Submitting your Master's Thesis for official evaluation

As of August 2011, Master's theses will be submitted to the department (instead of the Faculty of Arts). The theses should primarily be submitted to the following co-ordinators:

Pirkko Hautamäki
Area and Cultural Studies, incl. Latin American Studies and North American Studies
Unioninkatu 38 A 107, tel. (09) 191 22984

Sonja Pakarinen or Riku Hämäläinen
Study of Religions
Unioninkatu 38 E 321 / E 316, tel. (09) 191 23583 / 191 23597

Eva Nyman-Kaarakka
Greek Language and Literature, Latin Language and Roman Literature
Unioninkatu 40 A 219, tel. (09) 191 22681

Marianna Yilmazkurtdag
African Studies, Altaic Studies, Arabic and Islamic Studies, Assyriology, Egyptology, South Asian Studies, Indo-European Studies, East Asian Studies, Semitic Languages and Cultures
Unioninkatu 38 B 110, tel. (09) 191 22224

You can also submit your thesis to the following people at the Department Office (Unioninkatu 38A, 1st floor):

Marjaana Hakala
Unioninkatu 38 A 107, tel. (09) 191 22994

Pirkko Hautamäki
Unioninkatu 38 A 107, tel. (09) 191 22984

Jani Penttilä
Unioninkatu 38 A 124, tel. (09) 191 23282

 

BEFORE SUBMITTING THE THESIS

Before handing your thesis in for official evaluation, take care to fill in the following e-form to confirm that you have submitted your thesis: https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/28180/lomake.html?rinnakkaislomake=en

You must submit the e-form BEFORE handing in your thesis. The thesis will not be regarded as being in official evaluation until after the form has been properly filled in and submitted.

SUBMITTING THE THESIS

When handing your thesis in for official evaluation, you are expected to submit the following:

• Two copies of the thesis
  Both copies must be printed on one side of the paper only, and the left margin must be at least 4 cm. Line spacing should be 1.5 and the font size must be sufficient (e.g., Times New Roman 12 pt). Both copies must be imperforated and presented in either clip folders or files with elastic closure. The theses will not be returned to the writer.

• Three copies of the abstract
  One copy of the abstract must be attached to both copies of the thesis as the page following the title page. Additionally, one separate copy of the abstract must be submitted to the Department Office either in paper form or by e-mail (makula-gradut@helsinki.fi) or as an attachment of the e-form filled before submitting the thesis.

The abstract is considered as the maturity test required for completing a Master’s degree.

In a case where all other studies required for a degree have been completed before submitting the thesis, it is possible to submit the study block registering form for advanced studies to the department office simultaneously.

 

OFFICIAL EVALUATION AND GRADUATING IN 2011-2012

The evaluation and approving of the theses will proceed according to the following timetable. The timetable will tell you the earliest possible graduation date if you have completed all other required studies and have submitted your thesis by the appropriate date.

Autumn Semester 2011

The thesis has to be submitted for official evaluation by 2pm on the following dates	The student will receive a grade proposal along with a written statement from the examiners at the latest on (Mon)	The Department Council Meeting (Fri)	Signing up for the graduation ceremony (publiikki) at the latest on (Thu)	The graduation ceremony at the earliest on (Tue)
*	15.8.	26.8.	1.9.	13.9.
15.8.	5.9.	16.9.	22.9.	4.10.
12.9.	3.10.	14.10.	20.10.	1.11.
10.10.	31.10.	11.11.	17.11.	29.11.
31.10.	21.11.	2.12.	8.12.	20.12.

*The student has agreed with the supervisor that the thesis can be submitted for evaluation during the summer.

Spring Semester 2012

The thesis has to be submitted for official evaluation by 2pm on the following dates	The student will receive a grade proposal along with a written statement from the examiners at the latest on (usually a Monday)	The Department Council Meeting (usually a Friday)	Signing up for the graduation ceremony (publiikki) at the latest on (Thu)	The graduation ceremony at the earliest on (Tue)
Fri 2.12.2011	Fri 23.12.2011	Thu 5.1.	12.1.	24.1.
2.1.	23.1.	3.2.	9.2.	21.2.
30.1.	20.2.	2.3.	8.3.	20.3.
5.3.	26.3.	Wed 4.4.	12.4.	24.4.
2.4.	23.4.	4.5.	10.5.	22.5.
30.4.	21.5.	1.6.	7.6.	19.6.

 

EVALUATING AND APPROVING THE THESIS

The department director appoints two examiners acquainted with the subject of the submitted thesis, both of whom must be professors or have completed a doctoral degree. In special circumstances, the director may grant exceptions to this rule on the basis of a written appeal.
The examiners are required to submit their grade proposal within three weeks of the beginning of the official evaluation. The grade will then be decided on by the Department Council. A written, free form statement composed by the examiners will be given on each thesis. The statement should not be longer than a single page.

The examiners are expected to announce their grade proposal both to the student and to the department by the appropriate date (see the table above). The written statement must be submitted by the same date both to the student and to the Department Council.

Submitting a thesis for examination outside the teaching periods, along with the timetables for evaluation in such a case, must always be agreed upon in advance with the supervisor.

If the two examiners cannot reach a consensus on the grade proposal, the department director will appoint a third examiner. The grading of the thesis will then be decided on by the Department Council after the third examiner has submitted a grade proposal along with a written statement.

All theses approved at the Department Council meetings will be registered to Oodi at the Department Office.

MORE INFORMATION

More information on submitting your Master’s thesis for official evaluation can be had from the administrators of each discipline as well as from the Department of World Cultures office.