Master thesis project guidelines: Fine Arts

Published 24.11.2022 | Updated 17.10.2024

Contents, objectives and schedule of the thesis project

The Master of Fine Arts thesis project consists of

1. An artistic component and its public presentation 
2. A written component 
3. Public examination of the thesis project 

The student is awarded 40 credits for the successful completion of the thesis project. 

The Master of Fine Arts thesis project is a demonstration of the student’s artistic vision, expertise in their chosen field, and their ability to work independently. After completing the thesis project, the student has the necessary skills to carry out an extensive artistic project, to perform it in public, and to describe its contents orally and in writing. The student is also able to reflect upon their work in the context of contemporary art.

Support for compiling the thesis project is provided by the professor of the subject area or by some other supervising teacher designated by the subject area (referred to as supervising teacher in these guidelines). The student is also designated a separate thesis project supervisor or two supervisors (referred to as supervisor in these guidelines) who support the content-related aspects of the thesis project, in particular. The student receives support for compiling the written component of their thesis project also from a writing teacher (referred to as writing teacher in these guidelines). If the student presents the artistic component of their thesis project in Kuvan Kevät, support for exhibiting the work is also provided by the teacher in charge of the exhibition.

The student works in cooperation with the supervising teacher, and they may not present an artistic work that the supervising teacher has not approved as part of the plan.

The artistic work, its public presentation and the written thesis must adhere to good research and artistic practices.

Schedule for the thesis project

Thesis project schedule:

First year of master’s studies, autumn term:

• Start of the MFA thesis seminar (K-M24151)
• Thesis project plan: Planning the composition of the thesis project and selecting the supervisor 
• Arranging the first supervision meeting
• Work for the written component of the thesis project begins in connection with the thesis seminar 

Second year of master’s studies, spring term:

• Selection of the examiners 
• Continued attendance at the MFA thesis seminar
• Work for the written component of the thesis project continues in connection with the thesis seminar
• Introduction to writing a Master of Fine Arts thesis (K-M24152)
• Kuvan Kevät Degree Show or other public presentation
• Seminar organised in connection with Kuvan Kevät 

Second year of master’s studies, autumn term:

• Finalising the written component 
• Submission of the thesis project and the maturity test for preliminary examination at least three weeks before the submission deadline
• Submission of the written component of the thesis project in the beginning of October 
• Public examination

Notes on the schedule:

• The examiners are selected either at the beginning of the spring term of the second year of master’s studies or when the date for the public presentation of the artistic part of the thesis project and the schedule for the completion of the project have been established 
• At least three weeks should be reserved for pre-examination, but the thesis project can be submitted for pre-examination already before that.

Artistic component of the thesis project

The artistic component may comprise a single, extensive work, a series of works, or an artistic process. The artistic component of the thesis project is performed in the context of fine arts. The student may freely choose the form and the method of the artistic component.

The requirements of the thesis project include one public presentation. The thesis project can be exhibited at the Kuvan Kevät Degree Show or in another context according to the nature of the exhibited work.

The requirement of the public presentation can also be met, for example, by organising a solo exhibition outside the Academy of Fine Arts in some other suitable schedule. In such cases, the schedule and other details pertaining to the exhibition must be negotiated with the supervising teacher of the subject area.

The thesis project or its artistic component can also be produced in collaboration with another student or a group of students. In such case, however, the students must be able to specify their personal contribution to the project for assessment purposes.

The progress of the student’s thesis project is facilitated by regular discussions with the thesis supervisor. The planning and implementation of the artistic component are supported by the student’s regular attendance at the MFA thesis seminar, the supervising teacher of their subject area, the thesis supervisor, and the Academy’s technicians. If the work is presented in Kuvan Kevät, the responsible teacher of the exhibition will also provide support for the presentation of the work. 

It is the student’s responsibility to invite the examiners of the thesis project to the public presentation of the artistic component of the project (an exhibition or another kind of public presentation). The invitation must explicitly mention that that the public presentation is part of a thesis project. 

Written component of the thesis project

The written component of the MFA thesis project comprises of a text, the contents and style which are logically in line with the artistic component of the thesis project.

The scope of a written thesis is 15–30 pages without images (approx. 1,800 characters per page without spaces, totalling 27,000 – 54,000 characters) and it must include the verbal and visual documentation of the artistic component of the thesis project. Artistic work is documented in a manner that is suitable for the work, such as still images from a video piece.

The student will work on the written component alongside the artistic component. The written component, with all the required documentation, should be finished soon after the public presentation of the artistic component has taken place. The artistic component must be presented in public before the student can submit the written component. 

The student will work on the written component as part of the Master of Fine Arts thesis seminar, and separate writing groups led by a writing teacher will be formed in connection with the seminar to support the writing process. Support for working on the content of the written component is also provided by the supervising teacher and the supervisor.

The student also receives support in compiling the written component of the thesis project on a course called Introduction to writing a Master of Fine Arts thesis, which teaches about the structural and stylistic aspects of thesis texts.

Students must complete the thesis in the language of their degrees (section 35 of the Degree Regulations of Uniarts Helsinki). This also applies to the language of the written component. The right to complete a written thesis in a language other than that used for the degree can be applied for in the plan for artistic work and written thesis (see section Thesis project plan).  

In the written component, references must be used when ideas expressed by another person are discussed. A list of references and literature will be enclosed at the end of the written component.

Use of images in the thesis project

All images used in the thesis project must be accompanied by detailed information about the image and its source. It is important to include this information even if you have personally made the works depicted in the images or taken the photographs yourself. 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 you should nevertheless check the precise instructions pertaining to the publishing of images in the ImagOA resource guide. You should not use an image in your thesis project unless you are certain that you have a right to publish it. 

For more information, please check the ImagOA resource guide: 

Objectives of the written component:

The written component should provide an explicit description of the artistic component and its public presentation. Furthermore, the written component should demonstrate the student’s familiarity with the topic of their thesis project and their ability to engage in reflection on themes related to fine arts. In the written component, the student may discuss the starting points of their artistic practice as well as the contents, techniques, forms and materials used in the work, and place the thesis project in the context of contemporary art. The written component can also include descriptions of the working process, accounts of the practical implementation and the exhibition of the work, as well as reflections on the relationship between the artistic component and the audience, the exhibition venue or societal questions. 

Whenever the student discusses ideas expressed by another person in the written component, the source must be referenced accordingly. A list of references detailing all the sources and literature used in the written component will be enclosed at the end of the written component.  

The title page of the written component must indicate:

• The student’s name 
• Title of the thesis project
• Academy (Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Helsinki) and the academy logo
• A text indicating that the written component is part of an MFA thesis project 
• Date of submission of the thesis project 

The first pages of the written component must clearly indicate:

• A brief description of the artistic and written component: what the artistic and written components include and how emphasis is placed between them. 
• All the information pertaining to the works related to the artistic component and their presentation, including the year of completion of the works, the materials and techniques used, the size of the works, and in case of temporal works, their running time.  
• The date and place of exhibition 
• The supervisor(s) and examiners of the thesis project. 
• If the thesis project, or any part of it, has been produced in collaboration with other students, the first pages of the written component must include a description of the division of labour between all the contributing students. 

An alternative way of documentation for special cases:

The written component can under special circumstances be produced in another way. If this is deemed necessary, reasons must be provided in the thesis project plan, and the Professor of the student’s subject area must approve the special arrangements. If the student suffers from dyslexia, or has other special needs affecting their learning and self-expression, they can acquire a certificate of their condition from an expert and discuss the situation with their teacher. By doing this, the special needs can be taken into consideration in the approval of the thesis project plan and the evaluation of the thesis project. The student can also be provided with supplementary supervision, if necessary. 

MFA maturity test

The student will write a one-page (c. 1,800 characters) summary, which constitutes the maturity test of the MFA degree. The summary briefly describes the essential contents of the thesis project, and it must include a short account of both the artistic and the written components. The summary is intended to provide a concise description of the most important parts of the thesis project to someone unfamiliar with the project. The summary should be entitled “Summary”. If the student so wishes, they can write a separate introduction to the thesis project, and the title of this introduction can be chosen more freely. The summary is attached to the beginning of the written component of the thesis, and it is submitted for preliminary examination together with the written component. 

Thesis grant

The Academy of Fine Arts supports the completion of the thesis project with a thesis grant. The exact sum awarded is established at the beginning of the autumn term. The thesis grant is intended to cover the costs related to the implementation of the thesis project. The student is allowed to start using the grant funds once their thesis project plan has been approved. The Production Services are responsible for all matters pertaining to the grants. 

 

Thesis project plan and selection of supervisors and examiners

Thesis project plan

The thesis project plan is made by using an electronic form. The thesis project plan is written in the same language as the written component of the thesis project.

The deadline for submitting the thesis project plan is 4.11.2024.

The thesis project plan comprises an overall plan for the execution of the thesis project. The plan should include the following information: 

• A description of the themes of the thesis project and the execution of the project 
• The schedule of the thesis project (incl. the date of the public presentation and the target date of the public examination of the thesis project) 
• The language of the thesis project
• The supervisor(s) of the thesis project and their contact information 
• Information about alternative ways of documentation if the written component is not in text form 

If the student wishes to complete a written thesis in a language that differs from the language of their degree, they 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 thesis project plan is approved by the supervising teacher of the student’s subject area. The student will be notified by e-mail once the thesis project plan has been accepted. The student is allowed to receive supervision and to use the money included in the thesis grant only after the thesis project plan has been approved. 

The student must discuss any changes to the thesis project plan with their supervising teacher and notify the Study Services and the Production Services of the changes. If necessary, the student must also inform the examiners of the thesis project of the changes (e.g. if there are changes to the project schedule or the language used in the thesis).  

NOTE! The MFA thesis project plan will expire in three years after its approval if the thesis project has not been submitted for examination. If the plan expires, the student must write a new plan with an updated schedule and supervision information, and have it approved by the supervising teacher.

Thesis supervision and selection of the supervisor

Supervision of the thesis project

The supervisor of the thesis project is responsible for mentoring the student’s work, supervising the contents of the work, and following the progress of the project. The supervisor must inform the student and their supervising teacher in a timely fashion if they think that the work does not conform with the requirements set for an MFA thesis project and if it cannot be submitted for evaluation within the schedule set by the student. 

The Academy of Fine Arts will compensate the supervisor for a maximum of ten hours of instruction. In order for the fee to be paid, the supervisor must provide the Study Services with current information pertaining to the bank transfer. The fee payer receives the up-to-date tax data directly from the tax authority’s database for the taxation of the fee recipient, unless the tax card is for a different type of income, i.e. a tax-at-source card.

The supervising teacher’s task is to support the thesis project and to serve as the preliminary examiner of the written component of the thesis project. Students who are working on their master’s thesis projects receive supervision in the compiling of the written component from the writing teachers as part of the thesis seminar.

Selection of the supervisor

The student is entitled to receive a maximum of ten hours of supervision for their thesis project. The hours can be allotted to a single supervisor or shared between two supervisors.  

The student will discuss the suitable supervisor(s) for the thesis project in advance with their supervising teacher. If the supervision duties are divided amongst two supervisors, the division of the working hours will also be decided at this time. The supervising teacher must ensure that the student’s supervisor(s) are chosen appropriately. 

All supervisors are expected to have the necessary expertise in fine arts and contemporary art to be able to supervise a master’s thesis project. The supervisor must be significantly more advanced in the field of supervision than the supervised student. The supervisor cannot be studying for the same (or a lower) degree as the supervised student during the supervision process. The language used in the thesis project should also be taken into account in the selection of supervisors. Thesis projects are not translated, which is why the supervisor must understand the language of the thesis project. 

After having a discussion with their supervising teacher, the student will contact the potential supervisor(s) and ask if they are willing to take on the job. The supervising teacher confirms the choice of supervisor when approving the thesis project plan, after which the Academy of Fine Arts Study Services submit the supervision-related guidelines to the supervisor(s). After the supervising teacher has approved the supervisor choice, the student submits a copy of their thesis project plan to their supervisor(s) and agrees on the first supervision meeting. 

Selection of the examiners

Two examiners are assigned to each thesis project. The examiners are required to have the necessary expertise in fine arts and contemporary art to perform examiner’s duties. The examiner cannot be studying for the same (or a lower) degree as the student. 

The student and the supervising teacher discuss the selection of the examiners. The supervising teacher makes a decision on the examiners of the thesis project after hearing the student. Any potential grounds for disqualification must be carefully considered prior to the selection of the examiners. For example, the supervisor of the thesis project cannot serve as an examiner, nor can the examiner comment on any part of the thesis project prior to the completion of the entire project. 

If the supervising teacher is also the supervisor or the examiner of the thesis project, they cannot make a decision on the examiners. In such case, the decision is made by another professor of the subject area or the Vice Dean responsible for teaching. 

The language of the thesis project must be considered in the selection of the examiners. The examiners must be able to understand the language used in the written component of the thesis project. Thesis projects are not translated. The examiner’s reports are also not translated, which is why the language used in them should also be agreed upon in advance. In cases that are unclear, please consult the Academy of Fine Arts Study Services in advance for further info.  

After the student and the supervising teacher have reached an agreement concerning the examiners of the thesis project, the student will contact the examiners and ask for their tentative consent. The student will then fill in an electronic form with the relevant information on the chosen examiners, which will be forwarded to the supervising teacher for approval. 

The students participating in Kuvan Kevät must report the selection of examiners by 14.2.2025.

The Study Services of the Academy of Fine Arts will be in touch with the examiners and send them instructions for the examination of a thesis project and the information about the target date for graduation (e.g. the date of the public examination). 

If the examiners of the thesis project change, the student must fill in a new electronic form detailing the changes. 

If there are changes to the schedule of the thesis project, the student must be in touch with the original examiners and inquire whether they are still willing to serve as examiners. If necessary, the student must choose a new examiner, or examiners, discuss the selection with the supervising teacher, and submit the updated details via the electronic form for the selection of thesis project examiners.

If the examiners change after the public presentation of the artistic component of the thesis project has taken place, the student must send the new examiners all the necessary material pertaining to the public presentation.  

Submission of the written component

Schedule for the submission of the written component

Preliminary examination

The written component of the thesis project is sent to the supervising teacher of the subject area for preliminary examination prior to the final submission of the thesis project. In the preliminary examination, the supervising teacher will read the written component of the thesis project to ensure that its contents meet the criteria set for the thesis project. The student will receive support to finalise the written component, if necessary. The student should be in touch with the supervising teacher concerning the schedule of the preliminary examination well in advance. A minimum of three weeks should be reserved for the preliminary examination. 

In connection with the preliminary examination, the student may still make corrections and amendments to the text. The student is responsible for corrections and the extent to which they make use of the feedback given in the finalisation of their work before it is submitted for evaluation.  

As part of the preliminary examination, the supervising teacher will review the summary of the thesis project, which serves as the maturity test of the thesis project.  

Submission of the written component

Once the written component has been pre-examined and the supervising teacher has approved it for examination, it is submitted electronically to three locations:

1. Study Services
2. Uniarts Library Publishing Archive
3. Plagiarism detection

After submission, no further changes can be made to the thesis project. Read the more detailed submission instructions below.

1. Submission to the study services

The thesis is submitted in PDF/A format as a single file by e-mail to:  kuva.opinnaytteet@uniarts.fi (max. file size 10Mb).

The file should include the written component in its entirety, i.e., the title page, abstract, text, images, and a list of references and works cited.  If the thesis is submitted in a verbally recorded presentation other than written text, its file format and submission must be agreed upon with the Study Services.

The Study Services send the written component of the thesis project to the examiners.

2. Saving to the Taju repository of the library

When submitting the written component of the thesis project for examination, the student must save their work also in the Taju publication repository in accordance with the library’s instructions.

Every student must do t even if they do not give their permission to have their thesis project published online. The version that is saved in Taju must be the same version as the one submitted to the examiners and in PDF/A format. 

3. Saving in Turnitin plagiarism detection system

In connection with the final submission of the completed thesis, its originality is checked (i.e. identifying plagiarism). Checking the originality of a thesis involves detecting similarities with previous student work, material available on the internet and material that has been previously published. The supervising teacher is responsible for checking the originality and interpreting the results.

Students receive a link from the supervising teacher to a Moodle area intended for checking the originality of the written thesis. In Moodle, the students must save a PDF/A version of the thesis in a Turnitin folder, from which the work is indexed in the plagiarism detection system. After reviewing the work in this folder, the supervising teacher approves the plagiarism detection process, informs the student of the approval, and fills in an examination form that is delivered to the Study Services coordinator. The version to be recorded for the last plagiarism detection shall be the same as sent to the examiners.

Approval of the thesis project and registration of credits

Once the public examination session has been held and the examiners have submitted their final examination opinions to the Academy of Fine Arts, the supervising teacher who carried out the preliminary examination will support/not support the approval of the thesis. If the supervising teacher does not support the approval of the thesis, they must notify the study services within five days of the examination. The thesis is finally submitted to the Vice Dean responsible for teaching for approval.   

Once the MFA thesis project has been approved, the student will receive a notification of the decision together with the examiner’s statements. If the Vice Dean does not approve the thesis project, the student is provided instructions for supplementing the work. 

The credits for the thesis project will be registered in the record of credits after the thesis project has been approved. 

The student cannot receive partial credit for the thesis project prior to its acceptance. According to the Education Regulations of the Academy of Fine Arts, completed studies are valid for a maximum of ten years. Expired studies will not be accepted as part of a degree. 

Fail as the proposed grade

If either one or both of the examiners propose that the thesis project should receive a grade of Fail, the student will be notified of the proposal prior to the public examination of their thesis project.  

In such case, the student can either

1. Announce the suspension of the process and ask the supervising teacher of their subject area for instructions on how to amend the thesis project. In this case, the student will make corrections to the thesis project and then resubmit it. The examination of the resubmitted thesis project can only start after the supervising teacher of the subject area has granted their permission.

or

2. Continue the process and provide the Vice Dean with a written response to the examiner’s statements, which the Vice Dean will take into consideration in their discussion of the thesis project. If one of the examination statements is unfavourable, the Vice Dean asks a third examiner to assess the thesis project based on the written component and the documentation included in it before decision-making.

Appeal

If the student is not satisfied with the grading of the thesis project, they can submit a written appeal to the decision-maker within 14 days of the date of notification. If the student does not accept the Council’s decision regarding the appeal, they can bring the matter to the Academic Appeals Board of the University of the Arts Helsinki within 14 days of being informed of the decision-maker’s decision.

Archiving and publicity of the thesis project

Thesis projects are stored by the Academy of Fine Arts Study Services for the duration of the valid rules on storage periods, after which they will be archived by Uniarts Helsinki. Thesis projects are public, which is why they cannot include material that cannot be published due to copyright reasons. Depending on the student’s preference, the written component is available in the Taju publication repository online as open access material or only on site on the library computers.

You can find more information on copyrights in the student agreement that each student signs at the beginning of studies.

Instructions for the examiners of the thesis project

The examination of the MFA thesis project consists of the evaluation of the artistic component and the written component of the thesis project.   

The examiners should be given a minimum of four weeks to write the examiner’s report after they have received the written component of the thesis project. 

The public examination of the thesis project will be organised after the examiner’s reports have been completed. The examiners will read their reports at the public examination. After the event, the examiners have three days to make amendments to their reports. The Academy of Fine Arts will notify the examiners of the requested schedule when the written component is submitted to them for examination. If the examiner is unable to comply with the schedule, they must inform the Study Services and the student of the delay well in advance.  

After the public examination, the finalised, written examiner’s report will be submitted to the Study Services. The Vice Dean responsible for Teaching will take the report into consideration in the grading of the thesis project and the decision on its acceptance. 

Examiner’s report

The evaluation of the artistic and the written components of the thesis project are included in the examiner’s report. The report also includes the examiner’s proposal for the grade of the thesis project (Pass/Fail). The grade proposal should be explicitly expressed in the report. 

The examiners will write their reports once they have evaluated the thesis project in its entirety. The Academy of Fine Arts will not accept reports on individual parts of the project. The examiners are not allowed to comment on any part of the thesis project until the entire project is completed. The evaluation must be based on the guidelines for the Master of Fine Arts thesis project.

Should the examiner recommend that the thesis project receive a grade of Fail, they must inform the Study Services of the Academy of Fine Arts of the grade proposal in writing, along with the grounds, at least one week prior to the public examination of the thesis project.  

The examiner’s statement consists of the following:

1. Title: Examiner’s statement concerning an MFA thesis project 
2. Student’s name 
3. A brief account of all the reviewed components of the thesis project 
4. The main report 
5. Proposed grade: Pass/Fail 
6. Date of the report 
7. Examiner’s name and signature

The requested length of the statement is about 2–3 pages. 

The examiner can write the examiner’s report in Finnish, Swedish or English. The student’s language proficiency must be taken into consideration in the language used in the report, as the student has the right to receive the report in a language which they can understand. The language of the report is discussed when the examiner agrees to undertake examiner’s duties. The Academy of Fine Arts will not order translations for the thesis projects or the examiner’s reports.

If the student suffers from dyslexia or another kind of learning disorder, the examiners will be provided with a medical certificate of the student’s condition, and they must take this information into consideration in their evaluation.  

Assessment criteria and grades

The thesis project is assessed as a whole. The assessment of the artistic component is based on artistic merit. The assessment of the written component, on the other hand, focuses on clarity of expression, the criteria of the selected style, and the relationship between the text and the artistic component of the thesis project.

The examiners provide a more detailed assessment of the strengths and shortcomings of the contents and structure of the project in their statements. The examiners can discuss the grade proposal with each other if they so wish.

All thesis projects are awarded a grade of Pass or Fail. 

Pass

The artistic component is excellent, good, or at least fair in its expression, and it shows a good command of artistic tools and skills and an understanding of the contexts of fine arts. 

The written component and the documentation contained therein connects the student’s artistic work to the context of contemporary art. The work serves as an indication of the student’s ability to structure their artistic thinking and practice. The written component is understandable and vibrant in its expression, and the artistic component is comprehensively discussed and documented. The images provide good insight into the artistic component of the thesis project, and they facilitate the understanding of the entire project to a sufficient degree. The written component is produced in accordance with the guidelines for the Master of Fine Arts thesis project.

Fail

The thesis project may be awarded a grade of Fail on one of the following grounds: 

The expressive elements of the artistic component fail to reach the artistic standards set for the Master of Fine Arts degree. The artistic component demonstrates poor command of artistic tools and skills or an inadequate understanding of the contexts of fine arts. 

The written component bears no relevance to the thesis project as a whole, and there are significant shortcomings in its contents. The goals and approach of the written component are obscure. The contents of the written component are not well structured, and the references are not appropriate to the topic. The work reveals an insufficient ability to structure one’s artistic work and practice. 

The text is unclear and unstructured and does not contribute to the understanding of the thesis project. The images chosen for the written component do not sufficiently support the understanding of the artistic component or its exhibition. 

The student has engaged in unethical activities in the course of preparing the thesis project.

Public examination of the thesis project

The student will present the thesis project in a public examination event after the examiners have reviewed all the components of the work. Public examination events are open to the public. In the event, the student presents their thesis project, and the examiners give their statements orally. There will be time for discussion after the statements. The supervising teacher of the subject area, or a person appointed by the supervising teacher, will serve as the custos of the public examination. If the examiner is unable to attend the event, the examiner’s statement must be submitted to the academic affairs team in advance to be read at the public examination. 

The public examination can last for one hour at most. The student has 20 minutes to present their thesis project, while each examiner is allotted c. 15 minutes. 

The examiners write their statements prior to the public examination. If they wish to elaborate on their statements after the public examination, they must do so within three days of the event. 

Examiner’s fee

The Academy of Fine Arts pays a fee to the examiner for acting as an examiner, writing the examiner’s statement and participating in the public examination. The examiner’s fee is €350 if the examiner takes part in the public examination and €300 if they do not. The examiner’s fee is taxable income. No fee is paid to a salaried member of the teaching staff of the Academy of Fine Arts. 

In order for the fee to be paid, the examiner must provide the Study Services of the Academy of Fine Arts with current information pertaining to the bank transfer. The fee payer receives the up-to-date tax data directly from the tax authority’s database for the taxation of the fee recipient, unless the tax card is for a different type of income, i.e. a tax-at-source card.