Bachelor thesis project guidelines: History and Theory of Contemporary Art
How to complete the 8 ECTS credits for a BA thesis project.
Form and content of a thesis
At the Academy of Fine Arts, a Bachelor of Arts thesis is a theoretical or applied/data-based research paper, which complies with good scientific practices. In their thesis, a student demonstrates their learning in the field of contemporary art history and theory by applying the contents and research methods of contemporary art independently. In their thesis, students demonstrate that they have mastered the field’s research premises, methods, materials and the use of source materials. Students also demonstrate good communication skills in the thesis related to content concerning the research or dissemination of contemporary art. The scope of the thesis is 8 cr.
If a thesis includes an applied data-based portion, the data will be collected simultaneously with the thesis seminar work. The topic will be approved during the Bachelor of Arts thesis seminar during the autumn semester.
The recommended length of a thesis is 15-20 pages of text without images (approx. 1,800 characters per page without spaces, totalling 27 000 – 36 000 characters). The appropriate length will depend on whether a thesis includes an applied data section and how broad this is.
Students must complete the thesis in the language used for their degrees (section 35 of the Education Regulations of Uniarts Helsinki). The section titled Thesis process provides more information about the possibility of writing the thesis in a language that differs from the language used for the degree.
Students write a one-page (about 1 800 characters) abstract of their thesis in the language that they have used for their education. The abstract is compiled using a standard template, and it is placed after the cover page of the thesis. The abstract serves as the student’s maturity essay. The abstract is a description of the most essential contents of the thesis. The abstract should provide a concise summary of the most important parts of the thesis to someone unfamiliar with the thesis. The title of the abstract is “Abstract”.
In the maturity essay, students demonstrate that they are familiar with the subject matter of their thesis and possess proficiency in Finnish or Swedish. The seminar coordinator is responsible for checking the content of the abstract, while a language teacher is responsible for checking the language used in the abstract.
As a rule, the thesis is written alone. In justified cases, the seminar coordinator may approve the implementation of a thesis as a pair or group project. In this case, each individual’s contribution must be clearly demonstrated in the thesis so that each author’s section can be assessed as a separate performance. An established academic reference system is used in theses.
Students with dyslexia or other special needs affecting learning and expression may ask their doctor for a certificate or discuss this with their teacher. This way, the matter can be taken into consideration when a thesis plan is approved and the thesis is examined, and the student can also be provided with the guidance they need if necessary.
Use of images in a thesis
All images used in the thesis project must be accompanied by detailed information about the image and its source. It is important that the student includes this information even if they have personally made the works depicted in the images or taken the photographs themselves. The student must make sure that all images are used in accordance with the prevailing copyright laws. In general, images can be used more freely in student theses than in commercial publications, but the student should nevertheless check the precise instructions pertaining to the publishing of images in the ImagOA resource guide. The student should not use an image in their thesis project unless they are certain that they have the right to publish it.
For more detailed instructions, see the ImagOA guide:
Thesis process
Writing a thesis and its supervision will take place at the thesis seminar, during which the thesis will also be presented. Students take part in the thesis seminar starting from the autumn of the third year of their studies. The seminar begins in the autumn semester and ends in March. Students work on their theses in a process-like manner during the seminar, and the theses must be completed as a whole during the seminar.
At the thesis seminar, student will receive guidance and support in the progress of the thesis process, the definition of research questions, methodological questions and other contents of the thesis. During the seminar, students also practise the use of scientific communication and discussion practices.
During the thesis seminar, the topic of the student’s Bachelor’s thesis is approved and the student prepares a thesis plan. If a student wishes to complete a written thesis in a language that differs from the language of their degree, the student must apply for the right to do so in the plan. In this case, the student must justify in their plan why they wish to complete a written thesis in a language other than their own degree language. The justification must be written in the language in which the student wishes to write their thesis. Example: If the student’s degree language is Finnish and they wish to write a written thesis in English, they must write their justification in English. The right to use a language other than that used for the degree is determined by the dean.
The seminar coordinator also acts as the thesis supervisor. In addition, during the thesis seminar students practise critiquing other students’ theses: One or two students participating in the same seminar act as opponents for the thesis.
Active participation in the seminar, preparation of seminar assignments and acting as a peer opponent for other theses are a prerequisite for successful completion of the thesis seminar.
Student can apply for a grant from the Academy of Fine Arts to cover thesis costs that are necessary for completing the thesis, such as image usage fees and copyright fees. More detailed instructions are given in connection with the thesis seminar.
Submission and examination of the thesis
Schedule for the submission of the thesis
Students will also be given the thesis submission schedule at the thesis seminar.
Submission of the thesis
The thesis is submitted electronically to three locations:
- Turnitin via Moodle
- Moodle platform of the Bachelor’s thesis seminar
- Taju repository
After submission, no further changes can be made to the thesis. Read the more detailed submission instructions below.
The thesis is be submitted in PDF/A format as a single file (maximum file size: 10MB/Mb) on the Moodle platform of the Bachelor’s thesis seminar. The file must contain the entire thesis, i.e.: Cover, abstract, text, possible image and other attachments, and source and reference data.
In connection with the final submission of the completed thesis, its originality is checked (i.e. plagiarism detection). Checking the originality of a thesis involves detecting similarities with previous student works, material available on the internet and material that has been previously published. Students will receive a link from the supervising teacher to the Moodle area that is used for checking the originality of the written thesis. The supervising teacher is responsible for checking the originality and interpreting the results. More detailed instructions for using the Turnitin plagiarism detection system can be found on the Students’ Uniarts website.
When the written part of the thesis is submitted for examination, the student must also save their work in the Taju publication archive in accordance with the instructions provided by the library. Each student must do this even if they do not give permission for publishing the thesis online. The version saved in Taju must be the same as the one returned for review.
The thesis will be examined by the supervising teacher together with another examiner. The thesis is graded on a scale of 0 – 5. In connection with the examination, the thesis seminar coordinator approves the plagiarism detection report generated by using the Turnitin similarity detection system.
Layout of a thesis
The cover page should include
- the student’s name,
- title of the thesis
- the student’s degree programme (Degree Programme in History and Theory of Contemporary Art)
- educational institution (Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Helsinki) and its logo,
- that the work in question is a Bachelor of Arts (Art and Design) thesis project,
- date on which the thesis was submitted.
The following must also be included at the beginning of the thesis:
- thesis supervisor and examiners
- if the thesis has been produced jointly by various parties, the written part must also indicate how the work process has been divided between the authors.
Approval, publicity, archiving and registration of a thesis
Once the examiners have submitted their grade proposals and a brief evaluation statement to the study services, the thesis will be submitted to the vice dean responsible for teaching for their approval. The study services will notify the student of their thesis grade after it has been approved in its entirety.
If one or both of the examiners propose a failed grade, the student can either 1) request that the evaluation of their thesis be discontinued and ask the teacher supervising the thesis for further instructions on how to supplement the thesis or 2) continue the process and submit a response to the examiners. If the grades proposed by the examiners deviate from one another, the decision-maker requests a third assessment from an external examiner.
If the thesis evaluation is discontinued, the student can make corrections to the thesis following the instructions of the supervising teacher and then submit the corrected thesis for evaluation. The new evaluation will not be launched until the student’s supervising teacher has given their permission to do so.
If the student is dissatisfied with the evaluation of their thesis, they can request a written rectification from the decision-maker within 14 days of receiving the decision. If the student is dissatisfied with the decision regarding the request for rectification, they may submit an appeal on the matter to the Academic Appeals Board of Uniarts Helsinki within 14 days of receiving notification of the decision.
An electronic thesis is stored in the Academy of Fine Arts study services in accordance with the current retention period, after which theses are transferred to the Uniarts Helsinki archive. Theses are public, so they cannot contain material that cannot be published for copyright reasons. Depending on the student’s choice, a thesis can be accessed in the Taju publication archive either openly online or only on the library’s computers.
Further information on copyright is available in Students’ Uniarts and in the student agreement that each student signs at the beginning of their studies.
The ECTS credits for the thesis will be registered after the thesis has been fully approved. According to the Uniarts Helsinki Education Regulations, completed courses are valid for a maximum of ten years, during which time they can be included in a degree.