Thesis committees and annual reporting

Thank you for agreeing to support a doctoral researcher. The thesis committee membership is always a position of trust.

Thesis committees are responsible for  

• monitoring the progress of the doctoral dissertation work 

• following the quality of the degree and supervision 

At the beginning of the doctoral studies 

At the beginning of the doctoral studies, the personnel of the doctoral programme invites supervisors and every doctoral researcher invites thesis committee members to join the electronic Thessa system (thessa.helsinki.fi) which is used for the planning and monitoring of doctoral studies. Further information on Thessa below.

THESSA details and instructions

Thesis committees and annual reporting

THESSA helps a doctoral researcher to keep track of meetings and reports by sending email notifications (from thessa-admin@helsinki.fi). 

1. Doctoral researchers invite thesis committee members to sign in to THESSA. Please note that these invitations may end up in the junk mail folder to begin with. 

2. Thesis committees are complete once all members have joined THESSA 

3. An initial report and thereafter annual reports should be generated and submitted in Thessa. 

4. Thesis committee members and supervisors can view and comment on the report before the initial/annual thesis advisory committee meeting

5. The report is approved during the meeting and the doctoral researcher submits the conclusions and recommendations as agreed 

6. Doctoral researchers receive email notifications annually reminding them to arrange the next thesis committee meeting and submit an annual report 

Thesis committee meetings 

The thesis committee meets at least once a year, and the aims of the meetings are 

• to provide feedback on the progress of the research work and doctoral studies 

• to support graduation in the target duration and to monitor that other duties are not preventing the scheduled progress of the dissertation 

• to issue recommendations on the continuation or interruption of the dissertation as well as for changes to be made in supervision 

• to support the doctoral researcher in career planning 

• to support the progress of high-quality doctoral studies by offering expertise in the topic of the doctoral dissertation 

The thesis committee meets at least once per year as specified by the doctoral programme. The thesis committee reviews the doctoral researcher’s research plan and personal study plan. They discuss the progress of the doctoral researcher’s research and studies, their schedule and possible delay factors, and the doctoral researcher’s career plans for the time after completing the degree.

The duties of the thesis committee include:

• providing feedback on the progress of the doctoral researcher’s research work and studies
• ensuring that the doctoral researcher finishes their studies in the time intended and that the researcher’s other duties do not prevent them from doing so
• making recommendations on continuing or discontinuing the work and any changes to be made to the supervision relationships
• supporting the doctoral researcher with career planning
• ensuring that the doctoral dissertation work progresses in a meaningful way by offering expertise on the subject matter

The supervisors, the doctoral researcher and the thesis committee assess the dissertation’s stage of progress every year. The doctoral researcher compiles an annual report on their progress with the research and their studies and submits it to Thessa well in advance before the next meeting of the thesis committee. Supervisors and members of the thesis committee must have enough time to review the report and prepare their comments for it. The annual report includes an assessment of the dissertation’s stage of progress.

The assessment is done using the following three-step scale:

Stage I: The dissertation work is in its early stages (1–49% of the work is complete)

Stage II: The dissertation is approximately halfway done (50–74% of the work is complete)

Stage III: The dissertation is in its final stages and the public examination is scheduled to take place within 12 months (75–100% of the work is complete)

The doctoral researcher calls the meetings of the thesis committee. The supervisor may attend the thesis committee meetings, but the committee will always also discuss with the doctoral researcher without the supervisor. If necessary, the committee will inform the doctoral programme steering group of any problems in the supervision relationship. For more information on solving problems concerning supervision, click here.

The doctoral programme steering group discusses the progress of the studies and research conducted by its doctoral researchers and decides on measures to support them finishing their studies according to the schedule.

Their progress is evaluated on the basis of the following information:

• An estimate provided by the doctoral researcher’s primary supervisor on the progress of their studies and research
• completed courses registered in the study register
• the doctoral researcher’s notifications on whether they are studying full time or part time
• reports submitted by the doctoral researcher.

The steering group receives the information on the progress of studies from University Services.

The duties of the thesis committees and the annual reports are specified in the Rector’s decision 801/2017.

For more information on the duties and operating principles of the thesis committees, as well as more detailed instructions issued by the doctoral programmes, see the Instructions for Students. The service also contains the instructions provided for doctoral researchers on using Thessa and compiling an annual report. If you have any questions concerning thesis committees or annual reports, you can always contact the doctoral programme’s Education Planning Officer.