade of the studies (with the thesis) included in the degree is at least 4.50.

If the thesis included in the degree has been graded on a grading scale other than the scale from 0 to 5, the thesis will be taken into calculation in accordance with provisions that were in force before this regulation entered into force.

Language versions of the commendations:

(su) Tutkinto on suoritettu erinomaisesti.

(sv) Examen har avlagts med utmärkta insikter.

(en) The degree was completed with honours.

This decision will enter into force concerning the degrees awarded in the field of technology and in the fields of economics and business administration as of 1 December 2021.

If you graduate in the beginning of a term (autumn or spring), and you can change your enrolment status from attendance to non-attendance in OILI before the enrolment period ends, you can apply for a membership fee refund from Student Union AYY.

If you graduate later during the autumn term and have paid for the entire academic year, you can apply for a refund of the spring term’s membership fee. Read more on AYY website: https://www.ayy.fi/en/membership-and-student-card/membership-fee.

Your study right at Aalto University ends on your graduation date. Because the digital student cards deploy a real-time system in verifying your student status, you cannot use your digital student card after you have graduated.

If you have a plastic student card, it is valid until the end of your AYY membership period. However, if you have a plastic student card and you apply for reimbursement of the membership fee, you must visit Starting Point with your student card. Starting Point will record the change of your status and remove the academic year tag on your student card.

Further information: https://www.ayy.fi/en/membership-and-student-card/student-card-and-frank-app

• When your right to study ends, remove all the software that the university has provided for home use, unless otherwise stated in the license agreement of the software.
• Return all borrowed study material and equipment.
• Return all keys and access badges.
• The right to access Aalto University IT services remain valid for two months after your graduation. The validity of the access rights may be extended beyond two months only for exceptional reasons.
• Remember to make a copy of the files in your university-provided home directory (network drive) and cloud services (e.g., Google Drive) for yourself. The files in your home directory will be removed once your access rights expire.
• Any messages sent to a closed Aalto email account will not be delivered. If you have used your Aalto University email address to create user accounts for other services (for example Apple ID or Dropbox), please remember to replace the Aalto address with your personal email address in those services.

Please note that you may be bound by a confidentiality obligation even after you graduate, if you have, for instance, gained access to secret information while in a position of trust at the university.

IT Service Desk contact information and service hours

National career monitoring survey is conducted by Career Services of Finnish Universities. The target group in the master's survey is alumni who graduated five years ago. In the doctoral survey, alumni who graduated three years ago.

Please take the time to respond when you receive the survey after graduation. Your response is highly appreciated! It will provide current information from working life that can be utilized in developing teaching and research. Additionally, students who are still deciding on their studies and job opportunities value the information gained from the career paths of graduates.

For more information: https://www.aalto.fi/en/collaboration/aalto-university-graduates-in-working-life

Aalto University graduates' degree information is saved automatically in Aalto's alumni and partner system (CRM) after graduation.

By joining Aalto Alumni Circle, the digital network, you can update your contact details, stay connected with fellow graduates and current students, and you can obtain an @alumni.aalto.fi mailbox.

Further information: https://www.aalto.fi/en/for-alumni or [email protected].

Please, remember to sign up for the graduation ceremony via the electronic survey linked in the invitation (or by email to [email protected]). Please check the last date for enrolment in the invitation.

The dress code for the ceremony is relatively formal (e.g. a suit or a dress). The graduates and guests are asked to arrive in time. The guests enter the hall before the graduates, who will be called to enter by name at the start of the ceremony. The first rows have been reserved for the graduates. The Dean will enter the hall after the graduates have be called and the audience will stand up as he enters. The ceremony includes speeches and music and it lasts for about two hours. Refreshments are available at the end of the ceremony.

Instructions for arrival:

How to get to Otaniemi (aalto.fi)
Campus map with parking areas (aalto.fi)

Degree recipients who are unable to attend the ceremony can collect their degree certificate from the Student service desk or they may authorize the School to mail the degree certificate to them. You can see the earliest possible pick up date on the email you have received. 

With the form which you can find at the end of this page you can authorize Aalto-university to send your degree certificate by mail. Please note that we do not mail degree certificates to addresses in Greater Helsinki.