Student Guide

Master's Programme in Biological and Chemical Engineering for a Sustainable Bioeconomy

Graduation

You can apply for graduation when all courses (except for the master's thesis) required for the Master's degree have been completed and registered in Sisu, and all sections of your primary study plan are in an approved state. Submit the request for graduation through your primary study plan in Sisu.

You can apply for approval of thesis and graduation by the same application deadline. Please see the graduation page of your programme for details on the schedule (link at the top of the page).

When all studies required for the Master's degree are done:

  1. Answer the Survey for New Graduates in Technology.
  2. Make sure that your primary personal study plan is valid and approved. The degree certificate is generated based on the study plan and the graduation request. Contact your Planning Officer by email if you need approval for your study plan. 
  3. Make sure you are enrolled as an attending student on your date of graduation.
  4. Submit the graduation request through Sisu. Keep in mind the graduation schedule on the graduation page. The deadline for submitting the graduation request is the official date of graduation. Follow the instructions on how to submit a request for graduation in Sisu. Note that the request cannot be saved as a draft. 
  5. Receive your diploma at the Graduation Ceremony or collect your diploma from the Learning Services. You will receive an invitation to the Graduation Ceremony by email about a month before the Graduation Ceremony.


Schedule

Requests for graduation are processed according to a set schedule. The application deadlines are given on the graduation page of your master's programme. The Dean grants the degrees after the CHEM Degree Programme Committee meeting and students are informed of their graduation as soon as the official desicion is made.

Graduating with Honours

Students who have shown in their master’s degree studies excellent knowledge of the field as well as exceptional maturity and sense of judgment in their thesis, may have this recognised in their degree certificate with the phrase 'completed with honours'. A degree may be awarded with honours if the weighted average grade of the studies included in the degree (including the thesis) is at least 4.00 and the thesis grade is 4 or 5.

Language of the degree certificate

You will receive a degree certificate in Finnish or Swedish and an English translation of your degree certificate if your master's thesis written in Finnish or Swedish. Read more about the translations. If your master's thesis written in English, you will receive a degree certificate in English (the language of the degree) and either in Finnish or Swedish according to your choice.

If you want to receive the certificate in Swedish, please provide the information in the "Other info: Additional info on graduation" text field in the graduation request. Otherwise, the certificate will be printed in Finnish by default.
 

Answer the survey for new graduates

Please answer the survey for new graduates in technology

2024 Survey link

With this survey, the Aalto University School of Chemical Engineering collects feedback about the studies and employment of new graduates. The survey is carried out in cooperation with the Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland - TEK, who will use the data to follow the employment and salaries of recently graduated technology professionals in Finland. In order to develop the study programs and university functions in the future, it is crucial to hear the voice of the students. Thus, we ask you to allocate about 20 minutes to fill out this survey. All responses are confidential.

Graduation ceremony and party

In the School of Chemical Engineering, the graduation ceremony is held four times a year; two ceremonies in the autumn term and two ceremonies in the spring term. The graduation dates as well as the graduation ceremony dates are available in the study administration schedule. Invitations to the graduation ceremony are sent by the study affairs secretaries of the degree programme; more specific instructions about confirming one's participation in the ceremony are given in the invitation.

In addition to the School of Chemical Engineering graduation ceremony, an Graduation Party outdoor event for all Aalto graduates may be organized in June.

Instructions regarding the graduation ceremony

The dress code for the graduation ceremony is dark suit with colours. The graduates may bring guests to the ceremony. Please note that the number of guests may be restricted due to limits in space.

Before the start of the ceremony, the graduates gather and form up in a separate meeting room. The graduates move to their seats in the lecture hall in alphabetical order, to the seats marked with “reserved” signs. The guests settle in the vacant seats before the roll call. There are members of the student services' staff present at the ceremony, guiding the participants to their seats.

If you cannot make it to the graduation ceremony, the degree certificate can be picked up at the Student Services’ Service Desk starting from the day after the graduation ceremony. Please remember to take your passport or official ID card with you to the service desk.

The degree certificate can be sent to the graduate by mail, but only with written authorization: Authorization to send degree certificate.

Graduation Party

In addition to the School of Chemical Engineering graduation ceremony, an outdoor event “Graduation Party” is organized in the summer for all bachelors, masters and licentiates who have graduated during the previous year from Aalto University. 

Invitations to the event with registration link will be sent in April and May. So, remember to update your email address you’ll be using after the graduation in Sisu! Read more about the Party.

After graduation

If you graduate in the beginning of a term and you are able to change your enrolment status from attendance to non-attendance before the enrolment period ends, you can apply for a membership fee refund from the Student Union. Those who graduate later during the autumn term can apply for a refund on the following term’s membership fee, i.e. for the spring term.

Instructions for applying for the refund 

Your study right at Aalto University ends on your graduation date. Because the digital student card Frank App deploys a real-time system in verifying your student status, you cannot continue using the Frank App after you have graduated. If you have a plastic student card, it is valid until the end of your AYY membership period. However, note that if you have a plastic student card and you apply for reimbursement of the membership fee, you must visit your School’s Student Service point with your student card. The Student Service point will record the change and remove the academic year tag on your student card.

Further information about student cards 

Graduation schedule in the School of Chemical Engineering

When you are graduating from the School of Chemical Engineering, it is important to be aware of the application deadlines and the CHEM Degree Programme Committee meeting dates listed below. Please note that the approval of the master’s thesis topic and the approval of the thesis are handled in separate CHEM Degree Programme Committee meetings. For more information, see the Thesis page for your programme.

All credits (except for master's thesis) have to be registered in Sisu before submitting the request for graduation. You can apply for approval of thesis and graduation by the same application deadline. For bachelor's degrees, all credits including bachelor's thesis must be registered in Sisu. 

Make sure to agree the timetable of the evaluation with your supervisor beforehand. Also make sure the thesis seminar is approved before submitting the application for approval and grading of the thesis by the CHEM Degree Programme Committee meeting.

You will receive an invitation to the graduation ceremony after graduation. More information about the graduation ceremony is available on the Graduation page of your programme.

In the tables below, please note that for graduation dates marked with an asterisk*, you can only submit applications for graduation. As there is no CHEM Degree Programme Committee meeting, it is not possible to apply for thesis topic or thesis approval on those dates. If you want to apply for graduation as MSc. (Tech), please note that your Master's thesis must already be approved at a previous meeting and all required courses must be completed.

Schedule for Spring 2024

Application deadline /
graduation date
CHEM Degree Programme Committee Meeting /
Approval of theses and thesis topics
CHEM Graduation ceremony
29.12.2023 23.1.2024 20.3.2024
29.1.2024* No meeting, only graduation requests 20.3.2024
19.2.2024 12.3.2024 12.6.2024
25.3.2024* No meeting, only graduation requests 12.6.2024
29.4.2024 21.5.2024 12.6.2024
27.5.2024 11.6.2024 25.9.2024
24.6.2024* No meeting, only graduation requests 25.9.2024
31.7.2024 27.8.2024 25.9.2024

Schedule for Autumn 2024

Application deadline /
graduation date
CHEM Degree Programme Committee Meeting /
Approval of theses and thesis topics
CHEM Graduation ceremony
31.7.2024 29.8.2024 25.9.2024
26.8.2024* No meeting, only graduation requests 18.12.2024
30.9.2024 22.10.2024 18.12.2024
31.10.2024* No meeting, only graduation requests 18.12.2024
18.11.2024 10.12.2024 Spring 2025
31.12.2024 21.1.2025 Spring 2025

Schedule for Spring 2025

Application deadline /
graduation date
CHEM Degree Programme Committee Meeting /
Approval of theses and thesis topics
CHEM Graduation ceremony
31.12.2024 21.1.2025 tba
27.1.2025* No meeting, only graduation requests tba
24.2.2025 18.3.2025 tba
31.3.2025* No meeting, only graduation requests tba
28.4.2025 20.5.2025 tba
26.5.2025 17.6.2025 tba
30.6.2025* No meeting, only graduation requests tba
31.7.2024 19.8. or 26.8.2025 tba

Schedule for Autumn 2025

Application deadline /
graduation date
CHEM Degree Programme Committee Meeting /
Approval of theses and thesis topics
CHEM Graduation ceremony
31.7.2025 19.8. or 26.8.2025 tba
25.8.2025* No meeting, only graduation requests tba
29.9.2025 21.10.2025 tba
27.10.2025* No meeting, only graduation requests tba
24.11.2025 16.12.2025 tba
31.12.2025 January 2026 tba

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