Master's thesis

Evaluation and Grading

Master's theses in computer science are passed by the department council. The stages of the procedure are as follows:

1. The writer of the thesis delivers the following documents to the primary supervisor:

  • the thesis as a single PDF file
  • for external theses, the statement from the workplace supervisor that contains assessments of e.g. how independently the writer has worked, how significant the work has been, and how successful the work has been from the company's point of view (sent directly to the supervisor, an e-mail is sufficient; the examiners must have the statement before they write their examiner’s statement).

 

2. At the end of the examination process the examiners will write their statements presenting the grading principles for the thesis and the suggested grade. The examiners will share the statement with the writer, and submit the statement to the department administration (kanslia@cs.helsinki.fi). At the same time, the examiner will inform the writer about at which department council meeting the thesis approval will be discussed.

The evaluation table of the MSc thesis contains the factors that affect the grade.

The maturity test connected with the Master’s thesis is the summary (abstract) of the thesis, with which the student can prove how well they know the topic of the thesis. The maturity test is no longer taken as a separate exam at the department.

You can check when the department council meets in the department council web page.

 

3. When the writer has received the statement of the suggested grade and information of the department council meeting date, the writer submits the PDF version of the thesis to the University Library for electronic archival (E-thesis) according to these guidelines: http://ethesis.helsinki.fi/en/instructions_gradu_kumpula.html

Every MSc Thesis must be submitted to E-thesis archive. The writer of the thesis can decide whether the thesis will be puclicly available.

Please note that the writer of the thesis cannot submit the thesis to E-thesis archive before receiving the the statement of the suggested grade and information of the department council meeting date. 

By submitting the thesis to E-thesis archive the writer acknowledges that he/she has received the the statement of the suggested grade and information of the department council meeting date.

Therefore, there is no need for the writer to submit a separate notification to the department office (after 8.11.2012).

 

4. IMPORTANT: Formal approval by the deparment council is possible only if the writer has submitted his/her thesis to E-thesis archive at least 11 days before the meeting (typically by Friday morning one and a half weeks before the dept council meeting on Tuesday).

 

Deadlines

To reiterate: for theses to be approved by the department council, all pertinent documents must be delivered to the department office 11 days before the department council’s meeting.

When all the courses required for the Master’s degree have been completed and the thesis has been passed by the department council, the student must send a request for the degree diploma to the faculty office ten days before the degree is conferred or the conferment ceremony.


Grading

Both contents and presentation are considered when the research plan is reviewed. The analysis of the contents will focus on whether the writer has discovered the key literature, knows the concepts necessary for the topic area, whether the goals of the thesis have been defined clearly enough, and whether the approach and disposition of contents have progressed to a concrete enough level. In the presentation, emphasis is laid on exactness of expression and the clear and logical structure of the text. The research plan is not graded.

If the research plan or thesis does not meet the requirements it will be returned to the writer for amendment. The review will give reasons for the decision and suggestions for amendments. When an amended text is re-submitted for review the previous version of the text and the related reviews must be attached.

When reviewing theses, the examiners will consider

  • command of subject matter (conversance, structure),
  • scientific level (outlining and specification of problem, use of methods, choice and use of references, evaluation of results, drawing of conclusions), and
  • presentation (exactness, readability, finish).

The following grades are used for assessing theses (equivalence to number scale in brackets):
                                                
Approbatur  (2/5)
Lubenter Approbatur (2/5)
Non Sine Laude Approbatur (3/5)
Cum Laude Approbatur (3/5)
Magna Cum Laude Approbatur (4/5)
Eximia Cum Laude Approbatur (5/5)
Laudatur (5/5)

The Latin grade will be printed on the diploma. Its numerical equivalent will be used when calculating the grade for the advanced module of the major subject.

A basic thesis that fills the requirements for an MSc thesis, is adequately written, and does not contain significant errors, will place on the Cum Laude Approbatur level.

If the work does not fill one of the requirements above, but demonstrates sufficient maturity with its other strengths, it will be assessed a Non Sine or Lubenter Approbatur. Features that may lower the grade are e.g. illogical conclusions, a weak structure, presented claims not being backed up, too much depending on others in the thesis work, or an unpolished text.

If the work contains independent contributions, it will gain the grade Magna Cum Laude Approbatur. A critical, evaluating and analytic approach is expected of a good thesis. The contribution may also consist of e.g. an original comparison, a design, the successful implementation of part of a system, or a well-planned and implemented evaluation based on measurements. A thesis that contains both a contribution and exceptionally good writing can be graded Eximia Cum Laude Approbatur.

The other grades are rarely used. Laudatur is awarded to a thesis only if it is of exceptionally high quality in every way, and demonstrates that the writer is thoroughly familiar with the scientific methods of the subject matter; typically, such a thesis will contain original results or innovations.
For the most part, the department council will pass the thesis with the same grade that the examiners have suggested in their statements; in such cases the thesis will appear on the list of approved theses as soon as the minutes from the meeting are ready. These minutes are available on the bulletin board opposite conference room D234 in Exactum.

If the department council decides to change the grade, the writer of the thesis will be contacted personally. Students who are dissatisfied with their grade may apply to the faculty council for rectification within 14 days of receiving notification of the grade.