Requirements for and Examination of the Doctoral Dissertation, Faculty of Science, Forestry and Technology
Requirements for doctoral dissertation
A scientific study that is based on independent research and is deemed to increase knowledge in the field in question (a monograph) can be approved as a doctoral dissertation. A doctoral dissertation can also consist of a sufficient number, as determined by the university, of scientific publications or manuscripts accepted/intended for publication that discuss the same research problem and a summary prepared of them (an article-based dissertation).
Within the Faculty of Science, Forestry and Technology, the structure of an article-based doctoral dissertation is as follows:
- An article-based dissertation typically comprises three (3) articles, of which at least two (2) (in mathematics, one) have been published or approved for publication in international scientific peer-review series. If one of the articles is a manuscript, it must have been submitted for evaluation to an international scientific peer-review series.
- In special cases, a doctoral dissertation of two articles that meet the criteria can be accepted, in which case both articles must have been approved for publication.
- The doctoral candidate must be the main author in at least two of the articles (doctoral study rights after 1.8.2021). In the doctoral dissertation, the doctoral candidate must write a clarification on their part in each of the joint publications.
The Faculty has described the competence of doctoral researcher supervisors, preliminary examiners, examiners, opponent and custos as follows.
Preliminary examiners
When the doctoral researcher has completed all the required studies and the supervisors of the doctoral dissertation assess that the study is ready for reviewing, the doctoral candidate submits the work to be reviewed. Before submitting the manuscript of doctoral dissertation, the dissertation manuscript is checked with a plagiarism detection tool.
The doctoral candidate fills in, for their part, the form Proposal for Preliminary Examiners/ Printing Permission. The main supervisor of the doctoral dissertation makes a proposition about the preliminary examiners by using the same form. The form shall also be signed either by the Head of the Department/School or by the Person in Charge of the Academic Subject.
The preliminary examiners must come from outside the University of Eastern Finland and hold a professorship, docentship, or a corresponding scientific qualification. If a person holding a docentship is presented as a preliminary examiner, their up-to-date list of publications must be attached to the proposal. The grounds for disqualification determined by the administrative law are considered when appointing the examiners.
An electronic copy of the dissertation manuscript and the above mentioned form shall be submitted to the faculty by email to lumetdissertations(at)uef.fi. If you need more information, please contact the above-mentioned email address.
The Dean of the Faculty makes a decision on the preliminary examiners. The Faculty´s officer informs the preliminary examiners about the decision and provides them with a copy of the doctoral dissertation as well as instructions for the preparation of the preliminary examiners’ statement. The preliminary examiners must give their statements within two months after receiving the documents.
Instructions for formulating the pre-examiner’s statement
Permission for public examination of doctoral dissertation
When the statements arrive at the Faculty, they are forwarded to the doctoral candidate and their main supervisor by email. If the statements are favorable and the doctoral candidate has no objections to them, the Dean grants a permission for the public examination of the dissertation. If the pre-examiner/-s, however, require changes and/or corrections to be made to the dissertation manuscript, the main supervisor submits to the Faculty their statement confirming that the doctoral candidate has made the required modifications. The Dean cannot grant a permission for the public examination prior the Faculty has received the main supervisor’s confirmation. The doctoral candidate does not need to submit a separate application for a permission for the public examination.
The Faculty sends the decision for the information of the doctoral candidate, the main supervisor of the doctoral dissertation, and to the Head of Department or School of the doctoral candidate by email.
Appointment of opponent and custos
The Dean appoints the opponent and the custos. After receiving a permission for public examination, the doctoral candidate and the main supervisor fill in the form proposing an opponent and a custos. According to the Degree Regulations of the University of Eastern Finland, the opponent must come from outside the University of Eastern Finland and be at least a docent or hold a corresponding scientific qualification. The Faculty recommends that the opponent be a person holding a professorship. However, if a person holding a docentship is presented as the opponent, their up-to-date list of publications must be attached to the application. A professor from the faculty operates as the custos (chairperson) of the public examination.
Custos represents the University at the public examination. The Faculty recommends that the custos be a professor or an associate professor at the University of Eastern Finland, but a main supervisor holding a docent’s qualification can also act as a custos.
The doctoral candidate submits a proposal, signed by either the Head of the Department/Unit or the person in charge of the academic subject, by the main supervisor, and by the doctoral candidate themself, and sends it also to lumetdissertations(at)uef.fi. The Dean appoints the opponent and the custos on the basis of the proposal. The Faculty sends the decision by email to the doctoral candidate, the opponent, the custos, the head and the study secretary of the department or school, as well as the Communications and Media Relations of the University (also to the main supervisor if not appointed as the custos). In the process, the opponent is given the faculty instructions for formulating a written statement regarding the public examination.
Approval of doctoral dissertation
Within two weeks after the public examination, the opponent issues their written statement on the doctoral dissertation and on the public examination to the Faculty, to lumetdissertations@uef.fi. In the statement, the opponent presents a proposal to accept the doctoral dissertation on the grading scale of ‘approved’ or ‘approved with distinction’. The Faculty sends the statement to the doctoral candidate, and if s/he has no remarks on the statement, the doctoral dissertation is submitted to the Faculty Council for approval. If the opponent proposes the grade ‘approved with distinction’, the pre-examiners of the doctoral dissertation will be consulted with regard to grading.
Finally, the Faculty Council approves and grades the doctoral dissertation. The final dissertation will be recorded in the study register by Faculty Administration.
The Dean has been delegated the right to approve and grade doctoral dissertations on the basis of the opponents’ statements between the semesters, that is, between the last Faculty Council meeting of an academic semester and the first Faculty Council meeting of next academic semester.