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Dissertation Explained: A Grad Student’s Guide

Updated: June 19, 2024

Published: March 10, 2020

Higher education is filled with milestones. When completing your PhD , you will be required to complete a dissertation. Even if you’ve heard this word thrown around before, you still may be questioning “What is a dissertation?” It’s a common question, especially for those considering to join or are already in a graduate program. As such, here’s everything you need to know about dissertations.

What is a Dissertation?

A dissertation is a written document that details research. A dissertation also signifies the completion of your PhD program. It is required to earn a PhD degree, which stands for Doctor of Philosophy.

A PhD is created from knowledge acquired from:

1. Coursework:

A PhD program consists of academic courses that are usually small in size and challenging in content. Most PhD courses consist of a high amount and level of reading and writing per week. These courses will help prepare you for your dissertation as they will teach research methodology.

2. Research:

For your dissertation, it is likely that you will have the choice between performing your own research on a subject , or expanding on existing research. Likely, you will complete a mixture of the two. For those in the hard sciences, you will perform research in a lab. For those in humanities and social sciences, research may mean gathering data from surveys or existing research.

3. Analysis:

Once you have collected the data you need to prove your point, you will have to analyze and interpret the information. PhD programs will prepare you for how to conduct analysis, as well as for how to position your research into the existing body of work on the subject matter.

4. Support:

The process of writing and completing a dissertation is bigger than the work itself. It can lead to research positions within the university or outside companies. It may mean that you will teach and share your findings with current undergraduates, or even be published in academic journals. How far you plan to take your dissertation is your choice to make and will require the relevant effort to accomplish your goals.

Moving from Student to Scholar

In essence, a dissertation is what moves a doctoral student into becoming a scholar. Their research may be published, shared, and used as educational material moving forwards.

Thesis vs. Dissertation

Basic differences.

Grad students may conflate the differences between a thesis and a dissertation.

Simply put, a thesis is what you write to complete a master’s degree. It summarizes existing research and signifies that you understand the subject matter deeply.

On the other hand, a dissertation is the culmination of a doctoral program. It will likely require your own research and it can contribute an entirely new idea into your field.

Structural Differences

When it comes to the structure, a thesis and dissertation are also different. A thesis is like the research papers you complete during undergraduate studies. A thesis displays your ability to think critically and analyze information. It’s less based on research that you’ve completed yourself and more about interpreting and analyzing existing material. They are generally around 100 pages in length.

A dissertation is generally two to three times longer compared to a thesis. This is because the bulk of the information is garnered from research you’ve performed yourself. Also, if you are providing something new in your field, it means that existing information is lacking. That’s why you’ll have to provide a lot of data and research to back up your claims.

Your Guide: Structuring a Dissertation

Dissertation length.

The length of a dissertation varies between study level and country. At an undergraduate level, this is more likely referred to as a research paper, which is 10,000 to 12,000 words on average. At a master’s level, the word count may be 15,000 to 25,000, and it will likely be in the form of a thesis. For those completing their PhD, then the dissertation could be 50,000 words or more.

Photo by  Louis Reed  on  Unsplash

Format of the dissertation.

Here are the items you must include in a dissertation. While the format may slightly vary, here’s a look at one way to format your dissertation:

1. Title page:

This is the first page which includes: title, your name, department, degree program, institution, and submission date. Your program may specify exactly how and what they want you to include on the title page.

2. Acknowledgements:

This is optional, but it is where you can express your gratitude to those who have helped you complete your dissertation (professors, research partners, etc.).

3. Abstract:

The abstract is about 150-300 words and summarizes what your research is about. You state the main topic, the methods used, the main results, and your conclusion.

4. Table of Contents

Here, you list the chapter titles and pages to serve as a wayfinding tool for your readers.

5. List of Figures and Tables:

This is like the table of contents, but for graphs and figures.

6. List of Abbreviations:

If you’ve constantly abbreviated words in your content, define them in a list at the beginning.

7. Glossary:

In highly specialized work, it’s likely that you’ve used words that most people may not understand, so a glossary is where you define these terms.

8. Introduction:

Your introduction sets up the topic, purpose, and relevance. It’s where readers will understand what they expect to gain from your dissertation.

9. Literature Review / Theoretical Framework:

Based on the research you performed to create your own dissertation, you’ll want to summarize and address the gaps in what you researched.

10. Methodology

This is where you define how you conducted your research. It offers credibility for you as a source of information. You should give all the details as to how you’ve conducted your research, including: where and when research took place, how it was conducted, any obstacles you faced, and how you justified your findings.

11. Results:

This is where you share the results that have helped contribute to your findings.

12. Discussion:

In the discussion section, you explain what these findings mean to your research question. Were they in line with your expectations or did something jump out as surprising? You may also want to recommend ways to move forward in researching and addressing the subject matter.

13. Conclusion:

A conclusion ties it all together and summarizes the answer to the research question and leaves your reader clearly understanding your main argument.

14. Reference List:

This is the equivalent to a works cited or bibliography page, which documents all the sources you used to create your dissertation.

15. Appendices:

If you have any information that was ancillary to creating the dissertation, but doesn’t directly fit into its chapters, then you can add it in the appendix.

Drafting and Rewriting

As with any paper, especially one of this size and importance, the writing requires a process. It may begin with outlines and drafts, and even a few rewrites. It’s important to proofread your dissertation for both grammatical mistakes, but also to ensure it can be clearly understood.

It’s always useful to read your writing out loud to catch mistakes. Also, if you have people who you trust to read it over — like a peer, family member, mentor, or professor — it’s very helpful to get a second eye on your work.

How is it Different from an Essay?

There are a few main differences between a dissertation and an essay. For starters, an essay is relatively short in comparison to a dissertation, which includes your own body of research and work. Not only is an essay shorter, but you are also likely given the topic matter of an essay. When it comes to a dissertation, you have the freedom to construct your own argument, conduct your own research, and then prove your findings.

Types of Dissertations

You can choose what type of dissertation you complete. Often, this depends on the subject and doctoral degree, but the two main types are:

This relies on conducting your own research.

Non-empirical:

This relies on studying existing research to support your argument.

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More things you should know.

A dissertation is certainly no easy feat. Here’s a few more things to remember before you get started writing your own:

1. Independent by Nature:

The process of completing a dissertation is self-directed, and therefore can feel overwhelming. However, if you approach it like the new experience that it is with an open-mind and willingness to learn, you will make it through!

2. Seek Support:

There are countless people around to offer support. From professors to peers, you can always ask for help throughout the process.

3. Writing Skills:

The process of writing a dissertation will further hone your writing skills which will follow you throughout your life. These skills are highly transferable on the job, from having the ability to communicate to also developing analytical and critical thinking skills.

4. Time Management:

You can work backwards from the culmination of your program to break down this gargantuan task into smaller pieces. That way, you can manage your time to chip away at the task throughout the length of the program.

5. Topic Flexibility:

It’s okay to change subject matters and rethink the point of your dissertation. Just try as much as possible to do this early in the process so you don’t waste too much time and energy.

The Wrap Up

A dissertation marks the completion of your doctoral program and moves you from being a student to being a scholar. While the process is long and requires a lot of effort and energy, you have the power to lend an entirely new research and findings into your field of expertise.

As always, when in the thick of things, remember why you started. Completing both your dissertation and PhD is a commendable accomplishment.

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• Dissertation

What Is a Dissertation? | 5 Essential Questions to Get Started

Published on 26 March 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on 5 May 2022.

A dissertation is a large research project undertaken at the end of a degree. It involves in-depth consideration of a problem or question chosen by the student. It is usually the largest (and final) piece of written work produced during a degree.

The length and structure of a dissertation vary widely depending on the level and field of study. However, there are some key questions that can help you understand the requirements and get started on your dissertation project.

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Table of contents

When and why do you have to write a dissertation, who will supervise your dissertation, what type of research will you do, how should your dissertation be structured, what formatting and referencing rules do you have to follow, frequently asked questions about dissertations.

A dissertation, sometimes called a thesis, comes at the end of an undergraduate or postgraduate degree. It is a larger project than the other essays you’ve written, requiring a higher word count and a greater depth of research.

You’ll generally work on your dissertation during the final year of your degree, over a longer period than you would take for a standard essay . For example, the dissertation might be your main focus for the last six months of your degree.

Why is the dissertation important?

The dissertation is a test of your capacity for independent research. You are given a lot of autonomy in writing your dissertation: you come up with your own ideas, conduct your own research, and write and structure the text by yourself.

This means that it is an important preparation for your future, whether you continue in academia or not: it teaches you to manage your own time, generate original ideas, and work independently.

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

During the planning and writing of your dissertation, you’ll work with a supervisor from your department. The supervisor’s job is to give you feedback and advice throughout the process.

The dissertation supervisor is often assigned by the department, but you might be allowed to indicate preferences or approach potential supervisors. If so, try to pick someone who is familiar with your chosen topic, whom you get along with on a personal level, and whose feedback you’ve found useful in the past.

How will your supervisor help you?

Your supervisor is there to guide you through the dissertation project, but you’re still working independently. They can give feedback on your ideas, but not come up with ideas for you.

You may need to take the initiative to request an initial meeting with your supervisor. Then you can plan out your future meetings and set reasonable deadlines for things like completion of data collection, a structure outline, a first chapter, a first draft, and so on.

Make sure to prepare in advance for your meetings. Formulate your ideas as fully as you can, and determine where exactly you’re having difficulties so you can ask your supervisor for specific advice.

Your approach to your dissertation will vary depending on your field of study. The first thing to consider is whether you will do empirical research , which involves collecting original data, or non-empirical research , which involves analysing sources.

Empirical dissertations (sciences)

An empirical dissertation focuses on collecting and analysing original data. You’ll usually write this type of dissertation if you are studying a subject in the sciences or social sciences.

• What are airline workers’ attitudes towards the challenges posed for their industry by climate change?
• How effective is cognitive behavioural therapy in treating depression in young adults?
• What are the short-term health effects of switching from smoking cigarettes to e-cigarettes?

There are many different empirical research methods you can use to answer these questions – for example, experiments , observations, surveys , and interviews.

When doing empirical research, you need to consider things like the variables you will investigate, the reliability and validity of your measurements, and your sampling method . The aim is to produce robust, reproducible scientific knowledge.

Non-empirical dissertations (arts and humanities)

A non-empirical dissertation works with existing research or other texts, presenting original analysis, critique and argumentation, but no original data. This approach is typical of arts and humanities subjects.

• What attitudes did commentators in the British press take towards the French Revolution in 1789–1792?
• How do the themes of gender and inheritance intersect in Shakespeare’s Macbeth ?
• How did Plato’s Republic and Thomas More’s Utopia influence nineteenth century utopian socialist thought?

The first steps in this type of dissertation are to decide on your topic and begin collecting your primary and secondary sources .

Primary sources are the direct objects of your research. They give you first-hand evidence about your subject. Examples of primary sources include novels, artworks and historical documents.

Secondary sources provide information that informs your analysis. They describe, interpret, or evaluate information from primary sources. For example, you might consider previous analyses of the novel or author you are working on, or theoretical texts that you plan to apply to your primary sources.

Dissertations are divided into chapters and sections. Empirical dissertations usually follow a standard structure, while non-empirical dissertations are more flexible.

Structure of an empirical dissertation

Empirical dissertations generally include these chapters:

• Introduction : An explanation of your topic and the research question(s) you want to answer.
• Literature review : A survey and evaluation of previous research on your topic.
• Methodology : An explanation of how you collected and analysed your data.
• Results : A brief description of what you found.
• Discussion : Interpretation of what these results reveal.
• Conclusion : Answers to your research question(s) and summary of what your findings contribute to knowledge in your field.

Sometimes the order or naming of chapters might be slightly different, but all of the above information must be included in order to produce thorough, valid scientific research.

Other dissertation structures

If your dissertation doesn’t involve data collection, your structure is more flexible. You can think of it like an extended essay – the text should be logically organised in a way that serves your argument:

• Introduction: An explanation of your topic and the question(s) you want to answer.
• Main body: The development of your analysis, usually divided into 2–4 chapters.
• Conclusion: Answers to your research question(s) and summary of what your analysis contributes to knowledge in your field.

The chapters of the main body can be organised around different themes, time periods, or texts. Below you can see some example structures for dissertations in different subjects.

• Political philosophy

This example, on the topic of the British press’s coverage of the French Revolution, shows how you might structure each chapter around a specific theme.

This example, on the topic of Plato’s and More’s influences on utopian socialist thought, shows a different approach to dividing the chapters by theme.

This example, a master’s dissertation on the topic of how writers respond to persecution, shows how you can also use section headings within each chapter. Each of the three chapters deals with a specific text, while the sections are organised thematically.

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Like other academic texts, it’s important that your dissertation follows the formatting guidelines set out by your university. You can lose marks unnecessarily over mistakes, so it’s worth taking the time to get all these elements right.

Formatting guidelines concern things like:

• line spacing
• page numbers
• punctuation
• title pages
• presentation of tables and figures

If you’re unsure about the formatting requirements, check with your supervisor or department. You can lose marks unnecessarily over mistakes, so it’s worth taking the time to get all these elements right.

How will you reference your sources?

Referencing means properly listing the sources you cite and refer to in your dissertation, so that the reader can find them. This avoids plagiarism by acknowledging where you’ve used the work of others.

Keep track of everything you read as you prepare your dissertation. The key information to note down for a reference is:

• The publication date
• Page numbers for the parts you refer to (especially when using direct quotes)

Different referencing styles each have their own specific rules for how to reference. The most commonly used styles in UK universities are listed below.

You can use the free APA Reference Generator to automatically create and store your references.

APA Reference Generator

The words ‘ dissertation ’ and ‘thesis’ both refer to a large written research project undertaken to complete a degree, but they are used differently depending on the country:

• In the UK, you write a dissertation at the end of a bachelor’s or master’s degree, and you write a thesis to complete a PhD.
• In the US, it’s the other way around: you may write a thesis at the end of a bachelor’s or master’s degree, and you write a dissertation to complete a PhD.

The main difference is in terms of scale – a dissertation is usually much longer than the other essays you complete during your degree.

Another key difference is that you are given much more independence when working on a dissertation. You choose your own dissertation topic , and you have to conduct the research and write the dissertation yourself (with some assistance from your supervisor).

Dissertation word counts vary widely across different fields, institutions, and levels of education:

• An undergraduate dissertation is typically 8,000–15,000 words
• A master’s dissertation is typically 12,000–50,000 words
• A PhD thesis is typically book-length: 70,000–100,000 words

However, none of these are strict guidelines – your word count may be lower or higher than the numbers stated here. Always check the guidelines provided by your university to determine how long your own dissertation should be.

At the bachelor’s and master’s levels, the dissertation is usually the main focus of your final year. You might work on it (alongside other classes) for the entirety of the final year, or for the last six months. This includes formulating an idea, doing the research, and writing up.

A PhD thesis takes a longer time, as the thesis is the main focus of the degree. A PhD thesis might be being formulated and worked on for the whole four years of the degree program. The writing process alone can take around 18 months.

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Doctoral dissertation

The doctoral dissertation may also take the form of another work that meets the appropriate scientific criteria, provided that the doctoral candidate’s independent contribution to it can be verified. All doctoral dissertations should meet the following scholarly criteria: they must a) contain new scientific knowledge, b) demonstrate critical thinking on the doctoral candidate’s part, c) demonstrate profound familiarity with the field, d) demonstrate mastery of research methods and their application, e) be scientifically convincing, f) contain justified results, and g) demonstrate scientific integrity and adhere to the ethical norms of research.

The supervisor and the doctoral candidate must limit the topic and content of the dissertation in such a way that the degree can be completed in four years of full-time study.

The doctoral dissertation must have a brief abstract of one to two pages, providing a summary of the dissertation and its key results. The abstract must outline the doctoral candidate’s objectives or research questions as well as the core research methods, results and conclusions.

When examining a dissertation or a Licentiate thesis, particular consideration should be given to the following:

• The topic and its originality
• The quality of the research material and its applicability to investigating the matter under discussion
• The research methods and their reliability. Has the work required the use of methods which examine the problem under scrutiny in a new way, or the creation of completely new methods?
• The reliability and scientific significance of the observations. Do the research results support previous observations, or does the research feature completely new observations?
• Are the conclusions reliable, and can the author contrast his or her own observations with previous research? Particular attention should be paid to the significance of the conclusions with respect to opening new perspectives in the field of the dissertation.
• Does the author display a command of the field and a familiarity with the literature?
• Are the overall composition (the relative scope and logical organisation of the literature review and the sections discussing the material, methods, etc.), presentation, style, language and layout appropriate for the dissertation?

A grade of Pass with Distinction requires that the results of the research bear international significance and that the included observations and conclusions are new and greatly change previously held notions or clinical practices. If the student conducted the research as a member of a group, indisputable proof of his or her independent contribution is required.

NB The Rector has decided on the new requirements from 26 August 2024 onwards. The most relevant changes are: article-based dissertations will typically include 2-3 articles; one article may suffice if it is of an exceptionally high quality; the maximum length of a monograph will be 250 pages including appendices and reference.

The faculty's own specifications to the doctoral thesis requirements will be updated to meet the new Rector’s decision during the autumn semester 2024.  Doctoral researchers will be able to continue their thesis work according to their current research plans, as the scientific criteria for doctoral theses remain unchanged. If the scientific criteria are met, the doctoral candidate may negotiate with his/her supervisors to update his/her research plan in line with this new decision.

According to Rector’s decision (HY/498/00.00.06.00/2017), a doctoral dissertation must consist of peer-reviewed scholarly publications or manuscripts accepted for publication, as well as a summarising report on the said documents (an article-based dissertation); or it must be a scholarly work in the name of the doctoral candidate alone and based on previously unpublished research results (a monograph). The doctoral dissertation may also take the form of another work that meets the appropriate scientific criteria, provided that the doctoral candidate’s independent contribution to it can be verified. 

All doctoral dissertations should meet the following scholarly criteria: they must

• contain new scientific knowledge
• demonstrate critical thinking on the doctoral candidate’s part
• demonstrate profound familiarity with the field
• demonstrate mastery of research methods and their application
• be scientifically convincing
• contain justified results, and
• demonstrate scientific integrity and adhere to the ethical norms of research.

Monograph dissertations

A monograph dissertation is a scholarly work issued under the name of the writer alone and based on independent research. Previously published work shall not be accepted as a monograph. Before completing the dissertation proper, however, the author of a monograph may publish articles on related topics and refer to these in the dissertation. Direct quotes from the dissertation cannot be published later under a research group. The length of a monograph dissertation is normally maximum 250 pages. Supervisors of monographs must take particular care to ensure the quality of the manuscript before it is submitted for preliminary examination.

Article-based dissertations

An article-based dissertation typically comprises several peer-reviewed scholarly articles related to a single topic and a summarising report which is considered the dissertation proper. The number of articles depends on the extent, the scientific quality and significance of the articles, the publishing forum, as well as, the own contribution of the writer. If the number of original articles is small (1-2), special attention is paid to high quality of the research and the amount of work done. In addition, thesis committee (follow-up group) is to make a statement in favour of the public dissertation and the doctoral candidate is to indicate their significant contribution in the original articles of the dissertation with a report signed by the candidate and their supervisor. The report is to be more detailed than usually (with the accuracy of each individual test/experiment or analysis).

The doctoral candidate writes the summarising report, which is a synthesis of the articles in the dissertation including the literary review. The summarising report of an article-based dissertation must present the background, objectives, methods, material, results, discussion and conclusions of the research. The summarising report must be a balanced work based on both the publications included in the dissertation and the research literature.

The component articles are to have been published in well-regarded international refereed scientific publication series or journals, or to be approved for publication with the exception of one article. Common review articles are not accepted as component articles, whereas high-standard meta-analysis and systemized reviews might be accepted.  

If the summarising report of a doctoral dissertation reproduces tables, figures or graphs from the doctoral candidate’s original publications, the doctoral candidate must contact the publisher to ascertain that he or she can include them in the doctoral dissertation. Many publishers announce on their websites that they permit the reproduction of such material in theses and dissertations. The caption for each reproduced table, figure or graph must indicate that the publisher permits its reproduction and that the publisher’s permission has been sought, as follows: “Reproduced with permission from…” and a reference to the original publication. With regard to original publications attached to the end of the doctoral dissertation, it has not been customary to separately request permission to reprint them because they are presented in their original format.

The author of the dissertation may also present unpublished research results in the summarising report. Any unpublished results must be referenced accordingly (“N. N. et al., unpublished results”). To avoid duplicate publication, unpublished results cannot be included in the summarising report as a segment equivalent in scope to an article, if the results are intended to be published later as an article.

In any co-authored publications, the doctoral candidate’s independent contribution must be clearly identifiable. For this purpose, the doctoral candidate, the supervisor and the advisory committee, if any, draft a free-form report on the participation of the doctoral candidate at each stage of the research work.  If the co-authored publication has been used in another dissertation, this must be mentioned in the report. The doctoral candidate should deliver the draft of the report on his or her contribution also to the other authors of the publication.

The doctoral candidate shall deliver the report to the faculty when submitting the dissertation for preliminary examination and to the preliminary examiners, opponent and custos at a later date. The report may also be included in the summarising report or an article included in the dissertation.

As a rule, at least half of the articles in a dissertation are not to be used in other dissertations. Exceptionally high-quality articles where both writers have a central role and such publications where both writers clearly have different roles (such as laboratory work and bioinformatics), are exceptions.

 In case one or more of the articles have been previously used in some earlier dissertation, this information must be added to the end of the “List of original publications”.

Choosing the publication forum

The Faculty recommends to choose journals with a publication forum level (levels 1-3). This will most likely mean that the publication forum is scientifically and ethically approvable. Please see the list from Publication Forum  website . Another way to evaluate the level of the publication forum is to see whether it has been listed on  Medline, Web of Science, and Pubmed . The Faculty Council has decided on 16 May 2023 that If JUFO drops a journal to the zero category, the journal is considered a predator journal by the Faculty either from the beginning of the next calendar year, if the drop occurs in the middle of the calendar year, or from the beginning of the drop, if the drop occurs on January 1. After this, new articles submitted to the journal in question will not be accepted for dissertations at the Faculty of Medicine.

Brand new journals have not been evaluated by the Publication Forum, and are not always immediately indexed in Medline, Pubmed, or Web of Science. When evaluating new publication series, the prestigiousness of the publisher plays an important part. If the publisher is a prestigious and well-known scientific community or a well-known scientific publisher, it is to be assumed that the new publication forum is proper, e.g. an “open access” version of a known journal. 

NB!  Please be cautious about open access journals. More information on questionable open access publishers and journals is available on the  Scholarly Open Access webpage . Articles published in questionable forums are not accepted as part of a dissertation. Thus, it is important for doctoral candidates and their supervisors to carefully check the publication forum selection related matters described above and save all communications with the journals.

The following are to be included in a dissertation (article-based and monograph):

• Table of contents (with page numbering)
• List of original publications
• Abbreviations
• A one- or two-page abstract of the dissertation and its key results, which must mention the objectives, main methods, achieved results, and conclusions drawn from the results.
• Introduction
• An analytical literature review, examining the development of information relating to the topic under discussion as well as the current situation
• A statement of the research question
• A report on the materials and methods used, presented in writing; in addition, a table of methods may be used
• The research results and discussion
• A discussion in which the independent research results are critically contrasted with previous research
• A summary, and the conclusions
• A bibliography
• Articles in an article-based dissertation.

 The following system for the references and bibliography shall be followed when writing a dissertation. For inline citations, either numbering or the author’s name and date are used as references. The bibliography is either listed in numerical order or alphabetised by author name (following the system for the references). All authors, the title of the article and the name of the journal must be indicated for articles in the bibliography. Abbreviations from the Index Medicus shall be used for journals. After the name of the journal, the volume, the beginning and end page of the article and the publication year are given. When referencing monographs and books, the title, author or editor, publisher, publication location and year, and beginning and end pages of the reference must be included.

The cover and cover page of the dissertation must include at least the following information:

• Name of the author
• The fact that the work is a dissertation
• Name of the faculty granting the permission to print
• Research location(s)
• Doctoral programme
• Printing house
• Printing location
• Printing year
• Names of the supervisors
• Names of the assessors
• Phrase: The Faculty of Medicine uses the Urkund system (plagiarism recognition) to examine all doctoral dissertations.

ISBN codes are issued by the  Finnish National ISBN Centre : tel. 02941 44329 or 02941 44312.

Doctoral candidates publishing in DSHealth publication series  ‘Dissertationes Scholae Doctoralis Ad Sanitatem Investigandam Universitatis Helsinkiensis’  can find more information on the cover design in  instructions for students .

All dissertations must include a table of contents and a list of the component articles for article-based dissertations.  If one or more of the articles in the dissertation have been used as a part of a previously published dissertation, a notification of this must be included in the dissertation after the list of articles.

Retaining the original research material

The author must retain the original research results pertaining to the dissertation at least as long as the processing of the dissertation at the Faculty is underway. The results must be presented to the Faculty or to Faculty-appointed assessors on request.

The examination process of doctoral dissertations comprises the following:

• preliminary examination
• permission to print the dissertation and defend it at a public examination
• the public examination
• approval of the dissertation.

Pre­lim­in­ary ex­am­in­a­tion instructions in detail can be found Instructions for students' article Faculty of Medicine: submitting the doctoral thesis

When the dissertation manuscript is complete, the doctoral candidate must apply for its preliminary examination from the Faculty Council. If the dissertation comprises articles, all articles but one – or two, if there are a total of six or more articles – must be accepted for publication.

Article-based dissertations that contain incomplete article manuscripts cannot be submitted for preliminary examination, but the matter can be suspended until the manuscripts are polished or revised.

At the proposal of the supervising professor (or the supervising person), the Faculty Council will appoint two preliminary examiners, normally from Finland, who are familiar with the field of the dissertation. The preliminary examiners will issue a statement on the dissertation manuscript to the Faculty Council for the purpose of granting the permission to print and defend the dissertation.

Financial support for thesis completion .

Permission to print and defend the dissertation requires supporting statements from the preliminary examiners as well as information on the opponent, custos, and grading committee member. All but one of the articles in an article-based dissertation must be approved for publication – this also pertains to dissertations consisting of six or more articles.

Once the preliminary examiners have submitted their supporting statements, the Faculty Council will grant permission to print and defend the dissertation and will appoint the opponent and custos at the proposal of the supervising professor (or the supervising person). One of the Faculty professors will serve as custos. The opponent must be a professor or docent (or have equivalent scientific qualifications) in one of the fields of research of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Helsinki or in a neighbouring field. The opponent must be from outside the faculty and, as a rule, from outside the University of Helsinki. The same principles of disqualification apply to both preliminary examiners and opponents. The opponent must not be involved in the dissertation research or in any co-authored publications with the author of the dissertation. He or she must be from a different division, clinic or research programme than the dissertation supervisor and the doctoral candidate. He or she must not represent the division, clinic, research programme or equivalent organisation where the dissertation has been registered, and he or she must not have cooperated with the dissertation supervisor closely or recently (in the last three years). A preliminary examiner can be appointed as opponent if the reasons are justified. The dissertation supervisors or thesis committee members cannot serve as opponents.

The doctoral candidate must agree on a time for the public examination with the custos and the opponent.

Further information on publishing an electronic dissertation can be found in the article  Publishing the dissertation and communications and on E-thesis instructions . The doctoral candidate and dissertation supervisor should pay attention to the following: if the thesis submitted to E-thesis contains unpublished results to be included in an original article, the online publishing of the thesis may hamper the publication of the results. In this case, the doctoral candidate and supervisor should consider postponing the publishing of the dissertation in E-thesis until all results to be included in original articles have been published.

Rector has decided on some changes in the dissertation grading. As of 1 March 2019, the new grading practice will commence. Please note, that the practice does not apply to dissertations already submitted for preliminary examination process.

According to the Rector’s decision, one or two faculty representatives will be appointed for the public examination at the discretion of the Faculty Council. The Council will decide on the matter when granting the permission to proceed to public examination, or should this not be possible, delegate the decision making to the Dean.

At the Faculty of Medicine as a rule, with the introduction of this reformation, grade is proposed by the opponent and custos. If custos is also the supervisor, the custos will find a new faculty representative. Faculty representatives must be professors or docents of the University of Helsinki or members of the university's teaching and research staff with the academic qualifications of a docent. The faculty representative(s) must be well acquainted with the grading criteria and regulations related to the examination of doctoral theses in use at the University of Helsinki.

Opponent and the faculty representative will propose a grade for the dissertation. The statements must assess both the quality of the dissertation and the doctoral candidate’s success in defending it at the public examination, thus, the faculty representative is to be present at the public defense. The preliminary examiners’ statements will also be taken into consideration when assessing the dissertation.

At the Faculty of Medicine, the faculty representative is appointed in the preliminary examination form. Thus, in the future, doctoral candidates are to give information in the form of their preliminary examiners, opponent, custos, and faculty representative, whether it is the custos or someone else from the faculty.

The Faculty Council will decide on the approval of the dissertation and on the grade awarded. The Faculty applies a two-tier grading scale: Pass and Pass with Distinction. The latter grade is given only to dissertations of an exceptionally high standard and cannot be granted to more than ten per cent of dissertations approved by the Faculty.

Opponent's travelling

Travel reservations must be made through the Faculty's secretaries, so that in the event of cancellations, the university's travel insurance will cover the expenses incurred. The doctoral researcher, supervisor or opponent can contact the secretaries directly regarding travel bookings ( [email protected] ) .

The supervisor's unit will cover the opponent's travel and accommodation expenses as follows (if the supervisor is not employed by the university, the expenses are covered by the custos' unit):

• Flight: Finland max €300, Europe max €750, non-European country max €1250 (economy class)

• Buses, taxis, etc.: According to the universities travel guidelines. Any taxi or bus trips will be paid afterwards to the opponent with a travel expense report with relevant receipts. Opponents will be provided with the travel expense form when they are sent instructions on the public defence.

• We recommend using public transport instead of a taxi whenever possible. The easiest way to buy a public transport ticket is with the HSL application, where you can also download receipts for the travel invoice.

• We recommend ordering taxis in Helsinki by phone, using an app or through the hotel reception. In this way, we make sure that the taxis are reliable service providers, whose prices are reasonable, and you also get a receipt for the trip. On the travel invoice, you are to write the routes taken by taxi.

• Should the opponent use their own car for the journey, the costs will be reimbursed according to the cheapest public means of transport for the corresponding journey, not with kilometre allowances . A print of the fares is to be included with the travel expense form.

• The Faculty will not cover any parking costs.

• Accommodation: max 2 nights in a hotel according to the university's travel guidelines/ (reasonably priced accommodation, no suites, no the most expensive hotels). If the Faculty’s secretaries are not used to book the hotel, we will reimburse a maximum of 150 euros per night against receipts.

The doctoral researcher’s supervisor pays the remaining travel and accommodation expenses of the opponent. If the supevisor does not have funds or is not employed by the university, the selection of the opponent and the covering of expenses must be agreed with the head of the unit in advance.

To be noted:

• Flights must be booked as soon as the date of the public defence is known or no later than one month before the public defence. Additional costs arising from flights booked too late will be paid from the funds of the supervisor or the research team.

• The opponent sends a travel invoice with attachments for other possible expenses (bus, taxi) to the address [email protected] , where the invoice is checked and forwarded to financial services for payment. The travel invoice form is sent to the opponent along with other instructions by e-mail when the dissertation process begins.

DOCTOR RESEARCHER: University of Helsinki's contract hotels, travel guide and travel booking system can be found in Flamma.

Dissertation hall and dissertation ceremony

The Faculty of Medicine pays the opponent's fee and the hall rent for the dissertation. If the dissertation meeting is organized in the premises of the University of Helsinki and the adjacent lobby or the Faculty Club of BM 1 is used for the coffee meeting, the 2-hour reservation will be placed in the same room reservation and the faculty will pay for it. If the coffee event is organized elsewhere, the faculty does not cover the space rent. Please note that HUS premises are not university premises and the faculty does not reimburse the rent of these.

In principle, the public defence is to be always organized in Helsinki at the premises of the university or HUS. If you want to organize the event in another location, you must agree with the faculty in advance. Independently managed arrangements can lead to the postponement of the public defence.

The doctoral researcher pays for the coffee service held after the dissertation conference. The faculty does not pay any catering costs related to the public defence ceremony.

The opponent's coat costs are not reimbursed from the unit's funds, incl. possible own project financing.

The university does not compensate the opponent's meals or pay any daily allowance in connection with the defence.

You can ask for reference information at [email protected]

You can get more information about expense billing from Tuomas Hurri, [email protected]

The procedures and formalities related to the public defence of doctoral dissertations have evolved in the course of several centuries. Today, faculties have different views as to the degree of formality of the public examination of dissertations. Some faculties observe old traditions, while others aim to create a seminar-like atmosphere with vivid discussion. The Custos appointed by the faculty acts as the official chair of the examination, so any details regarding the examination procedure should be agreed with him or her.

Check out the proceedings and the protocol of the public dissertations