• You have to be registered as an attending student when you make a graduation request and on the graduation date.
• You have to complete all studies included in your degree before applying for graduation. The only exception to this is master's thesis. To avoid any delays in graduation, ensure that all required study modules have been approved at least three (3) weeks before the graduation request deadline. 
• Your degree is based on the studies that you have on your primary study plan (HOPS) in Sisu. Check that you have a study plan and it is up-to-date. Do not hesitate to ask for advice.

Having a study plan in Sisu is compulsory for graduating, because Sisu generates the degree certificate based on both your primary study plan and the graduation request. There are two things to remember before applying a graduation request in Sisu. Please check that you have completed all studies (except thesis) included in your degree, and your primary study plan is up-to-date. 

Step by step instructions for making a graduation request in Sisu

The degree certificate is issued in English (the language of the degree) and either in Finnish or Swedish according to your choice. If you want the degree certificate in Swedish, please provide the information as Additional information for the graduation request form. Otherwise, the certificate will be in Finnish by default.

If you have agreed with your supervisor on submitting your master's thesis at the same as you wish to graduate, see dates and more information on submitting your master’s thesis at SCI Master’s thesis workspace in MyCourses. 

Students who, in their master’s degree studies, have shown excellent knowledge in the field as well as exceptional maturity and sense of judgment in their thesis, may have this recognised in their degree certificate with the phrase "Pass with Honours."

A degree may be awarded with honours when both conditions below are fulfilled:

• The weighted average grade of the courses (including the thesis) included in the degree is at least 4.00. Courses graded with pass-fail are not considered when the average grade is calculated.
• The grade for the master’s thesis is at least 4.

Respond to Graduate Survey – Your answer is highly appreciated! 

Please fill in this survey (surveypal.com).

The Graduate Survey provides current information about studies and 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. The information received is also used to follow the employment and salaries of recently graduated technology professionals in Finland.

The survey is conducted by Aalto University together with other technical universities and the Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland (TEK). All responses are confidential, and it is not possible to connect any response with an individual respondent. 

Once the dean has awarded the degree, you receive an invitation to the graduation ceremony by email. At the ceremony, the dean hands out the degree certificates to graduates.

Alternatively, you can collect your certificate from Learning Services of School of Science after receiving an email telling you that the degree certificate is ready to be picked up. When collecting your certificate, you must prove your identity, so please have your ID with you.

Check the contact information and opening hours

If you are unable to collect your degree certificate, you can also authorize another person to collect it for you. For a valid reason, you may also request Learning Services to mail the certificate for you as a registered letter. Certificates are mailed only outside the capital region (Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo, Kauniainen). In both cases, please fill in the power of attorney and submit it as a hard copy to Learning Services or as a scanned copy to [email protected]. 

Please fill in the power of attorneyIn some situations, you can get a copy of your degree certificate. You can read more about ordering a copy and arranging the translation of the degree certificate at: https://www.aalto.fi/en/services/transcripts-and-translations-of-degree-certificates

School of Science arranges four graduation ceremonies every year. The ceremony includes speeches and music, and it lasts for about two hours. Refreshments are available after the ceremony. You can invite up to three guests. The invitation will be sent to graduates by email about one month before the ceremony. 

Email any questions to [email protected]. 

Aalto University organizes Graduation Party outdoor event after the school's ceremony in June. Invitations to the outdoor event with registration link will be sent in April and May. If you wish to take part in the event, update your personal email address you’ll be using after the graduation in Sisu. 

Read more about the Graduation Party at https://www.aalto.fi/en/gradparty. 

• The monthly deadline date for making a graduation request will also be your official graduation date. 
• Degree programme committee meeting approves thesis topics and final master's theses. 
• It is not possible to submit a thesis topic approval and a final thesis for evaluation at the same time. Thesis topic approval is the starting point for working on your thesis. Send the thesis topic approval application at https://eage.aalto.fi/ as soon as you have agreed with your supervisor on your thesis topic. 
• It is possible to submit the final thesis for evaluation and apply for graduation at the same time. Please remember to inform your supervisor in advance and to leave enough time (4 weeks) for the supervisor to read the final thesis and write a statement.  

*possible graduation date, if your master's thesis has already been approved and registered in Sisu.

*possible graduation date, if your master's thesis has already been approved and registered in Sisu.

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 four months after your graduation. The validity of the access rights may be extended beyond four 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.

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].