When and how to start?
The thesis work starts in the 26E99905 Master’s thesis seminar. Thesis seminar is meant to be taken during the second year of the master’s studies, and earliest during the first year's spring. Students are advised to have a topic / area of interest ready when registering for the seminar, but the topic does not have to be finalized. If you are doing a qualitative research, it is further advised that you take the course 21E00011 Doing Qualitative Research at the same time with the seminar.
By registering to the seminar and indicating a topic / interest area, a supervisor will be assigned for the student. You will find out your supervisor during the first sessions of the seminar.
The thesis topic will be finalized with the supervisor.
The thesis seminar is designed to help the students to start their thesis work. The seminar includes seminar sessions as well as progress seminar.
Thesis seminar is held twice per academic year and the registration is done via WebOodi (course code: 26E99905 Master’s Thesis Seminar).
Can I start the thesis work before the seminar?
As the thesis seminars run twice a year, in principle thesis supervisors will not be allocated outside the thesis seminars. A supervisor can be allocated outside the seminar only for very good reasons. Missing the seminar does not count as a good reason.
Do I have to attend the thesis seminar?
Yes. The thesis seminar consists of obligatory seminar sessions, and different assignments. You can find the full course description in oodi under the code 26E99905.
Do I need to find the supervisor by myself?
No. When registering for the Master’s thesis, you are required to provide thesis topic / area of interest, and thesis supervisor suggestion (if you have one). Thesis supervisors will be named based on this information but note that not all supervisor wishes can be fulfilled. You will find out your supervisor during the first sessions of the Thesis Seminar.
Do I have to attend the thesis seminar?
Yes. The thesis seminar consists of obligatory seminar sessions, and different assignments. You can find the full course description in oodi under the code 26E99905.
Do I need to find the supervisor by myself?
No. When registering for the Master’s thesis, you are required to provide thesis topic / area of interest, and thesis supervisor suggestion (if you have one). Thesis supervisors will be named based on this information but note that not all supervisor wishes can be fulfilled. You will find out your supervisor during the first sessions of the Thesis Seminar.
Who approves the research topic?
The research topic is approved by the thesis supervisor. Please negotiate with your thesis supervisor prior accepting commissioned work to make sure that the topic and its theoretical framing is adequate for a Master’s thesis.
If I want to do my thesis for a company/organization, how do I proceed?
Speak to your supervisor to make sure that the topic and thesis itself will meet the criteria set by the degree regulations.
Please note that the school/department does not provide agreement templates for company assigned thesis, this is between you and the company/organization.
Can thesis be written in Finnish?
By default, the language of the thesis is English. Please discuss this issue with your supervisor.
What are the roles of student and supervisor?
Please see Master’s Thesis Guidelines: Table 1: Responsibilities of students and supervisors during thesis process.
When do I have to hand in my thesis in order to graduate in a particular graduation date?
Please see MyCourses for the schedule.
Finishing the thesis, hand in and evaluation process
Return the first version of your thesis to your instructor for comments. The instructor gives his/her comments and if needed, you should make the necessary corrections to the thesis.
Once you consider the thesis is ready, get the permission from your instructor to hand in your thesis for evaluation on MyCourses. Each thesis will be read and graded by two reviewers, of which one is the reviewer who supervised the thesis. Your superviser will find the second reviewer.
You need to submit your thesis and the maturity test (executive summary) to MyCourses for the evaluation and language check. In addition, you have to order a print copy of your thesis to the library.
See further instructions in Completing your master's thesis on the left hand menu. Department does not require binded copies. Please check with your supervisor to see if electronic version is enough for them or is binded copy required.
How do I complete the maturity test?
As of August 1, 2020 the abstract of the thesis serves as a maturity essay required to complete the degree. The abstract is submitted as part of the thesis and evaluated together with it. Specified instructions on submitting the thesis is found in Into: Your programme > Completing your master's thesis.
The abstract is written in the language of the thesis and in the needed translations:
- If the language of the thesis is Finnish, the abstract is written in Finnish and in English and if the student's language of secondary education is Swedish, also in Swedish
- If the language of the thesis is English, the abstract is written in English and in student's language of secondary education should it be Finnish or Swedish
- If the language of the thesis is English and student's language of secondary education is other than Finnish or Swedish, the abstract is written only in English
Demonstrating language proficiency
Students who have received their first cycle university degree from the Aalto University or from another Finnish university or from a Finnish university of applied sciences have principally demonstrated their language proficiency in the bachelor's degree or received an exemption. Therefore there is no need to demonstrate language proficiency in the master's degree. In this case the maturity essay, e.g. the abstract demonstrates only student's familiarity with the subject of the thesis.
Students, who have received their first cycle university degree outside of Finland and whose language of secondary education is Finnish or Swedish, do demonstrate their language proficiency in the master's degree. If you need to demonstrate your proficiency in national languages in the master's degree, the proficiency in the language of your secondary education is demonstrated with the abstract written in this language or with a translation of the abstract to this language. If this applies to you or you are uncertain of whether you need to demonstrate language proficiency in the master's degree, please contact your programme's planning officer to get further information about the matter.
Can master’s thesis be classified confidential?
According to the decision by the Ministry of Education and Culture that Master’s theses may not be confidential (the principle of transparency) and therefore there is no possibility for keeping MSc theses as confidential.
All the theses are required to be uploaded to eThesis. Student can then decide whether the whole work can be accessed online or only the abstract page. At the same time student will order binded library copy from the Unigrafia. So it is possible not to publish whole work online, but as the library copy is compulsory, the work can be found in the binded form from the library.