In addition to digital publication on Helda, a small printed edition of the doctoral thesis is always required, and the printed copies must be made publicly available before the public examination. Doctoral candidates are required to provide no more than 20 printed copies of the dissertation. Those writing an article-based dissertation should note that while the digital publication can consist only of the summarizing article, the printed copies must always also include the articles used in the dissertation. Please apply for the needed permissions from the publishers of the article in good time.
The doctoral thesis must be on public display for full 5 working days before the examination. The day of the examination is not counted as a part of the 5-day public display period. If the examination is held e.g. on a Saturday, the printed copies must have been distributed by the Friday of the previous week at the latest.
Candidates must submit the printed copies no later than five weekdays before the public examination for public display to the following parties:
- Members of the grading committee (1 copy each, total 2–5 copies): opponent(s), custos and faculty representative(s)
- National Library of Finland (6+1 copies):
However, only 6 of the dissertations of the following faculties need to be submitted:
- Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry
- Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences
- Faculty of Medicine
- Faculty of Pharmacy
- Faculty of Science
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
National Library of Finland/acquisitions
PO Box 15
00014 University of Helsinki
- Helsinki University Library (1 copy):
Helsinki University Library
Kaisa House/Dissertations
PO Box 53 (Fabianinkatu 30)
00014 University of Helsinki
- Doctoral candidate’s home faculty (the remaining copies from the 20-copy print run)
Instructions for distributing the faculty copies are available further below.
Doctoral candidates are personally responsible for the distribution of the printed copies. The University’s internal mail is available for distribution within the University (please use separate packages for each recipient, write the addresses on the packages and deliver them to the porter of one of the university buildings).
Online display of dissertation
September 2022 onwards, the actual public display of thesis (in Finnish riiputus) is done online in the University’s library kiosks. An edited PDF version of the entire printed dissertation is sent to the library by Unigrafia 10 days before the public defense. The library will display the dissertation online five days before the defense. Online display of the dissertation increase accessibility of dissertations, as now all dissertations are available on each campus in an accessible format.
Online display versions of dissertations differ from those dissertation versions put in Helda. Summarising reports of the dissertation manuscripts found in Helda can be accessed anywhere, whereas the online display copies can only be read in the secure library kiosks and they cannot be downloaded or shared from the kiosks.
If Unigrafia is printing your dissertation, they will deliver the online display copy to the library and the copies for the National Library of Finland. Distributing the rest of the copies is your responsibility.
If you are having your dissertation printed by another printing house, they will submit six (+1) copies known as legal deposits to the National Library of Finland. Distributing the rest of the copies is your responsibility, same as sending an accessible PDF version of your dissertation to the library (e-thesis@helsinki.fi) at the latest 10 days before your public defense. Please check more information on accessibility.
The number and distribution of dissertations to be distributed in printed form remains the same regardless of whether doctoral candidates publish their dissertations in the University’s open digital repository.
Please note that if you order other services from Unigrafia in addition to printing the thesis (such as dissertation folders for the custos and opponent), you are responsible for the costs. Ordering such services is entirely voluntary.
It is customary to include an inscription in the dissertation copies submitted to supervisors and colleagues. This personal inscription should be written on a separate card tucked between the dissertation.
Distributing the faculty copies
Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry
Submit one copy of the printed dissertation to the Faculty’s doctoral student services. The remaining copies are to be distributed to the pre-examiners, supervisors and colleagues.
Mailing address: Doctoral Student Services / Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, P.O. Box 62, 00014 University of Helsinki
Faculty of Arts
Submit one copy of the printed dissertation to the Faculty’s doctoral student services. The remaining copies are to be distributed, at the doctoral candidate’s discretion, to the pre-examiners, supervisors and colleagues. If you have been granted a special exemption regarding the electronic publication of your dissertation, please submit, in addition to the printed copy, the entire dissertation as a single PDF file to the Faculty’s doctoral student services (including articles, if any, in their publication layout). The PDF file is required for the Faculty Council members who will decide on the grade, and it will not be publicly distributed. The file should be sent using the Funet FileSender service.
Mailing address: Doctoral Student Services / Faculty of Arts, P.O. Box 4, 00014 University of Helsinki
Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences
Submit one copy of the printed dissertation to the Faculty’s doctoral student services. The remaining copies are to be distributed to the pre-examiners, supervisors and colleagues.
Mailing address: Doctoral Student Services / Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, P.O. Box 62, 00014 University of Helsinki
Faculty of Educational Sciences
Submit one copy of the printed dissertation to the portier of Minerva-building (P.O.box 9, Siltavuorenpenger 5A) and one copy to the Dean of the Faculty. The remaining copies are to be distributed to the pre-examiners, supervisors and colleagues.
Mailing address: Siltavuorenpenger 5A portier, P.O. Box 9, 00014 University of Helsinki. Write "doctoral thesis reading copy" to the envelope.
Faculty of Law
Submit three copies of the printed dissertation to the Faculty’s doctoral student services. The remaining copies are usually distributed to the coordinating academic of the doctoral candidate’s major subject, the supervisors and colleagues, or, for example, the pre-examiners. If you have been granted a special exemption regarding the electronic publication of your dissertation, please submit, in addition to the printed copy, the entire dissertation as a single PDF file to the Faculty’s doctoral student services (including articles, if any, in their publication layout). The PDF file is required for the Faculty Council members who will decide on the grade, and it will not be publicly distributed. The file should be sent using the Funet FileSender service.
Mailing address: Doctoral Student Services / Faculty of Law, P.O. Box 4, 00014 University of Helsinki
Faculty of Medicine
Submit one copy to each of your supervisors. Any remaining copies will be made available at the public examination.
Faculty of Pharmacy
Submit one copy of the printed dissertation to the Faculty’s doctoral student services. The remaining copies are to be distributed to the pre-examiners, supervisors and colleagues.
Mailing address: Doctoral Student Services / Faculty of Pharmacy, P.O. Box 62, 00014 University of Helsinki
Faculty of Science
Submit one copy of the printed dissertation to the Faculty’s dean. The remaining copies are usually distributed to the supervisors, professors in charge of the discipline and others who have contributed to the dissertation. Any leftover copies of dissertations are usually returned to the doctoral candidate by internal mail.
Mailing address: Doctoral Student Services / Faculty of Science, P.O. Box 64, 00014 University of Helsinki
Faculty of Social Sciences
Submit one copy of the printed dissertation to the Faculty’s doctoral student services. Any remaining copies are to be distributed, at the doctoral candidate’s discretion, to the pre-examiners, supervisors and professors in charge of the discipline. If you have been granted a special exemption regarding the electronic publication of your dissertation, please submit, in addition to the printed copy, the entire dissertation as a single PDF file to the Faculty Council members who will decide on the grade (including articles, if any, in their publication layout). You have received the contact information of the members by e-mail. The file should be sent using the Funet FileSender service.
Mailing address: Doctoral Student Services / Faculty of Social Sciences, P.O. Box 16, 00014 University of Helsinki
Faculty of Theology
Submit one copy of the printed dissertation to the Faculty’s doctoral student services. Check with your supervisors whether your discipline is accustomed to distributing some printed copies, for example, among its teaching staff. The remaining copies are to be distributed, at the doctoral candidate’s discretion, to the pre-examiners, supervisors and colleagues. If you have been granted a special exemption regarding the electronic publication of your dissertation, please submit, in addition to the printed copy, the entire dissertation as a single PDF file to the Faculty’s doctoral student services (including articles, if any, in their publication layout). The PDF file is required for the Faculty Council members who will decide on the grade, and it will not be publicly distributed. The file should be sent using the Funet FileSender service.
Mailing address: Doctoral Student Services / Faculty of Theology, P.O. Box 4, 00014 University of Helsinki
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Submit one copy of the printed dissertation to the Faculty’s doctoral student services. The remaining copies are to be distributed to the pre-examiners, supervisors and colleagues.
Mailing address: Doctoral Student Services / Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, P.O. Box 62, 00014 University of Helsinki