Follow-up group

Doctoral study right begun before 1.8.2026:

• Department of History and Ethnology: there are two follow-up groups at the Department as follows:
  • follow-up group for the doctoral students of Finnish History, Economic History and General History: professor Laura Stark, professor Kustaa H. J. Vilkuna, professor Antero Holmila, university lecturer Timo Särkkä and senior researcher Jari Eilola. The contact person for the group is professor Kustaa H. J. Vilkuna.
  • follow-up group for the doctoral students of ethnology and anthropology (KUMU): professor Outi Fingerroos, professor Miikka Pyykkönen, professor Pertti Ahonen, university lecturer Karina Horsti and senior university lecturer Sirpa Tenhunen. The contact person for the group is senior university lecturer Sirpa Tenhunen.
• Department of Language and Communication Studies: the Department’s research steering board acts as the follow-up group for doctoral students. The members of the follow-up  group are professor Esa Lehtinen (chair), professor Tommi Jantunen, academy researcher Mélodine Sommier, professor Åsa Palviainen, assistant professor Karoliina Talvitie-Lamberg and professor Mikko Villi. You can take the initiative to arrange a meeting by contacting any member of the research steering board.
• Department of Music, Art and Culture Studies:
  • Department's research council is automatically appointed as the follow-up group for all the new doctoral students of the department when the doctoral study right is granted.
  • Later the composition of the doctoral student's follow-up group is updated to reflect the purpose of the follow-up group. The update means that, in connection with the first supervision meetings, the supervisors and the doctoral student consider a suitable person or persons who, in addition to the supervisors, will be asked to be members of the follow-up group and who will replace the research council as the follow-up group.
  • Department's research council continues to function as a body to which doctoral students, supervisors and members of the follow-up group can inform about possible major problems or conflicts related to doctoral research processes.
  • The contact person for the group is associate professor Tuuli Lähdesmäki.
• Centre for Applied Language Studies: The group consists of an external member(s). The external member is either the hear of CALS or the vice head of CALS (education).
• Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy: the follow-up group consists of an external member. You can take the initiative to arrange a meeting by contacting any member of the follow-up group.

Doctoral study right begun 1.8.2026 or after, and changes in the follow-up group:

Please familiarise yourself carefully with the general instructions of JYU described above and follow them.

Below you can find the IT Faculty guide for follow-up groups and supervison document. Especially those students who have started their studies in 2021 or after should follow these instructions, but others can use them as well.

Follow-up group

The follow-up group is appointed when the doctoral student is admitted the doctoral study right. The division leader of the research area is appointed in the follow-up group if they are not supervising the student (in which case, a deputy will be appointed). The members of the follow-up group may be updated as necessary on a case-by-case basis.

The members of the follow-up group must have a doctoral degree and sufficient experience. They cannot be supervisors of the student in question, or members of the research group in which the dissertation research is carried out. They can be Docents of the Faculty, or come from outside of the university.  

Follow-up group meetings

In the IT Faculty, the follow-up group meetings can be arranged for example during the annual IT Faculty Reasearch Day. Indicative timing of the meetings:

• 1st meeting
  
  • in the beginning of doctoral studies (1. year)
• 2nd meeting
  • usually after one year of studying (25%)
  • going through the updated research plan, the completed and planned coursework, possible adjustment needed in the plans, supervision situation
• 3rd meeting
  • after two years of studying (50%)
  • current situation of the research and coursework, an outline of the final version of the thesis (including the publications to be included in the thesis)
• 4th meeting
  • after three years of studying (75%)
  • scheduled plan for the last year of doctoral studies (incl. planned schedule for the examination process), discussion regarding career prospects after graduation

For the first meeting there is a question form (see Question form for the 1st meeting of the follow-up group, word document), which the student fills in before the meeting with the follow-up group and forwards to the group members at latest a week before the meeting. In the follow-up group meeting, at least the issues listed in the question form are discussed. The student updates the question form after the meeting and sends the updated version to the group members. 

For other meetings (2^nd-4^th meeting), the question form of the first meeting can be used as appropriate. See also other possible questions for follow-up group meetings. It is recommended that the doctoral student submits a report on the progress of the work to the follow-up group 1-2 weeks before each meeting. See examples of things to record in the report. 

Schedule of the next follow-up group meeting is decided at the end of every meeting. 

In accordance with the operating principles of the University of Jyväskylä Graduate School, a follow-up group must be formed for each active doctoral student at JSBE. At JSBE, the follow-up groups operate under the guidance and supervision of the JSBE's doctoral programme.

Note to doctoral students and supervisors:Failure to comply with these instructions may be a reason to deactivate the doctoral study right at JSBE.

Structure and formation of the follow-up group

The follow-up group must include at least one docent-level member, who is external to the research group in which the dissertation is done.

The supervisor-in-charge is responsible for making sure that for each of doctoral student under their supervision, there is a follow-up group in place. The supervisor-in-charge is also responsible for selecting the follow-up group member(s) external to the research group, who may also be external to the University.

The structure (i.e., names of the members) of the follow-up group has to be documented in the online supervision document. After the student's doctoral study right has begun, they must fill in a postgraduate questionnaire in the supervision document. Using this online form, the doctoral student must document the member(s) of the follow-up group in the supervision document.

Purpose and duties of a follow-up group

The duties of the follow-up group are described in the general instructions above, provided by the University of Jyväskylä Graduate School.

In addition to the duties outlined by the University of Jyväskylä Graduate School, the follow-up groups at JSBE are requested to verify, in collaboration with the student, that all the information in the online supervision document is up-to-date and provided as requested and that the student has complied with the registration and other administrative requirements of the university and faculty.

The follow-up group at JSBE should take immediate action

• if for some reason, the agreement on supervision between the doctoral student and the main supervisor terminates; the remaining follow-up members have to actively provide help and guidance in finding a new main supervisor for the doctoral student.
• if there are serious problems with the progress or funding of the doctoral studies of the student: if such problems are identified, the follow-up group should actively try to solve them and to report them to the faculty's coordinator doctoral education.

Organisation of the follow-up group meetings

The follow-up group meets the doctoral student at least once a year in an annual meeting. Part-time doctoral students may have a longer interval between meetings.

At JSBE, each follow-up group can decide when the annual meeting is organized; this may depend, e.g., on the needs of the student, progress of the studies and availability of funding to them. However, each academic year, the annual meeting should be held by the end of June at the latest.

The doctoral student is responsible for the practical organization of the meeting(s): after consulting the supervisor-in-charge, the doctoral student calls the follow-up group for a meeting. They have to make sure that all the members of the follow-up group and the supervisors are able to contribute to the meeting; if necessary, video calls or other technical solutions may be used to facilitate the follow-up group meeting(s).

The doctoral student is expected to provide an agenda for the follow-up group meeting and prepare for it in advance. In the follow-up group meetings, the doctoral student has an opportunity not only to present the progress of the dissertation work but also to discuss their concerns related to doctoral studies.

For more information, see the general instructions of the University of Jyväskylä Graduate School above.

Documentation of the follow-up group meetings at JSBE

After each follow-up group meeting, the doctoral student should prepare a short summary document of the issues discussed in the follow-up group meeting so that it is possible to return to them later (e.g., in next meeting). This short summary document should be sent to the follow-up group and supervisors by email within two weeks after the meeting. The short summary document should include, at least the following information: name of the student, date of the meeting, members of the follow-up group and supervisors who contributed to / participated in the meeting as well as brief description of the agenda and issues that were discussed.

Doctoral study right begun before 1.8.2026:

At the Faculty of Education and Psychology, the following more detailed instructions have been agreed on: 

• the student and the follow-up group meet annually if the student is a full-time student for the whole doctoral studies period (e.g. a position of a doctoral student in a department, funding from the department’s budget, project funding from outside of the University) or if the student has funding for at least one year (e.g. from a department or a grant from a foundation).
• all follow-up groups meet during the first year of the student’s studies.
• the doctoral students who are not working as full-time students will meet the follow-up group less frequently and when needed, but the minimum is twice during the studies.
• the student can also initiate a follow-up group meeting.

Doctoral programme in Education: the form to be used in follow-up group meetings can be found in Intranet UNO.

Doctoral programme in Psychology: the form to be used in follow-up group meetings can be found in Intranet UNO.

Doctoral programme in Cognitive Neuroscience: the form to be used in follow-up groups can be found in Intranet Uno.

Doctoral study right begun 1.8.2026 or after, and changes in the follow-up group:

Please familiarise yourself carefully with the general instructions of JYU described above and follow them.

Progress and follow-up of postgraduate studies

The supervisor-in-charge is responsible for following the progress of the studies and reports the progress to the steering group for doctoral education.

In an article-based dissertation, the goal is to publish annually one article which is sent to either an international or Finnish scientific journal.

In a monograph-based dissertation, the work should progress as presented in the postgraduate study plan.

A follow-up group is formed for each student and it comprises of at least one docent-level member, who is not part of the research group in which the student completes the dissertation. The follow-up group meets every year, and a report from the meeting is sent to the faculty's coordinator of doctoral education via HelpJYU form Contact doctoral education services.

If the studies do not progress according to the schedule of the postgraduate study plan, the student will be moved to the follow-up register. To become an active student again, the student needs to present a report on continuing the studies for the steering group for doctoral education.

If a student who has an accepted plan for a doctoral degree would like to complete a licentiate degree, this must be agreed with the specialisation representative and the steering group for doctoral education.

FACULTY INSTRUCTIONS FOR FOLLOW-UP GROUPS

Policy on the follow-up groups of doctoral theses in the Faculy of Mathematics and Science (since March 14, 2023):

As a general rule, the members of the follow-up group should have a doctoral degree. When planning the composition of the group, it is recommended that the diversity of the group and a sufficient range of expertise is considered.

It is the task of the follow-up group to ensure the quality of the supervision and that the supervision document is up to date.

The regularity of the follow-up group meetings is monitored by the doctoral programme. The doctoral student must report the follow-up group meetings and any proposed measures to the Head of the doctoral programme in accordance with the guidelines given by the doctoral programme. It is the responsibility of the doctoral student to record each follow-up group meeting in the supervision document at the next update.
 

FOLLOW-UP GROUPS AT THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

For instructions on the follow-up groups at the Department of Biological and Environmental Science, please see the UNO intranet (login required).
 

FOLLOW-UP GROUPS AT THE DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS

The following guidelines apply to the follow-up groups at the Physics Department.

• Selecting the members of the follow-up group: The group is formed when the PhD studies start. To form the group the principal supervisor of the student suggests suitable senior researchers and discusses the choices with the student. Also the study advisor of the PhD students of the Department may be consulted at this point. In addition to the supervisors of the work, the follow-up group must include at least one person who has a doctoral degree and is from outside the research group in which the work is done. The principal supervisor gives the composition of the follow-up group to the study advisor of the PhD students and the Head of the Doctoral Programme. The Head of the Doctoral Programme informs the coordinator of Faculty Doctoral School, who prepares a decision on the matter. The decision is made by the Vice Dean of the Faculty.
• Arranging the meetings of the follow-up group: The group will meet the student immediately as the PhD studies begin and after that once a year, more often if needed. The group meetings are arranged by the student. In the meeting arranged when the third year is starting, the study advisor of doctoral students is invited.
• Instructions for the meetings of the follow-up group: In a meeting, in addition to progress of research and studies, the working habits, the functioning of collaboration, funding, plans for future after completing the PhD and anything affecting daily making of science should be discussed. The PhD student will report the main points of the discussion by using the online form (intranet, login required). In a meeting, at least the points found in the form should be discussed. If the research is conducted outside the Department and the student does not often meet the supervisors, the group should prepare well in advance for the meeting and the discussions should be documented in greater detail.
   

FOLLOW-UP GROUPS AT THE DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

The doctoral student will send a follow-up report using the online form (UNO intranet, login required) after every follow-up group meeting. It is recommended to meet the follow-up group once a year.
 

FOLLOW-UP GROUPS AT THE DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS AND STATISTICS

The doctoral student will report the meeting of the follow-up group and any proposed actions by e-mail to the head of the doctoral programme after each meeting of the follow-up group.