Sisu and doctoral studies

Your study plan in Sisu helps you keep up to date on your progress and portray in a visual format which studies you have completed and which studies you must still complete for your degree.

Thessa will continue as the most important electronic tool for the planning of the entire doctoral thesis project. Sisu will be used primarily for the planning, completion and assessment of the compulsory studies included in the doctoral degree. An interface between Thessa and Sisu is currently under construction to allow both you and your supervisors to see your completed studies and study plan in Thessa as a part of the My Thesis Project -section.

Compared to WebOodi, one of the main differences is that you must plan your studies before registering for teaching. In practice, you must first add a study unit to your study plan and then register for the course. However, the planning and timetabling of studies does not mean that the selection of studies available will be reduced. All the courses offered by the University of Helsinki can also be found in Sisu. You can also flexibly edit your study plan as your studies progress, it does not have to be completed at once.

In Sisu, all electronic services are built around your personal study plan. Once WebOodi has been decommissioned, for example the following will be done through your Sisu study plan:

• planning of studies
• registration to courses
• transfer of credits (prior learning / studies completed at other universities)
• accepting studies not matching the degree structure as a part of your study plan (free edit mode: for example studies and study modules completed following the old, major-subject specific degree requirements)
• approval of study modules
• application for degree diploma

You don't need to finish the entire study plan at one go: it's enough that you have started forming the plan by the time you need one of the aforementioned Sisu functions for the first time – in Sisu, you can't for example sign up for a course until you have added the relevant study unit to your study plan. As your studies progress, you can update your study plan bit by bit.

Read more about drawing up a Sisu study plan on the page Planning your doctoral studies.

At first, Sisu can feel challenging, as it looks and functions rather differently from WebOodi. The instructions below will help you get started with Sisu:

• Planning your doctoral studies
• Teaching and course registration for doctoral researchers
• Recognition of prior learning to a doctoral degree
• Registration of doctoral studies and adding previously completed study modules to your study plan
• Doctoral diplomas and graduation

The Doctoral School and the programmes also organize info sessions and workshops to help you get started with Sisu – follow the doctoral school's and your own doctoral programme’s communications.

All of the technical user instructions for using Sisu are available under one theme: Sisu user instructions for doctoral studies.

What is the difference between Sisu’s applications? Which application should I use for which purpose? If you are unsure about which application you should use, ask the services for doctoral education for help before submitting an application. All applications are processed in the services for doctoral education either by the planning officers of doctoral programmes or by the faculty doctoral student services.

Applications submitted in free edit mode (content that deviates from the degree structure)

Free edit mode is the most commonly needed application type. Using the free edit mode, you can deviate from your programme’s degree structure when needed. Use the free edit mode for example in the following situations:

• You wish to substitute a study module in your study plan with a module that has been registered following the old degree requirements.
• You wish to add to your study plan previously completed individual study units that have been registered under a code that doesn’t match your programme’s degree structure (for example studies registered under old codes)
• You wish to add to your study plan a study unit you plan to complete but it does not match the degree structure of your doctoral programme

Approval must always be applied for changes made in the free edit mode.

Substitution application

Submit a substitution application (credit transfer) if you want to substitute a compulsory or an alternative course with prior studies that you have completed in another institution of higher education in Finland or abroad. You can submit a substitution application on the course brochure.

Inclusion application

Inclusion applications are seldom needed. Submit an inclusion application (credit transfer) if you want to include prior studies that you have completed in another university in Finland or abroad as a part of your degree’s optional or alternative studies.

Application for content that requires approval

Applications for content that requires approval are rarely needed. Submit an application if you can see the notice “approval required” in any section of your study plan. This means that the content of the module is forwarded to the services for doctoral education for assessment and if necessary, to the supervisor / coordinating academic before graduation.

Application for a custom course credit

Applications for a custom course credit are rarely needed. Submit an application for custom course credit if you have to complete a course or study module that has been left uncompleted. First, agree on the completion of a credit with your supervisor / coordinating academic, and ask for counselling from the planning officer of your doctoral programme when needed.

Study draft

Don't use unless you are specifically advised to do so.

If you have questions on the degree structure of your doctoral programme or on your own studies, please contact the planning officer of your doctoral programme or your home faculty’s doctoral student services.

Please contact Kaisa House Student Information if you need help with technical issues concerning Sisu or if you wish to give feedback about the system. Before you contact us, check first if your question has already been answered in the instructions above or on the page Frequently asked questions about Sisu.

If the data transferred from WebOodi looks deficient, see whether the problem has already been addressed here.

At the beginning, the support staff will be quite busy and we will have to prioritize students who are about to graduate. If your question is not urgent, please wait patiently.

Special arrangements to support the use of Sisu

Unfortunately there are still accessibility issues in Sisu, especially for people using screen readers. More information is available in Sisu’s accessibility statement. Funidata Oy, the company developing Sisu, is working on finding the best solution for solving the issues. If you are unable to use Sisu due to the accessibility issues, please contact the University’s accessibility liaison. More information can be found on the page Special arrangements support studies.