Aalto University Mathematics and Operations Research Master’s Thesis Guide: 30 ECTS SCI Thesis for All Three Majors

Aalto University’s Master’s Programme in Mathematics and Operations Research is a 120 ECTS Master of Science (Technology) programme in the School of Science. It contains three majors: Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, and Systems and Operations Research.

The thesis administration is shared across those majors. Aalto’s current Student Guide explicitly says that the programme materials and instructions apply to all majors, and the 2026–2028 curriculum places all three under the same School of Science master’s thesis section. That means students do not need three different administrative thesis guides simply because their mathematical specialisations are different.

For the current 2026–2028 regime, the central structure is:

• master’s thesis: 30 ECTS;
• form: individual research project;
• topic: normally related to the student’s major, with a minor-related topic possible in special cases;
• supervision: one supervisor and, where appropriate, one or two advisors;
• normal workload: about six months of full-time study;
• formal start: supervisor, topic and advisor approval through MyStudies;
• required completion elements: thesis abstract/maturity essay and thesis presentation;
• final submission: through MyStudies in an accepted PDF/A format;
• evaluation: supervisor statement and proposed grade followed by approval by the Degree Programme Committee; and
• archive: approved thesis stored in Aaltodoc.

The three majors may produce very different research questions, proofs, computational studies, optimisation models or applied analyses. The administrative workflow, however, is one shared School of Science route.

Where the thesis fits in the MathOR degree

The programme totals 120 ECTS. The current curriculum allocates 30 ECTS to the master’s thesis. Major studies range from 40 to 65 ECTS depending on whether the student follows a compact or long major, and compact-major students also include a 20–25 ECTS minor.

Mathematics and Applied Mathematics can be completed as compact or long majors. Systems and Operations Research is offered only as a compact major. These degree-structure differences matter for the student’s HOPS and course selection, but they do not create different thesis approval systems.

The thesis remains a 30 ECTS individual project for all three majors. Aalto also allows the thesis to be written in English, Finnish or Swedish. The language of the thesis determines the language of the degree.

A practical consequence is that thesis planning should begin only after looking at the whole degree. A compact-major student needs to make sure the minor and remaining electives fit around the thesis. A long-major student may have a different balance of advanced major courses. In both cases, the HOPS should show the full 120-credit degree when the formal topic-approval process begins.

One programme, three academically different thesis directions

A shared administrative route does not mean the three majors should produce the same kind of thesis.

A Mathematics thesis may be strongly theoretical. Depending on the topic, the main contribution can involve proving results, organising a rigorous mathematical argument, analysing structures, or connecting existing theories in a new way. The thesis may rely far less on empirical data than a typical applied study.

An Applied Mathematics thesis may combine mathematical theory with computation, statistics, modelling or another application area. The research design can involve numerical experiments, simulations, data analysis or mathematical development motivated by a scientific or industrial problem.

A Systems and Operations Research thesis may focus on optimisation, decision analysis, simulation, risk, networks, stochastic systems, control, resource allocation or another systems-oriented problem. A company or public-sector collaboration can be especially natural here, although commissioned work is also possible in the other majors.

The important point is not to force every MathOR thesis into one methodology. Aalto’s public programme and SCI guidance do not prescribe one universal research method, chapter structure, page count or citation style for all three majors. The research design should follow the mathematical question, the field conventions and the supervisor’s expectations.

The 30 ECTS thesis means about six months of full-time study

The current SCI Master’s Thesis Guide describes a 30-credit master’s thesis as equivalent to six months of full-time studies. That is the programme’s workload baseline.

It should be understood as a planning model rather than a requirement that every thesis occupy exactly the same six calendar months. Aalto says students can schedule the process around their own study plan and the needs of a collaborative partner. The usual recommendation is to orient and plan the thesis in the autumn of the second study year, then write and submit it during the spring of the second year.

For a theoretical mathematics project, uncertainty may come from how quickly a proof strategy develops. For computational or applied work, data access, software implementation, numerical experiments or partner schedules may be the main constraints. For operations research, model building, validation and access to organisational data can affect the calendar.

The safest plan is therefore to treat six months as a serious workload budget and add calendar buffer where the research dependency is uncertain. Do not design a project whose success requires everything to go perfectly in the final month.

Before starting formally: bachelor degree, attendance and HOPS

The SCI Master’s Thesis Guide lists three important conditions for starting the formal topic-approval process.

First, the student’s Bachelor of Science degree should already be registered. Second, the student must be enrolled as an attending student. Third, the personal study plan, HOPS, should be completed and approved in Sisu for the total 120 ECTS degree.

These checks are not merely administrative decoration. They help ensure that the thesis is genuinely part of a master’s-level degree plan and that the student has a coherent route to graduation.

Before contacting a potential supervisor with a final proposal, it is useful to review which major the thesis belongs to, whether a minor-related topic would require special justification, which advanced courses support the research, and whether any remaining compulsory studies could interfere with a six-month thesis block.

Finding and agreeing on the thesis topic

The programme thesis page says the thesis is written on a topic related to the student’s major and agreed between the student and a professor who specialises in the topic. The current curriculum adds that a minor-related topic may be accepted in special cases.

The first goal is therefore not simply to invent a title. It is to define a research area that fits both the student’s academic path and available supervision.

For a theoretical project, this may begin by identifying a field and a precise mathematical problem. For applied mathematics, the topic may start from a modelling or computational challenge. For systems and operations research, the starting point may be an optimisation or decision problem from research, industry or the public sector.

The working topic and final title do not have to be identical. Current SCI guidance emphasises that the important issue is a common understanding between student and supervisor about the topic and scope. As the research develops, the final title can become more precise.

Supervisor and advisor roles

Every thesis must have a supervisor. The current MathOR curriculum identifies the supervisor as an Aalto professor responsible for ensuring that the thesis meets School of Science requirements. The wider current SCI guide says the supervisor is usually a professor, university lecturer or senior university lecturer in the School of Science.

A thesis may also have one or two advisors. The advisor must hold at least a master’s degree and is an expert who can advise on the thesis content and writing. An advisor is often connected to an organisation for which the thesis is being completed. The supervisor can also act as an advisor.

The roles should be discussed at the beginning. Aalto’s evaluation guidance stresses that the thesis is an independent task. The supervisor is not expected to continuously rewrite the project until it reaches a particular target grade. The student remains responsible for the research decisions, progress and final quality.

For commissioned work, this role distinction is particularly useful. An external advisor may understand the organisation’s problem and data, while the Aalto supervisor protects the academic scope and examination standards.

Start the official collaboration in MyStudies

Once the preliminary topic and supervision arrangement are agreed, the formal process moves into MyStudies.

The student enters the basic thesis information and applies for approval of the supervisor, topic and advisor(s). Current SCI guidance describes supervisor approval as the starting point for working on the thesis. The final thesis evaluation application cannot be submitted at the same time as this initial approval step.

After the supervisor is approved, Learning Services performs an administrative check. The student then receives information about the relevant presentation, maturity demonstration, abstract and thesis course code.

This is why it is useful to formalise the collaboration early rather than working informally for months and leaving approvals until the end. Administrative status, research collaboration and the academic scope should all point in the same direction.

Build a research plan that fits the major

A strong MathOR research plan should make the logical structure of the project visible before the work becomes too large.

For a theoretical thesis, the plan can define the mathematical objects, central questions, known results, expected lemmas or proof strategy, and the literature needed to position the contribution. Not every theoretical project can predict its final proof route, but the problem and boundaries should still be clear.

For an applied or computational thesis, the plan should state the modelling assumptions, data or simulation inputs, numerical methods, evaluation criteria and how the results will answer the research question.

For operations research, the plan should distinguish the real decision problem from the mathematical model. It should explain objectives, constraints, uncertainty, data, solution methods and how recommendations will be validated.

Across all three majors, alignment matters: question → mathematical framework → method → evidence or argument → conclusion. If the question changes, the model or proof strategy may need to change as well.

Company and externally commissioned theses

A MathOR thesis can be connected to an external organisation. This is especially common where mathematical modelling, optimisation, analytics, simulation or decision support can address a real operational problem.

The academic thesis, however, cannot become a confidential company report. Finnish legislation makes a master’s thesis a public document. Commercial secrets or other secret information must be kept outside the version submitted for evaluation.

A useful commissioning arrangement therefore separates the public academic thesis from confidential background material. The organisation can provide data, context and practical constraints, while the thesis presents only the information that can legally and academically be public.

This boundary should be discussed before data collection or model development begins. Discovering at the end that essential results cannot be disclosed can create serious problems for the examined thesis.

Presentation is part of the thesis process

The current curriculum states that master’s thesis work includes a seminar presentation or an equivalent presentation. The SCI Master’s Thesis Guide is even more direct: the thesis must be presented, with presentation details agreed with the supervisor.

The presentation must be completed before the final thesis is submitted for evaluation. This means students should not treat it as an optional graduation ceremony or a presentation that can be arranged after the final file has already entered examination.

The exact presentation format may vary by topic, research group or supervisor. A theoretical mathematics presentation may focus on the problem, key definitions, proof architecture and main result. An applied or operations-research presentation may need more emphasis on the model, data, assumptions, computational method, validation and implications.

Because the programme does not publish one universal presentation template on its public page, the practical format should be agreed with the supervisor using the current SCI instructions.

The thesis abstract serves as the maturity essay

The current SCI Master’s Thesis Guide states that, for School of Science students in this route, the thesis abstract serves as the maturity essay. The abstract therefore has an examination function in addition to summarising the research.

The language requirements depend on the student’s language of school education. If that language is Finnish, abstracts are required in English and Finnish. If it is Swedish, abstracts are required in English and Swedish. If the school-education language is neither Finnish nor Swedish, the abstract is written in English only.

The curriculum separately notes that some students who completed their bachelor degree outside Finland may still have national-language proficiency obligations. Students should therefore use the individual information supplied after the MyStudies administrative check rather than copying another student’s maturity-language arrangement.

The maturity abstract and thesis presentation must both be complete before final submission for evaluation.

Final file, PDF/A and Aaltodoc

The final master’s thesis is submitted in MyStudies for evaluation, grading and archiving. Current SCI guidance specifies a PDF/A archival file and lists PDF/A-1a, PDF/A-1b, PDF/A-2a and PDF/A-2b as accepted formats.

Do not leave archival conversion until minutes before the deadline. Mathematical theses may contain specialised fonts, equations, vector graphics, generated plots or embedded objects that can cause PDF/A validation problems. Test the final file early, especially if it was produced through LaTeX or a complex document toolchain.

The approved thesis is archived in Aaltodoc. Once the approved PDF/A reaches the archive, the file itself is not corrected or replaced through the normal metadata-correction process. The final submission should therefore be treated as the definitive examined version.

The thesis is a public document

Aalto’s SCI guidance is explicit: a master’s thesis is a public document and its contents cannot be confidential.

For current theses, Aaltodoc publishes the thesis metadata and abstract. The student is asked separately for permission to publish the full text online. Those are different issues. Refusing full-text online publication does not make the thesis secret.

Online publication of the full text can be postponed for up to one year for reasons such as another publication, but the thesis is still public from the DPC meeting where it is approved. Students considering patents should also be careful: Aalto notes that a patent application claiming priority to results reported in the thesis needs to be filed before the relevant DPC approval date.

For research with industrial or sensitive data, design the public/private boundary from the start.

How the thesis is evaluated and approved

The supervisor evaluates and grades the thesis using the School of Science evaluation guidelines, writes an official statement and proposes the grade. The Degree Programme Committee (DPC) then evaluates and approves the master’s thesis.

The SCI evaluation guidance emphasises independent contribution. Higher grades are characterised particularly by the student’s own independent work, not by how much corrective intervention the supervisor provided.

After the DPC meeting, the final grade is recorded in MyStudies and the thesis completion is registered in Sisu. The student can download the evaluation statement from MyStudies and receives information about the decision and appeal route.

Aalto advises students who are planning a specific graduation date to leave approximately four weeks for the supervisor to read the final thesis and prepare the statement. That review period should be built backward from the intended submission deadline.

Current 2027 SCI thesis-evaluation deadlines

The current SCI Master’s Thesis Guide publishes these final thesis submission deadlines for evaluation in MyStudies for 2027:

• 17 February 2027 → DPC meetings 8–11 March
• 21 April 2027 → DPC meetings 17–20 May
• 26 May 2027 → DPC meetings 14–17 June
• 30 July 2027 → DPC meetings 23–26 August
• 22 September 2027 → DPC meetings 11–14 October
• 17 November 2027 → DPC meetings 7–9 December
• 31 December 2027 → DPC processing in 2028

The MathOR graduation page also shows additional possible graduation dates marked with an asterisk. Those are not additional thesis-submission deadlines. They are possible graduation dates only when the master’s thesis has already been approved and registered in Sisu.

Before the thesis-evaluation deadline, the supervisor/topic/advisor approvals must already be in MyStudies, the presentation and maturity essay must be complete, and the student must be enrolled as attending. The final submission should also have been discussed with the supervisor in advance.

A practical MathOR thesis workflow

A defensible sequence is:

1. Review your HOPS and major structure. Confirm the 120 ECTS degree, compact/long major status and any minor obligations.
2. Orient in second-year autumn where possible. Start identifying a research field, supervisor and realistic six-month window.
3. Define a topic that belongs to your major. Use a minor-related topic only where the special-case route is justified.
4. Agree on supervision. Confirm one supervisor and any advisor(s), including roles and feedback expectations.
5. Apply in MyStudies. Enter the supervisor, topic and advisor(s) and complete the formal approval step before relying on final submission dates.
6. Build a major-appropriate research plan. Do not force theoretical, computational and operations-research projects into one method template.
7. Protect the six-month scope. Break the project into mathematical or empirical milestones and identify the dependency most likely to create delay.
8. Keep commissioned information public-safe. Separate confidential background material from the examined thesis.
9. Work independently but collaborate actively. Use supervisor and advisor feedback to test decisions, not to outsource the research reasoning.
10. Prepare the presentation. Agree on the format with the supervisor and complete it before final submission.
11. Complete the abstract/maturity requirement. Follow the language requirements that apply to your educational background.
12. Generate and validate the final PDF/A. Check equations, fonts, graphics and archival compliance before the deadline day.
13. Give the supervisor review time. Work backward roughly four weeks from the intended evaluation deadline.
14. Submit in MyStudies and, if ready, request graduation in Sisu. Use the actual SCI thesis-evaluation deadline rather than an interim graduation date.

Final checklist

Before submitting, confirm that:

• you are following the current 2026–2028 MathOR curriculum;
• your major is Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, or Systems and Operations Research and you are using the shared SCI thesis route;
• the thesis is an individual 30 ECTS research project;
• the topic belongs to your major or has a defensible special-case connection to a minor;
• your bachelor degree is registered, you are attending, and your 120 ECTS HOPS is approved;
• the supervisor, topic and any advisor(s) have already been approved in MyStudies;
• the project is scoped around the six-month full-time workload baseline;
• your research design fits the actual mathematical question instead of copying another major’s method;
• supervisor and advisor roles are clear;
• no secret or confidential information appears in the examined thesis;
• the thesis presentation has been completed;
• the abstract/maturity requirement and relevant language rules have been completed;
• the final file is an accepted PDF/A version;
• the supervisor has enough time to review the final thesis and write the statement;
• you are using a real SCI thesis-evaluation deadline, not merely an asterisked possible graduation date; and
• the thesis you submit is the definitive version you are prepared to have archived in Aaltodoc.

The central planning principle is simple: MathOR has three academically different majors but one shared 30 ECTS School of Science thesis process. Keep the research design major-specific, while following the same SCI approval, presentation, maturity, submission, evaluation and archiving workflow.