The approval of a doctoral thesis and the defence act itself are important milestones for both the doctoral candidate and the academic community. Thus, it is significant how they are organised. These processes serve several purposes, which are not necessarily conflicting. The process should encourage good research, serve as a quality control, signify a step on the academic ladder, and give a well-deserved closure to a process that has also involved the family and friends of the candidate.

This article presents a short comparative summary of the approval procedures in some European countries, highlighting the differences. Then follows a more detailed description of the Finnish procedure, in which academic traditions have persisted. In the Finnish procedure, the pre-examination of the thesis downplays the stress, the public defence serves an open quality control, and the party gives the closure that the defendant, family and friends deserve.