Costs related to defending your thesis

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There are many kind of expenses related to publishing and defending your doctoral thesis. Some of the costs are covered by the university, but some are your own responsibility. For some expenses, the university offers financial support. The aim of this article is to give you a quick, complete picture of the different kinds of expenses related to defending your thesis and of the division of responsibilities.

Doctoral thesis
Public examination
Post-defence party

Doctoral thesis

Printing

A printed edition of min. 20 copies is always required in addition to the open digital publication of your doctoral thesis. The University offers financial support for printing when the thesis is printed using Unigrafia. The printing grant covers a black-and-white edition of 20 copies (colour coverpage included).

Costs exceeding the grant are your responsibility. If you print your thesis at some other printing house, you must cover all the costs of printing. If you have applied for a special exemption from the open digital publication, you are responsible for covering all the costs of printing, even if you print the thesis in Unigrafia.

Please note that the printing grant does not cover possible costs related to the layout (formatting) of the thesis. If you want to avoid layout costs, you can also format the thesis for printing yourself.

Read more about the printing and publishing your thesis. 

Language revision

You are responsible for any language revision costs. The faculties at the City Centre Campus offer financial support for the language revision of doctoral theses.

Read more about language revision and available support. 

Public examination

Opponent’s travel costs

Your home faculty is, as a rule, responsible for the opponent’s travel and accommodation expenses.

For more information on opponents’ travel arrangements, please see page Arranging the public examination.

Public examination venue

Your home faculty is responsible for the booking costs of the venue of your public examination.

For more information on booking the venue, please see page Arranging the public examination.

Coffee service

If you want to arrange a coffee service after the public examination, you must cover the costs of the service yourself. Arranging a coffee service is completely voluntary.

For more information on arranging a coffee service, please see page Arranging the public examination.

Dressing

Agree on a dress code that best fits your budget. While a tailcoat and a black waistcoat are customary for men, a dark suit is also a perfectly fine option, so no need to rent a tailcoat if you do not own one. Women typically wear a long-sleeve, high-necked short black dress or a two-piece suit. Set the dress code for the public examination with the members of the grading committee in good time before the event. Foreign opponents can borrow a gown from the university, should they so wish.

For more information on the proceedings and the protocol of the public examination, please see page At the public examination.

Post-defence party

Covering the costs of a post-defence party (karonkka) is your responsibility. Plan an event that best suits your liking and your budget. Instead of a large-scale party, you can e.g. take the opponent and custos to dinner after the public examination. Or, if you prefer, do not hold a party at all.

For more information on arranging a post-defence party, please see page At the public examination.