Academic rules and protocols

What comes to the academic part, you'll get detailed instructions from Research Institute.

Dressing up or down?

Traditionally, Finns dress up for examination. UIAH gives you very detailed instructions, but we are far less formal than people in the provinces, or at, say, Helsinki University of Technology or Helsinki School of Business. Our line is close to the Social Science Faculty at the University of Helsinki. The main rule is to dress black (or dark blue), and men should wear a tie.

My suggestion is this. It is fun to dress up occasionally, you will be photographed a lot, and so please, dress up. If you want to do revolution, this is a boring place; be revolutionary it in politics, where you can actually cange things, not in age-old academic rituals. They're too easy prey for being conservative radical.

		Two fairly recent examples Left: Esko Kurvinen never wears suits and tie, but on this occasion, he did - and apparently even without pressure from his wife. Right: Anna Valtonen, who always dresses smart, shows style for the lunch. Left is her examiner Jonathan Woodham.

Keep in mind, though, that UIAH is an aesthetic university; we're supposed to display good taste, preferably in a quiet, discreet manner, but with something quirky, as long as it is well-thought out. However, don't overdo things: the idea is that the audience focuses on your thesis and the examination, not your dress. you want to be remembered for what you found and said, not for being a dandy.

UIAH does not have gowns.