The purpose of the pre-examination is to determine whether a manuscript intended as a doctoral dissertation is of sufficient scientific quality to grant the author permission to publish it as a doctoral dissertation. The faculty council uses external pre-examiners in the decision-making process. The pre-examiners are requested to submit a written statement on the quality of the manuscript.
The manuscript that is submitted to the faculty for pre-examination must be the final version of the dissertation in terms of content and language, with the exception of possible later revisions based on the pre-examiners' comments. If the dissertation is written in a language that is not the doctoral candidate's mother tongue, an external language professional should be used to review the language before applying for permission to publish the dissertation.
The faculty council appoints at least two pre-examiners to examine the manuscript upon the recommendation of the supervisor of the dissertation. The pre-examiners must hold a professorship or a doctoral degree and be external to the University. The pre-examiners must be unbiased.
The supervisor must submit the names of the nominated pre-examiners to the faculty at least two weeks before the faculty council convenes. The manuscript is delivered to the faculty in accordance with the faculty’s instructions.
The faculty council appoints the pre-examiners and submits the decision, relevant instructions and other necessary documents to the pre-examiners. The faculty, supervisor and doctoral candidate agree how and by which date the manuscript is delivered to the pre-examiners.
The pre-examiners must submit their statement to the faculty within the given deadline, generally within two months of receiving the manuscript. Before preparing the final statement, the pre-examiners may require the doctoral candidate to revise the manuscript or possibly conduct further research to validate the results.
The pre-examiners assess whether the dissertation meets the following requirements:
The pre-examiners must clearly state whether they are in favour of granting the doctoral candidate permission to publish the manuscript as a doctoral dissertation. In case a pre-examiner requires the doctoral candidate to revise the dissertation, it is customary to request the pre-examiner for a new statement after the changes have been made to ensure that the changes are sufficient.
In case the pre-examiners do not submit the statement within the given deadline, the supervisor of the dissertation contacts the pre-examiners. The faculty council may appoint new pre-examiners, if necessary.
The faculty council grants the doctoral candidate permission to publish his/her dissertation. The faculty delivers the pre-examiners' statements to the supervisor and doctoral candidate before the meeting where the faculty council is set to discuss whether or not to grant the author permission to publish the dissertation. The doctoral candidate will be given the opportunity to comment on the pre-examiners' statement. The supervisor of the dissertation proposes to the faculty council that the doctoral candidate be granted permission to publish the dissertation. The supervisor is alsoresponsible for ensuring that the doctoral candidate has taken the pre-examiners' comments into consideration and revised the manuscript accordingly. The doctoral candidate must deliver the revised manuscript and possible comments on the pre-examiners' statement to the faculty in accordance with the faculty's instructions.
After the doctoral candidate has received permission to publish the dissertation, the faculty council appoints one or two opponents. The opponents must hold a professorship or a doctoral degree and be external to the University.
Before the public examination, the doctoral candidate must submit 50 copies of the dissertation to the faculty. The dissertation must be publicly displayed at the faculty at least 10 days before the public examination.
After the public examination, the opponent appointed by the faculty council must submit a written statement on the dissertation to the faculty within two weeks of the public examination. In case there are two opponents, they may submit a joint statement. It is good practice to deliver the statement as soon as possible.
A person present at the public examination may announce at the end of the event that he/she wishes to submit comments regarding the dissertation. Such comments must be delivered to the faculty in writing within two weeks of the public examination.
A demand to reject a dissertation must be presented in writing and accompanied by a statement setting out the grounds for the rejection. Such a demand may be presented by the opponents and those members of the faculty council who are entitled to make decisions concerning dissertations. Professors and those members of the faculty council who hold a degree of a corresponding level may take part in the evaluation of dissertations. A minimum of four such members must be present at the faculty council’s meeting where the matter is discussed.
The written statements by the opponents and other written comments must be submitted to the faculty for purposes of evaluating and grading the dissertation. The doctoral candidate must be offered the opportunity to respond to the statements and comments in writing within a reasonable deadline set by the faculty.
The faculty council decides whether to approve the dissertation and determines the grade. The grade may be either "Approved” or “Approved with Distinction". The chairperson presiding over the public examination proposes a grade for the dissertation by submitting a proposal to the faculty council. The supervisor of the doctoral candidate’s studies is usually appointed as the chairperson.
Doctoral candidates undergo a formal public examination to reliably establish that their dissertation meets the required scientific standards. Public examinations are dignified occasions that promote the visibility of research results.
To ensure that these requirements are appropriately met, public examinations follow a set of traditional customs and conventions. They complement the formal guidelines for the evaluation of doctoral dissertations. The principal participants of the public examination are advised to agree on the practical application of these conventions before the public examination. The chairperson who presides over the public examination, also known as the custos, is responsible for ensuring that the proceedings are appropriately conducted.
Dress code
According to academic tradition, male doctoral candidates, chairpersons and opponents wear a tailcoat with a black waistcoat, a dark suit or a military uniform without decorations. Female candidates, chairpersons and opponents wear a black two-piece suit or a black dress with long sleeves and a high neckline and no hat. The doctoral candidate, chairperson and opponents agree on the dress code in advance. If the chairperson and opponent hold doctoral degrees, they hold their doctoral hats in their hands as they enter and leave the lecture hall.
Entrance and opening words
When the public examination begins, the doctoral candidate enters the lecture hall first, followed by the chairperson and finally the opponent. The audience stands up as they enter the room. The doctoral candidate is seated to the left of the chairperson and the opponent to the right of the chairperson, unless practical considerations dictate otherwise.
After everyone is seated, the chairperson declares the public examination open by saying: "The Faculty Council of the Faculty of X has granted X permission to publish his/her dissertation and appointed Professor X from the University of X as the opponent and me as the chairperson. I declare this public examination open.”
The doctoral candidate stands to deliver the lectio praecursoria (introductory lecture). The lecture may last a maximum of 20 minutes and it begins with the words: "Honourable Chair, Honourable Opponent, Ladies and Gentlemen." The purpose of the lecture is to introduce the audience to the field of the candidate's dissertation in general and not to provide a detailed summary of the findings or the research process. The doctoral candidate may, for example with the help of a member of the audience, distribute copies of the introductory lecture, lists of printing errors or other materials to the audience. The lecture ends with the words: "I ask you, honoured Professor X (or Doctor, etc.), as the opponent appointed by the Faculty of X, to present the observations and comments on my dissertation that you consider appropriate."
The opponent stands up to deliver a short statement concerning the importance and scientific status of the research topic and other general matters. The opponent and doctoral candidate sit down after the statement. If there is more than one opponent, only one of them delivers this general statement.
Evaluation of the dissertation
The opponent usually starts the formal examination by discussing methodological and general questions and then proceeds to examine the dissertation in more detail. If there is more than one opponent, they can agree on how to share their duties in advance. It is customary that the doctoral candidate uses polite forms of address towards the opponent and treats the opponent with dignity and respect.
The public examination, including the introductory lecture, must be conducted in Finnish, Swedish, the language in which the dissertation is written, or some other language approved by the faculty. The introductory lecture is usually given in Finnish. One opponent may use a maximum of four hours to examine the dissertation. The chairperson may interrupt the public examination by announcing a break. After concluding the examination, the opponent stands up to deliver his/her closing statement. The doctoral candidate stands up to listen to the statement and express his/her thanks to the opponent.
After the opponent has finished the examination, the discussion continues on topics that have not yet been covered. The doctoral candidate turns to the audience and says: "Ladies and gentlemen, if you have questions or comments concerning my dissertation, please ask the chairperson for the floor." The audience can make oral comments or submit written comments. These comments may be taken into consideration when the dissertation is evaluated. The discussion continues for as long as necessary, but the total duration of the public examination may not exceed six hours. The chairperson ends the event with the words: "I declare this public examination closed."
The doctoral candidate, chairperson and opponent exit the lecture hall in reverse order as they entered. The audience waits until the chairperson, opponent and doctoral candidate have left the room.
Compensation paid to opponents
Public examinations are important events that usually require male opponentsto wear a tailcoat. In case an opponent has to rent a tailcoat, the University will reimburse the costs.
The presence of the spouse in important events, such as a public examination, is part of academic tradition. If the opponent's spouse attends the public examination, the University will cover the accommodation costs of the spouse.