Bachelor's thesis

A Bachelor's thesis is a small-scale research project of the student’s own study field. The scope of the thesis and thesis-related seminar work is about 8-10 ECT. Typically, the length of the thesis is about 20-40 pages, but more detailed instructions and learning objectives are written in the curriculum of each degree programme.

General information

Bachelor students get guidance to the thesis work from the faculty’s researchers. The hole thesis process is in updated Laturi -system. You start the process there, guidance, plagiarism detection (Turnitin Similarity), reviewing and publishing takes place in Laturi -system. More information in the Laturi -guidebook.

Students can read previously published bachelor's theses at the Pegasus library. The bachelor student is also required to complete a maturity test. The maturity test is a written exam which evaluates the students command of the research topic and proficiency in Finnish, Swedish or English.

For you

Faculty of Education and Psychology

The bachelor's thesis is part of the intermediate studies in the major subject. The thesis can be written independently or in pairs. In a pair or group work, it must be possible to identify and assess each student's independent share in the thesis. A bachelor's thesis is usually a theoretical work, in which you familiarize yourself with previous research and literature on your chosen topic. In some cases, however, the topic may be such that it is already possible to use empirical data at the bachelor stage.

A significant part of the bachelor's thesis consists of information retrieval from various sources. For this reason, it is advisable to attend an information retrieval course organized by the library at the very beginning of your work on the thesis. You can find more information on the information retrieval courses on the Peppi study guide and on the Oulu University library webpages.

The composition of a bachelor's thesis is supported through seminar work. During the academic year, you will be required to participate in a seminar where you will be presenting your research plan and, finally, your completed thesis. You should also act as an opponent to a bachelor's thesis plan and to a near-final thesis of another group member. The thesis group meets regularly during the academic year. The purpose of seminar work is to support the completion of bachelor's theses and to familiarize students with scientific discussion and argumentation.

The theme of the module is public understanding of science and the reporting of biochemical research using different methods and for different audiences. During the course students will learn on a general level about different fields of biochemistry and their specific questions, orientation of biochemical research and organization of research into projects. Practical exercises will contain presenting of a given subject in different forms, which may be a talk, a short article, a poster, a press release or a research proposal. A literature report will be written as well as a popularized presentation of it. In addition the course is linked to the module Ruotsin kieli (Swedish language).

Students should be able to execute a project to produce a thesis type of output, be well aware of current research trends in biochemistry, be able to critically select knowledge from the literature, be able to discuss and debate scientific results, and be able to choose and evaluate proper form of presenation for each purpose.

Faculty of Science

Follow the general instructions above.

Faculty of Technology

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Faculty of Humanities

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Oulu Business School

Follow the general instructions above.

Health Sciences

For further information and guidelines for the Bachelor's thesis in health sciences, please contact your thesis supervisor.

Computer Science and Engineering

Significance of bachelor’s thesis

A bachelor’s thesis is a personal and public thesis that is part of a bachelor’s degree in engineering. The work is by nature a study or planning task that demonstrates mastery of one's own field, readiness for scientific thinking and qualifications for applying the acquired knowledge during studies in working life. Bachelor’s thesis work also orientates the student for structuring, processing and documentation of information.

Composition of bachelor’s thesis

There are two ways of completing bachelor’s thesis in Computer Science and Engineering degree programme:

  • Group work (max 3 students)
  • Independend thesis study (Topics can be inquired from supervisors, research groups or companies: ictrekry, Aarresaari, see also website: Job opportunities)

In the case of group work the individual contribution of each author must be clearly mentioned in the thesis. An independent thesis study is done as an individual work in the same way as a diploma thesis, and group work is not allowed in this option.

The scope of all methods is 8 cr. The bachelor's thesis is always graded on a pass / fail scale, regardless of the method of completion. In a course-type bachelor's thesis, the evaluation is performed by the person in charge of the course and in an independent dissertation by the supervisor. The supervisor of the bachelor's thesis may be a person who has completed a Master's degree in engineering.

The ACP and ESP projects can also be completed as a normal course without a bachelor’s thesis. In this case, a grading scale of 1-5 is used. Do note that ACP is a compulsory course in the applied computing module, which is why it must be completed either as a bachelor's thesis or as a normal course if you choose that field of study.

In addition to the actual thesis, the bachelor's thesis also includes a 2 ECTS course in Technical Communication (900060A). In order to graduate, the student must also pass a written maturity test (521008A Computer Science and Engineering, The Maturity Test for Bachelor's Degree).

Bachelor’s thesis process

Bachelor's thesis can be started at the end of bachelor's studies. Typical start time is the third year of studies.

Below are the steps related to thesis work explained in more detail:

1. Choose completition method (Independend study or group work). Register for Bachelor´s Thesis Course 523991A. The course is organised in periods 3 and 4. All students doing bachelor´s thesis have to participate the lectures, exercises and seminars of this course. Note: Applied Computing Project I (521041A) course (ACP) and Embedded Software Project (521275A) course (ESP) no longer exist.

2. If independent study was chosen, the student must then find a topic and supervisor for the work. In addition, another person working in the IT research unit who has a master's degree in engineering may also be a supervisor.

3. Agree with the supervisor the topic, schedule and guidance of the work. Bachelor's thesis completed as project courses are scheduled, planned and implemented in accordance with the schedules and instructions of the course.

4. Start the thesis process at Laturi. Instructions can be found in the Laturi Guide. It is also worth checking out the thesis guide of the Library of the University of Oulu.

5. Write a short research plan in Laturi. The plan is max. one A4 in length. The plan should include: 1. The purpose of the work 2. Methods/material/devices/software to be used 3. Expected results.

6. When the work is almost completed, a maturity test is taken as an electronic exam at the Examinarium. The time of the maturity test is agreed with the supervisor.

7. The finished work should be in Laturi at least one week before the last Degree Program Committee meeting before planned graduation. See the schedule below.

8. The finished thesis have to be delivered also to study.itee@oulu.fi no later than one week before the committee meeting under the title “Bachelor's Thesis in Computer Science and Engineering”. If the work has been done in a group, only one of the group members needs to submit the thesis.

9. The diploma application will be done via graduation system in student´s desktop in Peppi when all the credit points included in the degree are displayed in Peppi. An up-to-date PSP approved by a tutor teacher (or education designer) is also needed before you can fill the diploma application. The education planner can be reached at study.itee@oulu.fi.

Note: the application for a diploma will be processed after the deadline of submitting the application. This means that as long as you have submitted your application on time, that is enough, and your application will be processed after that. You will receive an automatic email when your application is processed.

10. The electronic diploma can be downloaded on graduation ceremony (publiikki) day (not the graduation date). You will get an email about this. See the timetable below. Please note that those graduating with a bachelor’s degree can participate the graduation ceremonies only in December and June. A paper copy of the electronic degree certificate will be given in Publiikki.

Timetable for graduation Spring 2024

Deadline for Bachelor´s thesis in LATURI Master´s or Bachelor's thesis in TUTO meeting Deadline for the degree certificate application Graduation date Graduation ceremony, the electronic degree certificate is downloadable
6.2.2024 13.2.2024 21.2.2024 29.2.2024 14.3.2024
8.3.2024 15.3.2024 24.3.2024 31.3.2024 18.4.2024
8.4.2024 15.4.2024 23.4.2024 30.4.2024 16.5.2024
8.5.2024 15.5.2024 24.5.2024 31.5.2024 13.6.2024
7.6.2024 14.6.2024 23.6.2024 30.6.2024 no publiikki
21.6.2024 28.6.2024 24.7.2024 31.7.2024 22.8.2024

Instructions for writing a bachelor’s thesis

The bachelor's thesis is documented in the same way as the master's thesis, but it is usually a shorter, 20-40 page long entity.

The bachelor's thesis can be done as a group working in courses 521041A and 521275A. In this case, there can be at most three persons in the group. The group size should be also taken into account in the scope. . For example, in groups of three, the scope of work must correspond to all students doing work corresponding to 8 ECTS. As a result, the written part is made longer, closer to the diploma thesis. The work of three people should aim at 40-50 pages. This means demonstrating greater familiarity with the topic of the work, for example, a broader literature review, implementation, or evaluation of the results of the work. Each member of the group must participate in the implementation and writing of the thesis equally. Therefore, the bachelor's thesis prepared as a group work must clearly indicate the share of each student's own work, either in written or tabulated format.

It is recommended to use the writing guide for master's thesis also for writing a bachelor's thesis:

Document templates for thesis can be found here:

For Latex template see Overleaf.
All thesis works must be compiled using above mentioned templates. Works created in other way will not be accepted.

Instructions also in Laturi-guide of Oulu University.

Other important issues

  • Studies are compiled into PSP compliant entities. If there have been no changes to the studies to be included in the degree since the last PSP approval, there is no need to get PSP approved separately. A diploma cannot be compiled if a student does not have an approved PSP. Update your PSP with your tutor teacher every year to ensure graduation process will be fluent and on time. If you have any questions, please contact the education designer at study.itee@oulu.fi.
  • Theses are public. The degree of publicity is determined during the upload phase. You can choose whether the thesis can only be read from the library terminals or whether the work is public online.
  • Copyrighted material may not be published in the thesis without proper permission. For example, images copied from articles can only be published with a permission from the original author.
  • The supervisor evaluates and grades the work in Laturi. Make sure the instructor has the time needed for the assessment within the graduation schedule.
  • Registration to graduation ceremony is done at the same time as applying for a degree in Peppi´s graduation service. No separate invitation will be sent to those who have registered. You can get more information about the ceremony from the study administration service point. You can find dressing instructions for the ceremony in ceremony guide.

Instructions for bachelor’s thesis supervisors

  • The supervisor creates a maturity test in the Exam system as a so-called personal exam. The student must visit the system once before a personal exam / maturity test can be created. Instructions for taking the electronic exam can be found here: instructions for the student, instructions for the teacher.
  • The maturity test code is: 521008A Tietotekniikka, Kypsyysnäyte / Kandidaatin tutkinto / Computer Science and Engineering, The Maturity Test for Bachelor’s Degree.
  • When the bachelor's thesis is completed, the supervisor accepts it in Laturi. The thesis must be accepted at least 3 business days before the Committee meeting. Laturi then sends automatically message to Academic Affairs Service Team about the acceptance so that the credit points can be registered.
  • Information to be included when accepting the thesis in Laturi: supervisors´ names and research units, student's name, thesis title in Finnish and English, thesis language and that it is a bachelor's thesis. In addition, the message must state whether the work has been done as an independent work / group work. Information about pass/fail.

Information Processing Science

The studies include a Bachelor’s thesis of 7 credits for students aiming for a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s thesis of 30 credits for students aiming for a Master’s degree.

Bachelor’s thesis, 7 credits (811383A)

The Bachelor’s thesis that is part of the Bachelor of Science degree demonstrates that the student is intimately familiar with the subject matter of their thesis and has the ability to conduct academic communications. The thesis may contain an empirical section and a written research section, or just an essay based on literature. The Bachelor’s thesis is assessed as passed or failed.

Thesis Supervisors and Topics

Template for Theses

Electronics and Communications Engineering

The instructions of Bachelor's thesis and how to apply for a Bachelor's seminar be found in the Moodle workspace.

Biomedical Engineering MHSc

In the field of biomedical engineering there isn´t any bachelor´s programme, only master´s programme in which the student must complete master´s thesis.

Medical and Wellness Technology

The degree programme of Medical and Wellness Technology follows General instructions on publication of the theses prepared in the degree programmes at the Faculty of Medicine.

Basically the instructions and steps to be taken are the same as in master´s phase of the Medical and Wellness Technology.

However, kindly contact Anna Maijala(at)oulu.fi for more information and possible additional instructions.

Biochemistry

Bachelor´s thesis

The theme of the module is public understanding of science and the reporting of biochemical research using different methods and for different audiences. During the course students will learn on a general level about different fields of biochemistry and their specific questions, orientation of biochemical research and organization of research into projects. Practical exercises will contain presenting of a given subject in different forms, which may be a talk, a short article, a poster, a press release or a research proposal. A literature report will be written as well as a popularized presentation of it. In addition the course is linked to the module Ruotsin kieli (Swedish language).

Students should be able to execute a project to produce a thesis type of output, be well aware of current research trends in biochemistry, be able to critically select knowledge from the literature, be able to discuss and debate scientific results, and be able to choose and evaluate proper form of presenation for each purpose.

Geography

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Biology

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Physical Sciences

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Subject Teacher training, FSci

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Computational biology and data-analysis

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Mathematical Sciences

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Process and Environmental Engineering

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Industrial Engineering and Management

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Subject Teacher training, Chemistry

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Architecture

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Geosciences

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Mining engineering and mineral processing

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Chemistry

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Mechanical Engineering

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Civil Engineering

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Subject Teacher training, FHum

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Archeology

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English

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History

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Information Studies

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Literature

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Cultural Anthropology

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Logopedics

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German language and culture

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Swedish Language

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Finnish Language

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Saami Culture

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Science Communication, MA

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Saami Language

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History of Sciences and Ideas

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Subject Teacher training

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Learning Sciences

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Primary Teacher Education

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Psychology

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Learning, Education and Technology

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Music Education

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Special Education

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Intercultural Teacher Education

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Early Childhood Education

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Education Science and Educational Psychology

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Education and Globalisation

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Business Analytics MSc (Tech)

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Digitalisation, Computing and Electronics

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Biomedical Engineering MSc (Tech)

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Epidemiology and Biomedical Data Science

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Dentistry

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Medicine

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Economics and Business Administration BSc

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International Business Management (BSc EBA)

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International Business Management (MSc EBA)

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Financial and Management Accounting (MSc EBA)

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Business Analytics (MSc EBA)

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Marketing (MSc EBA)

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Finance (MSc EBA)

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Economics (MSc EBA)

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Economics and Business Administration MSc

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