SCI Master's Thesis Guide 2023-

Read information on publicity and publication of a master's theses

• Student Guide - Theses as public documents
• Learning Center - Publicity and publication of theses

1. What's the publicity of my master's thesis (metadata, abstract, and full text)?

• According to Finnish legislation, a master's thesis is a public document, and its contents cannot be confidential. The thesis submitted for evaluation may not contain any secret information, as information about the thesis can be retrieved from the Aaltodoc publication archive.
• Archived electronic copies of the theses may be viewed via Aalto Thesis Database. Small collection of theses is archived only in printed format and can be red at the Learning Centre. 
• In addition, theses produced in a digital format will be electronically sent by the Learning Centre to anyone requesting a copy.
• If a thesis is produced on commission for a business, any parts of the thesis containing commercial secrets must be left as part of the background material and not included in the actual thesis for evaluation.

2. What does the publication mean in practice?

• This information is valid until 31.12.2023: 

  With the student's permission, the thesis abstract and/or full text are published online in Aaltodoc. Student can decide about the online publishing of the full text. Permission for online publishing of the full text of the thesis is given at the same time when the student applies for thesis approval in eAge. 

• Starting 1.1.2024, the abstracts of master’s theses saved in the Aaltodoc will be published openly without asking students for permission. The metadata and the abstract will be published in all cases. The students will be asked for permission to publish the full text. This decision does not apply to theses that were archived in the thesis portal before 1.1.2024. Student can decide about the online publishing of the full text. Permission for online publishing of the full text of the thesis is given at the same time when the student applies for thesis approval in eAge.  

• Thesis metadata will be published in Aaltodoc within about three weeks after the thesis has been accepted and sent from eAge to be archived in Aaltodoc. The full text is published if student have given permission for online publishing of the full text of the thesis in eAge and if student haven't postponed the online publishing of the thesis.  
  

3. What is metadata and where is it published? 

• The so-called metadata (i.e. name of author, title of thesis, name of thesis supervisor and advisor, keywords) of each thesis is published in Aaltodoc. All approved theses are archived in the Aaltodoc publication archive. The metadata (i.e. name of author, title of thesis, name of thesis supervisor and advisor, keywords) of each thesis is published in the Aaltodoc.  

4. Is it possible to make changes to an approved thesis and metadata?

• The PDF/A file of the thesis cannot be corrected or changed after the approved thesis has arrived in Aaltodoc. Consultation with the legal counsel of Aalto University has contributed to this practice. However, the metadata of the thesis will be corrected according to the author’s wishes after it has arrived in Aaltodoc.

5. Is it possible to postpone publishing the thesis?

• It is possible to postpone the date of online publishing by a maximum of one year from the date of thesis approval, i.e., the date of the DPC meeting, due to reasons related to other publications, for example. However, the student should keep in mind that the thesis is always a public document from the date of the DPC meeting where it has been approved and accessible soon after approval in the Learning Centre as mentioned above. Notably, a patent application claiming priority to any results reported in the thesis must be filed before the date of that DPC meeting.