The topic of the thesis is typically chosen from the student's area of professional expertise. The topic should be of interest to you and serve the development needs of working life. Setting objectives and defining the thesis's scope are important steps in the process, and thesis advisors are there to support you. When choosing your topic, you should remember that thesis reports are public documents.
Finding a topic for you the thesis
Be proactive and alert to identify areas for improvement in your workplace or internship. Gather ideas by looking at existing theses on Theseus or HHthesis. See if you can find topics that interest you in Haaga-Helia's RDI projects. Follow the assignments posted on JobTeaser.
Commissioning agreement
The thesis can be commissioned by a company, public corporation, association, university of applied sciences or other educational institution. In this case, the thesis project will be the subject of a written commissioning agreement.
Fill in the form and collect the necessary signatures. Haaga-Helia advisors do not sign any separate non-disclosure agreements drawn up by the commissioning party. In higher education institutions, confidential theses are not allowed, but they may contain confidential background material that is only known to the advisors/assessors. Background material will not be evaluated.
Haaga-Helia does not archive commissioning agreements.
Thesis as pair work
The thesis can also be done in pairs, ie. in groups of two students. From the very beginning, it is very important to make sure that their ideas about timing and objectives are sufficiently consistent. If the students come from different degrees, the thesis topic must be approved by the respective thesis coordinators.
In Wihi, one student enters the topic proposal and then invites the other student to participate in the same Wihi project. The thesis will have a common supervisor, and in the case of two separate degrees, the second supervisor will be from the other degree. The evaluation will be identical for both students.
The division of tasks between the authors must be specified in the thesis plan and in the introduction chapter.
In some cases, the authors may come from two different Universities of Applied Sciences. In such cases, the following must be taken into account:
- In the planning phase, Thesis Advisors from both UASs must agree on the joint thesis project. The students have to play an active role in identifying any issues and moving the process forward.
- Thesis process: Both students need to make sure that they will do what is required in the thesis process of their respective universities (e.g. workshops, maturity test, etc.).
- Wihi: Haaga-Helia Wihi will be used as the thesis process platform. It is possible to send files from Wihi to another advisor using the ‘Send for external comments’ function. It is not possible to add other than Haaga-Helia staff as users to Wihi.
- Thesis report: In the abstract as well as in the introduction chapter, it is important to describe how the collaborative solution was put into practice.
- Thesis report: Compare the respective thesis report guidelines of the two UASs. Report the differences between the guidelines to the advisors. If the final report differs from the Haaga-Helia reporting guidelines, mention this in the introduction. As for the layout, the Haaga-Helia student will modify the layout of the report to comply with Haaga-Helia´s reporting guidelines.
- Thesis report: The thesis will be published in the Theseus Open Repository in the collections of both universities separately. The publication process will be managed by each student at their respective UAS.
- Presentation: The presentation will be done in accordance with the guidelines of the respective institution. When organising a presentation event, it is a good idea to send invitations to the other UAS as well.
- Assessment: Each UAS will carry out the evaluation according to its own criteria.
Research authorization
If Haaga-Helia is the subject of the thesis or the research is conducted for Haaga-Helia students, staff or alumni, the research must be approved in accordance with the attached research authorization guidelines.
The research authorization application will be sent to Specialist Pekka Lahti: [email protected].
Alumni can be targeted for theses and research when Haaga-Helia is the commissioner and the aim is to develop Haaga-Helia's activities. The application for a research permit should be sent to the Alumni Relations Specialist at [email protected].
Process of approving a bachelor's thesis
The approval of a bachelor's thesis is managed by the degree program's thesis coordinator in UAS degrees.
Students apply for approval to the degree program's thesis coordinator with an informal application. The application should include the previous thesis or its Theseus link, an evaluation form, and a transcript of records or a link to the student's page on Opintopolku (the national student information portal).
Criteria for approval of a bachelor's thesis
Previous Thesis
- The thesis has been completed within the last ten years.
- It is a bachelor's or master's thesis in a University of Applied Sciences (UAS or MUAS), or a university's bachelor's dissertation, pro gradu thesis, licentiate thesis, or doctoral dissertation. For UAS degrees, a written work at least at the bachelor's level can be accepted for approval.
- The topic is relevant or suitable for the degree for which the approval is being sought. The thesis can be completed in the same or a different field of study.
- In English-language programs, only an English-language thesis can be approved.
If approval is based on a bachelor's thesis, the work is archived in Haaga-Helia's archiving system. Other approved theses are not archived at Haaga-Helia since the work can be found in the original institution.
In the case of approval, the maturity test is not retaken if it has been successfully completed in a previous degree.
The grade for an approved thesis is given on a scale of 1-5 or H (Approved) according to the original scale.