Resea ch Pape
Recommended ci a ion: Nu minen, M., Saa i, M., & Ran anen, P. (2025). S uden s’
Expe iences o Uni e si y Suppo Du ing he Thesis Phase: Challenges, Needs,
and Oppo uni ies o Imp o emen . In Kangaslampi, R., Langie, G., Jä inen,
H.-M., & Nagy, B. (Eds.), SEFI 53 d Annual Con e ence. Eu opean Socie y o
Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI), Tampe e, Finland. DOI:
10.5281/zenodo.17631480.
This Con e ence Pape is b ough o you o open access by he 53 d Annual Con e ence
o he Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI) a Tampe e Uni e si y in
Tampe e, Finland. This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons
A ibu ion-NonComme cial-Sha e Alike 4.0 In e na ional License.
STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCES OF UNIVERSITY SUPPORT DURING
THE THESIS PHASE: CHALLENGES, NEEDS, AND
OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
M. Nu minen a,
1
,, M. Saa i b, P. Ran anen c, H.-M. Jä inen d, J. Vi eli e
a Tampe e Uni e si y, Po i, Finland, ORCID 0000-0001-7609-8348
b Tampe e Uni e si y, Po i, Finland, ORCID 0000-0001-7677-2355
c Tampe e Uni e si y, Po i, Finland, ORCID 0009-0007-9603-0552
d Tampe e Uni e si y, Tampe e, Finland, ORCID 0000-0003-0047-2051
e Tampe e Uni e si y, Tampe e, Finland, ORCID 0000-0003-2234-3509
Con e ence Key A eas: Imp o ing highe enginee ing educa ion h ough
esea ching enginee ing educa ion, Cu iculum de elopmen and eme ging
cu iculum models in enginee ing
Keywo ds: hesis w i ing, pee suppo , ins i u ional suppo
ABSTRACT
This a icle examines uni e si y s uden s' expe iences wi h ins i u ional and pee
suppo du ing he hesis w i ing phase. A icle highligh s key challenges, unme
needs, and oppo uni ies o imp o emen . Based on su ey esponses om
Bachelo 's, Mas e 's, and Doc o al s uden s, he esea ch iden i ies se e al issues
such as insu icien s uc u ed guidance, inconsis en supe iso y suppo ,
inadequa e me hodological assis ance, limi ed pee collabo a ion, and gaps in
men al heal h and ca ee esou ces. S uden s epo ed eelings o isola ion, s ess,
and p ac ical ba ie s in accessing a ailable suppo se ices. To add ess hese
indings, he a icle p oposes uni e si ies enhance guidance and inc ease supe iso
a ailabili y and aining. They could also o e a ge ed pee suppo g oups and
mo e p ac ical me hodological wo kshops. Flexible scheduling o accommoda e
di e se s uden popula ions, as well as imp o ed men al heal h and ca ee se ices
would help hesis and o he wo k. By implemen ing men ioned ecommenda ions,
uni e si ies could enhance he hesis-w i ing p ocess and expe ience, educe
s uden s ess, and inc ease success ul hesis comple ion.
1
Co esponding Au ho
M. Nu minen
mikko.nu minen@ uni. i
1
1 INTRODUCTION
The hesis phase is a miles one in highe educa ion, which shapes s uden s in o
independen esea che s by os e ing c i ical hinking (Wige & Oska sson 2024),
sus ained mo i a ion (Ki zig e al. 2023), and igo ous academic inqui y, all skills
equi ed in he academic and enginee ing ca ee s and shown by he ea lie s udies o
ha e e ec on lea ne s. Howe e , his pe iod also poses signi ican challenges,
including isola ion (T ikic e al. 2024), di icul ies in ime managemen , me hodological
hu dles, and psychological s ess, impac ing s uden s a all academic le els, om
Bachelo ’s o Doc o al s udies. Recognizing hese complexi ies, uni e si ies ha e
inc easingly de eloped s uc u ed suppo sys ems ha combine ins i u ional
esou ces and pee collabo a ion o alle ia e s uden s' s uggles and enhance hei
hesis-w i ing expe ience. Despi e hese e o s, a iabili y in he a ailabili y, quali y,
and accessibili y o suppo con inues o hinde s uden s' p og ess and o e all
academic de elopmen .
This a icle explo es s uden s' expe iences wi h uni e si y suppo du ing hei hesis
w i ing phase, iden i ying challenges, add essing s uden needs, and highligh ing
po en ial oppo uni ies o imp o emen . D awing upon s uden s' eedback on
conduc ed su ey, he s udy emphasizes he necessi y o uni e si ies o p o ide
s uc u ed guidance, imp o ed supe ision, ailo ed me hodological aining,
enhanced pee collabo a ion, comp ehensi e men al heal h and ca ee suppo , and
lexible solu ions accommoda ing di e se s uden popula ions. Using he su ey
esul s o examine exis ing suppo mechanisms and hei e ec i eness, his esea ch
con ibu es insigh s o educa o s and policymake s seeking o c ea e inclusi e,
suppo i e, and e ec i e hesis-w i ing en i onmen s.
2 BACKGROUND
The hesis w i ing p ocess is a o ma i e p ocess ha helps s uden s lea n wha i
means o be a esea che (Wea he all, 2019). I in ol es na iga ing complex, sel -
egula ed asks and de eloping a cohe en academic oice (Ce a o-La a e al. 2017;
Thompson 2016). Thesis p ocess ep esen s a s age in highe educa ion ha
demands igo ous academic inqui y, c i ical hinking (Benne 2018; P ice 2015; Yamin
e al. 2023), and sus ained mo i a ion (Mendoza e al. 2022; Be es o a e al 2022).
Howe e , many s uden s a he Bachelo ’s (BSc), Mas e ’s (MSc), and Doc o al (PhD)
le els expe ience challenges such as isola ion, w i e ’s block, ime managemen
di icul ies, and men al heal h s ain.(Calle-A ango e al. 2023) To add ess hese
issues, uni e si ies and academic communi ies ha e de eloped a ious suppo
sys ems ha in ol e bo h ins i u ional esou ces and pee collabo a ion.
Ins i u ional suppo o he hesis w i ing p ocess can be gi en on g oup o indi idual
basis. G oup suppo can ake he o m o w i ing cen e s (Calle-A ango e al. 2023;
Ubaldo 2021) and w i ing g oups (Li & Vande mensb ugghe 2011). W i ing cen e s a e
ins i u ional suppo se ices ha o e p og ams ailo ed o he needs o s uden s.
These cen e s p o ide indi idual consul a ions, wo kshops, and pee e iew sessions,
helping s uden s imp o e hei w i ing skills and ecei e cons uc i e eedback. W i ing
g oups, pa icula ly o in e na ional s uden s, c ea e a coope a i e pee lea ning
en i onmen . These g oups help s uden s engage in con inuous lea ning and w i ing
de elopmen , add essing he unique challenges aced by non-na i e English
speake s. Indi idual one-on-one consul a ions wi h lea ning ad ise s a e highly
e ec i e, especially o mul ilingual s uden s. These sessions p o ide pe sonalized
ad ice and add ess speci ic w i ing issues, which a e o en no me in g oup se ings
(Ma 2019). S uden s epo signi ican pedagogical and psychological bene i s om
hese consul a ions.
The g owing di e si y o he doc o al s uden popula ion places addi ional p essu e on
ins i u ional esou ces. Tailo ed suppo se ices a e necessa y o mee he a ied
needs o s uden s, including hose om di e en linguis ic and cul u al backg ounds.
The ise o non-ins i u ional w i ing suppo se ices, pa icula ly online, aises
conce ns abou hei e hical and educa ional legi imacy. Ins i u ions need o moni o
and egula e hese se ices o ensu e hey p o ide legi ima e and bene icial suppo
o s uden s (Ai chison & Lee 2006).
Pee suppo o hesis w i ing p ocess sys ems can ans o m he o en-isola ed
expe ience o hesis w i ing in o a collabo a i e and in e ac i e p ocess. This
collabo a ion can begin ea ly and con inue h oughou he hesis w i ing phase,
os e ing a sense o communi y and sha ed goals (I mak & Ulu aş 2024). Collabo a i e
pee -suppo models, including online lea ning communi ies, ha e been shown o
p o ide aluable eedback and suppo o hesis e isions, making he p ocess mo e
manageable and less isola ing (Lai 2011). Imp o ed w i ing skills and academic
li e acy can be aided by pee e iews and eedback o he w i ing p ocess, helping
s uden s imp o e hei w i ing quali y h ough he exchange o d a s and cons uc i e
c i icism (Lee & Ho 2021; Adamek 2015). P o iding eedback on pee s’ heses can
also enhance one’s own academic w i ing skills, aise awa eness o he hesis gen e,
and p omo e e lec i e and c i ical w i ing p ac ices (Yu 2019). W i ing g oups
speci ically designed o in e na ional s uden s can o e ongoing suppo in a
coope a i e pee lea ning en i onmen , add essing he unique challenges hese
s uden s ace when w i ing in a second language (Li & Vande mensb ugghe 2011).
Pee w i ing men o s can help de elop academic li e acy and p omo e a sense o
communi y, pa icula ly o unde - ep esen ed g oups. This suppo can be c ucial in
building ela ionships and os e ing a suppo i e academic en i onmen (Capous-
Desylla 2021). Pa icipa ion in a suppo communi y can alle ia e indi idual s uggles
associa ed wi h w i ing a disse a ion, p o iding non-e alua i e pee suppo ,
eedback, and sha ed academic esou ces (Yaylali 2025). Encou aging pee suppo
and collabo a ion in w i ing can lead o be e academic ou comes and a mo e
engaging lea ning expe ience. This app oach can be in eg a ed in o eaching
s a egies o os e a collabo a i e lea ning en i onmen (Pu & Ba na d 2025).
3 METHODOLOGY
To u he s udy he ins i u ional and pee suppo s uden s ecei e, o would ha e
liked o ha e ecei ed, a su ey was conduc ed a Tampe e Uni e si y, aimed a
s uden s who we e in di e en s ages o he hesis w i ing p ocess, om planning o
comple ion. The su ey was announced o s uden s in he uni e si y’s In a webpage,
which had in ea lie s udies u ned ou o be an e ec i e way o con ac ing s uden s
and collec ing da a.
The ques ionnai e is shown in Appendix A. The ques ionnai e in he su ey had ou
sec ions: Gene al in o ma ion, Uni e si y Suppo & Collabo a ion, Quali y o Suppo ,
and Addi ional Commen s. Gene al In o ma ion sec ion included ques ion abou he
s uden ’s le el o s udy, he uni o he uni e si y hey s udy unde , and he s age whe e
hey a e in hei hesis w i ing p ocess. Uni e si y Suppo & Collabo a ion asked
s uden s who had been mos help ul in hei hesis wo k, i hey had collabo a ed wi h
o he s uden s o esea ch g oup s a membe s, and wha ype o suppo hey had
ecei ed o would ha e liked o ha e ecei ed om hose wo g oups. Also, s uden s
we e que ied i hey had pa icipa ed in any pee suppo g oups, w i ing wo kshops,
o s udy g oups speci ically o hesis w i ing. Quali y o Suppo sec ion asked he
s uden s how hey a ed he o e all suppo hey had ecei ed om he uni e si y
communi y, wha ype o suppo hey hough was missing o inadequa e du ing he
hesis w i ing p ocess, and inally in wha ways did hey hink ha uni e si ies could
imp o e pee suppo and collabo a ion o hesis s uden s. Addi ional Commen s
sec ion had a single ques ion: Is he e any hing else you would like o sha e abou
you expe ience w i ing you hesis and he ole o collabo a ion/suppo in he
p ocess?
4 RESULTS
The su ey ques ionnai e was comple ed by 56 s uden s o Tampe e Uni e si y,
including 7 (13%) Bachelo 's, 27 (48%) Mas e 's, and 22 (39%) PhD s uden s om 11
uni e si y uni s. Communica ion Sciences and Compu ing Sciences uni s had he
highes ep esen a ion, each wi h se en pa icipan s. Table 1 shows ha while mos
BSc, MSc, and PhD s uden s ind supe iso s and ellow s uden s mos help ul in equal
sha es, he e is a no iceable inc ease in he suppo s uden s epo hey had ecei ed
om uni e si y wo k colleagues, which could indica e ha he uni e si y is able o
in eg a e s uden s o he uni e si y's wo king communi y. S uden s wo k mo e
equen ly wi h hei pee s as hey p og essed in hei s udies om BSc o PhD, and
ha a he PhD le el a la ge sha e o s uden s el ha hey had ecei ed he suppo
hey equi ed (see Table 2). F om Table 3 we can see ha while he BSc s uden s ha
pa icipa ed in he s udy a e wo king wi h uni e si y's esea ch cen e s, mos MSc
s uden s (67%) answe ed ha hey we e ei he no awa e o he esea ch cen e s, o
did no know how o con ac hem. Fo he PhD s uden s he po ion o s uden s who
chose his answe was only 14%, so he uni e si y seems o connec s uden s wi h he
esea ch cen e s, cen al esea ch communi ies in he uni e si y, on he PhD le el.
On BSc le el, la ges sec ion o s uden s (29%) epo ge ing suppo om o he
s uden s wi h esea ch me hods/da a analysis. Fo MSc s uden s eedback on w i ing
(56%) and emo ional/mo i a ional suppo (48%) we e he mos ecei ed ca ego ies
o help. On PhD le el emo ional/mo i a ional suppo ises o 64% while eedback on
w i ing alls o 41%.
Table 1. Mos help ul in suppo ing hesis wo k based on he s uden answe s
Table 2. S uden s’ collabo a ion wi h hei ellow s uden s du ing hesis
Ra ings s uden s ga e o he o e all suppo hey had ecei ed o hei hesis w i ing
om he uni e si y communi y a e shown in he Figu e 1. The igu e shows ha he
eplies om s uden s who epo ed ha hey had ecei ed ei he Ve y Poo o Poo
suppo dec eased om BSc s uden s (Ve y Poo 29% and Poo 29%) o MSc
s uden s' (19% Ve y Poo , 26% Poo ) and PhD s uden s (5% Ve y Poo , 23% Poo ).
Al hough his sha e o s uden s ell om BSc o PhD, he combined pe cen age o
answe s in he Ve y Poo o Poo ca ego ies emained ela i ely high, especially
conside ing ha mos o he imp o emen wen o he Fai ca ego y, no he Good o
Excellen .
Table 3. S uden s’ collabo a ion wi h a uni e si y esea ch g oup(s) du ing hesis
Figu e 1. S uden s’ a ing o o e all suppo o hesis w i ing
S uden s epo ed challenges in ecei ing s uc u ed guidance du ing hei hesis
w i ing. Many expe ienced con usion due o unclea o inconsis en ins uc ions abou
o ma ing, me hodologies, and w i ing s yles. One s uden speci ically men ioned, "No
guidelines on on , spacing, page numbe s minimum equi emen s and any hing
ela ed o he w i ing s yle." Me hodological suppo was epo edly insu icien among
pa icipan s, especially among s uden s employing quan i a i e esea ch me hods. A
Mas e 's s uden emphasized an appa en need o a in oduc o y cou se o
quan a i e me hods, unde sco ing a ecognized me hodological gap. S uden s
s ongly ad oca ed o mo e p ac ical, hands-on aining wo kshops ea ly in hei hesis
p ocess. One esponden s a ed, "E e y hing [was lacking]. I only go a opic and an
o de "Please w i e i ". The w i ing wo kshops o e ed by he uni e si y we e seen as
especially impo an on he ea ly s ages o he hesis w i ing p ocess, o build up bo h
pee suppo and w i ing ou ine.
Supe ision eme ged as ano he a ea o conce n. S uden s desc ibed supe iso s'
a ailabili y as inconsis en , and some el hei supe iso s lacked su icien expe ise
and ime o p ope ly supe ise and guide hei s uden s' wo k. One s uden a icula ed,
"I would be lo ely ha he supe iso s ac ually would ha e ime o supe ise. Thei
ole, in my opinion, is c ucial and canno be dis ibu ed o he academic communi y
a ound. I ha e also expe ienced his as a supe iso mysel ." Ano he s uden
highligh ed signi ican dispa i ies in supe ision quali y, no ing, "The e a e huge
di e ences when i comes o (PhD) hesis supe ision p ac ice. Some ge e y use ul
ad ice om hei supe iso s, some ge none." This sen imen was appa en in some
o he s uden s’ esponses, oo, and some commen ed on how busy hei supe iso s
seemed o be. Th ee s uden s di ec ly s a ed ha uni e si y should gi e supe iso s
mo e ime and esou ces o hei wo k.
S uden s also exp essed a s ong need o imp o ed pee and communi y suppo o
alle ia e isola ion. Pa icula ly a ec ed we e doc o al s uden s, wi h one no ing, "Pee
suppo is ex emely impo an , especially emo ion and mo i a ion wise. Also
supe iso s ha e huge ole! I pi y all ha don' ha e unc ional ela ionship wi h hei
supe iso (s)." The su ey also highligh ed gaps in ca ee guidance and men al heal h
suppo , pa icula ly among doc o al s uden s. Doc o al esea che s aced subs an ial
dis ess due o limi ed men al heal h esou ces. Fo he ques ions "Wha ypes o
suppo you wish you had ecei ed om esea ch g oup membe s du ing you hesis
w i ing p ocess? (Selec all ha apply)" 8 s uden s answe ed hey would ha e liked o
ha e mo e emo ional/mo i a ional suppo .
5 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
While Tampe e Uni e si y has app oxima ely 22,500 s uden s, he indings o his
su ey—based on esponses om 56 s uden s—canno be gene alized o ep esen
he ull s uden body. Ne e heless, hey illumina e pa e ns in s uden expe iences
ha esona e wi h p io esea ch on mas e ’s hesis supe ision and ins i u ional
suppo in highe educa ion con ex s (Hu e al., 2016; G öhne e al., 2020; Sche e -
Wenzl & Miladino ic, 2022). Though ins i u ional s uc u es a y, he challenges
highligh ed by hese s uden s mi o hose documen ed in e na ionally, sugges ing
widesp ead a eas o imp o emen in hesis supe ision and suppo .
A p ominen issue was inconsis en supe ision, o en limi ed o la e-s age eedback.
This aligns wi h indings by Hu e al. (2016), who obse ed ha in bo h Du ch and
Chinese uni e si ies, he iming and s yle o supe ision g ea ly in luenced s uden
well-being and pe cei ed p og ess. Inadequa e eedback and emo e-only
in e ac ion—especially p oblema ic o in e na ional s uden s—le many eeling
unsuppo ed. G öhne e al. (2020) emphasize ha e ec i e hesis supe ision hinges
no only on subjec expe ise bu also on a s uc u ed and ela ional app oach, whe e
supe iso a ailabili y and consis en eedback play a i al ole in os e ing hesis
momen um.
S uc u al and bu eauc a ic issues we e also p e alen . S uden s epo ed us a ion
o e in lexible hesis semina schedules, unclea o ma ing and ci a ion expec a ions,
and excessi e cou sewo k obliga ions. These obse a ions suppo Hu e al.’s (2016)
indings ega ding he bu den o ins i u ional igidi y and unde sco e he alue o
lexible and cul u ally sensi i e supe iso y amewo ks.
Impo an ly, pee suppo eme ged as bo h a bu e and a bu den. While many
s uden s ound in o mal eedback loops highly mo i a ional, o he s esis ed s uc u ed
pee - e iew mechanisms. This ambi alence echoes insigh s om Sche e -Wenzl and
Miladino ic (2022), who a gue o supe iso y models ha blend s uc u ed g oup
p ocesses (e.g., opic pools, pee e iew imelines) wi h s uden au onomy. Thei
model o con inuous supe ision—combining g oup coaching and indi idual
sca olding—demons a es ha s uc u ed pee in e ac ion can be bene icial when
op ional and embedded in a suppo i e cul u e.
Men al heal h s uggles we e a cen al heme. S uden s epo ed isola ion, s ess, and
inadequa e access o psychological suppo —condi ions ha a e consis en wi h
indings ac oss Eu opean and in e na ional con ex s (Hu e al., 2016; G öhne e al.,
2020). While Du ch supe iso s in Hu e al.’s s udy emphasized emo ional suppo and
in o mal in e ac ion as pa o good p ac ice, he Finnish s uden s in his s udy
equen ly el neglec ed in his ega d. Uni e si ies should c i ically e lec on he
cul u al expec a ions and ac ual deli e y o emo ional suppo , especially o
in e na ional o non- adi ional s uden s.
Se e al s uden s also ci ed ou da ed o inaccessible digi al ools as signi ican ba ie s,
pa icula ly in ela ion o AI, da a p i acy, and da a managemen . These conce ns a e
consis en wi h he ends iden i ied by Sche e -Wenzl and Miladino ic (2022), who
ad oca e o agile and echnology-suppo ed supe ision p ocesses, including ea ly-
phase eedback, blended supe ision, and use o p ojec acking ools like Moodle o
T ello.
S uden s’ eedback on hesis semina s was mixed: some ound hem help ul, while
o he s ound hem in lexible o slow-paced. Sugges ions o mo e modula o in ensi e
o ma s e lec g owing demands o indi idualized academic pa hways, a end also
suppo ed by he indings o G öhne e al. (2020) and he need o accommoda e
di e se lea ning needs.
O e all, he indings emphasize he need o :
• clea e hesis guidelines and expec a ions,
• well- ained and esponsi e supe iso s,
• imp o ed men al heal h se ices,
• expanded unding op ions, and
• he cul i a ion o meaning ul pee and ins i u ional suppo ne wo ks.
The e is s ong alignmen he e wi h p io esea ch ad oca ing o adap i e, cul u ally
sensi i e, and s uden -cen e ed supe ision s a egies (G öhne e al., 2020; Hu e
al., 2016; Sche e -Wenzl & Miladino ic, 2022). Inco po a ing s uden eedback in o
ins i u ional e o ms would g ea ly enhance hesis-w i ing expe iences and ou comes.
As hesis supe ision is inc easingly ecognized as a ela ional, emo ional, and
pedagogical p ac ice, uni e si ies mus in es in e ol ing hei s uc u es acco dingly.
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