Aalto University Master’s Programme in Design Thesis Guide: 2026–2028 Curriculum

Aalto University’s Master’s Programme in Design is organised by the School of Arts, Design and Architecture and brings together three majors: Collaborative and Industrial Design, Contemporary Design, and Fashion and Textile Design. Although the majors differ substantially in subject matter and research practice, the current 2026–2028 curriculum gives all three the same core thesis regime. That makes a single parent-level thesis guide appropriate, provided the guide does not pretend that every design thesis uses the same method, material or production format.

The current structure is clear: the Master’s thesis is 30 ECTS, the separate MUO-E0025 Thesis Seminar is 4 ECTS, and the ARTSa.matr maturity test is 0 ECTS. The thesis and seminar are separate attainments. A student should therefore not describe the thesis itself as 34 ECTS.

Where the thesis fits in the degree

The Master’s Programme in Design is a 120 ECTS, two-year Master of Arts (Art and Design) degree. The programme includes 90 ECTS of advanced studies and 30 ECTS of elective studies, with the 30 ECTS thesis included in the advanced studies.

All three current majors place the thesis in the second study year and list the same 4 ECTS Thesis Seminar:

• Collaborative and Industrial Design;
• Contemporary Design;
• Fashion and Textile Design.

The common thesis framework does not erase disciplinary differences. A Collaborative and Industrial Design project may centre on services, participation, systems or interaction. A Contemporary Design thesis may foreground materials, making, artistic inquiry or practice-based research. A Fashion and Textile Design project may integrate experimental design, material exploration, collections, textile processes or critical design research. The research question and project context should determine the appropriate approach.

The current seminar code is MUO-E0025

Aalto’s current 2026–2028 curriculum lists MUO-E0025 Thesis Seminar, 4 ECTS for all three Design majors. The Department of Design thesis process page still contains one reference to MUO-E0018 Thesis Seminar in its step-by-step process text.

For a current 2026–2028 student, the curriculum is the controlling source for the course code and credit value. This guide therefore uses MUO-E0025 and 4 ECTS. The older code reference is treated as a page-maintenance inconsistency, not as a second seminar or an additional requirement.

Standard and Intensive thesis paths

The current Department of Design thesis page describes two main paths: Standard and Intensive.

The Standard path normally begins in September. It is designed for students who work on the thesis part-time while continuing other studies, and Aalto describes it as the rule-of-thumb path for most students.

The Intensive path normally begins in January and is designed around full-time thesis work. Aalto presents it as especially suitable for students whose autumn is occupied by exchange, an internship or an intensive minor.

A freshness warning is essential here. The thesis page is updated in August 2026, but the detailed Standard and Intensive calendars currently displayed are still labelled 2025–2026. Those old dates should not be copied into a 2026–2027 plan. Students should use the live Thesis Seminar/MyCourses information and programme communications for the actual path calendar that applies to their cohort.

Start with the Thesis Seminar and proposal

The Department of Design process begins through the thesis seminar. During the early stage, the student develops and presents a Thesis Proposal, a concise description of the intended project.

The proposal is important because it gives the programme enough information to match the project with appropriate supervision and to test whether the topic is realistic. The supervisor is confirmed after proposal presentations according to the topic and the programme or major process.

Once supervision is in place, the supervisor approves the thesis topic and advisor or advisors. The supervisor also has responsibility for ensuring that the topic is academically appropriate and feasible within the intended timeframe.

A useful proposal should therefore make the research or design problem visible, explain why it matters, outline the intended conceptual or theoretical basis, identify likely methods or design practices, describe the expected production or empirical material where relevant, and provide a realistic timetable.

The thesis is developed in staged parts

The current Department of Design process divides the 30 ECTS thesis into staged work.

Part 1 develops the proper thesis plan, including the timeline and conceptual framework. When approved by the supervisor, this stage accounts for 10 ECTS of the thesis.

Part 2 develops the methods, preliminary results and production. When approved, this stage accounts for a further 10 ECTS.

The final stage completes the research, written thesis and any production or documentation required by the project. It also leads to the mandatory oral presentation and final examination submission.

This staged structure is useful because it makes the thesis a sequence of reviewable academic decisions rather than one large document submitted only at the end. Students should use the stage reviews to correct scope, method, documentation and argument before the final submission period.

Design thesis methods are not universal

The programme spans different design-research cultures. The current public sources do not impose one universal empirical method for every thesis.

Depending on the project, a thesis may use interviews, observation, participatory design, co-design, prototyping, material experiments, studio practice, archival or visual analysis, design case studies, service or systems research, practice-based inquiry, user studies, critical making, theoretical work or combinations of approaches.

This list is illustrative, not prescriptive. Students should justify the method through the research question, the nature of the design problem, available evidence and the conventions of the relevant major. The supervisor and advisor should confirm whether the proposed approach is academically adequate.

The same caution applies to structure. Aalto’s current public programme sources do not publish one universal page count, word count, citation style or compulsory chapter template for all three majors. Aalto provides a thesis template, but the Design thesis page explicitly states that using the template is not mandatory.

MyStudies manages the formal thesis record

The current thesis process is administered through MyStudies. Students use the thesis area to provide and maintain the basic thesis information and metadata, add the supervisor and advisor or advisors, and submit the completed thesis for evaluation, approval and archiving.

The supervisor confirms supervision in MyStudies and approves the topic and advisor arrangements. Students should not leave these formal steps until the final submission stage. A clean MyStudies record is part of the thesis workflow.

When the thesis is finally approved, MyStudies also provides access to the grade and evaluation information.

Supervisor, advisor and examiners

The Design thesis page does not publish one simple universal job-title rule for the supervisor. Instead, the supervisor is selected through the programme process based on the thesis topic. The guide should therefore not invent a professor-only rule unless the current programme instructions specifically state one.

The supervisor approves the topic and advisor arrangements and makes sure the student receives appropriate advising and feedback. Advisor support can be important for day-to-day development of the design work, production, research method or writing.

After Part 2, examiners are named. The programme director confirms them. The supervisor is normally one examiner, while the second examiner may be another faculty member or an external expert from the field.

The oral presentation is mandatory

The oral presentation is not an optional extra. The current Design thesis page states that it must be completed before the thesis is handed in for examination.

Near the end of the project, the student presents the almost-ready thesis and receives feedback from faculty. The final work should then be presented first to the advisor and then to the supervisor to obtain examination permission. The supervisor cannot grant that permission before the required oral presentation has been completed.

Students should therefore build presentation preparation into the thesis timetable instead of treating it as an activity to arrange after the final PDF is finished.

Turnitin and final integrity checks

The current Department of Design process requires an originality check through Turnitin according to programme practice. The thesis page also states that originality and AI-detection reports are generated when the final work is submitted and made available to the supervisor.

Students remain responsible for the academic integrity of the thesis. Sources, quotations, images, datasets, design precedents, external contributions and AI-assisted work should be handled according to the latest Aalto and programme rules.

Maturity test: the thesis abstract

For a Master of Arts degree at ARTS, the thesis abstract serves as the maturity test. The supervisor approves the content of the abstract.

The language requirements depend on the student’s language of education and whether the relevant language and maturity requirements were already completed in the bachelor’s degree. Students educated in Finland in Finnish or Swedish can have additional language obligations where those requirements have not already been satisfied.

Aalto’s current AI guidance prohibits AI use in maturity exams. Because the Design thesis abstract functions as the maturity test, the assessed maturity-test abstract should be treated as an AI-prohibited component. Students should not assume that permission to use AI elsewhere in thesis work also permits AI use in the maturity assessment.

Production and artistic components

A Design thesis may include a production or artistic component alongside the written academic publication. The current submission instructions recognise this possibility.

If a production component cannot be fully represented inside the written PDF, separate digital documentation such as images, audio or video can be archived as media appendix material with appropriate metadata and credits. Students should coordinate the examination of a production component with the examiners if it has not already been examined during the earlier stages.

The existence of a production component does not remove the requirement for a written academic thesis, research-founded reasoning, documentation and examination.

Final file: PDF/A and under 100 MB

The final thesis is submitted through MyStudies. The current ARTS instructions require the thesis file to be in PDF/A format and below 100 MB. Submission will not go through if those technical requirements are not met.

Aalto recommends checking the PDF/A conversion carefully and ensuring the archived file is identical to the intended final thesis. Students with image-heavy or production-heavy work should plan file preparation early rather than trying to solve format and size problems at the submission deadline.

The approved thesis is public

The thesis and its metadata are archived in Aaltodoc. Permission to publish the full text openly online is a separate question from whether the thesis is a public document.

Aalto allows the online publishing date to be postponed by up to one year for reasons such as another publication, a patent application or corporate concerns. However, postponing online publication does not make the approved thesis confidential. The public copy remains accessible according to Aalto’s public-document process.

For company-linked, commercially sensitive or unpublished design projects, confidentiality must therefore be planned before material is placed in the thesis. Information that cannot lawfully become part of a public thesis should be handled outside the public academic document under the applicable agreement and Aalto rules.

Assessment and Programme Committee approval

The thesis is evaluated by the appointed examiners. The current Design page says the supervisor is normally one examiner, with another programme faculty member or external expert potentially serving as the second examiner.

The Programme Committee makes the thesis grade decision based on the examiners’ statement after the relevant hand-in deadline. Students should therefore distinguish between submitting the thesis, receiving examiner evaluation and the formal committee decision.

Current 2027 thesis submission dates

The Design graduation page currently publishes four confirmed thesis-submission dates for Master of Arts degrees in 2027:

• 26 May 2027 → Programme Committee grade window 14–18 June 2027;
• 30 July 2027 → grade window 23–27 August 2027;
• 17 November 2027 → grade window 7–10 December 2027;
• 31 December 2027 → grade window 17–21 January 2028.

The graduation page also contains other graduation dates with no corresponding thesis-submission slot. Those should not be treated as ordinary Design thesis hand-in dates. Students should recheck the live graduation page and Thesis Seminar/MyCourses information before committing to a deadline.

Graduation planning

Graduation is requested in Sisu using the student’s up-to-date primary study plan. The student must be registered as attending on the graduation day.

Other studies included in the degree should be completed and registered when the graduation request is submitted. The final thesis must be returned to MyStudies for grading according to the applicable thesis-submission schedule. A thesis grade may be entered after the graduation request if the Programme Committee decision occurs later.

A clean Sisu study plan matters because Sisu generates the degree certificate based on the approved study plan and graduation request.

Practical planning sequence

First year

Build the research and design foundation relevant to your major. Pay attention to Design Research and major-specific practice, theory, materials, methods or systems work. Keep notes on possible thesis questions, supervisors, research environments and external partners.

Before second-year thesis work

Decide whether the Standard or Intensive path is realistic for your wider study plan. Check the current Thesis Seminar/MyCourses calendar rather than copying an older path timetable. Begin narrowing the problem and gathering enough context to prepare a credible Thesis Proposal.

Proposal and Part 1

Present the proposal, establish supervision and advisor arrangements, and formalise the topic. Build the thesis plan, conceptual framework and timetable. Use this stage to reduce an over-broad design idea into a project that can be examined as a 30 ECTS academic thesis.

Part 2

Develop the methods, preliminary results and production. Document design decisions, evidence, iterations and limitations so that the final thesis can explain not just what was made, but how knowledge was produced and why the conclusions are justified.

Final stage

Complete the written and production components, obtain feedback, conduct the required oral presentation, complete Turnitin/originality procedures, finalise the maturity-test abstract without prohibited AI assistance, and obtain examination permission.

Submission

Prepare a compliant PDF/A file under 100 MB, submit the final work through MyStudies, archive any separate production documentation correctly, and make the Sisu graduation request according to the applicable schedule.

Final checklist

Before final submission, confirm that:

• you are following the current 2026–2028 Design curriculum;
• the thesis itself is 30 ECTS;
• MUO-E0025 Thesis Seminar is a separate 4 ECTS attainment;
• the maturity test is 0 ECTS and implemented through the thesis abstract;
• you have checked the current cohort’s Standard/Intensive calendar rather than using old 2025–2026 dates;
• your proposal, topic, supervisor and advisor arrangements are complete;
• Part 1 and Part 2 requirements have been approved as required;
• your research/design method is justified for your actual major and question;
• the mandatory oral presentation has been completed;
• examination permission has been obtained;
• originality/Turnitin requirements have been handled;
• the maturity-test abstract was completed under the current AI restriction;
• production or artistic documentation is archived appropriately where relevant;
• the final file is PDF/A and below 100 MB;
• sensitive material has been handled consistently with the public-thesis rule;
• your Sisu study plan is current and graduation-ready;
• the live thesis-submission date has been rechecked.

Final planning principle

The current Design thesis regime is common across all three majors: 30 ECTS thesis + separate 4 ECTS Thesis Seminar + 0 ECTS maturity test, managed through a staged Department of Design process with MyStudies, mandatory presentation, examination, Programme Committee grading and public archiving.

What should remain flexible is the intellectual and design content of the thesis. CoID, Contemporary Design and Fashion/Textile Design can require very different forms of evidence, making and argument. Use the shared process as the administrative framework, but let the research question, major and supervisor determine the academically appropriate design-research approach.