LUT Dissertation Committee makes the decision to start the dissertation process and appoint preliminary examiners.

Meeting preparations are done at LUT Doctoral School (office 2318, Lappeenranta campus). Student and supervisor submit the required documents according to the timetable and instructions below.

Documents required for the Dissertation Committee

The student submits by email to LUT Doctoral School (LUT.dissertation.process@lut.fi):

• dissertation manuscript in electronic format (one single PDF-document).
  • Make sure to use the dissertation template updated in June 2025 from the Academic Library ligbuides.
  • Before converting the document into PDF, ensure that you have made the document accessible according to the LUT Academic Library instructions.
  • In an article-based dissertation all publications must be included.  It is easiest to combine your own intro to the publications in PDF format in Adobe DC or PDF Xchange editor.
• application for starting the dissertation process (see Files below, save the file to your own computer before you fill it in). Note! If you have any submitted articles included in your dissertation, you need to add the name of the publication channel (journal, conference, book) to the application form, but do not mention it in the dissertation manuscript list of publications nor on the publication cover page.
• if applicable, a clarification of co-authored articles included in your dissertation which have already been published or will be published in another doctoral or licentiate thesis/dissertation. The clarification should include the following information:
  • your name and the title of your dissertation
  • which articles are in question and what has been your own contribution to these articles
  • whose thesis and when have the articles been published or will be published in, and what is the contribution of such authors
  • approval from such authors to include the article in your dissertation
  • Note that both your own contribution as well as the contribution of the other co-author utilizing the same article in his/her thesis/dissertation must be described in the dissertation manuscript after the List of publications.  Mention also that the article is published in two dissertations.

The supervisor submits to LUT Doctoral School

• the proposal for two preliminary examiners including attachments (instructions, see LUT intra)

Preliminary examination

In case the Dissertation Committee decides to start the dissertation process, LUT Doctoral School delivers the following documents to the preliminary examiners, student and supervisors after the meeting:

• the announcement of the decision
• the electronic version of the dissertation manuscript
• general instructions concerning the preliminary examination and the dissertation process
• preliminary examination statement form
• forms regarding the reward for the examination work

The preliminary examiners submit the statements to LUT Doctoral School within one month from the receipt of the manuscript or as agreed with the supervisor. Based on the statements from the preliminary examiners, the Academic Council will decide on granting the permission to print the dissertation.

In case the Dissertation Committee considers that the dissertation process cannot be started, LUT Doctoral School informs the student/supervisors and sends them the statement of the grounds for this decision. In this case the student may choose to withdraw his/her application to start the dissertation process, which means that the process is not started. Another option is that the student asks the matter to be taken to the Academic Council to be decided. In the latter case the student/supervisors may submit a response letter to the Dissertation Committee statement.

Publishers' permissions for the articles

Make sure that you have publishers' permissions to include the articles in your dissertation. The permissions are needed when you make the publishing agreement with LUT Academic Library concerning publishing your dissertation in the ACTA Universitatis Lappeenrantaensis series. More information about permissions for articles and other copyrighted elements (such as figures, tables, charts) can be found from the LUT Academic Library.