Start here: planning the timetable of your thesis examination process

• The doctoral thesis grading scale will change. Starting 1 August 2025 theses will be graded as failed / pass. However, doctoral theses whose preliminary examination has started no later than at the Faculty Council meeting in June 2025 will receive permission to defend from the Faculty Council and will be graded according to the current grading scale failed / pass / pass with distinction.
• A preliminary examiner can be chosen as the opponent.
• The deadline for preliminary examiners' statements is 4 weeks (previously 2 months).
• Preliminary examiners either support the permission to defend (minor corrections are possible) or identify deficiencies in the manuscript so severe that permission to defend cannot be recommended. Statement, where preliminary examiner requires corrections to the thesis before giving a positive statement, is not an option. A negative statement leads to the discontinuation of the preliminary examination, as before.
• At some faculties (Agriculture and Forestry, Biological and Environmental Sciences, Law, Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Veterinary Medicine) the grading committee is appointed already at the beginning of the preliminary examination, i.e. at the same Faculty Council meeting where the preliminary examiners are appointed. The coordinating academic should propose the grading committee at the same time as they propose the preliminary examiners.
• Permission to defend is valid for 9 months (previously 12 months).
• Doctoral thesis evaluation statements (opponent and grading committee) must be given within a week (previously 2 weeks) after the defense.

The entire thesis examination process, from the launch of the preliminary examination to graduation as a doctor, takes from two to six months. It is recommended that you draw up your timetable to be flexible, since unexpected delays may occur along the way. The examination will run more smoothly if you, together with your supervisor, have ensured that the registration of your completed studies is up to date, acquainted yourselves with the instructions related to preliminary examination and considered who you could ask to be the preliminary examiners and the opponent.

The faculty 

• Appoints the preliminary examiners
• Grants permission to defend the thesis in a public examination based on the preliminary examination statements and appoints the opponent and the other members of the grading committee
• Makes the decision on the grade of the thesis after the public examination

The preliminary examination is initiated, and the preliminary examiners are appointed at a meeting of the Faculty Council. Faculty councils convene on average ten times a year. Since preparing for the meetings takes time, all statements and other material related to the matters to be discussed in the meeting must be submitted to the presenting official well in advance. Depending on the faculty, this means that they must be submitted one to two weeks prior to the meeting.

The presenting official for doctoral education (from the Faculty’s Doctoral Student Services) will send the necessary invitations and instructions to the appointed examiners and the doctoral candidate as quickly as possible after the meeting. At each stage, presenting official sends the statements received and the necessary instructions to the doctoral candidate and other parties involved.

Preliminary examiners will be given four weeks to examine the work and write their statement. Permission to defend the thesis in a public examination can be granted if the statements are positive. Permission to defend is granted, depending on the faculty, following a decision by either the faculty council or the dean. Find out the timetable for the decisions. After having received permission to defend the thesis in a public examination, the doctoral candidate will make the necessary corrections to the manuscript, print the thesis and carry out communications related to the thesis. There must be at least three weeks between the granting of permission to publicly defend the thesis and the actual public examination to allow for timely communications. The completed doctoral thesis must be publicly available (public display) five working days prior to the public examination. After the public examination, the grading statements related to it will be submitted to the faculty for the decision on the grade.

The examination is a long process with longer and shorter stages. The checklist below provides you with a quick overview of how the examination process will proceed and what you should take into account at its various stages – however, you should also acquaint yourself with the more detailed instructions related to each stage well in advance.

The planning of the timetable and the preliminary examination of the thesis

• Set the time for launching the preliminary examination process with your supervisor well in advance. Supervisors should have sufficient time to read the latest version of the manuscript and think about suitable preliminary examiners and suitable opponent. Your coordinating academic will propose preliminary examiners after having consulted the supervisors.
• At the following faculties your coordination academic also proposes the members of the grading committee, since the faculty council appoints the grading committee, including opponent, at the same meeting as the preliminary examiners: (Agriculture and Forestry, Biological and Environmental Sciences, Law, Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Veterinary Medicine).
• Ensure that you have completed the studies required for the degree and that you have registered as an attending student at the University.
• Read your home faculty’s instructions on how to submit the thesis for preliminary examination. Take note of the faculty council schedules and deadlines for submitting thesis for examination.

 Permission for the public defence and the publication of the doctoral thesis

• If the preliminary examination statements are positive, the faculty may grant you permission to defend your thesis at a public examination.
• If the opponent and members of the grading committee are not yet appointed, they will be  appointed at the same meeting where permission for the public defence is granted.
• Acquaint yourself with the instructions on the printing and publication of the thesis as well as on communications about the public examination, and prepare your thesis for publication.
• Inform about your public defence (3 weeks prior to the public examination) and ensure that printed copies of the dissertation are distributed (5 days prior to the public examination).

The public examination and the grading of the thesis

• Set the date for the public examination with the members of the grading committee.
• You can reserve a venue for the public examination after you have received two preliminary examination statements that recommend a permission to defend.
• Acquaint yourself with the public examination protocol and prepare your introductory lecture (lectio praecursoria).
• The opponent will give their statement approximately one week after the public examination. The grading committee will draw up a proposal for the grade.
• Once the proposal from the grading committee has been received, the faculty will make a decision on the grade for the thesis.

Graduating as a doctor

• Once the faculty has approved the dissertation and made a decision on the grade, and after the studies required for the degree have been completed and registered as study modules, you are ready to graduate as a doctor.
• Submit a graduation request in Sisu. In Sisu, you can request for graduation only after you have drawn up a Sisu study plan, and the study modules included in the degree as well as your doctoral thesis appear as completed in your plan.
• Your study right to complete the doctoral degree will end on the date of graduation.