University of Helsinki Agricultural Sciences Master’s Thesis Guide 2026-2027

The Master’s Programme in Agricultural Sciences (AGRI) at the University of Helsinki is a 120 ECTS, two-year programme in the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry. Its Master’s thesis is a 30 ECTS research project connected to one of four current study tracks: Plant Production Sciences, Animal Science, Agrotechnology, or Environmental Soil Science.

This guide uses current University of Helsinki material verified on 25 August 2026 and applies to the 2026-2027 academic year. It is a thesis guide, not an admissions guide. Admission eligibility, tuition fees, scholarships, application dates and language-test thresholds are intentionally outside this article.

Current Agricultural Sciences degree structure

The current 2026-2030 AGRI structure is 120 ECTS:

• 90 ECTS advanced studies in the selected study track; and
• 30 ECTS other studies.

The 90 ECTS advanced studies are divided into:

• 45 ECTS common programme studies; and
• 45 ECTS study-track-specific studies.

The common programme block contains several units that directly support thesis work:

• AGRI-001 Personal Study Plan, 0 ECTS;
• AGRI-002 Research Design and Analysis, 5 ECTS;
• AGRI-003A Scientific Writing, 4 ECTS;
• AGRI-003B MSc Seminars, 1 ECTS;
• AGRI-004 Literature, 5 ECTS;
• AGRI-005 Master’s Thesis, 30 ECTS; and
• VIIKM-001 Master’s Maturity Test, 0 ECTS.

This structure matters because the thesis is not meant to be approached as an isolated writing task. Research design, scientific writing, seminar presentation and critical reading are built into the common AGRI studies around the thesis.

Four current study tracks

The four current tracks are:

1. Plant Production Sciences;
2. Animal Science;
3. Agrotechnology; and
4. Environmental Soil Science.

Your thesis topic should be related to the scientific area of your track and approved through the relevant AGRI responsible-person process. The programme’s research environment covers areas ranging from crop science, agroecology, plant breeding and pathology to animal nutrition and welfare, agricultural automation, soil processes and environmental technology.

The University also highlights research connections with organisations such as Viikki Plant Science Center, HiLIFE, HELSUS, Helsinki One Health and INAR. These are examples of the wider research environment in which an AGRI thesis can be situated.

The thesis is 30 ECTS

AGRI-005 Master's Thesis is 30 ECTS. Faculty guidance treats a 30 ECTS Master’s thesis as roughly one semester or about 4-5 months of full-time work.

The public AGRI programme page describes the thesis as approximately 50 pages. The Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry gives a broader typical range of approximately 30-60 pages excluding appendices.

These two statements are not contradictory. The programme-level figure gives students a practical centre point, while the Faculty-level figure describes the broader normal scope. Therefore:

• do not treat 50 pages as an exact mandatory target;
• do not treat 30 or 60 pages as automatic pass/fail boundaries; and
• use the approved thesis plan, AGRI writing instructions and supervisor guidance to determine the appropriate final scope.

A thesis with extensive figures, tables, field-method descriptions or supplementary material may be organised differently from a more compact data-analysis project. The goal is a scientifically complete thesis that fits the 30 ECTS workload.

What kind of research section does AGRI expect?

The public Agricultural Sciences page describes the thesis as containing an experimental or research section. That section can take at least two broad forms:

• analysis of existing research material; or
• an independent research project, for example in a laboratory, greenhouse or experimental field.

This makes AGRI particularly suitable for data-based, experimental and applied research. A Plant Production Sciences thesis might use crop or plant data, an Animal Science thesis might analyse nutrition, welfare or genomic information, an Agrotechnology thesis might involve measurements, automation or modelling, and an Environmental Soil Science thesis might use soil chemistry, hydrology or environmental data.

There is an important Faculty-level nuance. The Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry also allows Master’s theses based solely on literature or other scientific sources. Because the AGRI public programme page specifically foregrounds an experimental/research section, a student planning a literature-only AGRI thesis should confirm that form with the AGRI responsible person before starting. Do not assume that a Faculty-wide option automatically overrides the programme’s own thesis design process.

AGRI thesis work is research-integrated

The programme says that Master’s theses are typically completed within research projects of the department or campus. Research-group collaboration is therefore normal, not exceptional.

A thesis can still be independently authored even when the research is part of a larger project. The University-wide rule is that the student’s independent contribution must be clearly identifiable and assessable. The student remains responsible for the thesis argument, analysis, interpretation and final writing.

This research integration is one reason early topic discussion is useful. A suitable project depends not only on student interest but also on available research material, equipment, seasonal timing, laboratory or field access, data rights and appropriate supervision.

You cannot start before the signed supervision plan is approved

This is one of the most important AGRI-specific rules.

When you are preparing to start the thesis, you must contact the responsible person for Master’s theses in your study track/module. You agree the topic with that person and prepare the written Master’s thesis supervision plan.

The plan must be signed by:

• the responsible person;
• the student; and
• the supervisor or supervisors.

The signed supervision plan must then be saved to the AGRI-005 Moodle submission folder.

You are not allowed to start the AGRI Master’s thesis work before the supervision-plan form has been signed and saved there.

This is not just administrative paperwork. Signing the plan means the responsible person approves the topic and supervisors and confirms that the project can proceed within the programme’s research and supervision framework.

What belongs in the supervision plan?

Current Faculty guidance says the supervision plan should cover matters such as:

• research objectives and how the project will be conducted;
• supervisor or supervisors;
• the roles and responsibilities in the supervision relationship;
• a detailed thesis timetable;
• thesis language;
• duration of the supervision relationship; and
• handling of confidential data or results.

The plan must also state its period of validity. If that period expires before the thesis is submitted, the plan must be re-approved by the supervisors and responsible person, unless a short extension is agreed under the current rules.

If the topic, supervisor or circumstances change materially, update the supervision plan rather than continuing under an outdated agreement.

At least one supervisor must hold a doctoral degree or equivalent qualification.

Writing, sources and the scientific-article model

Faculty guidance describes the Master’s thesis as an analytical and focused academic paper that should, as a rule, follow the style of a scientific article. A typical Faculty-scale thesis is associated with around 40-50 sources, while a literature-based thesis will normally require substantially more.

AGRI also has its own support structure:

• AGRI-003A Scientific Writing provides programme-specific writing support;
• AGRI-003B MSc Seminars develops presentation and discussion skills; and
• programme-specific Master’s Thesis Writing instructions are available through AGRI Moodle.

Current public evidence does not establish one universal named citation style such as APA, Harvard or Chicago for every Agricultural Sciences thesis. The Faculty requires a consistent referencing technique, while the programme provides the detailed writing and referencing instructions.

The safe rule is therefore: follow the current AGRI writing instructions and supervisor-approved convention, and apply that system consistently throughout the manuscript.

Scientific writing and oral presentation are part of the learning outcomes

The public programme page says thesis completion demonstrates the ability to:

• prepare a written scientific presentation;
• use source material critically;
• present the thesis orally; and
• answer questions about the thesis.

That means a successful AGRI thesis is not judged only by whether an experiment or data analysis was completed. You must be able to explain why the research question matters, why the chosen methods are appropriate, how the evidence supports the interpretation, and what the limitations are.

Language of the thesis

Agricultural Sciences is a multilingual Master’s programme. Teaching is primarily in English, and studies can be completed in Finnish, Swedish or English according to the programme and degree-language rules.

If you complete the degree with English as the degree language, University rules require at least 75% of the studies included in the degree to be completed in English, and the thesis must also be written in English.

Do not infer the thesis language only from the language of a particular course. Check the language of your degree and the current programme instructions.

AI use from 1 August 2026 onward

The Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry has an important current rule for the 2026-2027 guide period.

Students must discuss AI use and how it will be reported with the supervisor from the beginning of the thesis process. For theses written after 1 August 2026, the thesis must include a declaration concerning the use of artificial intelligence.

University-wide AI rules still apply. AI may support learning or writing only where the relevant teacher, programme and Faculty rules allow it, and the student remains responsible for accuracy, sources, analysis and research integrity.

Do not use AI as a substitute for verifying literature, interpreting data or making scientific decisions that you must be able to defend yourself.

Research ethics and confidential material

Research ethics should be addressed already during thesis planning. If the project uses people, animals, restricted datasets, company information, unpublished research material or other sensitive resources, establish the relevant ethical, legal and data-management conditions before data collection or analysis begins.

Master’s theses are public documents. Confidential information must not be included in the public thesis. Faculty guidance specifically notes that business or professional secrets must remain outside the assessed public document.

Resolve confidentiality in the supervision plan. Do not wait until final submission to discover that essential material cannot legally appear in the thesis.

Sisu and the redesigned E-thesis

Before final submission, current University instructions require registration of the thesis and maturity test in Sisu for the relevant academic year.

The final assessed version is submitted through the new E-thesis system. Once the thesis is formally submitted for assessment, that file can no longer be edited.

Before upload, verify:

• title and metadata;
• abstract and keywords;
• supervisor information;
• references;
• figures, tables and appendices;
• confidentiality boundaries;
• AI declaration where required; and
• the final PDF rendering.

The file you submit must genuinely be the version you want examined.

Two examiners and the AGRI responsible person

When the thesis is ready for examination, the relevant AGRI responsible person appoints two examiners and handles the examination process through to the Dean’s decision.

Under Faculty rules:

• examiners must normally hold a doctoral degree or equivalent qualification;
• at least one examiner is recommended to come from the student’s own Faculty or degree programme; and
• the second examiner should be someone other than the supervisor.

The exact appointment must follow current programme conflict-of-interest and qualification rules.

How AGRI theses are graded

The Faculty assessment matrix separates seven areas:

1. thesis objective and research questions;
2. scholarly framework and use of sources;
3. research data and method;
4. presentation of results;
5. discussion and conclusions;
6. thesis as an academic text; and
7. work during the thesis process.

The two examiners assess areas 1-6, while the supervisor assesses area 7. The thesis receives an overall grade on the 0-5 scale under the current Faculty matrix and calculation rules.

The Dean of the Faculty makes the final decision on approval and grading based on the examination process.

This means good thesis-process conduct matters alongside the final manuscript. Planning, independence, use of feedback and responsible progress are part of the assessed process through area 7.

The thesis abstract is the AGRI maturity test

Agricultural Sciences does not require a separate Master’s maturity-test essay. Under the current AGRI and Faculty instructions, the thesis abstract serves as the maturity test.

The maturity test:

• is recorded as 0 ECTS;
• is assessed pass/fail;
• demonstrates familiarity with the thesis field; and
• follows language requirements determined by the student’s previous education and degree-language situation.

If your degree language is English, or if your earlier education creates a Finnish or Swedish language obligation, follow the current University language rules when preparing the abstract.

AI is never allowed in a maturity test. Since the AGRI abstract functions as the maturity test, do not use AI to produce or complete the maturity-test abstract.

Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry deadlines for 2026-2027

For Agricultural Sciences, the current common Faculty timetable gives the following 11 thesis rounds. The final thesis must be submitted by 23:59 Finnish time on the deadline date.

Normal thesis supervision and feedback are not provided in July unless specifically required by the Faculty or programme. If graduation timing matters, plan from the Dean decision backward rather than treating the upload date as the end of the process.

A practical AGRI thesis workflow

A defensible current workflow is:

1. Identify the track-specific research area. Build a topic that fits Plant Production Sciences, Animal Science, Agrotechnology or Environmental Soil Science.
2. Contact the relevant AGRI responsible person. Do this before assuming a topic or research design is approved.
3. Agree the topic and supervisor(s). Confirm expertise, data, facilities and timing.
4. Prepare the supervision plan. Include objectives, methods, roles, timetable, language, validity and confidentiality.
5. Get all required signatures and save the plan to AGRI-005 Moodle. Do not start thesis work before this step is complete.
6. Carry out the research. This may be existing-data analysis or independent lab, greenhouse, field or other approved research. Confirm literature-only designs explicitly if that is your intended route.
7. Write alongside the research. Use AGRI-003A/003B support and the current programme writing instructions.
8. Keep the scope controlled. Treat approximately 50 pages as a practical programme benchmark inside the Faculty’s broader 30-60-page guidance.
9. Follow the approved reference system consistently. Do not invent a citation style from another programme.
10. Discuss and disclose AI correctly. Include the required declaration for post-1-August-2026 theses and never use AI in the maturity-test abstract.
11. Register thesis and maturity test in Sisu. Then submit the exact final PDF through E-thesis.
12. Allow for examination and Dean approval. Submission is not the same as final approval.

Final checklist

Before submitting, confirm that:

• the thesis is correctly registered as AGRI-005 in your current study plan;
• the topic belongs to your approved study-track context;
• the supervision plan was signed and saved before thesis work began;
• the plan is still valid and reflects the current topic and supervisors;
• at least one supervisor meets the doctoral/equivalent qualification rule;
• your research question, material and method align;
• the manuscript fits the 30 ECTS scope and uses the page guidance sensibly;
• any literature-only design has been confirmed through the AGRI process;
• your referencing follows current AGRI instructions consistently;
• your AI-use declaration is present where required;
• the maturity-test abstract has been completed without AI;
• confidential information is excluded from the public thesis;
• the thesis and maturity test are registered in Sisu;
• the E-thesis PDF is the exact final version; and
• the selected submission date is one of the current 2026-2027 Faculty rounds.

Current University, Faculty, AGRI Moodle and supervisor instructions always take priority if a more specific or newer requirement applies to your project.