Grading of Master's and licentiate theses

A master’s degree includes a written master’s thesis worth 30 credits. In licentiate programmes, the licentiate thesis in veterinary medicine and the advanced studies theses in dentistry and medicine are worth 20 credits.

Theses are graded on a scale from 0 to 5. The grade awarded for a master’s thesis is taken into account when calculating the overall grade for advanced studies. The assessment is conducted in Finnish, Swedish or English.

Master’s theses, licentiate theses and advanced studies theses are examined by two examiners as specified by the faculty council. Different faculties and degree programmes have different appointment procedures and requirements for the examiners; please check the guidelines for each degree programme separately.

A master’s thesis must demonstrate the student’s ability for scientific thinking, knowledge of the subject matter, grasp of research methods and academic writing skills. More detailed provisions and instructions for writing a master’s thesis are provided in the curricula of the degree programmes. Theses must always include a summary. In many degree programmes, the summary is examined as a maturity test proving the student’s proficiency in the language of their secondary education. The examination and grading of the thesis must focus on the part of the work completed by the student independently even if the thesis is part of a wider research project or team effort.  

Please read also the instructions on the public availability, publishing and archiving of a thesis.

All theses are assessed in the E-thesis information system. E-thesis: instructions for examiners.

The faculty council issues regulations on the grading procedure. When you are grading a master’s thesis, you can make use of the degree programme-specific assessment matrix and, if one is available in your program. If necessary, read more on the instructions prepared for assessing the structure and content of a thesis. The different parts of a master’s thesis are graded numerically and, if necessary, verbally. Many degree programmes accept the maturity test as a summary of the master’s thesis. Assessment of the new theses is examiner specific. Each examiner must always edit the assessment form in E-thesis.

Before the assessment, please check the degree programme-specific instructions for (select the degree programme from the menu at the top of the page)

• submission instructions and examination schedule
• the structure and content of the work (instructions provided for students)
• assessment criteria/assessment matrix

When examining a thesis:

• examine and assess the work with the help of the assessment matrix
• approve the maturity test, if one has been completed

The assessment process may involve disagreements among the examiners or between the student and the examiners. Faculties and degree programmes have prepared instructions for how to proceed if disagreements arise.

The master’s thesis is assessed by a University of Helsinki professor, associate or assistant professor, senior university lecturer, university lecturer or research director, together with a person who has at least a doctoral degree. The supervisor of the thesis can also act as an examiner. The thesis does not require examiners from outside the faculty.

For master's programmme-specific detailed instructions on appointing the thesis supervisor and examiners, see the section below.

The supervisor of the thesis informs the names of the examiners of the thesis using this Forms form to Kumpula Student Services. The information from the form is transferred to the E-thesis system.

If the examiners of the master's thesis disagree on the grade of the thesis, the director of the master’s programme discusses with the examiners and, if necessary, appoints a third examiner to the thesis. If the director of the master’s programme is disqualified, the deputy director of the master’s programme appoints a third examiner.

The first step is to determine whether an embargo is needed or whether limited publication is sufficient. An embargo requires a decision by the Dean, but the author themself can decide on limited publication. An embargo is not granted for scientific publication alone, but must be based on other grounds (e.g. an invention disclosure or a patent application). For both options, it should be noted that, as the thesis is a public document, an electronic copy must always be provided on request.

Begin by looking into the options above. If an embargo is still needed, the thesis advisor should follow instructions given below.

If an embargo is needed, proceed according these instructions:

• The student indicates the need for an embargo in the new e-thesis when submitting the thesis for assessment.
• The thesis supervisor needs to contact the dean and discuss the matter.
• The outcome of the discussion between the Dean and thesis supervisor will be communicated to kumpula-student@helsinki.fi and the E-thesis officer will prepare the Dean's decision on the embargo if necessary. The Dean's decision needs to be done before the assessed thesis is sent to dean for approval. 

Schedules for supervising, submitting, assessing and approving master’s theses during the 2026–2027 academic year are as follows: Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Humanities, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Theology

Students must submit their completed theses for assessment by 23.59 (Finnish time) on the submission deadline. The schedules do not apply to master’s theses completed in international joint degree programmes or commissioned training programmes.

No supervision and feedback are provided in July, unless required in a given faculty or master’s programme. 

Theses are not assessed in July.

The student registers for the submission of their thesis and maturity test in Sisu. After that the student submits their finalised thesis in the system by the deadline. Student Services forwards the thesis to the examiners for assessment. The assigned examiners receive an email about the thesis to be assessed. 

The thesis must be assessed by the deadline indicated in the email and in the system. 

When all examiners have approved their assessment, the system will send an email notification to the examiners and Student Services about the completion of the assessment. Student Services then transfers the thesis to await the dean's decision. At the same time, the student is informed about the grade proposal.

Read the user instructions for the redesigned E-thesis (English instructions will be available during August 2024).

The dean will decide on the approval and grading of theses required for second-cycle degrees. The faculty council issues regulations on the grading procedure. Once the thesis has been approved and graded, the grade will be registered by Student Services within one month. The student may not change their specialisation once a thesis included in their degree has been approved and graded.

It is not possible to try to improve the registered grade of a master’s degree. If the student is not satisfied with the grade awarded to their work, they may submit an appeal for the examination of the thesis. Instructions for submitting an appeal can be found under Instructions for Students.

Theses in the Master's Programme in Urban Studies and Planning (USP) are examined according to the USP thesis process, which is described in these Instructions for students -pages. 

Thesis evaluation

Thesis will be evaluated by two examiners. The main supervisor, together with the thesis contact person of student’s faculty, will nominate the examiners. They will evaluate thesis in e-thesis. The minimum requirement for thesis examiners is a doctoral degree. At least one of the two examiners must come from the University of Helsinki. The main supervisor is usually one of the examiners.

Follow the general instructions and deadlines of the Faculty of Science (above).

Necessary documents related to the thesis process can be found below:

• Thesis Supervision Plan: download here (pdf)
• Thesis Assessment Criteria:
  • Evaluation matrix in English (pdf)
  • Evaluation matrix in Finnish (pdf)
  • Evaluation matrix in Swedish (pdf)

If you have questions about the process, please contact USP education coordinator or programme director.

A maturity test is a scholarly text related to the field of the student’s thesis, such as a part of the thesis or its abstract or another piece of written work defined in the curriculum of the degree programme.

Maturity tests demonstrate students’ familiarity with the field of their thesis.

Maturity tests are graded on a pass–fail basis. The person marking and approving a maturity test is usually a teacher in the degree programme (e.g., the thesis supervisor). The person approving a maturity test must be proficient in the language of the test.

Please provide information on the approval of a maturity test in the assessment form in the E-thesis system at the examination stage of the thesis. Information on the approval of the test will be passed on, and the test will be recorded as completed in the student information system.

A maturity test is an independent study attainment, but it is recorded in the student information system as having a scope of 0 credits.

In what language do students complete their maturity test, and do they demonstrate their language skills through the test?

The language of a maturity test depends on whether the student completed one for their bachelor’s degree and on the language of their secondary education.

• If the language of the student’s secondary education was Finnish or Swedish and their bachelor’s degree included a maturity test taken in that language, the student can complete their maturity test at the master’s level in Finnish, Swedish, English or the language of their thesis. They no longer need to demonstrate their language skills through the maturity test, but rather must demonstrate their familiarity with their field of the thesis. In other words, the maturity test must be marked and approved only in terms of content.
• If the language of the student’s secondary education was Finnish or Swedish, but their bachelor’s degree included no maturity test in that language (e.g., the student completed their bachelor’s degree outside Finland), the student must take a maturity test in the language of their secondary education. In doing so, they demonstrate both their language skills and their familiarity with the field of the thesis. In other words, the maturity test must be marked and approved in terms of both content and writing.
  This also applies to students in an English-language master’s programme and those completing an English-language degree in a multilingual master’s programme.
• If the language of the student’s secondary education was not Finnish or Swedish or if the student completed their secondary education in a country other than Finland and is studying in a Finnish- or Swedish-language master’s programme or in a multilingual master’s programme in Finnish or Swedish, the student can take a maturity test in Finnish, Swedish, English or the language of their thesis. In doing so, they demonstrate their familiarity with the field of the thesis. In other words, the maturity test must be marked and approved only in terms of content.
• If the language of the student’s secondary education was not Finnish or Swedish or if the student completed their secondary education outside Finland and is studying in an English-language master’s programme or in a multilingual master’s programme in English, the student must take a maturity test in English. In doing so, they demonstrate their familiarity with the field of the thesis. In other words, the maturity test must be marked and approved only in terms of content.