Steps toward graduation

Approval of thesis and requesting graduation
After your defence date has been confirmed and your Sisu credit plan has been approved in Sisu, you may request for graduation in Sisu. Please update your contact information at Sisu at the same time, remember especially to update your personal email address. Starting from August 2025, the links to degree certificate documents will be delivered via email to both your personal and Aalto email addresses.
Sisu instructions for requesting graduation (aalto.fi)Once you have submitted the request for graduation, you will be able to graduate on the next official graduation date following the approval of your doctoral thesis.
Your thesis will be approved in your School's Doctoral programme committee's next meeting following your defence, provided that the opponent has had time to submit their statement for the Committee. Opponents must give their statements within 14 days of the public defence. Your doctoral programme will send you the statement. You have the right to give your official written response regarding the statement to the Doctoral programme committee, for example in case you need to point out a grave error in the statement or some other issue that would affect the approval of the thesis.
- Doctoral theses are graded either pass or fail.
- Doctoral theses at the School of Arts, Design and Architecture are graded pass with distinction, pass or fail.
Your doctoral programme will inform you of the decision regarding the approval of your thesis.
Official graduation dates at Aalto University
Graduation days 2025 |
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27.1.2025 |
24.2.2025 |
31.3.2025 |
28.4.2025 |
26.5.2025 |
30.6.2025 |
31.7.2025 |
25.8.2025 |
29.9.2025 |
27.10.2025 |
24.11.2025 |
31.12.2025 |
You are able to receive your degree certificate approximately two weeks after the official graduation date. Please see more information under "Receiving your diploma certificate" below.
All doctoral graduates are asked to answer a feedback survey for doctoral graduates. The purpose of the survey is to acquire feedback about the content and guidance of your doctoral studies and function of the doctoral programme services. Your experiences and opinions are important for improving the programme and making it better meet the needs of the students.
Please answer the survey only once, you may have already received the link from your doctoral programme or from the agreement for graduating doctors.
Link to (Webropol)
Aalto University asks our doctoral graduates to answer a career monitoring survey three years from graduation. The aim is to actively monitor the integration of academic graduates into working life.
Please take time to respond when you get the career monitoring survey approximately three years after graduation, your response is highly appreciated! It will provide current information from the working life that can be utilized in the development of teaching and research. Additionally, students who are still deciding on their studies and job opportunities value the information gained from the career paths of graduates.
Before graduation, please fill in the "" form in order to receive communications from Aalto university and the Doctoral education services after graduation, namely regarding the national career monitoring survey (Aarresaari) and thesis award competitions outside of Aalto University.
Alternatively, you can send the same information by email to your Doctoral programme's Doctoral Education Services (aalto.fi).
You will receive a downloading link of your electronic degree certificate to your Aalto email address in Sisu within about 2 weeks from the graduation date. Also, if you have added your personal email address to your personal information in Sisu, the link will be sent to that as well. Please note that adding the address only to the graduation request in Sisu will not transfer it to your personal information in Sisu. You have to add it there separately.
Read more about the electronic degree certificate and Apostille certificate.
If you need earlier proof of your completed studies, you can order an electronically signed official transcript from Sisu, see more information .
The Schools will arrange graduation ceremonies as before even though Aalto University has switched to electronic degree certificates. You will receive an invitation and registration link to the ceremony from your School's Learning Services about 1-2 months before the event. The graduation ceremony offers you a possibilty to celebrate your degree with other fellow graduates and a few of your own relatives or friends.
- The right to access Aalto University IT services (Aalto account, such as your Aalto email) will remain valid for two months after your graduation, after which it will be removed.
- You can start using the alumni email service offered by Aalto University after gradaution.
- When your right to study ends, remove all the software that the university has provided for home use, unless otherwise stated in the license agreement of the software.
- Return all borrowed study material and equipment.
- Return all keys and access badges.
- Remember to make a copy of the files in your university-provided home directory (network drive) and cloud services (e.g. Google Drive) for yourself, as the files in your home directory will be removed once your access rights expire.
- Any messages sent to a closed Aalto email account will not be delivered. If you have used your Aalto University email address to create user accounts for other services (e.g. Apple ID or Dropbox), please remember to replace the Aalto address with your personal email address in those services.
Please note that you may be bound by a confidentiality obligation even after your graduation, if you have, for instance, gained access to secret information while in a position of trust at the university.
Your profile and ACRIS login expires when your study right expires (i.e. date of graduation). If you remain fully-employed by Aalto University, your profile remains (doesn't apply to e.g. hourly-paid contracts).
Aalto University graduates' degree information is saved automatically in Aalto's alumni and partner system (CRM) after the graduation.
By joining , the digital network, you can update your contact details, keep in touch with fellow graduates and current students and you can obtain @ mailbox.
Further infomation: aalto.fi/en/alumneille () or alumni@aalto.fi
Aalto University is giving out incentive scholarships for doctoral students who have started their pre-examination within exactly four years of being admitted to the doctoral programme or who earn their degree by the end of the calendar year in which they turn 30. Incentive scholarships are granted upon application by the student.
The incentive scholarships are available to doctoral students from all Schools except the School of Business.
Exact conditions and instructions to apply for the incentive scholarships (aalto.fi)
Awarding and celebrating doctors
Ceremony Week
The Ceremony Week ends the academic year at Aalto University. Yearly ceremonies include the Graduation Party for masters and bachelors, the ceremonial conferments of doctoral degrees along with exhibitions and discussions.

Conferments
Information, videos and photographs of Aalto University ceremonial conferments

Aalto doctoral thesis awards
Top ten percent of doctoral theses are awarded annually at Aalto University

Incentive scholarships for doctoral students
A set of 500e and 2000e incentive scholarships are awarded by application for doctoral students who meet the conditions given.

Ready for future challenges
Doctoral graduates of Aalto University in working life
Skills learned during doctoral education are valuable in working life

International doctoral graduates in the workforce – ready for future challenges!
Global competence, good networks, and a doctoral degree are highly valued in the labour markets when companies are looking for game-changers.

For alumni
As an alum, you are part of Aalto community. Let's stay connected and develop together!

Career Design for Lifewide Learners
The future of work calls for experimentation and lifewide learning for designing a meaningful career path.
