According to section 2 of the government decree on universities of applied sciences, studies leading to a university of applied sciences’ degree include a thesis or a final project. At Humak, this requirement is demonstrated by preparing a thesis or completing a final project, which are essentially development assignments commissioned by representatives of working life. The objectives of the development work are agreed in writing between the thesis author, thesis commissioner and the thesis supervisor before starting the work.
On this page you will find the new thesis guide, which applies to theses that have been started in January 2026 or later. For theses that have been started before January 2026, see the Old version of Thesis Guide, Bachelor’s Degree (in pdf-format).
The same learning objectives and formal requirements of bachelor’s theses produced at Humak University of Applied Sciences apply to all degree programmes. This Thesis guide provides general guidelines for producing and evaluating theses that should be applied in practical situations. The guide is intended for both students working on their theses and the supervising teacher. It also provides information for Humak’s employer partners who commission theses.
The key background materials for the Guide include literature on development work methods and the Act on Universities of Applied Sciences (932/2014), Government Decree on Universities of Applied Sciences (1129/2014) and Copyright Act (404/1961) as well as the quality recommendations for theses at universities of applied sciences (Ministry of Education and Culture and Oulu University of Applied Sciences 7 September 2006), instructions issued by the Data Protection Ombudsman on the data protection principles of theses and the GDPR (Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman 20210; 2020), Act on the Provision of Digital Services (306/2019), Finnish National Board on Research Integrity TENK’s Code of Conduct for Research Integrity and ethical principles of research with human participants (TENK 2012; 2019), Ministry of Education and Culture letter on publicity of theses (record no. 3/500/2004) and ethical recommendations for theses produced at universities of applied sciences (ARENE 2019)
This Guide was approved by Director of Education Päivi Marjanen on 9 September 2025.
Under section 2 of the Decree on Universities of Applied Sciences, programmes leading to a Bachelor’s degree comprise a thesis project. At Humak University of Applied Sciences (Humak), the thesis is a commissioned research-based development assignment. The objectives of the development work are agreed in writing between the thesis author, thesis commissioner and thesis supervisor before the work is started.
Theses are mainly produced working in pairs or small groups, but an individual thesis is also possible. Developing work with a partner or a group is a natural way to proceed, as most workplace development is also carried out by teams and working groups. One of the objectives of theses at Humak is to improve the development skills needed in the workplace.
In their theses, students demonstrate their professional maturity and ability to engage in systematic, long-term workplace development in collaboration with the commissioner of the thesis. A thesis is an expression of the student’s competence in applying the methods of development work and their ability to write high-quality, fluent expert text and to manage an expert assignment productively.
A Humak thesis produces something concrete for the commissioner – it is not just a piece of paper. The development task always aims at renewal: each assignment develops the commissioner’s activities and produces new knowledge for them. The concrete output may be an operating model, strategy, guide, service or product, implementation plan, or justified proposals for developing the activities. It may also comprise renewing a working method or applying it to a new operating environment. The concrete output can be included in the thesis as an appendix, or the author can describe it in the content chapters.
The scope of the thesis is 15 credits. Its recommended length is 35 to 50 pages of body text. The thesis may additionally contain appendices. While students primarily write their theses in Finnish, for justified reasons the thesis can also be written in another language. Such reasons may include the commissioner’s working language. The consent of the supervising teacher and second evaluator is required to write the thesis in a language other than the language of teaching.
Students from different degree programmes at Humak may work on theses produced in pairs or groups. Sometimes the authors of a thesis may even come from different educational institutions. However, the precondition is ensuring that this practice suits both institutions. Cooperation between the educational institutions and its details will be subject to agreement in each individual case.
Humak uses Wihi as a platform for working on theses. The thesis proposal, thesis plan, thesis cooperation agreement and different stages of thesis submission are handled in Wihi, and in due course, the thesis is also evaluated in this system. Wihi also serves as a communication platform. For more information on working with Wihi, see the instructions for using Wihi.
Wihi works together with the Thesis (Bachelor) platform in Humak’s Hoodle online environment. Its tabs contain information for students in different degree programmes and implementation forms on how the thesis process works for their specific study group. Writing the thesis is not linked to any course in the same way as other studies. The credits (15 credits) and the grade for the thesis will be entered automatically in the study register once the thesis has been evaluated.
The thesis process usually proceeds as follows:
The thesis is probably the most extensive project in terms of the volume of work it requires that students will undertake during their studies. It can evoke many kinds of emotions: enthusiasm, joy of insight, worry, tiredness and even irritation. Students should not hesitate to also discuss their negative feelings with their supervisor. The supervisors are experienced and can help students overcome problems.
Sometimes uncomfortable feelings associated with working on the thesis may be reflected on the supervision relationship and make it seem awkward. Primarily, an effort should be made to resolve such challenges between the supervisor and the student. Students can only change thesis supervisors for compelling and justified reasons. The reasons and justifications must be proven to the thesis coordinator who, after consulting both parties, will make a decision on the matter. If the thesis supervisor and the thesis coordinator are the same person, somebody else (such as the Degree Programme Leader) will be selected as the third party.
Students should actively seek and identify workplace development needs and offer work aiming for a solution as a final project. A thesis must have a commissioner. The commissioner may be a labour market actor in the students’ field or a Humak development project. In connection with practical training or paid work, students are often offered interesting assignments that are suitable for thesis projects. Some commissioners also approach Humak, and the students are informed of such commissions in different forums.
The key in the topic selection phase is to identify development needs in the commissioner’s activities. The activities may have become outdated, the organisation may have needs for modernisation, it may wish to try out a new practice, or there are no guidelines for some function. However, the need for development must also be recognised by the commissioner, rather than only existing in the mind of the student. This means that the actual thesis can be completed in good cooperation and interaction between the parties.
Humak’s projects and degree programmes may offer students theses commissions directly. Alternatively, students can present their topic proposals related to Humak’s projects and degree programmes to the thesis coordinator, who will guide the student to the party in charge of commissioning at Humak. Students whose theses are commissioned by external parties contact the commissioner themselves and agree on the thesis topic. In final projects carried out at Humak, the project manager of the project represents the commissioner. For information on Humak’s projects, talk to the teaching staff and visit Humak’s website.
The instructions for the thesis commissioner explain the commissioner’s responsibilities, obligations and rights. These instructions should be used to explain the nature and purpose of the thesis to the commissioner already when students are seeking a commissioner. At the latest before the agreement is drafted, the author of the thesis must ensure that the commissioner has reviewed the instructions.
Topic proposal
The thesis topic proposal must describe the need for the project (why something needs to be developed), its goal (what will be developed and what the goal is), measures (how it will be developed) and intended outputs (which concrete outputs the project will produce for the commissioner). The organisation’s details are also set out in the topic proposal.
Not all workplace commissions are directly suitable as final projects. Sometimes the work may be too routine to genuinely renew the organisation’s activities. At other times what the commissioner hopes to achieve may be too extensive. The task of the thesis supervisor is to ensure that the objectives set for the thesis are realistic and can be reached within the limits of the time or other resources available for the work. In most cases, the topic can be delimited or extended when the cooperation agreement is concluded.
The thesis may also be relevant to the author’s enterprising activities. In this case, no cooperation agreement on the thesis is signed as the author does not need to commission the work from themselves. A student can only produce a good thesis on developing their own enterprise if the activities are genuinely being renewed or launched, rather than contending with mapping or planning the business opportunities.
Thesis cooperation agreement
It is advisable to conclude the thesis cooperation agreement face to face in the workplace or using a video connection, ensuring that all parties understand the content and obligations of the agreement. The agreement is drawn on Humak’s thesis cooperation agreement template. When the agreement is signed, the section stating that all theses will be published in full in Theseus online library should be stressed. Any permit issues should be cleared up in the agreement negotiations. It is also important to raise the question of a fee or other remuneration paid for the thesis.
The students fill in the necessary contact information on the form before the cooperation agreement is signed and ensure that the agreement is concluded in AtomiSign software. They then save the agreement to Wihi in PDF format.
Change of thesis topic or commissioning organisation
No development assignment has its plan cut in stone: it is typical for development work that plans change and detail is added to them as the work progresses. While slight changes do not mean that the plan needs to be written and approved again, major changes must be agreed upon with the thesis supervisor and the commissioner. If the thesis topic changes completely, the thesis planning process must be started from the beginning, and a new plan must be written. If necessary, the agreement should also be updated. If the commissioner changes, the previous process is deleted from Wihi and a new thesis process is initiated by creating a topic proposal.
The thesis plan is drawn up for three parties: the author themselves, the educational institution and the commissioner. The plan helps the authors of the thesis to see their work as a whole and encourages them to reflect on which the key issues relevant to the topic are. It also ensures that the thesis meets the criteria set by the educational institution for an acceptable thesis topic and implementation method. For their part, the commissioner can ensure that the parties have understood each other and that the objectives of the work meet the commissioner’s expectations. A good plan is around 5 to 8 pages in length.
The thesis plan also includes a data management plan, which is a plan for how data will be collected and stored, how they will be processed ethically, and how they will ultimately be either destroyed or handed over for further use. Further use of the data is rare in the context of final projects. As a rule, the data will be destroyed after the thesis evaluation has been completed. If students submit a request for rectification concerning the evaluation of their thesis, they must preserve the data while the request is being processed. Special conditions apply to the further use and disclosure of data containing personal data, which must be strictly complied with. The data management plan is drawn up using the template prepared for this purpose and attached to the thesis plan.
The thesis plan should be based on four focus areas:
1. Need
2. Objectives
3. Measures
4. Results and products.
To define the need for development, start by answering the questions of why the commissioner’s activities should be developed and why it is important to complete this project. To justify the development need, the student must be familiar with conceptual knowledge and other theoretical framework related to the topic. A good understanding of the drivers for change, societal trends and topical discussion in the field help to present the development need convincingly.
Once the development need has been defined properly, this is a short step away from defining the objectives of the thesis. The objectives should be written in a way that, when achieved, they will eliminate the previously defined development need. The objectives should be concrete enough to enable the reader to understand what this specific project aims for. For example, definitions of the type “the objective is to develop activities” are too general.
The measures refer to the methods used in the development work and the way the process will be implemented in practice. It is essential to select measures that are fit for purpose regarding the development need, ensuring that the information obtained through them would best serve the development work. It is advisable to plan the measures in as much detail as possible at the very beginning of the work. The selection of measures is not only related to collecting new information, as it is also important to plan the measures by which the results of the thesis will be used at the practical level and put on a permanent footing as part of the organisation’s activities.
The implementation methods of measures in research-based development work are usually action based and participatory, for example involving co-creation with the work community. It is essential for the measures to produce new information that, combined with previous knowledge, will result in development. With this objective in mind, selecting the methods, planning their implementation, documentation, and collection and analysis of data play a key role. In the case of an experiment, for instance, the plan should show what is being trialled, how the trial will be carried out in practice, and how information on it will be collected. The authors must also plan how they will evaluate their development work and the results of the final project.
While the content of the output cannot yet be described at the planning stage, the authors must understand what the output will be in general. If the output is a new practice, guide, set of instructions or similar, its practical use in the commissioner’s organisation must also be planned. Excellent results are produced if the output can also be tested in practice and the way the new set of instructions, product, service or similar works at the practical level can be monitored. If the output is development proposals, their concrete implementation should be planned with the commissioner.
The plan based on these four focus areas is supplemented with a schedule and a preliminary table of contents.
Key concepts and relevant sources should also be listed and explained. With regard to sources, it is important to pay attention to their origin, reliability and quality. In theses produced by a pair or a group, the division of labour between the authors should additionally be described. A descriptive title is also an important part of the plan. However, it can be modified as the work progresses and the focus on the topic is narrowed. The latest version of the thesis title should be updated in Wihi before the thesis is submitted for final evaluation.
The details of the thesis supervision practices vary from one degree programme to the next. For information and schedules specific to each degree programme, see Thesis (Bachelor) in Hoodle.
The almost finished versions of theses are commented on before they are submitted for final evaluation. This is called a pre-evaluation. At the pre-evaluation stage, the thesis must be completed to the point that it contains all the relevant chapters, each chapter has content, and a reader can get an overview of the thesis, all the way to the abstract, results and output. However, this is only a working version, and the thesis can still be edited and complemented based on pre-evaluation feedback received from the supervisor.
Before submitting the thesis for evaluation, the students present their thesis at a seminar and receive feedback from the participants. At this stage, the thesis should be so nearly finished that the participants get an overview of it. However, there is enough time to make the necessary changes during the finalisation phase of the thesis. At the thesis seminar, everyone’s work is also peer reviewed (by opponents). Students may invite the commissioner’s representative to the thesis seminar.
It is up to the students to inform the commissioner of the outputs of the thesis. At best, students may be given an opportunity to present their results to the management team or at team meetings. At the very least, they should ask the commissioner for feedback on how useful the work was for them. A summary of the commissioner’s feedback should be added to the end of the thesis, after the discussion of the results and outputs. Should they wish, the students can also request written feedback from the commissioner and append it to the thesis with the commissioner’s permission.
When working on a development assignment, students should act ethically and responsibly and take sustainable development perspectives and the ecological, economic, social and cultural responsibilities relating to them into account in their work as necessary.
More information on sustainable development and its perspectives:
Students working on their bachelor’s theses should master the following premises of integrity in research and development and undertake to comply with them in their thesis process:
Humak is committed to the RI/RCR guidelines, or Code of Conduct for Research Integrity. The Code of Conduct for Research Integrity is a guideline on research ethics that includes informing the research subjects, requesting their consent and complying with the GDPR when processing personal data. The Rectors’ Conference of Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences (ARENE) has prepared ethical guidelines for UAS theses to support thesis studies and supervision. These instructions are followed at Humak. Research integrity also includes referring to other people’s publications appropriately. See Humak’s Citation Guide to learn more.
When research focuses on organisations, the process usually also includes requesting a research permit. The commissioner will know in which cases a permit is required. When it is required, the organisation usually has a ready-made template for applying for it. At Humak, a research permit is also required when the focus of research is on Humak’s activities, for example conducting surveys where the respondents are Humak students or staff.
Humak is a member of the Human Sciences Ethics Committee of the Helsinki Region Universities of Applied Sciences. On request, the Committee conducts advance ethical reviews and provides statements on plans that do not need to be reviewed by the regional medical ethics committee under the Medical Research Act. While the Committee does not review bachelor’s theses, an ethical review may be required of a master’s thesis plan. The need to apply for a statement is discussed with the thesis supervisor. For bachelor’s theses, ethical reviews are carried out by the thesis supervisor if necessary.
The following are the best sources of information on ethics in thesis projects:
Almost all theses require various forms during their implementation. This text covers three of them*:
*) Previously, there were several separate forms. The forms have now been consolidated: the Data Protection Privacy Policy for Theses form has been discontinued, and students only need to use the form they have adapted from the Participation Information Sheet to inform participants involved in the development work.
The forms are created using templates found in the Student Guide under Studies > Thesis > “Ethical Guidelines and Documents”. Save all forms used in your thesis to Wihi, with the exception of the Participant Consent Form. Keep the signed Participant Consent Forms securely in your own possession for one year from the date your thesis is approved, then destroy them. Ensure that both storage and destruction are carried out in a data-secure manner.
You have likely collected data in your previous studies through interviews, observation, or surveys. At that stage, the templates and forms described here were not required, as studying is considered domestic use, for which they are not mandatory. Nevertheless, it remains important to handle all data with particular care and in accordance with ethical principles. Your thesis differs from earlier assignments in that it has the status of a public document. For this reason, a different approval process applies to it than to previous coursework.
Participant Information Sheet and Participant Consent Form
When you study people, you must inform them of this. Based on the information they receive, they make an independent decision about whether to participate in your thesis. This decision must be expressed unambiguously, and regardless of whether it is affirmative or negative, it must be respected. The Participant Consent Form requests consent for three separate matters: participation in the study itself, the processing of personal data, and the possible further use of the data in the manner described in the Participant Information Sheet.
The Participant Information Sheet template and the Participant Consent Form template are intended to be customised. Add information relevant to your own work and remove the instructional text, as well as any sections of the Participant Information Sheet template that are not relevant to your work. In order to give participants sufficient time to consider their participation, it is important that they are informed before consent is requested. For this reason, the templates are separate. For example, you may format the Participant Information Sheet template into a document that you send to the prospective participant when inviting them to take part in your thesis. Once they have agreed to participate, you can then send them the Participant Consent Form.
Participants confirm their consent either by signature or by email. If consent is confirmed by email, save the entire email response so that the sender’s email address is visible. Also verify that the response has come from a personal email address that can be unambiguously linked to that individual, and that the response clearly states what the participant is consenting to. Instruct respondents to copy the text of the form into their reply message.
The Participant Information Sheet template includes a Privacy Notice section. This relates to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which requires that a statement describing the principles for processing personal data be maintained for all registers containing personal data. Personal data arises more easily than one might expect. For instance, the Participant Consent Form mentioned above, which includes the name of the person participating in the study, constitutes personal data. An audio or video recording of an interview and its transcription also identify the individual and therefore constitute personal data.
The Privacy Notice section must be completed whenever a participant’s voice or image is recorded, or whenever other direct or indirect identifiers arise that could lead to the identification of an individual. Indirect identifiers refer to the possibility of identifying an individual through factors such as age, gender, place of residence, details of interview content, or a combination of the above. Further information about personal data registers and the circumstances in which they arise is available at www.tietosuoja.fi.
In a thesis, data may be anonymised or pseudonymised. When pseudonymising, a participant’s name may be replaced with a code such as “interviewee 1”. When anonymising data, you must be entirely certain that all identifying factors have been permanently and irreversibly removed. It is important to note that anonymising data at this stage does not mean that a personal data register was not created during data collection and processing.
When you store the relevant documents and files in your possession, even momentarily, you become a data controller. The Privacy Notice section of the Participant Information Sheet template describes in detail all information relating to the collection, processing, and destruction of data containing direct or indirect personal identifiers. Include in that template information about all registers arising in the course of your thesis — for example, consent forms, recordings, and transcriptions.
Research Permit
If your development work concerns a specific organisation, you may need to obtain a separate research permit from that organisation before proceeding. Confirm this well in advance of beginning work. Organisations from which such a permit is required typically have their own form for this purpose — use that form. The research permit template in the Student Guide is intended for situations where the development work concerns Humak itself and the thesis data is based on information produced by Humak students or staff.
The Process for Surveys Differs Slightly
The use of the templates and forms described above relates particularly to situations where people are interviewed or observed. However, informing participants and obtaining unambiguous consent are also essential in surveys. Information is included in the survey’s introductory text (cover letter), and a separate item is added to the survey in which the respondent explicitly expresses their willingness to participate.
If the survey collects direct or indirect personal data, a Privacy Notice is also required. The notice may be attached to the introductory text, for example via a link. If the survey requests personal data, the survey must also include a separate mandatory checkbox through which the respondent can express consent to the processing of their personal data under the terms described in the Privacy Notice.
Checklist
If you are unsure which templates and forms you need for your own thesis, contact your thesis supervisor.
Example 1
You are developing online teaching at institution X for your thesis. To this end, you wish to find out about the experiences that the institution’s students have with this topic. You conduct a wide-ranging anonymous survey and also interview a number of students. Proceed as follows:
Example 2
You are developing the service process of organisation X for your thesis. To this end, you wish to find out what people think of the current service. You go to where the service operates and ask clients about their experiences of using the service, while also asking for their development suggestions. You have prepared a set of questions and record each client’s answers on a separate sheet yourself. You also write out clients’ responses to open-ended questions in your own words. You do not record anything, and you do not ask about or record matters that contain direct or indirect personal data. Proceed as follows:
The reason for the differences in information and consent practices between the two examples is that in the latter example, no recording is made and the responses are formulated by the interviewer in their own words. What is essential is that nothing is written down in such detail that the interviewee could be identified. In this way, no personal data register is created either. Verbal information and verbal consent are sufficient when dealing with short structured interviews of this kind that are anonymous from start to finish — that is, no direct or indirect personal data is asked for or recorded at any point. However, in longer interviews, which as is typical must be recorded and transcribed verbatim, participants must always be informed and their consent obtained in writing.
In order for students to understand what kind of information could help them to narrow the focus on the development problem and resolve it, they must be familiar with existing information relevant to the development topic and current discussion around it. This requires thorough familiarisation with professional and research literature in the field in question using Finnish and, in most cases, international sources. The more precise goals of the thesis are often only identified once the students have been able to familiarise themselves sufficiently diversely with its theme.
Before starting the development work, the student should obtain a clear understanding of what is already known about the topic. Existing knowledge, such as studies and reports, form the theoretical framework of the thesis, also known as the knowledge base. The knowledge base term is more often used in the University of Applied Sciences context. Being well read and having an ability to apply what you have read are essential elements of a thesis. At best, students are able to show how the new knowledge obtained through their work builds up the competence and knowledge base of their professional field.
In Methods for Development work (2022) Teemu Moilanen, Katri Ojasalo and Jarmo Ritalahti define knowledge base followingly: “The term knowledge base is used to refer to the existing knowledge on which the planning and implementation of the development work will be based. The term [–] indicates that knowledge is part of the development work process: The knowledge base is the essential knowledge collected that is related to [the] development [work at hand].”
Concepts and theories are an essential part of understanding the topic and can be used to develop activities. They help to identify a development need and provide tips on how the development work should be carried out in practice. At most universities of applied sciences, including Humak, the term theoretical framework or the knowledge base is used instead of theory to better reflect the practical nature of the information. Theoretical framework also suggests that the information does not have to comprise only research literature, as various strategy papers, documents and unwritten experience-based knowledge can also help to develop activities. However, the knowledge base must not rely solely on experiential knowledge, or tacit knowledge. If you refer to tacit knowledge, you must document it.
Students are often hesitant to edit the text in source literature. An inexperienced writer may be afraid of misrepresenting the message of the source. For example, this comes up as using plenty of direct citations from research literature. However, students should write their theses in their own words, combining different sources and their own thinking. Direct citations can also be used, however carefully and sparingly. This way, a versatile theoretical framework is shaped into a unique text that conveys the perspective of the particular author on the topic. If students are excessively tied to a single source, the knowledge base will inevitably become too much of a summary of that source.
Finding relevant sources is up to the students and part of the process of their research-based development task. Good databases for finding sources include Humak Finna, and Google Scholar. You can also ask an information specialist to help you find the sources in concrete terms and ensure that you have been able to find all the most essential and recent sources relevant to the topic.
In Humak Finna and Melinda, you should usually select the Advanced Search function, which enables you to search for sources using combinations of two or more search terms. Humak Finna also has an “International e-sources search” tab, which finds scientific publications in digital format. The search function in Google Scholar works the same way as ordinary Google searches: you type in your search terms in a single field without words in between.
Today, many people are used to googling for the information they need, relying on Google to find almost all essential information. However, this is not good enough for a thesis. The thesis supervisor and library staff can help you use the databases. You should also take a look at Guide to information acquisition. (Library and information services > Guides on information acquisition).
While you can use AI as help for finding sources, you cannot take the information it produces at face value. AI may hallucinate, in other words make up sources that do not exist. This is why you must always verify the existence of the sources it suggests by other means and check their content yourself.
The objective of a final project at Humak is to develop the commissioner’s activities. Instead of research methods, it is more appropriate to talk about methods of research-based development. They include different collective methods of brainstorming, think tanks, process analyses, peer reviews and futures workshops. A good source to learn about methods for your thesis is Methods for Development Work: new kinds of competencies for business operations (2022) by Teemu Moilanen, Katri Ojasalo & Jarmo Ritalahti. The key to using methods is that they are suited to the development need in question and that the research-based principles are followed when using them: a systematic, objective, ethical, transparent, critical and analytical approach. Methodological questions are discussed in the course Research-based Development.
It is typical for development work methods that many different methods are combined to achieve the goal. For example, a thesis author may start their development work with a group interview, which is used to identify the development need. Different solution models can then be brainstormed collectively. Benchmarking can be used to find good practices in Finland and abroad. After completing the concrete development work, feedback can be collected by means of an email survey, for example.
Experimentation is one way of developing activities. Experimentation focuses on areas (including processes, products, services) where experimentation is needed to determine whether or not something works. While experiments can be small in scale, even small experiments aim for some bigger change. Experiments can be quite bold, and they produce information even if they fail. It is important that experiments are carefully and systematically documented, for example by means of participatory observation, data are analysed, and the information obtained from the analysis affects development proposals.
Development work is usually carried out together with the work community. The ability to develop work with an open mind together with others prepares students for work in teams and networks after their studies, which is highly valued in the world of work. While the ideas and solution models may have been developed collectively, students can use them in their thesis if the participants are aware of and have given their consent to this. However, it is essential that the author of the thesis plays a key role in such communal development processes (for example, as the development process leader) and demonstrates in their thesis that they are able to analyse the collected data systematically and objectively and draw conclusions on the basis of which the organisation’s activities can be developed directly or indirectly.
The material produced using different development methods is usually referred to as the dataset. The dataset can also be referred to as primary data. This highlights the fact that the data were specifically collected for this thesis and are now being used for the first time. The source material, on the other hand, consist of previous research literature and other theoretical framework. In other words, source material and the data(set) collected by the student are two different things: the former lays the foundation for the theoretical framework i.e. the knowledge base, while the latter is collected by the student using different methods and analysed. The analysis and conclusions sections of the thesis comprise a dialogue between data and source material, as both play a role in producing and refining new knowledge generated in the thesis. Data collected through development methods is not attached to the thesis in its entirety, but you can use with discretion, for example by using interview quotations in your work. Any questionnaires and workshop and interview templates used to collect data should be included in thesis’ appendix.
The data should be documented carefully, but students often focus their attention on managing the interviews and similar, and tend to forget about documentation. Interviews and data acquired using collective brainstorming methods should be recorded and transcribed with sufficient accuracy, considering the objective. In action-based experiments, it is often necessary to keep a project journal, as otherwise a large part of important observations can be simply forgotten.
Carefully evaluating the success of the project and identifying needs for further development are very important in development work. Development work involves a pragmatic understanding of knowledge: the better something works, the closer you are to true knowledge. Students too often forget to evaluate the effectiveness of their projects. Collecting feedback from the commissioner and other parties involved in the work is one way to evaluate its success. Identifying possibilities for applying the work at a different site is another one. Sometimes the success of the work can be evaluated using objective, predetermined criteria. The main thing is achieving an in-depth and justified critical evaluation, rather than only basing the evaluation on the student’s vague personal opinion. The thesis supervisor should also stress that the purpose of the evaluation is not only to highlight the successes of your work: a careful analysis of failures and complex reflection on the development needs of the work, even if it was successful, are important parts of the evaluation.
Several methods are typically used in a development assignment. Quantitative data are usually collected using the survey method. Qualitative data are produced, for example, through interviews, observation, document analysis, co-creation workshops and other creative and action-based methods. However, the development work may in some cases be based on a single dataset, such as an interview or a survey. In this case, however, the requirements imposed on the analysis of the data are higher than if the interview or survey were used as one of several methods, for example for collecting feedback.
The data can be analysed using quantitative or qualitative methods. In a quantitative analysis, the numbers of different things, their distribution and their proportions are examined, whereas in a qualitative analysis the meanings emerging from the data and their interpretation are highlighted.
The most common question students ask the thesis supervisor about the data is how you know that you have collected enough. When using qualitative methods, the adequacy of the data is often assessed using the concept of saturation. Saturation means that newly acquired data no longer significantly increase the information on the topic, compared to the data already collected. Even five interviews can be a good number when their content is relevant. In co-creation workshops and other participatory activities, it is essential to examine the extent to which the participants represent the group that was sought out and to ensure that everyone is heard. In surveys, it is important to pay attention to the representativeness and quantity of data: has the key target group in terms of development been reached, and have sufficient responses been received to draw conclusions. If an electronic survey is used to collect the survey data, it is advisable to be prepared for the fact that on average, only 10% to 20% of the target group responds. It is a good idea to have a backup plan in case the data collection fails.
When analysing all types of data, you should remember that the ultimate goal is to develop activities. The thesis must not end with presenting the results, and the result of the development work should be a concrete output that serves the commissioner’s activities. As a minimum requirement, the authors of the thesis must present recommendations for developing the activities to the commissioner. In many cases, students can present the results and outputs of their project to the commissioner at a meeting organised for this purpose.
The ability to harness AI is an important skill in many professions that will increase in importance going forward. Humak encourages its students to use the possibilities offered by AI during their studies, for example at different stages of their theses. In the early stages, you can request comments from AI to find ideas for the thesis. When encouraged to do so, AI may also propose usable innovative, creative and participatory development methods. When building the theoretical framework, AI may suggest relevant sources. In the final phase, it can help proofread the thesis.
AI can also be a useful tool in the data analysis phase. For example, AI applications can be used to code, classify, quantify and sum up qualitative data. AI can also support quantitative analyses. It can additionally come up with ideas for interpreting the research results in the light of theoretical knowledge. The subject must be told in advance in the Participant Information form that the data will be entered into an AI program, and this must be mentioned in the data management plan. For security reasons, Microsoft tools provided by Humak should be used for producing transcripts. If AI is used in analyzing the material, Humak recommends the Office 365 Copilot AI available to students for this purpose. It meets the institution’s data privacy and security requirements and does not use the information entered into it for training the AI. Using Copilot requires logging in to Humak’s Office 365 environment with your own username and password.
You must never input personal data into AI applications, and any data entered into them must always be completely anonymised. Particular discretion is needed when processing sensitive data. Inform yourself carefully of what personal data and anonymisation mean. For more information, visit the “What is personal data?” – Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman website.
You should always take AI analyses with a pinch of salt. AI may hallucinate, or offer incorrect information and interpretations in convincing phrases. It may also refer to sources that do not exist. The author is always responsible for interpretations presented in the thesis and commits a breach of ethics when including AI hallucinations in their work.
You must be transparent about using AI in your thesis. The introduction to your thesis should describe which AI applications you used and how. You must also state whether you have not used AI in your thesis at all. You can add detail to the description of AI use as necessary in other chapters of the thesis. For example, if students have used AI to analyse data, they can describe this in detail in the methodology or analysis chapters of their thesis. The description must be sufficiently detailed to give the reader an idea of the role AI had in the different stages of the work. Never leave direct quotations from AI-generated content in the thesis. However, if you do use such content, remember to put it in your own words and refer to AI appropriately as instructed in Humak’s Citation guide.
You should not use a source suggested or referred to by AI in your thesis unless you have acquired the source in question and perused it yourself sufficiently well. It is absolutely essential to ensure that the source proposed by AI exists in general, and that AI has not interpreted it questionably, with bias or quite incorrectly. In a good thesis, AI is used little or not at all as a source.
These instructions are based on the recommendations of the Rectors’ Conference of Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences (ARENE), and they are in line with the guidelines issued by the Universities of Helsinki and Turku. The guidelines may be updated quickly along with technical development and changes in the common policies of higher education institutions. Any new guidelines will be updated to the Thesis guide without delay.
You should use appropriate factual style in your thesis. The text of a good thesis is clear, reflective and easy to read: what is written clearly is also clearly thought out. Typically, the thesis should be written in good and nuanced formal style; no colloquial language should be used. Rather than being dry and boring, factual style may be highly interesting and persuasive for someone knowledgeable in the topic.
When writing your thesis, you should think about the text from the reader’s viewpoint. The thesis is not written only for the commissioner, and especially not for the supervisor, but ultimately for a broader readership. Especially if a development assignment is completed in the author’s long-term workplace, the thesis tends to be written for insiders, making it difficult for both the supervisor and other external readers to follow the thread of the text. One way to avoid such a near-sighted approach is to imagine that the thesis is read by people who are interested in the topic of the development work but have no preliminary knowledge of the case in question. Students should ask other people to read their theses before they are finalised and ask for feedback on how comprehensible the text is.
Stiffness is not a virtue in a thesis. Excessively long, meandering sentences and obscure jargon have no place in a thesis. Over-use of nouns characteristic of bureaucratic texts should be avoided: for example, “implement development”, “produce an analysis”, “carry out an interview” etc. can be expressed simply by using the verbs to develop, analyse and interview. Abbreviations should be used sparingly; in a good text, abbreviations are only seen within parentheses. Wordy sentence introductions (“It is important to note, however, that…”) are mostly unnecessary. “Get straight to the point and keep it simple” is a good general guideline.
You should be careful not to use the passive voice excessively, as it may make it difficult to know who did and what. Such expressions as “the data were collected” and “the data were analysed” give the impression that the author has a mysterious data collection and analysis group working in the background. As a rule, you can write your thesis in active voice, and even prolific use of first person singular is acceptable. Expressing the author’s subjectivity does not mean, however, that the thesis is just a personal opinion. The reader has the right to know what the author’s views are based on.
To write a thesis, sources are used. You find information in sources and rephrase it in your thesis. Citations are used to indicate that the information comes from a source. Sometimes finding a balance between your writing and source text may seem difficult. Turnitin Draft Coach program, which is available with Humak’s Microsoft account in Word Online, can help in this. The program compares written text with the sources and indicates their similarities.
The purpose of Draft Coach is to check originality of texts and quotations in the text as it is being written. Draft Coach provides a Turnitin “originality report”, which shows similarities with texts in Turnitin databases. It also provides the author with guidance in writing their text. The staff and students can use Draft Coach with Humak’s Microsoft account. Draft Coach works in Word Online and appears as “Turnitin” in the header. Select the Turnitin tab and Draft Coach. Turnitin Draft Coach will be displayed on the right-hand side of the document.
Carefully noting citations and the list of references increases readers’ trust in the work, as does neat and consistent layout compliant with the instructions. Follow the Citation guide’s instructions approved by Humak when working on citations. You should insert the sources in the text immediately, as finding missing sources afterwards can cause a lot of work. You should also ensure that the questions presented at the beginning of the work have been answered, at the latest in the conclusions chapter. The thesis should also be grammatically correct, and it should not contain anything that the authors themselves do not fully understand.
The thesis should not be thought of as a report. Reporting refers to first doing something and then writing a report on it. However, a final project is too large an assignment to be completed in this way. Rather than just a way of putting your thoughts on paper, writing is also one of the most important methods of producing ideas. This is why it is a good idea to keep writing your thesis continuously.
If the development assignment related to the thesis is strongly action based, it is easy to forget about the writing. Having a thesis journal is a good way to keep track of the work stages and document them, and it can be applied to all types of thesis projects. However, it is important to remember that the thesis itself is not a journal-type output.
Working in pairs and groups has many advantages: having several authors also diversifies thinking. When working together, peer support is always close at hand, and challenges can be tackled together. When you have to explain your thoughts to someone else, it helps to structure them. Negotiating, agreeing on common goals and reflecting on what is central to the work help find the thread of the work and eliminate irrelevances. New insights and shared successes are created together.
When the thesis is completed with a pair or in a small group, commitment, planning and trust are emphasised in the work. A precondition for successfully completing the thesis is that everyone is committed to the common goal. As the work is started, it is important for the authors to agree clearly on the division of labour and responsibilities and to set a realistic schedule. To maintain trust, honest and open communication is required at all stages of the thesis process. It is advisable to agree on rules for different situations at the beginning of the work. A template for setting out the ground rules is provided in the Thesis section of the Student’s Guide.
Writing problems are quite common. Excessive self-criticism can prevent the process from starting, fear of failure can paralyse, and fear of mediocrity can force the author to hone the text indefinitely. You should not be too hard on yourself in the early stages of the writing; the final version will only contain a fraction of the first drafts anyway. When the goal is to get started, quantity is more important than quality. It is preferable to put even vague observations and reflections in writing rather than turning them over in your mind endlessly. Even one page of text is much better than an empty page with the word “Introduction” at the top. You can convert the fear of failure into pursuit of success, and respecting the schedule will set a deadline for perfecting the text.
You can get started by drawing concept maps, or listing things that belong to each chapter on paper or writing them on Post-its. You should decide in advance when and for how long you will write. It is advisable to note the time for writing in your diary and stick to this decision. One good way to get going with the writing is to start by reading and editing the text you wrote the last time. You should also always finish with having an idea of what you will write about next.
Writing is associated with many myths. People often claim that you need long, completely peaceful moments to write. Writing should preferably take place when you are alone in a wilderness cabin, in the early morning hours and in a particularly creative state. You should forget about such myths. Leading writing experts say that you can write for twenty minutes a day in the midst of other busy tasks and noise. You can start by laying your fingers on the keyboard, even if you feel you have nothing particularly new to say. In the early stages, the thesis supervisor appreciates the quantity of text over its quality.
What if you have not produced enough text and the thesis seems too short? You should not try and artificially inflate a concise piece of writing with text that has no content. The right way to expand the text is to compare, apply, combine things, analyse, and present arguments for and against. This will keep the text concise while deepening the discussion of the topic.
The structure of the thesis is guided by the thesis template: the cover page is followed by an abstract in Finnish and English. The table of contents comes after the abstract, with the title “Content” or “Table of content”. The abstracts are listed in capital letters at the beginning of the table of contents before the actual content. A good number of main chapters is around 6 or 7: an introduction, 1 to 2 chapters about the theoretical framework i.e. knowledge base, a methodology chapter, 1 to 2 analysis chapters, as well as chapters containing conclusions and reflection. If the thesis has appendices, “Appendices” is added to the end of the table of contents in capitals, with the page number from which the appendices begin.
The introduction to the work captivates the reader’s interest and introduces them to the topic of the thesis. The introduction explains why the commissioner’s activities should be developed, what the objectives of the project are, and which concrete output it will produce. The introduction should not be confused with the abstract: the purpose of the introduction is to justify the importance of the development task and the entire thesis and to present the objectives of project. A good introduction is concise, clear and consistent.
The content of the theoretical framework is discussed in a previous chapter of this Guide. Between the theoretical framework (knowledge base) and the analysis chapters, a chapter describing how the development work methods were applied in practice can be placed. The analysis chapters introduce and discuss the actual data of the thesis. These chapters should be sufficiently detailed to allow the reader to see how the results were achieved. The data are analysed in the light of practical professional experience and the viewpoints offered by literature in the field.
The conclusions chapter pulls together the results of the project and presents its final output. The output can also be appended to the thesis if, because of its form or length, it cannot be directly included in the text. Even in this case, the author must clearly describe the relationship between the actual thesis and the separate output in the conclusions chapter of their thesis, explaining how the theoretical framework and data influenced the final output. The conclusions chapter also justifies the usefulness of the work for the commissioner and describes how the results will be used in practice in the organisation’s activities.
The conclusions are followed by a reflection chapter, in which the development work process is reflected on and evaluated with objective arguments. In this phase, you also describe the commissioner’s feedback on the work. Finally, you revisit the viewpoint discussed at the beginning and discuss the general significance of the completed work for the development of the sector. Developing the work of an individual actor may also serve as an example that produces knowledge and ideas for a wider professional audience if the thesis has been produced to a high quality and transparently, combining practice and conceptual information. Justified development proposals and bold action-based experiments may even challenge or at least diversify previous understanding. This chapter also describes the topics of and needs for further development that the authors of the thesis observed in the commissioner’s activities or more extensively in the professional field while working on the thesis. The reflection chapter should consequently not be treated as a summary that merely repeats what has been said in the previous chapters.
The abstract placed at the beginning of the work is usually the last section to be written. The reader often bases their decision to keep reading on the abstract, which is why strong focus on writing it is advisable. The abstract usually has the following structure:
There are no citations in the abstract. A passive voice is used in it. The past tense should be used, except when describing universally applicable results and conclusions, in which case the present tense should be selected. The abstract also includes the exact bibliographical information of the thesis and its keywords for information searches. If a thesis completed in a Finnish-language degree programme is written in a language other than Finnish, the thesis must always also have an abstract in Finnish. No Finnish abstract is needed in theses produced in an English-language degree programme.
Rather than a direct word-to-word translation of the Finnish abstract, the English abstract is an independent text. It is usually shorter than the Finnish abstract. The English abstract also contains keywords. For more information on writing the abstract, see the Thesis support page in Student’s Guide (only available in Finnish).
The structure of the titles in a thesis should be reader-friendly. Having a structure of two heading levels is significantly better than three levels. A fourth level should not even be considered. The chapters should be neither too long or too short. A good rule of thumb is that each section should contain at least three paragraphs, each of which has at least three sentences. If sections are used, there must be at least two. If there is no need for more than one section, no division into sections is needed, and you can place the text directly below the preceding level.
A thesis is not a writing assignment consisting of separate sections. The headings should relate not only to the content of the chapter, but also to each other. In practice, however, it is wisest to think of the chapters as relatively independent entities – after all, it is easier to eat an elephant one bite at a time. You can and should elucidate the thread of the thesis in later stages of the work. While it is usual to start the writing process with an introduction, you can also start at whatever point feels the easiest. However, it often makes sense to go back to the introduction and partly re-write it once you have written the conclusions and development proposals of the thesis.
For more tips on writing a thesis, see the “Thesis” page in Student’s Guide..
The instructions concerning layout, citations and list of references specified by Humak should be observed in Humak theses. The citations allow the reader to know which parts of the text were written by the author and which are borrowed from literature. The citations provide the reader with additional information on the topic, enabling them to check the accuracy of the quoted information if they wish. The citations also respect the copyrights of the original author. Inadequate citations are considered an ethical breach by the author of the thesis. Humak’s Citation Guide contains information on producing citations that comply with Humak’s standard.
The contents of theses must be accessible. This is required under the Act on the Provision of Digital Services (306/2019), which is based on the EU Accessibility Directive (2016/2102). Theses that completely fail to address accessibility cannot be accepted for evaluation. For accessibility instructions applied to thesis, see this link.
Students write their theses using a ready-made template (Thesis -> Other forms needed for your thesis). While it has the correct text layout, it does not yet guarantee accessibility. In addition to following the layout of the template, students must at least add alternative text to describe material that is not in text format and subtitles to audiovisual material, as well as submit the thesis for final evaluation in PDF/A format.
The browser version of Word lacks many Word features. This means that the template settings may not work correctly, and using the accessibility settings may not be possible. This is why you should use the desktop version of Word, at the latest when putting the finishing touches on the layout of the thesis. Humak students have access to Office 365 suite and can download the desktop versions to their computers at portal.office.com. For more instructions, see the Software and Systems page in Student’s Guide.
The page numbering starts from the first page of the Introduction chapter. In word processing software, this may require inserting a section break to separate this chapter from the initial pages. The running numbers also continue throughout the list of references and appendices. The length of the thesis is calculated based on the body text. The sections before the Introduction, the list of references or any appendices will not be included.
The chapter headings are numbered, and they start at the left margin. The headings of main chapters are capitalised, while subheadings should be in lowercase letters. The styles specified in the thesis template (heading levels, body text, etc.) must be strictly used in the headings. Each main chapter always starts on a new page. To highlight something in the text, a bold font rather than italics should preferably be used. A bold font is usually not necessary, either. For longer direct quotations, one tab indentation and line spacing 1 should be used.
Figures and tables should be used with caution and only to illustrate the text. Photographs must contain a caption that complements other information, rather than repeating what is said in the text. Figures, tables and images are assigned their own running numbers, and alt texts are produced for them.
The assessment schedules of theses are specific to each degree programme. To check the schedule of your programme, see the Hoodle page Thesis (Bachelor).
Before the actual evaluation, the thesis is presented at a final seminar where students receive feedback on their theses from the supervisor and peer reviewers. Asking the commissioner for feedback is also an essential part of the finalisation process of the thesis. After the seminar, you can still edit your thesis, enabling you to get your thesis approved or possibly achieve a higher grade.
The finalised version is submitted with accessibility information in pdf/a format to Wihi through its plagiarism check program. The evaluation of the thesis will be based on this version, and it may no longer be changed. The same version will be uploaded to Theseus.
In a nutshell, the process of submitting the thesis is as follows:
1. Thesis seminar, where students receive peer feedback and the final feedback of the thesis supervisor.
2. Finalisation of the thesis text, uploading it to Wihi and, consequently, the plagiarism check program
3. Maturity test
4. Evaluation of the thesis and drawing up of evaluation statement in Wihi
5. Uploading the thesis to Theseus online library
6. Adding a Theseus link to Wihi
7. If all other studies included in the degree have also been completed, submission of an application for a degree certificate
In the final phase of the thesis evaluation process, students are asked to add a Theseus link to their theses in Wihi. The link format is https://urn.fi/URN, and it is generated once the thesis has been saved to and published in Theseus. Before saving their theses to Theseus, students must check that no data protection issues remain in the thesis or its appendices. The description field in the Theseus submission should be left blank.
In Theseus, the save options are either:
1. Theses (Open collection); the thesis is freely accessible in Theseus.
2. Theses (Restricted collection); the thesis can only be accessed online in Humak’s local network.
Students can choose the collection to which they upload their theses. Theses produced in pairs or groups are only saved by one person who, however, records the names of all authors in Theseus.
Finnish universities of applied sciences have signed the declaration of open science, and students are encouraged to publish with open access whenever possible. A thesis is always a public document that can be read by anyone who is interested (Act on the Openness of Government Activities 621/1999). The metadata of the theses saved to either collection (author, title, keywords, abstract) will be publicly visible online. The theses in Theseus Restricted collection can only be read on Humak’s local network. However, anyone can address a request for a thesis residing in the Restricted collection to Humak’s Registry, and the thesis must be sent to them by email under the Act on the Openness of Government Activities.
When you upload your thesis to Theseus, you can select a suitable copyright licence for it (Creative Commons). The license you use will affect how others can share, edit or use the content of the thesis online. For more information about the different licence options, see Theseus page Copyrights and Creative Commons.
For more detailed information on saving your thesis to Theseus, please refer to this page > Saving the thesis in Theseus.
The thesis is evaluated by two persons, one of whom usually is the thesis supervisor. In Wihi, the other person is called the second evaluator. They write a statement of about one page in length on the thesis, in which they grade the work on the following scale: Satisfactory (1-2), Good (3-4) or Excellent (5). The evaluation of a thesis is based on the information contained in the written part of the thesis. The success of the project output is not necessarily a defining factor in the evaluation, as a failure – when analysed carefully – can also produce valuable experience and knowledge.
A thesis is evaluated based on three main points. A partial grade is awarded for each main point that has a specific weight. The grade for the thesis is calculated as the average of these partial grades and their weights. Individual theses are evaluated based on the same criteria as those produced in pairs and small groups. All those working in a pair or small group are awarded the same grade for and receive the same statement on their theses.
1. Significance of the final project for the professional sector, 1-5 (weight 50%)
In the first evaluation section, the thesis is examined from the commissioner’s point of view and in the context of the professional sector. In a Bachelor’s degree, the significance of the project for the professional sector primarily means that thesis has importance for the commissioner. At best, the thesis serves both the organisation’s concrete objectives and builds up the knowledge and competence base of the professional sector. A prerequisite for successfully developing the commissioner’s activities is that the authors of the thesis identify and define the organisation’s actual development needs together with the commissioner. To identify development needs, inquisitive and extensive familiarisation with the latest information in the professional sector and networking in the sector are needed. The output produced as the final result of the project develops the organisation’s activities in concrete ways. Aspects to be evaluated are:
The grade for significance of the final project for the professional sector is excellent (5) if the thesis significantly renews and benefits the commissioner’s activities, and the output of the project is concrete and easy to implement as well as linked in an interesting way to topical discussion in the sector.
The grade awarded for this area is good (3) if the thesis is useful for the commissioner in itself but not particularly renewing, and its applicability in practice could be better. The thesis is linked to current discussions in the field to a moderate extent.
The grade for significance of the project for the professional sector is satisfactory (1) if the usefulness of the thesis for the commissioner is modest, there are significant shortcomings in the applicability of the thesis, and it has little or no links to current discussions in the sector.
2. Generation of knowledge and competence, 1-5 (weight 30%)
This section assesses the author’s ability to manage a demanding assignment independently and in a goal-oriented manner. Diverse use of information sources means rephrasing information, rather than just listing it. Good methodological competence is an ability to apply development methods appropriately, not just to quote methodology guides. Sufficient attention should also be paid to analysing the data obtained using the development methods and presenting the results. Responsible action, especially following the principles of research ethics, is part of methodological competence. The author of the thesis must also critically evaluate their development work at its different stages and its significance for the commissioner.
Aspects to be evaluated are:
The grade for generation of knowledge and competence is excellent (5) if the author has managed to create a dialogue between the information sources, formed a personal perspective, and applied this perspective to practical assignments. Methods have been used appropriately, the data have been analysed carefully, and the results and output have been clearly presented, reflecting them on the theoretical framework i.e. the knowledge base. Ethics and other responsibility related to the thesis have been described to an excellent standard, and critical evaluation of the work is of a significantly high quality throughout.
The grade awarded for generation of knowledge and competence is good (3) if the sources are relevant and they have been used diversely, but the information has been listed rather than rephrased and applied. Methods have been used appropriately, but the analysis of data and discussion of results remain somewhat superficial. Ethical and other aspects related to responsibility have been described reasonably well in the thesis. The work has been evaluated critically to some extent, but the critical approach could be stronger or more comprehensive.
In a satisfactory (1) thesis, the written sources remain separate from the content, the thesis is fragmented, and its objectives have not been clearly expressed. There are also significant shortcomings in methodology use, analysis of data and discussion of results. The description of ethics and responsibility is superficial in the thesis, and there is little critical evaluation.
3. Appearance and readability of the thesis, 1-5 (emphasis 20%)
In this section, the general readability of the thesis is evaluated: the clarity of structure and the consistency and quality of the text. Rather than just a matter of form, this is also about the value of the project and its output in the workplace. Readability also means accessibility: theses that completely fail to address accessibility cannot be accepted for evaluation. For accessibility instructions applied to theses, see this link.
Aspects to be assessed are:
A thesis that is excellent (5) in terms of its appearance and readability is linguistically impeccable, convincing in its content, consistent and reader friendly in its structure. The figures, tables and images are appropriate, illustrative and neatly presented. They have clear and informative alternative texts. The citations and list of references have been prepared carefully. The body text remains within the number of pages cited in the Thesis guide (35-50 pages).
In a thesis with good appearance and readability (3), some flaws in the layout and structure can be permitted if the text itself is fluent and expertly written. The figures, tables and images are additionally appropriate and neatly presented, and alternative texts are reasonably good. The citations and list of references have been prepared carefully but may contain individual errors.
The structure of a thesis that is satisfactory regarding its appearance and readability (1) is inconsistent, and the text has not been written in a fluent factual style. The figures, tables and images are not clear or appropriate in all respects, and there are obvious shortcomings in alternative texts. Significant numbers of incorrect entries have been left in the citations and list of references.
To graduate with a Bachelor’s degree, students must take a maturity test in the field of their thesis that demonstrates their knowledge of the sector and proficiency in Finnish or Swedish (Decree 1129/2014). The language of the maturity test is determined by the student’s language of education. The language of education is the language in which the student has completed their comprehensive school or general upper secondary school and for which they have a pass grade for Finnish or Swedish studied as mother tongue in their basic education certificate. Students whose language of education is other than Finnish or Swedish will write their maturity tests in the language of the degree programme.
The purpose of the maturity test is to write a media release or other output that further promotes the thesis, including a blog or a text to be published in the yearbook. In the maturity test, students show the depth of their learning acquired in the development assignment. An approved maturity test is written professionally. The writing must comply with the requirements of good factual style and make up a clear and consistent whole in terms of structure, language and layout.
The maturity test is written on the day the thesis is submitted or at a later date as agreed. The maturity test is checked in terms of both content and language. Rather than graded, the test is assessed on a pass/fail scale. The assessment is given within approximately one week of writing the maturity test. If the test is not completed acceptably, the student receives feedback before a repeat attempt.
In addition to a grade, a written assessment will be given for the thesis, which students can access without delay upon completion of the assessment in Wihi. Should they wish, students can discuss the evaluation criteria with the examiners. If the authors and evaluators of the thesis disagree about the evaluation, the following procedure is followed:
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Viimeksi päivitetty: 11 kesäkuun, 2026
