Dear all,
Please remember that the old degree system (students who started before 1st August 2005) finishes across Finland this summer. The last faculty meeting to get the degrees passed is in early June which means that Pro Gradu thesis in the old system must be submitted by the beginning of May at the very latest to stand any chance of clearing the system and submission in April is a much surer bet.
If you are in the old system then your degree can switch to the new system, under the same degree titles and with virtually unchanged curriculum (see previous emails on the subject or see Jari Heikkinen), with the exception of extending the Pro Gradu from 5 to 6 months to increase the credits awarded to ensure that students are not a few credits short at the end. Please remember we have done everything we can to ensure that the average student ends up requiring no extra credits, but as many of the credits are awarded by other departments some students will have to do a few more studies after transferring into the new system than they would have in the old, even under the same degree titles. In the worse case scenario we worked out before setting up the system this was 10op (7ov) and most people ended up with far less (some potentially end up with more credits than they need). It is all still a LOT less than having to transfer to the new degrees from scratch.
Please also remember that we have this "extension" on the old degree titles granted by the faculty for only two years. If you started before 1st August 2005 and do not complete before 30th June 2010 (which in practice with departmental council and faculty deadlines means submitting a Pro Gradu thesis before April 2010) then life gets much more complicated. If you think you will fall into this category please contact me or Jari at the earliest possible opportunity.
If you are in the new system i.e. you started on or after 1st August 2005 you can ignore this email, but remember under Finnish law you now have a time limit for completing your studies. So if you are in the new system and you think you will take significantly longer than 6 years to complete please contact me or Jari at the earliest possible opportunity.
Best wishes,
Lloyd