The master's thesis is graded according to common criteria at the School of Business. Read the grading rubric when you are planning and writing your thesis. 

The rubrics are renewed as of August 1, 2024. All bachelor's and master's theses whose preparation begins on August 1, 2024, or later are evaluated using the renewed rubrics. The renewed rubrics are in the pages of the School of Business.

Theses started before August 1, 2024 and submitted for evaluation before January 1, 2025, will be assessed according to the previously applicable assessment rubrics.The rubric can be found here (PDF).  

1. Read more about the thesis seminar of your programme on Sisu.
   • You will find the seminar in your personal study plan or through the curriculum page of your programme.
2. Register for the seminar on Sisu.
3. Take part in the seminar work and write your thesis.
4. The abstract of your thesis acts as your maturity essay. Read more about the maturity essay further down on this page.
5. Format the thesis file for submission.
   • Submit your thesis as a single PDF/A file containing the cover page and thesis abstract. See below for details on preparing the file.
   • Practice saving the thesis in the correct format before the deadline date, because if you encounter any problems, you will not have time to fix them on the day your thesis is due.
6. Submit your master’s thesis for evaluation:
   • Thesis submission in January 2025 or earlier: submit your master’s thesis for evaluation to MyCourses and to eAge for archiving. Submit the same file to both systems. 
   • If you have written your thesis together with another student, both of you need to submit the same file for evaluation and archiving. 
   • You have to be enrolled as an attending student for the right to study to which the master's thesis relates.
   • The abstracts of bachelor's and master's theses to be saved from January 1, 2024 will always be openly published in the Aaltodoc publication archive together with other metadata of the theses. Read more about theses as public documents here.
   • Further information about publishing theses here.

• Use the thesis template for all Aalto University Schools that can be found here. The first page of the submitted file should be the cover page, while the next should be the thesis abstract page.
• The cover page and the abstract are written in the same language as your thesis and depending on your language of education the abstract may need to be written in other language(s) as well.
• The abstract of your thesis acts as your maturity essay. Read more about the maturity essay and what languages it needs to be written in further down on this page under The maturity essay at the master's level.
• Save your file as an archival PDF/A file. Suitable formats: PDF/A-1a, -1b, -2a and -2b. Do not use any other file format.

General guidelines for master's thesis structure and design can be found here.

Instructions for converting a file to PDF/A compliant version here

For the schedule for thesis evaluation, see the page Graduation. You can submit your thesis for evaluation even before you have completed all your studies.

If you are submitting your thesis for evaluation in December 2024 or January 2025, follow these instructions. 

1. Register for the thesis submission workspace of your department on MyCourses.
   • Department of Management Studies (PMOD, SMCW, IDBM, CS, Global Management*)
   • Department of Accounting and Business Law (accounting, business law)
   • Department of Marketing (marketing)
   • Department of Economics (economics)
   • Department of Information and Service Management (ISM, BA)
   • Department of Finance (finance)
2. Submit your master’s thesis as instructed in the MyCourses workspace.
3. Submit your master’s thesis to eAge for archiving. Click here to go to eAge.
4. Follow your Aalto email as we will use it to contact you if we need additional information.
   • Remember to check your spam folder, because sometimes eAge messages end up there.

* Global Management students who have started their studies before 1.8.2022 should submit their thesis according to their specialization area. Student who have started their studies 1.8.2022, submit the thesis to the workspace of Management studies.

If the thesis and maturity essay are the last study attainments you need to complete to graduate, you can then request for graduation as a Master of Science (Economics and Business Administration). Read more on the page Graduation.

1. If you notice an error in your thesis after its submission but before the deadline:
   • Ask for your eAge form to be returned to you by emailing to [email protected].
   • Correct the error in your thesis.
   • Submit the corrected version to the MyCourses workspace no later than on the deadline date.
   • Once you get your eAge form back, replace the thesis file with the corrected one and resend the form.
   • If you had submitted the earlier version of the thesis separately to your thesis advisor, send the corrected version also to the thesis advisor.
2. If you notice an error after the deadline but before the thesis has been evaluated, please do either of the following:
   • Suspend the thesis evaluation process by sending an email to the planning officer of your programme or to [email protected].
   • Let the thesis advisor evaluate your thesis and then follow the instructions given in item 3 below.
3. If you wish to correct an error in your thesis after its evaluation, you can append an errata document to your thesis as instructed below.

The master's thesis is graded according to common criteria at the School of Business. Read the grading rubric when you are planning and writing your thesis. 

Starting from January 1, 2025 all thesis are evaluated according to the renewed rubrics. The renewed rubrics are in the pages of the School of Business.

1. Read more about the thesis seminar of your programme on Sisu.
   • You will find the seminar in your personal study plan or through the curriculum page of your programme.
2. Register for the thesis seminar on Sisu.
3. Agree on thesis topic and supervisor according to the instructions of your programme’s thesis seminar. 
4. Once you have a preliminary thesis topic and you have been assigned a thesis supervisor, apply for supervisor and topic approval in MyStudies > Thesis-tab
5. Take part in the seminar work and write your thesis.
6. The abstract of your thesis acts as your maturity essay. Read more about the maturity essay further down on this page.
7. Finalize the thesis and format the thesis file for submission.
   • Practice saving the thesis in the correct format before the deadline date, because if you encounter any problems, you might not have time to fix them on the day your thesis is due.
8. Submit the final thesis for evaluation in MyStudies. 
   • If you have written your thesis together with another student, both of you need to submit the same file for evaluation.
   • You have to be enrolled as an attending student for the right to study to which the master's thesis relates.
9. After submitting the thesis: 
   • If you have completed all other studies except the thesis, you can apply for graduation in Sisu with the same deadline as you submitted your thesis. 
   • Your supervisor will evaluate and grade the thesis. The final grade will be marked on MyStudies and theses will be registered in Sisu. You can view the final grade from Sisu ja MyStudies and download the evaluation statement from MyStudies. 
   • The abstracts of bachelor's and master's theses will always be openly published in the Aaltodoc publication archive together with other metadata of the theses. Read more about theses as public documents here.

Further information about publishing theses here.

To start the thesis process in MyStudies, you must apply for topic and supervisor approval in MyStudies. You can send the application only after you have your preliminary thesis topic and you have been assigned a thesis supervisor.

How to apply:

• Go to MyStudies (http://mystudies.aalto.fi/)
• Fill in the needed basic starting information in MyStudies Thesis –tab: thesis supervisor (+advisor if any), thesis topic and the language of your thesis. 
• Finally, select "Submit for Supervisor Approval”.
• Your supervisor will automatically receive a notification of your application and will approve the thesis for supervision, please wait patiently for the approval. 
• Your programme’s planning officer will check the right course code for the thesis and whether you need to demonstrate language proficiency in the maturity essay. These will be marked in MyStudies within few weeks. 

What if supervisor and/or topic change during the thesis work?

• Contact your programmes planning officer and they will help you.

• Submit your thesis as a single PDF/A file containing the cover page and thesis abstract. 
• Use the thesis template for all Aalto University Schools that can be found here. The first page of the submitted file should be the cover page, while the next should be the thesis abstract page.
• The cover page and the abstract are written in the same language as your thesis and depending on your language of education the abstract may need to be written in other language(s) as well.
• The abstract of your thesis acts as your maturity essay. Read more about the maturity essay and what languages it needs to be written in further down on this page under The maturity essay at the master's level.
• Save your file as an archival PDF/A file. Suitable formats: PDF/A-1a, -1b, -2a and -2b. Do not use any other file format.

General guidelines for master's thesis structure and design can be found here.

Instructions for converting a file to PDF/A compliant version here

Plase note the supervisor and topic must be approved in MyStudies before you can submit the thesis for evaluation. You can apply for topic and supervisor approval in MyStudies (http://mystudies.aalto.fi/) >> Thesis-tab. 

Submitting the thesis

1. Submit the final version of your thesis for evaluation, grading, and archiving in MyStudies (http://mystudies.aalto.fi/) >> Thesis-tab 
2. Check and complete all the thesis basic information and metadata, save the thesis as a PDF/A file, and append the file to your application.
3. From the final thesis file you submit in MyStudies, a Turnitin similarity report will be generated.
4. Track the progress of your master’s thesis evaluation and approval process in MyStudies, and once the thesis has been approved, you will also find its final grade and evaluation statement in MyStudies.

After submitting the thesis

• If the thesis and maturity essay are the last study attainments you need to complete to graduate, you can then request for graduation as a Master of Science (Economics and Business Administration). Read more on the page Graduation.
• Your supervisor will evaluate and grade the thesis. 
• Once the grade has been approved, the final grade is marked on MyStudies and thesis is registered to Sisu. You can view the final grade from Sisu and MyStudies and download the evaluation statement from MyStudies. Additionally, you will receive an email to your aalto.fi email address containing the final grade, statement, and instructions on how to appeal the thesis grade decision (if needed). Your thesis will be archived in AaltoDoc. 
• Follow your Aalto email as we will use it to contact you if we need additional information

1. If you notice an error before the thesis has been evaluated: 
   • Suspend the thesis evaluation process by sending an email to the planning officer of your programme or to [email protected].
2. If you wish to correct an error in your thesis after its evaluation, you can append an errata document to your thesis as instructed below.

Write your thesis abstract in the same language as the thesis and in translation as necessary (see below):

• If the language of your thesis is Finnish,
  • write its abstract in Finnish and English.
  • If your language of primary and secondary education is Swedish, write it also in Swedish.
• If the language of your thesis is English,
  • write its abstract in English and
  • in your language of primary and secondary education (if that language was Finnish or Swedish).

Note that the translations must be written regardless of whether you show language proficiency in your master’s degree.

Demonstrating language proficiency

If you are unsure about whether you need to demonstrate language proficiency in your master’s thesis, contact a planner for your programme before submitting your thesis.

Students who completed a bachelor’s degree in Finland

In principle, if you completed a bachelor’s degree at Aalto University or at another Finnish university or a Finnish university of applied sciences, you have already demonstrated your language proficiency in that degree or you received an exemption. Therefore, you do not need a demonstration of language proficiency in your master’s degree; instead, your master’s level maturity essay demonstrates your conversance with the subject area of your thesis. Approval of your thesis means approval of your maturity essay as well.

Students who completed a bachelor’s degree abroad

If you completed a bachelor’s degree abroad and your language of primary and secondary education is Finnish or Swedish, you must demonstrate your proficiency in your language of primary and secondary education by a master’s level maturity essay or by a translation of it. If you belong to this group, contact your programme planner once you have submitted your thesis. You will then receive instructions regarding how your essay or translation will be examined.

If you completed a bachelor’s degree abroad and your language of primary and secondary education is not Finnish or Swedish, your maturity essay demonstrates your conversance with the subject area of your thesis. Approval of your thesis means approval of your maturity essay as well.