Final Thesis

Student may choose the topic for the final thesis:

• from among the topic recommended by the Institute;
• suggest the topic for their thesis themselves. 

The theme shall be related to the content of the respective curriculum and/or the study area.

In Bachelor’s and professional higher education studies the topic for the final thesis shall be chosen in the autumn semester of the last year of studies at the latest, in the case of Bachelor’s and Master’s integrated studies and Master’s studies, as a rule, one year before the graduation. 

The author of the final thesis shall submit the standard application with the confirmation of the supervisor(s) and head of the curriculum to the Director of Studies of the Institute.

Thesis topics, thesis topic application forms and deadlines can be found on the website of the institute.

Final thesis can be supervised by a person who is an employee of the university and who holds at least a Master’s degree or a qualification equivalent thereto. As an exception the supervisor of the final thesis may be a person outside the University who is a renowned specialist in the field of study. If the supervisor is not a university employee, a co-supervisor is appointed from the university. 

The supervisor of the final thesis advises the author with the following: setting the objectives and tasks of the paper, solving issues regarding the content and formatting of the thesis. 

The supervisor assesses the preparedness of the paper for the defence.

Please note! The thesis can only be submitted for defence with the supervisor's approval!

Requirements for the final theses

A Bachelor’s thesis is an independent investigatory or practical paper or project in the form of a study, software development, study material or a project. 

A final thesis of professional higher education is a research or practical paper that presents an analysis of data, a technical solution to a problem through contemporary methodology and technical documentation for the implementation of the results of the paper in practice. The final thesis may be a study, software development, study material or a project. 

A Master’s thesis, a final thesis in civil engineering and veterinary studies is an independent investigatory, scientific developmental or other creative paper, which presents an analysis or synthesis of a problem related to the corresponding speciality, the setting and resolution of the problem. The final thesis may be a study, scientific article, software development, study material or a project.

What is research?

Research is a form of scientific work that aims at offering new information; finding a solution to a specific problem or description of an event, which adds new knowledge and allows the interpretation of the well-known facts. In the course of compiling the study students gain research experience and obtain specific skills that allow them to analyse the content and make generalisations. Studies may be theoretical and empirical. 

What is project?

Project is a targeted, temporally limited collection of technical documents, meant for finding a solution to a specific problem. The project contains a technical description, drawings, valid calculations or a model of the object under construction, repairs, formation or reconstruction and, if necessary, also the justification from the economic, work safety or environmental point of view. While doing the project the student shall take into account the official norms and standards. 

What is software facilities or development?

Software facilities or development is equipped with the instruction manual of the basic functions or with the written material that comprises of a survey, the analysis of the existing situation and problems, their solutions and conclusions.

What is scientific article?

Scientific article is an article that has been published or has been accepted for the publication in an internationally recognised scientific journal or a collection of articles with an international board or in a research publishing house, or that of a university or any other research institution. The author of the final thesis shall be the first author of the article. At the defence the research article shall include a formal title page, abstract in Estonian and English, a research article and a formal license. 

What is study aid (study material)?

Study aid (study material) is material made for students, secondary school pupils or participants of in-service training, e.g. visual aids, laboratory or audio-visual study aids, maps, models, etc. In the case of a study aid the requirements for the specific study aid shall be presented in the theoretical part of the final thesis. 

NB! The final thesis shall be based on the professional and scientific literature (research articles, monographs, handbooks).

General requirements for formatting the final thesis

The final thesis consists of the following parts: 

1. Formal title page;
2. Abstract, including abstract in Estonian and abstract in English;
3. Table of content;
4. The list of abbreviations and signs and symbols used, if applicable;
5. Introduction;
6. Content(s) (literature analysis, description of the methodology, results and discussion);
7. Summary;
8. List of references;
9. Appendices;
10. Standard non-exclusive licence: a) for depositing the final thesis and opening it for public or b) for depositing the final thesis and opening it for public (at a fixed date) or c) for depositing (unlimited restraint for opening the final thesis for the public).

The theses are prepared in the language of instruction of the curriculum. If the supervisor of the thesis is from a foreign country, as an exception and upon the agreement of the supervisor(s), a thesis in an Estonian-taught programme may be written in English. In this case, the thesis must include a summary in Estonian. 

The recommended volume for the Bachelor’s theses and professional higher education theses (both without appendices) is 35–45 pages, that of the Master’s final thesis and integrated studies 50–70 pages, without appendices.

Submitting the final thesis for the defence 

The author of the final thesis may submit his/her final thesis for the defence if he/she has completed the curriculum in full and the supervisor has given his/her written consent to allowing the final thesis for the defence.

The thesis is submitted electronically in PDF format and digitally signed by both the author of the thesis and the supervisor(s). 

The important dates related to thesis submission and defense are established by the director for studies of the institute managing the curriculum and can be found on the website of the respective institute.

Submitting the final thesis for preservation

In addition to the institute, the thesis must also be submitted to the Estonian University of Life Sciences digital archive - EMU DSpace, using the Estonian University of Life Sciences self-service portal.link opens in new page

Please note! Submitting the final thesis requires logging into the portal with an ID card, Mobile ID, or Smart ID.

All final theses are reviewed. 

Final thesis can be reviewed by a person holding at least a Master’s degree or a qualification equivalent thereto. As an exception, the reviewer of the final theses of Bachelor’s or higher professional education may be a person with higher education, who does not hold a Master’s degree or a qualification equivalent thereto, but is an outstanding specialist in the specific field. 

Each final thesis is appointed a reviewer. The reviewer is appointed by the order of the Director of Studies at the institute. 

The reviewer of the final thesis assesses: 

• the logic and feasibility of the raised subject, clear description of the aims and objectives of the paper;
• the logic and feasibility of the structure and composition of the paper;
• theoretical discussion (the scope, timeliness of the problems covered in literature, terminology);
• the relevance of the chosen methodology to achieving the set aims and solving the problems;
• the suitability of the data management and data processing used;
• the ability to interpret the results;
• the sources of literature used (adequacy, relevance to the theme, formatting);
• the compatibility of the summary (conclusions) to the objectives and discussion;
• the style and use of the language (choice of words, syntax, academic neutrality, general comprehensibility, etc.);
• the quality of technical execution;
• the questions and remarks of the reviewer about the paper;
• general opinion of the paper (does not have to be the arithmetical mean of the separate grades given for each part).

In addition to giving his/her evaluation about the final paper, the reviewer shall evaluate the final thesis according to the differentiating grading system applicable at the university.

The reviewer shall submit the digitally signed review electronically to the study specialist of the respective institute/college or to the appointed person at least two working days before the date of the defence set by the order of the Director of Studies/ Director of College. If the reviewer does not have possibility for digital signing, the review may be submitted on paper.

The review must be submitted no later than two working days before the thesis defence date. 

The review will not be published together with the thesis.

The defence session is arranged as a public academic discussion at the meeting of the defence board. As an exception, in the case the final thesis contains state or business secrets or any other classified information the defence may be declared closed.

The defence session will take place when the applicant and at least three members of the defence board including the chairman are present.

As a rule, the defence procedure for the Bachelor’s thesis lasts for half an hour, in the case of Master’s thesis for 45 minutes.

The final thesis is defended in the language of tuition of the specific curriculum. As an exception, the final thesis of a curriculum taught in the Estonian language can be defended in English.

What is the defence procedure?

Defence is led by the chairperson of the defence board or a member of the defence board authorized by the chairperson. 

The defence starts with the opening words and the explanation of the defence procedure by the chairperson of the defence board. 

The defence consists of the following parts: 

1. The defence speech of the defendant – in case of the Bachelor’s thesis or the final thesis of the higher professional education the defence speech of the defendant is up to15 minutes long, in case of Master’s thesis, final thesis in civil engineering or veterinary medicine up to 20 minutes long;
2. Presentation by the reviewer and the academic discussion between the applicant and the reviewer; in case the review is read out by a member of the defence board, the defendant shall answer the questions raised in the review;
3. Academic discussion between the members of the defence board and the defendant;
4. Academic discussion between other attendees and the defendant;
5. Final remarks of the candidate.

The final thesis is as a rule graded on the same day at the closed meeting of the defence board just after the defence. 

During the assessment differentiated grading scale is used. 

The members of the defence board shall evaluate the final thesis from the following points of view: 

• the logic and feasibility of the raised subject, clear description of the aims and objectives of the paper;
• the logic and feasibility of the structure and composition of the paper;
• theoretical discussion (the scope of the problems covered in literature, timeliness, terminology);
• the relevance of the chosen methodology to achieving the set aims and solving the problems;
• the suitability of the data management and data processing used;
• the ability to interpret the results;
• the sources of literature used (adequacy, relevance to the theme, formatting);
• the compatibility of the summary (conclusions) to the objectives and discussion;
• the style and use of the language (choice of words, syntax, academic neutrality, general comprehensibility, etc.);
• the quality of technical execution;
• the defence of the thesis and answering the questions session.

The decision about the grade to be given is made following the unanimity principle of the members of the defence board taking into account the reviewer’s opinion or grade. In case the supervisor of the final thesis is also the member of the defence board, he/she shall not participate in grading the thesis he/she supervised (co-supervised).

A written protest may be submitted to the Director of Studies of the respective institute by the degree-seeker, the supervisor(s) and/or reviewer(s) of the final thesis within five working days after the day of the announcement of the results of the defence or the final thesis. 

84. For reviewing the written protest the Director of Studies at the respective institute or the Director of the College appoints an Appeal Committee. The Director of Studies at the respective institute or the Director of the College is the chair of the Appeal Committee, which members must hold a Master’s degree or equivalent qualifications. The Appeal Committee submits its opinion on the protest within ten days (10) after receiving the protest.

For detailed information about the thesis defence procedure and appeals process, please refer to the university senate regulation "Requirements and Procedures for the Awarding Bachelor's and Master's Degrees". 

Publication of thesis

Theses defended at the Estonian University of Life Sciences are generally public. In justified cases, restrictions may be placed on the publication of a thesis.

Justified cases may include situations where:

• proprietary copyright belongs to other persons;
• the thesis contains state secrets;
• the thesis contains trade secrets;
• the thesis is planned to be published as a scientific article in the future.

To declare the defence of the final thesis closed and/or set restraints on the publication, the author of the final thesis shall submit a justified application together with other documents (reasons given by the enterprise, patent protection or planned patent application), to the Director of Studies at least three months prior to the date set for the defence of the final thesis. 

In the case of a closed final thesis defence, a trilateral confidentiality agreement (university, enterprise, student) shall be initiated by the University. A confidentiality agreement is also concluded with the members of the defense board, the thesis reviewer and with other persons involved.

In the case the final thesis were by the order of the Director of Studies subject to the time limit, the university shall make the final thesis public after the termination of the period of restraint.

In the case the final thesis were by the order of the Director of Studies subject to the unlimited restraint, the final thesis shall be preserved (including in digital archive DSpace) and the university shall not disclose the paper.  

Graduation papers that were awarded a positive grade will be made public within three months from the day of their defence via the digital archive EMU DSpacelink opens in new page in the library.

A summary of the final thesis in both Estonian and English shall be published immediately after it has been submitted to the library.

Please note! The Estonian and English summaries of the thesis will be made public even for theses that have publication restrictions!