The total number of credits required for a Master’s degree is 120 ECTS credits including Master’s thesis (usually 30-40 ECTS). The programme will provide you with a thesis supervisor and instruct you on when to start writing your Master’s thesis. Please consult the programme for detailed instructions on Master’s thesis.
Maturity test
Before graduation, you need to pass an examination based on the topic of your thesis, i.e. a maturity test. Your thesis supervisor will prepare the question(s) for this examination and it will take place on one of the regular examination days. You may also agree on a specific date with your supervisor.
Registration is done by filling in an envilope exam registration at the Academic Affairs office or at the Intenational Office. Please also remember to fill in a maturity test result form.
In the maturity essay, the student is expected to demonstrate both proficiency in the appropriate field of study and fluency in the writing in a supervised examination situation.
In the maturity essay, the student is given two or three questions on the subject of the student’s master’s thesis. The student is required to answer one of the questions by an essay. The essay should be written for a reader that is familiar with the appropriate field but has not studied the specific research topic of the master’s thesis. In other words, the maturity essay should comprise an independent text and the student should not assume that the reader is familiar with the master’s thesis.
In addition to academic content, the essay must also demonstrate good language proficiency and comprise a logical, well-structured whole. It must present the topic by writing, not by graphical presentations like tables or charts. The essay must also have a heading (otherwise the examiner evaluating the language of the thesis will not be able to see whether the essay really answers the question). The essay must have an introduction and a conclusion. Suggested length of the essay is approximately one examination sheet (four pages). It should be written on each line of the paper with empty lines separating chapters.
After the first draft, it is advisable to rewrite the maturity essay, with special emphasis on clear handwriting. Words should be clearly separate and the difference between capital and lower case letters should be clearly shown. The essay must show knowledge of the basics of grammar and punctuation. Excessive use of abbreviations should be avoided. Sentences and clauses must be clearly connected, and they should be logical and show variation. Incorrect reference relationships must be avoided. Word order must be unambiguous and fit the structure of the presented information. The essay must be written in a matter-of-fact style.
The result of the maturity essay must be given within 30 days from the date of examination. The grading scale for maturity essay is pass/fail (no other grade).
Printing the theses
Theses may be printed in any printing service in or outside Vaasa on condition that the faculty's writing instructions concerning the covers, pagination, binding, and printing of theses are followed very carefully.
At the university, theses may be printed e.g. in Yliopistopaino (University Press office) located in Luotsi building. You may send the final version of your thesis in pdf format to the office by email (yliopistopaino(at)uwasa.fi). In the email, please state how many copies you would like to receive, and also mention if the thesis should be printed in colour or it can be printed as a black-and-white copy. Please also remember to write down the address to which the invoice should be sent after printing your thesis.
Please note that the theses of the Faculty of Technology cannot be printed in Yliopistopaino. The faculty requires that the theses are bound in hard covers which can be ordered from various printing services in and outside Vaasa. Please see the faculty's writing guidelines for more information about the printing of theses in the Faculty of Technology.
Handing in the thesis
Master’s thesis must be handed in for the final revision 4-5 weeks before the thesis is to be approved. Please check with your thesis supervisor the latest date you can submit your thesis and take the maturity test. The schedule depends not only on the thesis supervisor, but also on the Dean as s/he will make the final decision about the approval of the thesis.
NB! Students of the Faculty of Business Studies should also submit a statement of abiding by good scientific practice to the amanuensis together with the thesis.
Registration for the academic year (when graduating)
Please note that students must be registered as attending in order to receive the degree certificate. Students who will graduate in August must register as attending at least for the autumn semester. If the student graduates in August, registration for the academic year must be done before the graduation date.
Students graduating in August may register as attending only for the autumn semester and thus pay only half of the student union fee.
University information systems after graduation
The students’ right to use the university information systems such as email and WebOodi expires automatically upon graduation. Please make sure to save all important messages from your university email to your private email account or on your computer before graduation.
Degree Certificate
When a student has completed all the required studies, s/he can apply for degree certificate:
- Application for Degree Certificate (Faculty of Business Studies)
- Application for Degree Certificate (Faculty of Philosophy)
- Application for Degree Certificate (Faculty of Technology)
The students of the Faculty of Business Studies are also asked to fill in a questionnaire for recent graduates and return it to the university together with the application for degree certificate.
Application forms for degree certificates are available also at the International Office. The application must be completed carefully and submitted to the Administrative Services of Fabriikki (Faculty of Philosophy and Faculty of Technology) or the Administrative Services of Tervahovi (Faculty of Business Studies) at least 28 days before the intended graduation day. Please attach a copy of the title page of your thesis to the form.
The student has to take care him/herself that all the studies required, also thesis and maturity test, are completed by the time the application is submitted. The content of the degree is revised by the faculty student advisor. It is advisable to get the degree content revised well in advance before submitting the degree certificate application form.
The average grades concerning the major and minors are mentioned in the degree certificate. The average grade can be checked from the Transcript of Records.
The grades and ECTS credits of the major, thesis, minors and other study units exceeding 15 ECTS are mentioned in the degree certificate. Also the number of ECTS credits of the whole degree is mentioned. The grade of the thesis does not affect the grade of the major, it is marked separately.
Final grades are determined in the following way (no rounding up/down):
| Average | Grade |
| 4,2-5,0 | Excellent |
| 3,4-4,1 | Very good |
| 2,6-3,3 | Good |
| 1,8-2,5 | Satisfactory |
| 1,0-1,7 | Sufficient |
The thesis is graded with the normal grading scale (1-5, failed) or, in some faculties, with the following scale:
-
Approbatur
-
Lubenter approbatur
-
Non sine laude approbatur
-
Cum laude approbatur
-
Magna cum laude approbatur
-
Eximia cum laude approbatur
-
Laudatur
in which Approbatur is the lowest and Laudatur the highest mark.
In the Faculty of Technology, the grading scale for theses is as follows:
| Abbreviation | Grade in Finnish | Grade in English |
| E | Erinomainen | Excellent |
| EH | Erittäin hyvä | Very Good |
| H | Hyvä | Good |
| T | Tyydyttävä | Sufficient |
| V | Välttävä | Satisfactory |
A copy of the evaluation of the thesis will be submitted to the students after the thesis has been evaluated and accepted.
Graduates will receive their final Transcript of Records and degree certificate in Finnish and in English upon graduation. Graduates are also issued a Diploma Supplement in English. The Diploma Supplement is an attachment to the degree certificate intended for international use. The English-language supplement provides a description of the nature, level, content and status of the qualification in the national system, and gives information on the professional status the qualification confers. Diploma Supplement is given automatically and free of charge to all graduates together with the degree certificate. Diploma Supplement is a part of the Europass-portfolio
Graduation Days
The graduation dates and the days when the Application for Degree Certificate has to be submitted during the academic year 2011-2012 are as follows (deadline for submitting the application/graduation date):
Autumn semester 2011
| Deadline for Application | Graduation Date |
| 29 July 2011 | 26 August 2011 |
| 2 September 2011 | 30 September 2011 |
| 30 September 2011 | 28 October 2011 |
| 28 October 2011 | 25 November 2011 |
| 25 November 2011 | 19 December 2011 * |
Spring semester 2012
| Deadline for Application | Graduation Date |
| 2 January 2012 | 27 January 2012 |
| 27 January 2012 | 24 February 2012 |
| 2 March 2012 | 30 March 2012 |
| 30 March 2012 | 27 April 2012 |
| 27 April 2012 | 25 May 2012 * |
| 23 May 2012 | 20 June 2012 |
‘Publiikki’ graduation events are marked with * in the list.
The graduation dates and the days when the Application for Degree Certificate has to be submitted during the academic year 2012-2013 are as follows (deadline for submitting the application/graduation date):
Autumn semester 2012
| Deadline for Application | Graduation Date |
| 3 August 2012 | 31 August 2012 |
| 31 August 2012 | 28 September 2012 |
| 28 September 2012 | 26 October 2012 |
| 2 November 2012 | 30 November 2012 |
| 23 November 2012 | 19 December 2012 * |
Spring semester 2013
| Deadline for Application | Graduation Date |
| 2 January 2013 | 25 January 2013 |
| 25 January 2013 | 22 February 2013 |
| 22 February 2013 | 22 March 2013 |
| 22 March 2013 | 26 April 2013 |
| 3 May 2013 | 31 May 2013 * |
| 22 May 2013 | 19 June 2013 |
‘Publiikki’ graduation events are marked with * in the list.
Students may select whether they wish the degree certificate to be mailed to them or wish to collect the degree certificate from the Administrative Services of Fabriikki or Tervahovi on the graduation day. The students are asked to fill in this information in the Application for Degree Certificate. It is also possible to attend the Publiikki graduation event if you graduate in December or May.
Publiikki is a graduation event of all faculties of the University of Vaasa in which graduates receive their degree certificates. The programme also includes short speeches by Rector and Deans. All graduates are welcome to attend the event if they have registered for it in the application for degree certificate. You may also invite some guests to the event, e.g. your family members or friends.
The Rector of the University of Vaasa invites all students who have completed their Master’s degree during the academic year to a Celebratory Dinner organised in the end of the spring semester. Also the friends and families of the graduates are invited (recommended size of the group is 1-4 persons). The dress code: dark suit and academic badges of honour. Participation fee for the dinner is collected. Information about the dinner and registration is mailed to the graduates in spring semester.
Publishing Master's Theses Online
Students are to return both a printed version of their Master’s theses as well as theses in PDF format.
- Students enter the service and accept the terms of agreement.
- Students fill in the necessary information about the thesis and the abstract, as well the fulltext in PDF format to the database. Instructions on how to save the thesis in pdf-format are available at the web page.
- Students approve that their theses can be read by choosing one of the following alternatives:
- ”I permit making my thesis publicly available on the net”. If the students choose this alternative, the following number of copies must be submitted to the faculty:
- Faculty of Business Studies: three (3) copies
- Faculty of Technology: three (3) copies
- Faculty of Philosophy, Administrative Sciences: three (3) copies
- Faculty of Philosophy, Languages and Communication: two (2) copies
OR
- ”I do not permit an electronic availability of my thesis outside the Tritonia library and appropriate department user-ids”. The department user-ids refer mainly to examiners and other possible faculty staff. If the thesis has limited access, it can be read only in Tritonia and when using the department user-ids. If the students choose this alternative, the following number of thesis copies must be returned to the faculty:
- Faculty of Business Studies: four (4) copies
- Faculty of Technology: four (4) copies
- Faculty of Philosophy, Administrative Sciences: four (4) copies
- Faculty of Philosophy, Languages and Communication: three (3) copies
Two will be sent to Tritonia. One of the printed copies is for borrowing and the other one for the archive.
The abstract and the thesis will be available online when the thesis has been accepted by the Dean of the faculty.
Master’s theses are accepted by the Dean of the Faculty. After the theses are accepted by the Dean, the Head of Study Affairs accepts the online versions for publishing. The faculty sends on printed copy to the library as an archive copy if the thesis is available online in fulltext. If the thesis has limited access, the faculty will send two printed copies to the library. The other copy will be available for borrowing.
