E-thesis

Belongs to themes:

By selecting a degree programme you are able to see the general content as well as the possible degree programme-specific content. You do not have to select a degree programme to see the Open University's instructions.

E-thesis is a system for submitting and assessing theses. In addition, it transmits approved theses into the University of Helsinki’s repository Helda.

When you have submitted your master's thesis in E-thesis, academic administration staff will send it to the designated examiners for assessment. Once they have assessed it, you will be emailed the grade. 

When you submit your bachelor's thesis, it will be sent directly to your supervisor for review.

Approved theses are archived in the E-thesis system. All approved theses can be read on the terminals available at Helsinki University Library. Thesis abstracts are always public and can be accessed in the open repository.

Further information on theses is available in the thesis instructions.

User instructions for the new version can be found on this page. Instructions for its predecessor are available in the old E-thesis.

User instructions for examiner are available in Instructions for teaching

Submitting of master's theses for evaluation is done the new E-thesis in all degree programs after 1.1.2025. 

From August 1st 2025 onwards of the following faculties and degree programmes start using the new E-thesis for submitting bachelor’s theses:

  • Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences
  • Faculty of Pharmacy
  • Faculty of Educational Sciences
  • Faculty of Medicine:
    • Bachelor’s Programme in Logopedics
    • Bachelor’s Programme in Psychology
    • Bachelor’s Programme in Applied Psychology
  • Faculty of Science:
    • Bachelor’s Programme in Geography
  • Swedish School of Social Science
  • Faculty of Theology 

For your faculty’s thesis submission instructions, see the thesis instructions. All theses submitted by the due date (by 23.59 Finnish time) will be considered.

User instructions for the new E-thesis

The redesigned E-thesis for submitting and assessing theses was introduced during the 2024–2025 academic year. Although initially used only to submit master’s theses, the system will gradually come to encompass bachelor’s theses as well.

Please note that these instructions apply to the new E-thesis. Instructions for theses are available on the Instructions for Students website.

Assessment Proces for Bachelor's Degree theses

Kanditutkielmanarviointiprosessi englanniksi
See larger image.

Assessment Process for Second Cycle Degree Theses

Description of the master's thesis assessment process
See larger image.

Logging in to E-thesis

Begin by logging in to the new E-thesis through either the button in the top right corner or the welcome window. E-thesis uses a similar login to other University of Helsinki services. Once you have logged in, your first and last name will appear in the top right corner.

Screen shot of logging in to the new E-thesis

Beginning thesis submission

NOTE: When submitting a Bachelor's thesis, be sure to register on Sisu for courses for the thesis and maturity test.  

To begin the submission process, click on the ‘Start’ button under your thesis title.

Screenshot of the Start button in the new E-thesis

Selecting your degree programme and valid right to study

At the beginning of the submission process, you must select the degree programme under which you will submit your thesis. If you hold the right to study in only one degree programme, the system will select it automatically. Once you have selected the programme, click on ‘Start’.

Screenshot of how to select the degree programme


If you do not hold a valid right to study or if you have registered as a non-attending student, the system will not allow you to begin the submission process. You can check your right to study and registration status in Sisu.

Study right is missing


If the system cannot find your valid right to study, please send an email to e-thesis@helsinki.fi.

Verifying your personal details

Next, check your personal details. If you find errors, edit them in Sisu before submitting your thesis. If there are any errors in your name, please contact Helpdesk at helpdesk@helsinki.fi.

You can save any submitted thesis data and suspend the submission process by clicking on ‘Continue later’ and return to edit the data later. For information on incomplete and complete submission processes, click on ‘My theses’ on the E-thesis frontpage. 

Thesis information and description

Next, enter the required thesis information and descriptive data.

Thesis author(s)

Check your personal details (first and last names, student number) once more.

Co-authored thesis

If you have co-authored your thesis, select ‘Yes’ and enter your co-author’s name.

A screenshot of how to select co-authored thesis

Thesis responsible person

Some degree programmes appoint a coordinator responsible for theses, i.e., a responsible coordinator, indicated in the thesis plan. For example, the degree programme coordinator may be appointed as the responsible coordinator. Add the responsible coordinator, if any. Students at the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry and the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences must provide this information.

Thesis supervisors

Enter your supervisor’s first and last name and email. If you have another supervisor, you can enter their details by clicking on ‘Add another supervisor’.

Screenshot of how to insert supervisors

Thesis information

Under ‘Thesis information’, enter basic information on your thesis, such as its language, title, subtitle (if any) and abstract. 

Check the thesis guidelines to see whether translations of the thesis title and abstract are required in your degree programme, and in which language the translations, if any, must be provided. If you use the maturity test to demonstrate your skills in the language of your secondary education, you must write the abstract in both that language and the language of the thesis.

Keywords

Based on the thesis abstract, the system generates keywords automatically. You can select appropriate thesis keywords from the suggestions by clicking on them. The proposed keywords are based on the thesis abstract and its translation. If the abstract or its translation is not in Finnish, Swedish or English, you will not receive suggestions for the keywords.

You can also add your own keywords by entering them in the text field and pressing Enter or clicking on ‘+ Add keyword’ next to the text field. Please note that you can add only one keyword at a time.

Screenshot of how to select and add keywords

Maturity test

Enter information on your maturity test, that is, the language of your secondary education, the language of your maturity test and any first- or second-cycle degree previously completed in Finland.

If you have previously completed maturity tests and their information can be found in Sisu, the system will retrieve it.

Thesis publication

Descriptive data about all University of Helsinki theses are published in the Helda repository. Read more about thesis publication on the Instructions for Students website.

You can permit the open access publication of your thesis, but remember to first read the publication agreement. If you permit the publication of your thesis, a menu for CC licences will appear below. You can select a suitable CC licence or accept none of them, in which case you will retain all rights to your thesis. 

Screenshot of the thesis publication in E-thesis


Even after submitting your thesis, you can change its publication permission until the status of its assessment is ‘Complete’.

If necessary, you can request an embargo period for the publication of your thesis. Please note that you can do so only during thesis submission. 

Files

On the ‘Files’ tab, you can add your thesis file  in an accessible format (PDF/A) and any other attachments. Ensure that the name of the thesis file is in the format Lastname_Firstname_Mastersthesis_Year (with no Scandinavian letters or special characters). In addition, you can add links relevant to your thesis, such as videos or computer programming.

After uploading files, double-check that they are correct. 

Confirm and save

The ‘Confirm and save’ tab contains a summary of your thesis information. On the ‘Summary’ tab, you can check that you have completed all the required information correctly. You can always return to edit a specific section by clicking on the ‘Return to edit’ button next to it. 

When you have ensured all the information is correct and all the necessary files have been added, you can submit your thesis by clicking on ‘Send’ at the bottom of the tab.

Screenshot of how to submit thesis for assessment


After submitting your thesis, you will receive an email confirming that your thesis has been received. 

‘My theses’ and thesis statuses

On the ‘My theses’ page, accessible from the E-thesis frontpage, you can view the theses you have submitted and any incomplete submissions.

Screenshot of how to access 'My theses' from the E-thesis frontpage


You can resume your incomplete submissions, shown at the top of the page, or, if unnecessary, remove them.

In addition, the ‘My theses’ page allows you to monitor the progress of your thesis assessment under the ‘Status’ column and to review submissions.

You can change the publication permission for your thesis until the status of its assessment is ‘Complete’. Select the thesis by clicking ‘Show’ and ‘Return to edit’.

Grade proposal messages

You will receive an email about the grade proposed for your thesis at least one week before its approval. The email will include a link to the ‘My theses’ page. You can view your grade proposal by clicking on ‘Show’. 

Screenshot on how to click show button in my theses page

 

You can then download the thesis assessment as a PDF file from the ‘Summary’ page.

You can then download the thesis assessment as a PDF file from the ‘Summary’ page.

 

As long as you have a valid helsinki.fi account, you can read the statement for the grade proposal in E-thesis. Please note that you will be unable to save the PDF file after your account expires.

Assessment decisions

When your thesis has been approved and the grade is in Sisu, you will receive a message about the assessment decision. The system will export your thesis directly to the Helda repository in accordance with the publication permission you have granted.

What to do if you have a problem?

If you need help with using the new E-thesis service, you can contact: e-thesis@helsinki.fi.