Assessment and approval of the doctoral dissertation at the Philosophical faculty

The doctoral dissertation is not graded and the doctoral degree is not awarded at the public defence. The dissertation is graded by the Faculty Council of the Philosophical Faculty at its meetings, which are held once a month.

You can apply for the doctoral degree once your dissertation has been graded and you have completed all postgraduate studies included in the degree. See the instructions on the page Doctoral diploma and graduation at the Philosophical Faculty.

After the public defence

Statements by the opponent and the custos

1. The opponent prepares a statement in which they propose a grade.
2. The custos writes a statement on the course of the public defence.
3. Both statements are submitted to the Academic Affairs Specialist within two weeks of the public defence.
4. The Academic Affairs Specialist forwards the statements to you.
5. You notify the Academic Affairs Specialist in writing whether you have any comments on the statements.

Faculty Council proceedings

The Faculty Council grades your dissertation on the basis of the statements, using the following grades:

• fail
• pass
• pass with distinction

Dissertations submitted for pre-examination on or after 1 August 2026: the assessment scale is pass / fail.

Meeting schedule and requirements for proceedings

• The Faculty Council meets once a month (not in July). Meeting dates can be found on the UEF Intranet (opens in a new tab) (UEF login required).
• The agenda is prepared one week before the meeting. For your dissertation to be included in the proceedings, the following documents must be submitted to the Academic Affairs Specialist at least one week before the meeting:
  • the opponent’s statement
  • the custos’s statement
  • your notification regarding the statements
• At the June and December meetings, dissertations may exceptionally be processed with a shorter preparation time.

Please note that the grading of your dissertation may take several weeks depending on the Faculty Council meeting schedule. Plan your graduation timeline accordingly.

Applying for a doctoral degree

You can apply for the degree once:

• Your dissertation has been graded, and
• All postgraduate studies included in the degree have been completed

The degree application form can be found in Kamu. See the instructions on the page Doctoral diploma and graduation at the Philosophical Faculty.

Dissertation assessment criteria

See the dissertation assessment criteria on the page Requirements and recommendations for the dissertation at the Philosophical Faculty.