Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry
When you are selected for monitoring, contact your supervisor and update your personal study plan. The personal study plan includes updated doctoral study plan and research plan and the approval of your responsible professor. If you have been granted an extension during a prior monitoring of the progress of doctoral studies, you must, as a part of your research and doctoral study plans, give an account of how the doctoral dissertation and doctoral studies have progressed during the extension granted.
Submit to the Faculty’s doctoral student services:
- Form for updating a personal study plan
- Doctoral study plan, which includes a plan and a timetable for the completion of remaining studies (max. 1 page). If you have already completed all your studies, there is no reason to include a study plan.
- The updated research plan (max. 3 pages)
When your supervisor and responsible professor have agreed upon the study plan and signed the form, submit the form including the updated study and research plans to the Faculty’s doctoral student services as e-mail attachment to address viikki-phd@helsinki.fi no later than April 17th 2020.
The registration block will be lifted for a maximum period of three years. You will receive notification of the lifting of the registration block by email.
Did you not receive the message about the monitoring of the progress of doctoral studies? Monitored students do not always receive a letter. This may occur for two reasons: They have not updated their address details or they have forgotten to register for attendance or non-attendance. Even if you did not receive information about the monitoring, you may submit a monitoring report to the Faculty.
Faculty of Arts
When you are selected for monitoring, start by reading the relevant instructions on this page and then draw up study and research plans.
If, during previous progress monitoring, you have received an extension, the plan will have to account for how the doctoral dissertation and studies have progressed during the previous extension. You may be granted an extension provided that your dissertation and doctoral studies have progressed decisively during the previous extension and your discipline approves of your doctoral study plan.
- The study plan is drawn up on the attached form (Word), where you should write down personal information, names of the supervisors and the estimated completion timetable as well as possible causes for delay.
- The research plan for the doctoral dissertation (max. 3 pages) must indicate the topic of the dissertation, its relevance for previous research, the materials and methods to be used, an outline of the content and the present state of the research. In the case of an article-based dissertation, the publication plan for the articles must also be included. The research plan and its scholarly significance will be assessed as a dissertation project. The doctoral study plan must present the content of the studies, a timetable for studies to be completed as well as funding obtained for the research, if any.
The updated plans are submitted to the Faculty’s doctoral student services as e-mail attachements to address hum-postgrad@helsinki.fi no later than March 30, 2020. The Faculty’s doctoral student services will send the plans submitted by the due date for a statement to the dissertation supervisors and, if needed, to the professor in charge of the discipline. The supervisors and the professor will evaluate the feasibility of the plan and its appropriateness against the doctoral studies that you have already completed. When evaluating the timetable, special attention will be paid to the fact that a full-time doctoral student should aim to complete the doctoral dissertation in about four years. Supervisors are expected to support their students in attaining this objective.
Did you not receive the message about the monitoring of the progress of doctoral studies? Monitored students do not always receive a letter. This may occur for two reasons: they have not updated their address details or they have forgotten to register for attendance or non-attendance. Even if you did not receive information about the monitoring, you may submit a monitoring report to the Faculty.
Applicants will be notified of the decisions in May.
Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences
When you are selected for monitoring, contact your supervisor and update your personal study plan. The personal study plan includes updated doctoral study plan and research plan and the approval of your responsible professor. The doctoral study plan is simultaneously an agreement on studies to be incorporated into the doctoral degree, research topic, supervision and monitoring arrangements as well as the timetable.
Submit to the Faculty’s doctoral student services:
- Form for updating a personal study plan
- Doctoral study plan, which includes a plan and a timetable for the completion of remaining studies (max. 1 page). If you have already completed all your studies, there is no reason to include a study plan.
- The updated research plan (max. 2 pages)
- Free form statement from your thesis committee to confirm that your thesis work and studies are progressing.
When your supervisor and responsible professor have agreed upon the study plan and signed the form, submit the form including the updated study and research plans to the Faculty’s doctoral student services as e-mail attachment to address viikki-phd@helsinki.fi no later than April 17th 2020.
The registration block will be lifted for a maximum period of three years. You will receive notification of the lifting of the registration block by email.
Did you not receive the message about the monitoring of the progress of doctoral studies? Monitored students do not always receive a letter. This may occur for two reasons: They have not updated their address details or they have forgotten to register for attendance or non-attendance. Even if you did not receive information about the monitoring, you may submit a monitoring report to the Faculty.
Faculty of Educational Sciences
When you are selected for monitoring, contact your supervisors and submit to them:
If you have completed studies that are not yet registered, please discuss this with your supervisor so you can get your studies up to date to the register.
Make sure that your supervision plan is valid. If the supervision plan is no longer valid or it has not been signed, you and your supervisors must draw up a new supervision plan to Thessa. When returning the updated study plan to the Faculty's doctoral student services, you need to confirm that you have drawn up the supervision plan in Thessa, if needed.
If you do not have your supervisors contact information or you do not know if you have a valid supervision plan, please contact the Faculty’s doctoral student services (edu-research@helsinki.fi).
If you graduate as doctor during the spring semester, or you are submitting your dissertation to preliminary examination in spring semester 2020, you need not provide the updated plans required for the study monitoring. The registration block will be automatically lifted at the Faculty’s doctoral student services when you submit your doctoral dissertation for pre-examination.
If your doctoral dissertation is well advanced and you are submitting your doctoral dissertation to preliminary examination during the autumn semester 2020, it is sufficient to:
- submit an updated study plan and
- your main supervisor confirms that the dissertation is in the process of being submitted for pre-examination in fall 2020.
When your supervising professor and main supervisor have agreed upon and signed the form including the updated study plan, the form will be submitted to the Faculty’s doctoral student services as e-mail attachment to address edu-research@helsinki.fi no later than April 17th 2020.
The registration block will be lifted for a maximum period of three years or the duration of the supervision agreement. You will receive notification of the lifting of the registration block by email.
Faculty of Law
Reports submitted during monitoring of the progress of doctoral studies (study and research plans) are reviewed by the Faculty of Law twice a year. In the Autumn term, the deadline for submitting the report is 15 September 2020 (applies to registration for Spring term of 2021). The same deadlines apply to both those doctoral students, who are selected for the monitoring of the progress of doctoral studies for the first time, and those who have received extensions earlier.
If your degree will not be completed before the end of the current academic year, you must submit the monitoring report: Update your research plan and personal study plan (only necessary, if your compulsory studies have not been completed) and seek supervision to be eligible for registration as an attending student.
The updated study and research plan must be submitted with the attached electronic monitoring form no later than 15 September 2020:
You can attach also the approval of your supervisor (for example email message).
Should you experience any difficulties in sending attachments, they can also be sent by email to oik-jatkokoulutus@helsinki.fi. Fill the above form even in this case, so that the Faculty will receive the information required for approving the report.
NB! A degree reform is underway at the University of Helsinki, the transition period of which will end on 18 December 2020. It is possible to complete the degree according to the old degree structure (60 cr and dissertation) until 18 December 2020. After this the students will be transferred to the new degree structure (40 cr and dissertation, more detailed information is available in the course catalogues in WebOodi). For more information on transferring, please see the instructions related to the degree reform.
The Dean will decide on the approval of plans based on the evaluation given by the steering committee of the doctoral programme. All students who have presented their plans will be informed of the decision by email on December 2020.
If you have been granted an extension during a prior monitoring of the progress of doctoral studies, you must give, as a part of your research and doctoral study plans, an account of how the doctoral dissertation and doctoral studies have progressed during the extension granted. You may be granted an extension of your right to register as an attending student, provided that your dissertation and doctoral studies have clearly progressed during the previous extension and that your supervisor supports your doctoral study plan.
The Faculty disciplines provide guidance and advice to the students whose progress is monitored. The guidance given during the monitoring of student progress is not actual supervision of the dissertation or licentiate thesis. It aims to help you, if needed, in drawing up a good research plan and a realistic doctoral study plan. During the guidance, it is also recommended that issues contributing to the delay are discussed with a view to finding means to improve the current situation.
Faculty of Medicine
When you are selected for monitoring, write and submit a report of your studies and the timetable for the completion of your doctoral dissertation with your email address to the Faculty’s doctoral student services (meilahti-phd@helsinki.fi). The report is drawn up together with your supervisor(s). Doctoral students of PsyCo Doctoral Programme are to also submit an updated supervision plan. The doctoral committee will propose the lifting of the registration block for three years after your updated study and research plans have been approved.
Faculty of Pharmacy
When you are selected for monitoring, contact your supervisor and update your study and research plans. If you have applied for an extension before, the plan will have to account for how the doctoral dissertation and studies have progressed after the previously granted extension.
Submit to the Faculty’s doctoral student services:
- Doctoral Study Plan -form
- Doctoral study plan, which includes a plan and a timetable for the completion of remaining studies (max. 1 page). If you have already completed all your studies, there is no reason to include a study plan.
- The updated research plan (max. 2 pages)
When your supervisor and responsible professor have agreed upon the study plan and signed the form, submit the form including the updated study and research plans to the Faculty’s doctoral student services as e-mail attachment to address viikki-phd@helsinki.fi no later than April 17th 2020.
The registration block will be lifted for a maximum period of three years. You will receive notification of the lifting of the registration block by email.
Did you not receive the message about the monitoring of the progress of doctoral studies? Monitored students do not always receive a letter. This may occur for two reasons: They have not updated their address details or they have forgotten to register for attendance or non-attendance. Even if you did not receive information about the monitoring, you may submit a monitoring report to the Faculty.
Faculty of Science
When you are selected for monitoring, you must update your personal doctoral study plan and submit it, preferably personally, to your supervisor. If you have submitted your dissertation for preliminary examination, please inform Kumpula Student Services of this by email or telephone.
The supervisor will go through your study plan and provide you with advice if necessary. The signed plan will then be submitted to your coordinating professor. The professor will either approve your plan with its appendices and sign the plan, or propose it be rejected due to deficiencies in the plan. After this, the doctoral programme will assess the suitability of the research topic to the programme.
If the plan is approved, return a signed copy of the approved study plan to Kumpula Student Services, where the registration block will be lifted from Oodi. After this you may register as an attending student.
If the professor rejects your doctoral study plan, you must register as a non-attending student by the end of the registration period so as not to lose your right to pursue studies at the University. To resume your studies, you must revise your study plan, and once it has been approved and your registration block has been lifted, you may register as an attending student.
Please note: due to the special circumstances, it is not possible to submit the documents personally. Instead you need to contact your supervisor, responsible professor and Student Services virtually. The signed report should be scanned to the Kumpula Student Services (kumpula-student@helsinki.fi). If it is impossible to get the signatures, the approvals of the supervisor and the responsible professor should be sent by email.
Faculty of Social Sciences
Reports submitted during monitoring are reviewed by the Faculty of Social Sciences twice a year. When you are selected for monitoring on the progress of doctoral studies, you must submit a two-part monitoring report to the Faculty’s doctoral student services by the deadline (15 April 2020):
- Electronic form with the following attachments:
- Doctoral study plan, approved by the supervisor, which includes a plan and a timetable for the completion of remaining studies (max. 1 page). If you have already completed all your studies, there is no reason to include a study plan.
- The research plan, approved by the supervisor, which can e.g., comply with the instructions provided for applicants for doctoral studies. The recommended length of a plan written for monitoring purposes is max 5 pages.
The Faculty’s doctoral education committee will decide on the approval of plans. All students who have presented their plans will be informed of the decision by email in June 2020.
Did you not receive the message about the monitoring of the progress of doctoral studies? Monitored students do not always receive a letter. This may occur for two reasons: They have not updated their address details or they have forgotten to register for attendance or non-attendance. Even if you did not receive information about the monitoring, you may submit a monitoring report to the Faculty.
Faculty of Theology
Reports submitted during monitoring are reviewed by the Faculty of Theology twice a year. In the spring term, the deadline for submitting the report is March 30, 2020. The same deadlines apply to both those doctoral students, who are selected for the monitoring of the progress of doctoral studies for the first time, and those who have received extensions earlier.
When you are selected for monitoring, start by reading the relevant instructions on this page and then draw up both a study and a research plan.
If you have been granted an extension during a prior monitoring of the progress of doctoral studies, you must, as a part of your research and doctoral study plans, give an account of how the doctoral dissertation and doctoral studies have progressed during the extension granted You may be granted an extension provided that your dissertation and doctoral studies have progressed decisively during the previous extension and that your discipline approves of your doctoral study plan.
- The study plan is drawn up in the attached form (Word), where you should write down personal information, names of the supervisors and the coordinating professor and the estimated completion timetable as well as possible causes for the delay.
- The research plan for the doctoral dissertation (max. 3 pages) must indicate the topic of the dissertation, its relevance for previous research, the materials and methods to be used, an outline of the content and the present state of the research. In the case of an article-based dissertation, the publication plan for the articles must also be included. The research plan and its scholarly significance will be assessed as a dissertation project. The doctoral study plan must present the content of the studies, a timetable for studies to be completed as well as funding obtained for the research, if any.
The updated plans are submitted to the Faculty’s doctoral student services as e-mail attachements to address teol-tohtorikoulutus@helsinki.fi no later than March 30, 2020. The Faculty’s doctoral student services will send the plans submitted by the due date for a statement to the student’s coordinating professor. The coordinating professor will evaluate the feasibility of the research and study plans and their appropriateness against the doctoral studies that you have already completed. In addition to the coordinating professor, the plans will be evaluated by the steering committee of the Doctoral Programme in Theology and Religious Studies. When evaluating the timetable, special attention will be paid to the fact that a full-time doctoral student should aim to complete the doctoral dissertation in about four years. Supervisors are expected to support their students in attaining this objective.
Did you not receive the message about the monitoring of the progress of doctoral studies? Monitored students do not always receive a letter. This may occur for two reasons: they have not updated their address details or they have forgotten to register for attendance or non-attendance. Even if you did not receive information about the monitoring, you may submit a monitoring report to the Faculty.
Applicants will be notified of the decisions in early June at the latest.
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
When you are selected for monitoring, contact your supervisor and update your personal doctoral study plan. The personal study plan includes updated study and research plans as well as approval by your responsible professor.
Submit to the Faculty’s doctoral student services:
- Form for updating a personal study plan
- Doctoral study plan, which includes a plan and a timetable for the completion of remaining studies (max. 1 page). If you have already completed all your studies, there is no reason to include a study plan.
- The updated research plan (max. 3 pages)
When your supervisor and responsible professor have agreed upon the study plan and signed the form, submit the form including the updated study and research plans to the Faculty’s doctoral student services as e-mail attachment to address viikki-phd@helsinki.fi no later than April 17th 2020.
The registration block will be lifted for a maximum period of three years. You will receive notification of the lifting of the registration block by email.
Did you not receive the message about the monitoring of the progress of doctoral studies? Monitored students do not always receive a letter. This may occur for two reasons: They have not updated their address details or they have forgotten to register for attendance or non-attendance. Even if you did not receive information about the monitoring, you may submit a monitoring report to the Faculty.