Dissertation assessment and approval at the Faculty of Health Sciences

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 Faculty of Health Sciences, which meets once a month. Between the last Faculty Council meeting of the current semester and the first meeting of the following semester, the Dean may grade the dissertation on the authorisation of the Faculty Council.

After the public defence

Opponent’s statement

1. The opponent prepares a statement proposing a grade.
2. The opponent submits the statement to the academic affairs specialist within two weeks of the public defence.
3. The academic affairs specialist forwards the statement to you.
4. You inform the academic affairs specialist in writing whether you have any comments on the statement.

Faculty Council

The Faculty Council grades your dissertation based on the opponent’s statement.
The grading scale is:

• fail
• pass
• pass with distinction

Meeting schedule of the Faculty Council and requirements for consideration

The Faculty Council meets once a month (excluding July). The meeting schedule is available on the UEF Intranet (requires UEF login).
For your dissertation to be included on the agenda, the academic affairs specialist must have the following documents at least one week before the meeting:

• the opponent’s statement
• your response regarding the statement

Please note that the grading of your dissertation may take several weeks depending on the Faculty Council meeting schedule. Take this into account when planning your graduation timeline.

Applying for a doctoral degree
You can apply for a doctoral degree when:

• your dissertation has been graded, and
• you have completed all the studies included in the doctoral degree and your main supervisor has approved them.

The degree application form can be found in Kamu. For detailed instructions, see the page Graduating with a doctoral degree at the Faculty of Health Sciences.