University of Helsinki

The pre-examination of a doctoral dissertation

The regulations concerning examinations, grading of completed studies and the Board of Examination Appeals at the University of Helsinki include provisions on the pre-examination of doctoral dissertations. In addition, the Faculty issued its own instructions on pre-examination on 14 September 2006.

The Faculty Council appoints at least two pre-examiners for each dissertation. If possible, the pre-examiners should have the qualifications of a docent or other equivalent academic qualifications. The pre-examiners must be able to assess the dissertation impartially. A person who has co-authored a publication with the doctoral candidate or is cooperating or has cooperated in research with the doctoral candidate cannot be appointed as a pre-examiner. The pre-examiners must be appointed from outside the Faculty and at least one of them must be from outside the University of Helsinki. The Faculty Council considers exceptions to the above rules only on the basis of a written reasoned request. The supervisor of a dissertation cannot be appointed as its pre-examiner, but a visiting researcher or professor at the department can be appointed as one of the pre-examiners if he or she is considered able to assess the dissertation impartially. Doctoral candidates must be provided with the opportunity to lodge an objection with the Faculty Council against the appointment of pre-examiners.

The Faculty Council discusses the appointment of pre-examiners on the initiative of the doctoral candidate’s department. The nominated pre-examiners are notified in writing of the Faculty Council’s decision.

The pre-examiners must, within a time period the Faculty Council has set, submit a written statement, either jointly or individually, recommending explicitly that the doctoral candidate be granted or denied permission to defend the dissertation at a public examination. The time period within which this statement must be submitted cannot be longer than three months, unless there are special grounds.

In their statements, pre-examiners must pay attention to at least the following:
1. The sufficiency of the doctoral candidate’s own research input (if the dissertation includes co-authored publications): is the author’s independent input into the dissertation sufficient?
2. The significance and status of the dissertation in the field
3. The scope of the dissertation and the sufficiency of the material; the significance and shortcomings of any manuscripts submitted for publication
4. The doctoral candidate’s ability to obtain results from the material examined in the dissertation
5. The logic of the dissertation’s structure
6. The knowledge and use of literature in the field
7. Language

If a pre-examiner identifies shortcomings which he or she believes must be addressed before the doctoral candidate can be granted permission to defend the dissertation at a public examination, the pre-examiner must contact the candidate and agree on a course of action. The Faculty requests that pre-examiners not set conditions in their statements for granting a doctoral candidate permission to defend his or her dissertation. Instead, the pre-examiners’ statements should clearly indicate whether or not they recommend that the candidate be granted that permission.

The manuscript of a doctoral dissertation need not be submitted to the Faculty. Doctoral candidates and their departments should agree on whether the manuscript is submitted to the pre-examiners. The pre-examiners must also be provided with an electronic list of the publications included in the dissertation; this list is to be enclosed with the statement the pre-examiners submit to the Faculty. Departments must monitor that the pre-examination process takes no more than three months, unless there are special grounds.

Doctoral candidates must be provided with the opportunity to object to a pre-examiner’s statement before the Faculty Council decides on permission to defend the dissertation at a public examination.

Because of differences of opinion between the pre-examiners or shortcomings in the dissertation, the pre-examination process cannot be concluded in some cases within the set time period or a reasonable extension period that the pre-examiners and the doctoral candidate have agreed on with the issuance of a statement recommending that the doctoral candidate be granted permission to defend his or her dissertation at a public examination. In such cases, the pre-examination process is terminated unless the doctoral candidate wishes to take the matter to the Faculty Council. The Dean of the Faculty must be notified if a pre-examination process continues for longer than the time period the Faculty Council has set.

After a pre-examination process has been terminated, the doctoral candidate can request another pre-examination of his or her dissertation, once the changes referred to in the rejecting pre-examination statements or other changes have been made to the dissertation manuscript, and once the supervisor or another professor in the subject area has recommended that the pre-examination be restarted.