Assessment of the doctoral dissertation, Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies

The Faculty Council decides on the grade for your dissertation based on the opponent’s statement. The opponent will submit a written statement on your dissertation and the public examination within two weeks of the public defence. The faculty administration will send the statement and any remarks to you so that you can review them before the assessment decision.

The Faculty Council meets once a month. You can find the meeting dates (link) on the UEF Intranet (UEF login required).

You will be notified of the assessment decision by email. If you are dissatisfied with the decision, you may appeal.

Assessment criteria
The most important assessment criteria are the academic significance of the research results and your personal research contribution. Adherence to good scientific practice is also assessed. In addition, the following criteria are applied:

Research foundations
• the academic standard, formulation, and justification of the research problem
• the theoretical foundations of the research and its relationship to previous research
• the academic, societal, and practical relevance of the research
Research process
• command of the research field, knowledge, and use of the literature
• command, definition, and clarity of concepts
• the appropriateness and transparency of the choices and decisions made during the research process
• the complexity, innovativeness, and originality of the research task
• the suitability and command of the methods used
• the quality and rigour of the work
Research results and their presentation
• new knowledge and results produced by the research
• the consistent grounding of results in the data used
• the significance of the research results within the field
• the coherence, style, and language of the presentation
• the sufficiency of the researcher’s own contribution
• the quality of the individual publications in article-based dissertations
• the public defence of the dissertation

Grading scale

Dissertations are assessed on a scale of pass – fail (Education Regulations, Section 32). Dissertations submitted for preliminary examination before 1 August 2026 are assessed on a scale of pass with distinction – pass – fail.

Further information

Annikki Honkanen
Anne Korhonen