Thesis committees

The instruction belongs to the following themes

By selecting a degree programme you are able to see the general content as well as the possible degree programme-specific content. You do not have to select a degree programme to see the Open University's instructions.

The thesis committee (follow-up group) assigned for all doctoral researchers is responsible for monitoring the progress of the doctoral dissertation work as well as the quality of the degree and supervision.

The thesis committee meetings are organised annually. The aims of the meetings are

  • to provide feedback on the progress of the research work and doctoral studies
  • to support graduation in the target duration and to monitor that other duties are not preventing the scheduled progress of the dissertation
  • to issue recommendations on the continuation or interruption of the dissertation as well as for changes to be made in supervision
  • to support the doctoral researcher in career planning
  • to support the progress of high-quality doctoral studies by offering expertise in the topic of the doctoral thesis

Please select your doctoral programme from the site's degree programme menu to see the doctoral programmes' specific instructions below.

The regulations behind the instructions

The decision to utilise thesis committees as part of the support for doctoral dissertations was made by Rector’s Decision 801/2017. The general disqualification principles applied in all workings of the university (Universities Act §30) are provided in the Administrative Procedure Act (section §27 and §28). The disqualification of thesis committee members from acting as preliminary examiners or opponents is based on Rector's Decision 498/2017.