Doctoral diploma and graduation

The graduation request is submitted through your personal Sisu study plan. Before submitting the request, please take a moment to carefully read the Sisu user instructions on applying for graduation.

Before you submit a graduation request in Sisu, please consider also the following:

• You must be registered as an attending doctoral student throughout the thesis examination process, until the date of graduation. If the public examination of your thesis takes place in the summer months, you should also remember to register as an attending student for the autumn term because the faculty will not approve your thesis until the autumn. A degree cannot be awarded to a student who has not registered at the University.
• You cannot submit a graduation request in Sisu until your approved doctoral thesis and the study modules required for a doctoral degree are indicated as completed in your study plan. Most faculties require that modules have been compiled by the stage the preliminary examination of the thesis is about to begin or, at the latest, in connection with granting the student permission to defend the thesis at a public examination. If you have completed study modules in accordance with the old degree requirements, you must apply for their approval for your study plan before you can graduate. Please read the instructions for the registration of study modules and confirm the timetable for completing studies in your faculty’s instructions for initiating the preliminary examination process.
• Doctoral degree certificate is always issued in English in addition to Finnish or Swedish.
• N.B. If you are completing a bi-national double degree (cotutelle), don't forget to mention this in your diploma request. See Sisu user instructions on applying for graduation for further information.

The University will introduce digital degree certificates in March 2025. If you submit your graduation request on or after 18 March 2025, you will receive a digital degree certificate.

Read more about the digital degree certificates and check answers to the most frequently asked questions.

The date of graduation is the date when the graduation request has been submitted in Sisu and the studies required for the degree are verified as having been completed and recorded.

A notification will appear in Sisu when your graduation request has been approved.

The degree certificate is composed of three parts: the actual certificate, a transcript of studies required for the degree, and a diploma supplement intended for international use and including information on the University and the completed degree, its level and its status in the Finnish education system.

Doctoral degree certificate is always issued in English in addition to Finnish or Swedish.

The language of the transcript of studies depends on the language of the degree. In addition, all graduates receive an English-language transcript of studies, regardless of the language of their degree.

Certificates are delivered in approximately two to three weeks' time from the submission of the graduation request. During peak times in May, June and December, as well as during holiday periods, delivery may take longer.

You can collect your degree certificate from your faculty’s Student Services. If necessary, the certificate can also be sent by post to the address you provided in your certificate request.

Further information on copies and translations of degree certificates

Your right to complete a degree expires on the date of graduation, after which you can no longer complete studies and have them registered at the University of Helsinki, unless you hold another valid right to study.

If you have been registered only for the autumn term and graduate during that term, you can no longer register for the next spring term after graduating.

If you are a member of the Student Union, your membership will continue for as long as your registration for attendance is valid (until 31 December or 31 July). You are free to take advantage of all student benefits as long as your membership is valid.

User account expiration

When you graduate, your University user account will remain active for five months from your graduation date. The validity period is the same regardless of when during the academic year you graduate.

Visit the IT Helpdesk website for further information on the validity of user accounts.

Once a semester, faculties organize graduation ceremonies to celebrate their newly graduated Bachelors, Masters and Doctors. More information on your own faculty's graduation ceremony is available in the graduation instructions for undergraduate and graduate students.

In addition, the faculties organize festive conferment ceremonies (promootio) at regular intervals, where masters and doctorates get to celebrate their degrees in a prestigious setting.

More information about the faculties' conferment ceremonies and traditions on the university's website. 

Everyone who has obtained a degree at the University of Helsinki are alumni of the university.

More information about alumni activities and joining the alumni community.