Aalto University
School of Arts, Design and Architecture
Department of Art http://arts.aalto.fi/en/ http://aaltoarted.wordpress.com/
01.01.2015 http://taide.aalto.fi/en/
(Tuija, 2013. Ink on paper. Mika Karhu)

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http://taide.aalto.fi/en/
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Once you have been officially accepted, you will be notified through the Letter of Admission signed by the Dean.
 Please check the letter carefully for instructions and the exact date when your studies begin
(when you are granted the right to study).
 Follow the instructions in the letter to confirm as soon as possible your study place and your status as an active student.
 In order to choose your coursework and register for the appropriate courses, you will need to meet with your supervising professor and have an orientation at the Department of Art.
You should contact your supervising professor as assigned in your acceptance letter and set-up an appointment (see contact info in this handbook). After you have set the appointment make contact to kirsti.niemensivu@aalto.fi, (project secretary in research) for an orientation and to help you find and access the work space, obtain a working permit, etc.
 In addition, you will need to contact servicedesk@aalto.fi
, in order to get your Aalto login and passwords.
This is important, as urgent information is conveyed only through Aalto email.
IT Service Desk is located in the building of the School of Arts, Design and Architecture, room 561 (5.fl) .
 Please check for additional requirements and processes at http://into.aalto.fi
: Getting started
 Registration for the Academic Year
All students need to enroll for every academic year during the annual enrollment period.
You can find instructions for enrolling to the University under Enrollment for the academic year
(please note: new students follow the enrollment instructions sent to them with the letter of admission).
- Using your Aalto ID, enrol in WebOodi (oodi.aalto.fi) as an attending or non-attending student.
- If your Aalto ID does not work, please renew it at https://password.aalto.fi
, or contact the IT Service Desk.
- If you are still unable to enrol, be in contact with your school's student service desk by email.
- Student services (such as registration for courses, registration of results from exams, transcripts and diplomas etc.) are offered only to the attending students of Aalto University. http://taide.aalto.fi/en/

The total number of credits needed for doctoral studies is 60. A doctoral dissertation is required.
To be awarded a Doctorate the candidate must
 Complete all required postgraduate studies.
 Demonstrate independent and critical thinking in the field of research.
 Write a doctoral dissertation and defend it in public.
A full-time student is expected to finish the program in four(4) years. Full time study includes at least 80 % of time dedicated to doctoral studies. A student must make contact to Aalto ARTS Learning Services, if they wish to proceed as part-time (less than 80%), and plan to take longer then four years, with a maximum of eight (8) years.
Below is an outline of the general structure of the programme and a detailed description of each category.
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General research studies
Studies in the field of research
Studies supporting the research work of the student
ECTS (credits)
14-18
14-16
26-32
In all:
Supplementary studies (optional)
60
10-20
Doctoral Dissertation
General research studies
Courses organized by the School of Arts, Design and Architecture. The learning objectives of these studies are:
a. knowledge of the general theory of science and the arts
b. general knowledge of research methods
c. transferable skills, such as academic writing skills, communication skills, information
literacy
The students may replace the courses with literature (exams or writing essays based on the literature) or courses taken in other Aalto Schools or in other universities. http://taide.aalto.fi/en/

Studies in the field of research
These studies are organized by departments. The learning objectives are:
a. knowledge of the theory, history and methods of the doctoral candidate’s own research field
b. good argumentation skills, competence to present one’s own research for example in
conferences, and to address ethical questions relating to research
Completion: a.
optional courses or seminars. Writing essays or reviews on books listed by the department (ca. 250-300 pages of research literature equals two ECTS credits). The supervising professor will determine the amount of credits according to how extensive and demanding the literature is. b.
research seminars or winter/summer schools organized by the department or the doctoral schools.
Studies supporting the research work of the student
The aim of these studies is to prepare the student for conducting her/his own research. These studies can be taken at the School of Arts, Design and Architecture, in other schools of Aalto University, in other universities or seminars, conferences, workshops etc. In the latter case the student has to arrange the curriculum with the supervising professor before attending the course or the conference. Researcher mobility and studies abroad are highly recommended.
These studies may consist of
a. Literature, either according to the department’s literature list or as agreed with the professor,
b. Courses, seminars, conferences, workshops, publications and articles (participation in a conference is not enough), the student must also write a review or a report or lecture diary of it to the professor)
- Articles in journals, other publications or conference papers
- Teaching at a university, preparing a lecture or a series of lectures on the history, theory
or the methods of the student’s own research field
- Art or design productions (when the target degree is Doctor of Arts).
Supplementary studies
These studies are often required of those students who have
a. taken an old graduate degree at the University of Art and Design Helsinki.
The studies required are often language studies or other supporting studies.
b. taken a Master’s degree in fields other than arts, design or architecture. The
general study requirement may be fulfilled with courses that are directly related to the
research interest, general art, design or architecture theory, history or language courses.
The length and necessity of the supportive studies are to be determined together with the supervising professor at the beginning of the studies. http://taide.aalto.fi/en/
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 After meeting with you supervising professor and searching through courses, you will need to
make a written supervision agreement on the study plan, respective responsibilities, rights and obligations during the doctoral education process (see attached study plan). AAK_Supervision_plan
Each doctoral candidate must also make a personal study plan containing at least the theoretical studies and a plan for the implementation of the doctoral thesis, including schedules.
This plan is made at the beginning of the studies by the candidate and the supervising professor. The plan should be updated yearly.
 The current list of Doctoral studies courses can be found at IntoStudies https://into.aalto.fi/display/endoctoraltaik/Homepage
This is how you can enroll to the courses in WebOodi (oodi.aalto.fi):
 log in as Student
 see Course descriptions
 choose Doctoral Studies 201x-201x:
Courses in Study Programme
General Research Studies
Studies in the Research Field
Advanced Studies
Courses
 you can also search teaching and exams by name or code of the course
 Internal mobility and JOO studies for doctoral students.
The Flexible Study Rights Agreement (JOO) is a national agreement between universities which provides graduate and postgraduate students of Finnish universities the opportunity to include courses from other universities into their degrees.
You can find the information on internal mobility and JOO studies INTO – pages.

Internal mobility for doctoral students

Aalto courses for doctoral students

JOO studies for Aalto doctoral students in other Universities

JOO studies for doctoral students from other Universities
 The departmental bulletin board is to be found in the address https://aaltoarted.wordpress.com/
The curriculum, changes in program, applicable grants, congresses, call for papers and other timely information is given there.
Please, do remember to visit AaltoArted (https://aaltoarted.wordpress.com/) blog weekly !
For more information:
Into for doctoral candidates https://blogs.aalto.fi/researchinstitute/
Hollo-Institute
Arts-based environmental education
Environmental Art https://into.aalto.fi https://blogs.aalto.fi/researchinstitute/ http://www.hollo-instituutti.fi http://www.naturearteducation.org/ http://taide.aalto.fi/en/

Aalto University awards incentive scholarships for doctoral candidates according to the following principles. The scholarships are awarded to students who have fulfilled the requirements as of 1 January 2014. The scholarships are not awarded backdated.
500 euro scholarship is paid to doctoral student for the first refereed (i.e. peer-reviewed) article included in the doctoral dissertation published in an international publication forum or the first art production or product development project. The student must be one of the main authors in the publication or one of the main artists in the art production or product development project. Publication channels are defined according to the individual Schools. In the School of
Arts, Design and Architecture the article must have been published in an official journal defined by the Finnish
Publication Forum (see http://www.tsv.fi/julkaisufoorumi/english.html and
http://www.tsv.fi/julkaisufoorumi/haku.php?lang=en ).
500 euro scholarship is paid to doctoral student, who has, within two years of the date of admission to pursue doctoral studies, completed the theoretical studies (60 credits). The doctoral studies must have been completed according to the official degree structure and accepted by the Supervising Professor.
2,000 euro scholarship for completing the doctoral degree, provided that it has been no more than eight full semesters from the date the study right was started to the date when the pre-examiners were appointed (the date of the Doctoral Programme
Committee meeting). The doctoral studies must have been completed according to the official degree structure
and accepted by the Supervising Professor.
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If the doctoral dissertation contains a pre-examined art production or product development project, it has been no more than nine full semesters from the date the study right was started to the date when the pre-examiners
were appointed for the whole dissertation (the date of the Doctoral Programme Committee meeting). The doctoral studies must have been completed according to the official degree structure and accepted by the
Supervising Professor.
OR for completing the doctoral degree, provided the degree was earned by the end of the calendar year the doctoral candidate turns 30 years. The time spent on maternity and parental leave as well as national military or nonmilitary service completed (documents required) may be excluded from the calculated duration of study.
However, if the scholarship is age related no deduction is granted.
Scholarships are granted to those doctoral candidates who have met the scholarship criteria during 1 January 2014
– 31 December 2017. The School of Arts, Design and Architecture shall award scholarships based on the application made by the doctoral candidate.
The application has to be submitted within six months from when the scholarship criteria were met.
The scholarship based on the first refereed article (peer-reviewed) OR the first art production or product development project can be paid only once during the doctoral studies (see guidelines above).
More information: https://into.aalto.fi/display/endoctoraltaik/Forms
INCENTIVE SCHOLARSHIPS (PDF)
INCENTIVE SCHOLARSHIPS (DOCX) http://taide.aalto.fi/en/

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Applications for the Scholarship
All attending degree students and staff of the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture are eligible to apply for the ARTS scholarship. The application may refer to one study, research or work plan. Scholarships can be applied e.g. for conference expenses: registration fee, flights, accommodation, study projects, publication work or exhibition expenses. The up-to-date transcript of records should be attached to the application form.
Scholarships are awarded based upon the following criteria:
Internationally significant project / action
Nationally significant project / action
Please note that scholarships are not granted for: salary costs, rewards, daily allowances, living expenses or MA thesis expenses.
Annual application deadlines are 31.3., 9.9. ja 13.12. at 3 p.m. In case the deadline is on Saturday or Sunday the applications should be submitted by the next weekday at 3 p.m. Late applications will not be processed. An application is deemed late when it arrives after the deadline. Please check that you have attached all the necessary appendixes to your application.
The recipients will be informed by email of the awarded scholarship within a month from the deadline. The decision will also be announced at the end of this page "Admitted scholarships" and on information board of research corridor (next to to room 344).
Please go to section Forms https://into.aalto.fi/display/endoctoraltaik/Forms - in order to download the scholarship application form and instructions.
Reporting
The scholarship has to be used for the purpose it was awarded to. The report should be delivered to the the address below no later than three months after the use of the scholarship. The report should include the report form (downloadable from section Forms), original receipts, and a detailed financial clarification of the used scholarship.
If the scholarship has not been used within a year, please inform the School, see address below. Before a new scholarship can be applied, the use of awarded one has to be reported.
Please go to section Forms to download the scholarship report form.
Please deliver the application, report and/or information about unused scholarships to the Secretary Mirja Saari
(room 353) or by mail to
Aalto University
School of Arts, Design and Architecture
Mirja Saari
Post Box 31000
00076 AALTO http://taide.aalto.fi/en/

In a doctoral dissertation, the student demonstrates that he/she is well-versed in his/her own field of research and its social significance and has gained knowledge and skills needed to apply scientific research methods independently and critically and to produce new scientific knowledge within his/her field of research https://into.aalto.fi/display/endoctoraltaik/Dissertation+and+Graduation
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DOCTORAL DISSERTATION
An approved doctoral dissertation may be a single study (a monograph), which has not been displayed in a published form in full before. A monograph forms a coherent entity and is the result of a researcher’s independent work.
As a doctoral dissertation may also be approved a number of scientific publications or manuscripts vetted for publication deemed sufficient by the School which deal with the same set of problems and a paper summarising the findings.
In the field of art and design, a dissertation can also include an art production, a series of art productions meaningfully connected to each other, or a product development project. A written thesis forming a part of the dissertation has to be in a dialogic and analytic relation to the art productions or product development project, and the doctoral candidate has to present in it the targets, methods and findings of the production, series of productions or product development project. Dissertation can include artistic parts. The art productions may only be new works. The written thesis must be suitable for publication.
SUPERVISION OF THE DISSERTATION
1.
The supervising professor
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The supervising professor is in charge of the supervision arrangements for the doctoral candidate.
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The supervising professor is appointed by the Doctoral Programme Committee upon granting the study right or later on by the Head of the Doctoral Programme.
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The supervising professor goes through the personal study plan of the doctoral candidate, and follows up on the progress of the studies and that of the research work on a regular basis.
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The supervising professor may either assign some of the duties to the thesis advisor or act also as the thesis advisor him/herself. When the manuscript of the doctoral dissertation is complete, it may only be submitted for preliminary examination after the supervising professor has issued a statement confirming that the manuscript is ready for preliminary examination.
2.
The thesis advisor
On the proposal of the Department, the Doctoral Programme Committee appoints one or two thesis advisors for the doctoral candidate. At least one of them must have a doctor’s degree. In case the dissertation includes artistic productions or product development projects, at least one of the thesis advisors must have adequate artistic qualifications and superior knowledge of the field in question.
It is recommended that the supervising professor, thesis advisor(s) and the doctoral candidate make a
written supervision plan where they agree on the responsibilities, rights and obligations of each party involved in the doctoral training process.
The thesis advisor(s) shall give a written statement to the Doctoral Programme Committee confirming that the dissertation is ready to be submitted for pre-examination.
For further information on duties of the supervising professor, advisor(s) and doctoral candidate see: https://into.aalto.fi/display/endoctoraltaik/Supervision+of+Dissertation
Duties of the supervising professor, advisor(s) and doctoral candidate http://taide.aalto.fi/en/

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Remuneration of the thesis advisor
The Advisor's fee is based on the Aalto University’s fee regulations, if the work is not done under the annualized hours contract. The fee is paid by the student’s department, and the thesis advisor and the supervising professor in the department should fix the hours of work after hearing the student.
DISSERTATION PROCEEDINGS / Public Defence and the Opponent
The doctoral candidate schedules the public defence together with the opponent and the custos.
The doctoral candidate takes care of the entire arrangements concerning the public defence together with the Department. The booking of the hall for the public examination should be made as early as possible.
The public defence takes place at the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture.
The language to be used in the public defence is Finnish, Swedish or English or, with the consent of the
Doctoral Programme Committee, some other language.
The public defence shall be announced on the official notice board of the Aalto University School of Arts,
Design and Architecture ten (10) days prior to the public examination of the dissertation. At the same time, the dissertation or the written thesis must be displayed in public, and where the art production, series of art productions or the product development project or their recordings can be seen must be announced.
The Secretary of the Committee takes care of the public notice.
Thirty (30) free copies of the dissertation published as a book are to be submitted to the School of Arts,
Design and Architecture. The copies shall be delivered to the Secretary of the Committee at least ten (10) days prior to the public examination.
Opponent and Custos
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On the proposal of the Department, the Doctoral Programme Committee appoints one or two opponents who, if possible, have the title of docent (dosentti) or equivalent merits.
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The opponent(s) should be among the best experts within the field in Finland or abroad.
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The supervisor of the dissertation cannot be appointed as opponent. An external pre-examiner may serve as an opponent, if it is well founded.
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The doctoral candidate has a right, at his/her discretion, to make a complaint about the selection of the opponent before the decision is made. The Doctoral Programme Committee appoints the supervising professor as the custos of the public defence. Some other representative of the School with a doctor's degree in the same research field may also serve as the custos.
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The custos is responsible for guiding the opponent in matters concerning the procedures followed at the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture in the examination of the dissertation and the public defence.
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It is the role of the custos to discuss the grade with the opponent(s) and familiarise them with the grading scale used at the school and the principles of grading to be observed.
APPROVAL AND GRADING
The opponent or the opponents must submit a written statement within two weeks of the public defence to the Doctoral Programme Committee. The statement must indicate whether the approval or rejection of the dissertation is recommended, and in case of approval, propose a grade.
The Doctoral Programme Committee decides on the approval or rejection of the dissertation and its grade.
http://taide.aalto.fi/en/

High ethical standards are the foundation of and a precondition for high-quality scientific research.
Good scientific practices are informed by ethical standards, also taking into account a multidisciplinary perspective.
Adherence with good scientific practice is the responsibility of the entire scientific community.
Primarily, each individual scientist and research group member should be committed to observing good scientific practice, but research groups, directors of research units and research organisation management should also comply with such practice.
Aalto University is committed to following the guidelines issued by the National Advisory Body on Research
Ethics in Finland on good scientific practice and handling violations against it. The university will ensure that the students are introduced to good scientific practice and instructed in research ethics, and include special issues of good scientific practice in doctoral programmes in its fields of education.
Research Ethics Committee
Based on the guidelines on good scientific practice and ethical principles in fields of human sciences observed by the university, tasks of the Research Ethics Committee include:
 ex-ante evaluation of the ethical nature of research projects where the subjects are humans and issuing opinions on them, excluding research projects referred to in the Medical Research Act (laki lääketieteellisestä tutkimuksesta, 488/1999),
 if necessary, also ex-ante evaluations of the ethical nature of other research projects, unless proceeding to such an evaluation is, under legislation or otherwise, within the remit of another party,
 serving as an expert organ in any problems related to research ethics arising at the university, however not in an ex-post investigation of violations against good scientific practice and fraud in science following the guidelines of the National Advisory Body on Research Ethics in Finland,
 providing advice in issues related to research ethics and promoting education in research ethics at the university,
 maintaining debate on research ethics at the university,
 monitoring the development of national research ethics guidelines and taking part in their development, for example by issuing opinions.
The chairperson of the committee will be Professor Erkki Oja and its secretary will be Jari Söderström,
Head of Legal Affairs.
Issues involving fraud will be handled together with the deans of the various schools and, if necessary, the president of the university. http://taide.aalto.fi/en/
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The current campuses of Aalto University are located in three areas; in Helsinki (Arabia- and Töölö-campus) and in Espoo (Otaniemi-campus). Aalto University’s biggest campus, in Otaniemi, is home to four Schools of
Technology and Departments of the School of Arts, Design and Architecture. The School of Business is based in Töölö in central Helsinki.
Aalto University’s shared campus will be established in Otaniemi in or around 2017.
The School of Arts, Design and Architecture is located both in Arabia and in Otaniemi.
Contact information
Postal address:
Aalto University
School of Arts, Design and Architecture
PO Box 31000
FI-00076 AALTO
FINLAND
Visiting address in Arabia Campus:
Hämeentie 135 C, Helsinki
Visiting address in Otaniemi Campus: arabia_and_helsinki_region_map_2014
Lämpömiehenkuja 3, Espoo, Aalto Art House (R023) Otaniemi_map 2014
The departmental area for doctoral students in Art is the research square (Arabia Campus, room 5073, 5.fl), which has 14 desks mainly for students who have full-time financing for their studies.
The permanent working table should be used for studies at least 3-4 days in a week.
Kirsti Niemensivu ( kirsti.niemensivu@aalto.fi) is the person who administers the desks. http://taide.aalto.fi/en/research/
The Aralis Library has individual rooms for doctoral students. These can be applied twice a year.
Information and application form: https://into.aalto.fi/display/endoctoraltaik/Research+Rooms
Arabia Campus Library http://lib.aalto.fi/en/contact/
Working permits (the right to use the premises) and magnetic key
All doctoral students in the department of art may apply a full-time magnetic key for the premises of department of art (5 th floor) including research square (5073):
- Forms for the keys/passes will be given by Studio supervisor, Arabia Campus , room 5019, 5 th floor.
- To obtain a magnetic key, go to the janitors´ in the main entrance lobby, present the form (signed by studio supervisor) and ask the facilities personnel to programme the key accordingly. http://taide.aalto.fi/en/

The Department of Art http://taide.aalto.fi/en/contact/
Supervising professors:
Varto Juha Professor (Head of Research),Research in Visual Arts and Education,juha.varto@aalto.fi
Laakso Harri Professor, Visual Culture, harri.laakso@aalto.fi
Lindman Pia Professor of Practice, Environmental Art, pia.lindman@aalto.fi
Nisunen Petteri Professor of Practice, Contemporary Art, petteri.nisunen@aalto.fi
Sederholm Helena Professor, Art Education, helena.sederholm@aalto.fi
Sternfeld Nora Professor of Practice, Curating and Mediating Art, nora.sternfeld@aalto.fi
Suominen Anniina Professor, Art Pedagogy, anniina.suominen@aalto.fi
Tavin Kevin Professor, International Art Education, kevin.tavin@aalto.fi
Project secretary in research:
Kirsti Niemensivu, Project secretary (research) kirsti.niemensivu@aalto.fi
Learning Services studies-arts@aalto.fi
 doctoral programme support, team leader Taru Henriksson ( taru.henriksson@aalto.fi
)
 general guidance to doctoral candidates
 graduating for DA (coordinating the work of Doctoral Committee, collecting dissertations for evaluation)
 enrolment
 student status certificates
 official transcripts of records
 questions concerning study right
 studies in other Aalto Schools and other Universities (JOO-studies)
Learning services desks and opening hours ( ARTS Student Services Office in Arabia ):
 tel. +358 50 343 1942 (Tue-Wed 9-11)
 visiting address: Hämeentie 135 A , 3rd floor, Helsinki
 postal address: PO Box 31000, FI-00076 AALTO, FINLAND
Research database
Further information about the researchers, publications and artistic activities at the School of Arts, Design and Architecture can be found in the research database ReseDa reseda.taik.fi
.
Research database should be updated by Aalto personell and doctoral candidates twice a year.
Aalto University will start to use the new Aalto Current Research Information System (ACRIS) during
2015-2016. The new system will eventually replace the current research registers, and information will be transferred there from the old ones.
See also
Aalto People
Into - Website for Aalto University Students https://people.aalto.fi
https://into.aalto.fi
WebOodi for course registrations https://oodi.aalto.fi
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PERSONAL STUDY PLAN (HOPS)
SCHEDULE UPDATE FOR DOCTORAL STUDENT
1. Personal information
First- and Surname
Student number Start date of DA studies
School
Phone
Field of study
Email
2. Study plan of uncompleted part of the studies
Credits completed according to study record_______
General research studies 14-18 ECTS
Course title, ECTS credits, place (if other than Aalto University)
Spring
201_
Studies in the research interest minimum 14-16 ECTS
Course title, ECTS credits, place (if other than Aalto University) and academic semester
201_
201_
201_
201_
201_
201_
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Studies tied directly to own research work minimum 26-32 ECTS
Course title, ECTS credits, place (if other than Aalto University) and academic semester
Supplementary studies minimum 10-20 ECTS (if required)
Course title, ECTS credits, place (if other than Aalto) and academic semester
3. Doctoral dissertation
Title
Form of dissertation
Monograph Article Dissertation includes art or design productions
Supervising professor
Thesis advisor(s)
Do you have a supervision plan? https://into.aalto.fi/display/endoctoraltaik/Supervision+of+Dissertation
Need for further supervision?
Estimation of the stage of your dissertation
E.g. Material collection, writing process, finalising the manuscript
Stage and estimated academic year http://taide.aalto.fi/en/
201_
201_
201_
201_
201_
201_
201_
201_
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Estimated schedule for art or design production(s) included to the dissertation
Only in case your dissertation includes productions
Estimated time of graduation (mm/yyyy)
Reasons for possible delay of studies
4. Internationalisation
Plan for conference, seminar, workshop participation during 201_ - 201_
Plan for long-term researcher mobility abroad during 201_ - 201_ (purpose, time, country and target university, research group or enterprise)
5. Financial plan
Financial plan of fulltime / part-time study opportunities during 201_ - 201_
The updated study plan is valid for three years. Information about the degree requirements are at Aalto ARTS website https://into.aalto.fi/display/endoctoraltaik/Degree+Structure+of+Doctoral+Studies
Date and signature
Signature Date and place
______ . ______ . 20 http://taide.aalto.fi/en/
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