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

The Master’s Programme in Forest Sciences at the University of Helsinki is a 120 ECTS, two-year programme in the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry. Its thesis process reflects the breadth of modern forest science: a student may work on forest ecology, silviculture, forest resources, geoinformatics, wood supply, forest economics, business, policy, bioeconomy or another problem connected to the programme’s current specialisations.

This guide uses current University of Helsinki material verified on 25 August 2026 and follows the 2026-2030 programme structure valid from 1 August 2026. It is a thesis guide, not an admissions guide. Admission eligibility, tuition fees, scholarships, application dates and language-test requirements are intentionally outside this article.

The current programme has two tracks and nine specialisations

Forest Sciences currently has two standard study tracks:

• Forest Ecology and Management; and
• Forest Economics, Business and Society.

The programme presents nine specialisations in total. Current programme and Studies Service material places eight specialisation lines inside Forest Ecology and Management, while Forest Economics, Business and Society forms the other standard track.

The listed specialisation areas span:

• ecosystem function and biogeochemistry;
• production ecology, silviculture and land-use management;
• biodiversity, evolution and interactions in forests;
• tropical forestry, agroforestry and land use;
• forest resource management and geoinformatics;
• forest operations and wood-supply management;
• wood material science;
• business-oriented forest resource management; and
• forest economics, business and society.

This breadth matters for thesis planning. A thesis in forest genomics or ecosystem biogeochemistry will not use the same material or methods as a thesis in forest-sector business, policy, wood logistics or geoinformatics. The programme-level rules define the academic framework, while the research question and specialisation determine the detailed design.

Degree structure and language

The degree is 120 ECTS and designed for completion in two years. Current 2026-2030 structure guidance states that elective studies amount to 32 or 37 ECTS depending on the study track. Students should use the current Sisu/Studies Service structure rather than an older curriculum when planning the degree.

Forest Sciences is a multilingual Master’s programme. Most courses are taught in English and some in Finnish. Current programme guidance allows examinations, presentations and the Master’s thesis in Finnish, English or Swedish, subject to the student’s degree-language rules.

There is an important qualification if the degree language is English. Under current University rules for multilingual programmes, at least 75% of the studies included in an English-language degree must be completed in English, and the thesis must also be written in English.

The thesis is 30 ECTS

The Master’s thesis is 30 ECTS. In Forest Sciences it is meant to show that the student can solve a well-defined research problem relevant to the chosen field of specialisation using the principles of scientific research.

Current programme guidance expects the thesis to demonstrate the ability to:

• formulate and delimit a meaningful research problem;
• understand and use relevant scientific literature;
• choose and apply appropriate research methods;
• analyse the material or data;
• interpret the results critically;
• draw justified conclusions; and
• communicate the work as academic writing.

The purpose is therefore not simply to produce a long document. The thesis should show that the student can connect a research question, evidence, method, analysis and conclusions into one coherent scientific argument.

Start planning before the final semester

Current Forest Sciences PSP guidance gives a useful timing signal: thesis guidance normally becomes relevant when about half of the advanced studies have been completed. The thesis instructor, teachers of the Master’s thesis seminar and the PSP teacher all have roles in guiding the process.

This is a sensible point to begin because the student has usually completed enough advanced study to identify a meaningful specialisation problem but still has enough time to secure supervision, data, research-group access or a commissioned project.

A practical early-planning sequence is:

1. identify the specialisation area and a research problem that is narrow enough for a 30 ECTS project;
2. discuss the idea with an appropriate thesis instructor or potential supervisor;
3. determine what material, data, fieldwork, modelling, laboratory work, interviews, documents or other evidence may be needed;
4. confirm whether the work will be independent, part of a University research project, or commissioned by an outside organisation;
5. build a realistic timetable before data collection begins; and
6. formalise the project through the required supervision-plan process.

Research-project and commissioned theses are normal in Forest Sciences

The programme explicitly states that a Forest Sciences Master’s thesis is typically completed within a research project of the degree programme or as a commission from a research institute or company.

This is particularly useful in forest science because many topics depend on access to real datasets, long-term experiments, field sites, remote-sensing material, business information or ongoing research infrastructure. The Department’s current research includes themes such as sustainable forest and peatland use, climate change, urbanisation, bioenergy and digital services based on forest-resource information.

Working inside a larger project does not remove the student’s individual academic responsibility. The assessed thesis must still make the student’s own research problem, work, analysis and conclusions identifiable and independently assessable.

What form can the thesis take?

Current Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry guidance allows more than one thesis form. A Master’s thesis will usually contain an empirical component and a critical analysis of that work using relevant literature, but it may also be based solely on literature or other scientific sources.

In Forest Sciences, empirical work might involve, depending on the specialisation and approved project:

• forest inventory or remote-sensing data;
• field observations or experiments;
• ecosystem or biogeochemical measurements;
• growth and production data;
• modelling or geospatial analysis;
• harvesting, logistics or wood-supply data;
• economic or business datasets;
• policy or institutional material; or
• another scientifically justified dataset.

A literature-based thesis can also be legitimate under the Faculty framework when the design and question justify it. The correct form should be agreed through the programme’s supervision process rather than chosen simply because one approach appears easier.

Workload and length: approximately 4-5 months and 30-60 pages

The current Faculty framework provides a useful scale for a 30 ECTS Master’s thesis:

• approximately one full-time semester;
• about 4-5 months of work;
• approximately 30-60 pages excluding appendices; and
• around 40-50 sources as a general benchmark.

These are planning figures, not mechanical minimums or maximums. The Faculty itself connects the thesis format to the research question and allows different research forms. A remote-sensing thesis with maps and technical appendices, an ecological field study, a forest-economics thesis and a literature-only thesis can legitimately allocate space differently.

The Faculty expects the work to be analytical and focused and, as a rule, to follow the style of a scientific article. The goal should be to answer the research question convincingly within the 30 ECTS scope, not to pad or cut the manuscript simply to hit a number.

A written supervision plan is required before starting

The Faculty requires every student to prepare a separate written supervision plan before starting the Master’s thesis.

The plan is signed by:

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

The responsible person approves the thesis topic and the supervisor(s), and ensures that the research equipment and facilities needed for the work are available. At least one supervisor must hold a doctoral degree or equivalent qualification.

The plan should cover, among other things:

• the objectives and conduct of the research;
• the supervisor(s) and the student’s working relationship with them;
• the roles and responsibilities in supervision;
• the detailed thesis timetable;
• the thesis and supervision language;
• the duration of the supervision relationship; and
• the handling of confidential data or results.

The plan must also contain a period of validity. If it expires before the thesis is submitted, it must be reapproved. It must also be updated if the topic or supervisor changes, or if circumstances change so substantially that the project can no longer proceed as originally agreed.

This turns the supervision plan into an operational research agreement rather than a formality.

Supervisor responsibilities and student responsibility

The student remains primarily responsible for progress. The supervisor provides scientific guidance, reads manuscript versions, gives feedback, advises on scientific writing and helps with design, methods, data collection or a possible experimental phase.

The supervisor is not responsible for carrying out analyses on the student’s behalf. This distinction matters when a thesis uses sophisticated modelling, geoinformatics, laboratory methods or external datasets. The student must understand and be able to defend the analysis that appears in the thesis.

Referencing: consistency is required, but no universal named Forest Sciences style is verified

The current Faculty guidance requires a consistent referencing technique and says that detailed referencing is further specified by individual programmes.

The current public Forest Sciences sources verified for this guide do not establish one universal named citation system such as APA, Harvard or Chicago for every specialisation. Do not import a citation style from another Helsinki programme.

The defensible approach is:

1. follow the current Forest Sciences thesis or seminar instructions if they specify a reference convention;
2. follow the supervisor-approved convention used in the relevant forest-science discipline when programme rules permit it; and
3. apply the chosen system consistently across in-text citations, figures/tables where relevant, and the reference list.

Research ethics and confidential material

The Faculty requires research ethics to be considered already during thesis planning. This is especially important if the project involves personal information, company material, restricted datasets, unpublished research-group data or other material that cannot simply be placed in a public thesis.

Master’s theses are public documents. Confidential information must not be included in the thesis itself. Where restricted background data exist, the supervision plan should address access and handling, while the assessed thesis must remain a public academic document.

Sisu and E-thesis submission

Under the current University process, students must use the current Sisu registration and new E-thesis workflow for final thesis assessment.

Before the final upload, check the current academic-year registrations for both the thesis and maturity test. Then submit the final thesis through E-thesis by the relevant Faculty deadline.

Once the final assessed thesis has been submitted, that version is no longer editable. This means the final PDF should be checked carefully for:

• correct title and author information;
• abstract and keywords;
• figures, maps and tables;
• references;
• appendices;
• confidential information;
• page rendering and accessibility; and
• the exact version agreed as final for assessment.

Two examiners and the Faculty assessment matrix

Under current Faculty rules, the responsible person appoints two examiners. Both must be doctoral graduates or have equivalent qualifications. At least one is recommended to come from the student’s own Faculty or degree programme, and the second examiner should be someone other than the supervisor.

Assessment is divided into 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. the 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 is graded on the University 0-5 scale, following the Faculty matrix and calculation rules. The Dean makes the final decision on approval and grade.

Submission therefore is not the same as graduation. Students should allow time for examiner assessment, communication of the grade proposal and the Dean’s decision.

The thesis abstract functions as the maturity test

In the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, the Master’s thesis abstract is the maturity test.

The maturity test:

• carries 0 ECTS;
• is assessed pass/fail;
• demonstrates familiarity with the thesis field; and
• may also carry a language-demonstration requirement depending on the student’s previous education and earlier maturity-test history.

The thesis abstract itself should be understandable without reading the entire thesis and should present the purpose, research method and data, main findings, conclusions and any relevant need for further research.

AI is never allowed in a maturity test. Because the abstract functions as the maturity test in this Faculty, students must apply the current no-AI maturity-test rule to the maturity-test version of the abstract.

AI use in thesis work

Current University policy may allow AI tools to support learning or writing where the teacher, programme and Faculty permit it and where the required reporting is followed. Prohibited use or failure to report AI use as instructed can be treated as academic misconduct.

The student remains responsible for the thesis. AI cannot transfer responsibility for source accuracy, research design, method choices, data interpretation, statistical or computational analysis, or the final academic argument.

Forest Sciences submission rounds for 2026-2027

The Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry uses the following 2026-2027 thesis timetable. Final submissions are due by 23:59 Finnish time on the stated deadline.

Theses are not assessed in July. Normal supervision and feedback are also not provided in July unless specifically required by the Faculty or programme. Work backward from the desired Dean decision rather than treating the upload date as the completion date.

Publication through Helda

Approved Master’s theses are handled through the University’s current E-thesis and Helda repository process. Thesis abstracts are always public. Students may make publication choices for the full thesis under the current University rules, but the assessed thesis remains a public document and confidential information must stay outside it.

A practical Forest Sciences thesis workflow

A defensible current workflow is:

1. Use advanced studies to narrow the field. Around the point when roughly half of the advanced studies are complete, begin discussing thesis directions with the thesis instructor, seminar teachers or PSP teacher.
2. Choose a feasible research problem. Tie it to the relevant track and specialisation rather than choosing a broad topic such as “climate change and forests” without a researchable question.
3. Find supervision and material. Decide whether the thesis will use a programme research project, research institute/company commission, existing dataset or another approved arrangement.
4. Write and sign the supervision plan before starting. Define objectives, data/material, methods, responsibilities, schedule, language and confidentiality issues.
5. Carry out the research within the 30 ECTS scope. Treat 4-5 months, 30-60 pages and 40-50 sources as planning benchmarks, not quotas.
6. Write alongside analysis. Keep the research question, methods, results and discussion aligned and document analytical decisions as the project develops.
7. Use one consistent reference convention. Follow current Forest Sciences/supervisor instructions rather than importing another programme’s style.
8. Prepare the maturity-test abstract carefully. It is part of the thesis and serves as the maturity test; AI is prohibited in the maturity test.
9. Register in Sisu and submit the final version through E-thesis. Verify the PDF before final submission because it cannot be edited afterward.
10. Allow for assessment and Dean approval. Plan graduation using the published Faculty timetable.

Final checklist

Before submitting, confirm that:

• you are following the current 2026-2030 Forest Sciences structure;
• the thesis topic fits your current track and specialisation;
• the research question is narrow enough for a 30 ECTS project;
• the supervision plan is signed, valid and still reflects the project;
• at least one supervisor meets the doctoral/equivalent qualification requirement;
• your individual contribution is identifiable if working in a larger project;
• your material, methods, analysis and conclusions are aligned;
• the manuscript is analytical and focused within the approximate Faculty scope;
• your reference system is consistent and follows current programme/supervisor guidance;
• confidential material is excluded from the public thesis;
• the thesis and maturity test are registered correctly in Sisu;
• the abstract satisfies the maturity-test requirement and contains no prohibited AI use;
• the E-thesis PDF is the exact final version; and
• your selected submission date is one of the current Faculty rounds.

University, Faculty, programme and supervisor instructions always take priority if a more specific or newer rule applies to your project.