How to apply for postgraduate studies?

Who can apply?

The Faculty of Science at the University of Helsinki may admit the following candidates to pursue the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and Licentiate of Philosophy:

• Holders of a Master’s degree in the natural sciences from a Finnish university or holders of an equivalent degree from a foreign university, or
• Holders of a Finnish or foreign degree equivalent to a Master’s degree whom the Faculty of Science deems to be qualified to pursue postgraduate studies.

The right to pursue a postgraduate degree may be granted on the condition that the applicant’s postgraduate study plan has been approved by the departmental postgraduate studies committee. The selection criteria include the standard of the basic degree, the feasibility of the research plan and study plan, as well as the availability of supervision.

International applicants

Students who have completed a Master’s degree outside Finland need to follow these instructions:
Those who want to apply for PhD (or first a PhilLic) degree studies at the Faculty of Science must first contact the division/department (professor of the field in question) where they wish to pursue studies and also to find out if they have a possibility to have a supervisor for their studies. As soon as contacts with the division/department have been established by an applicant and all documents required are in order the application may be submitted to the Student Affairs Office of the Faculty of Science.

Together with an application form (pdf) the following attachments must be enclosed:

• An officially certified copy of the Master’s degree diploma also including the transcript of records (indicating the grading scale of the institution).
• An abstract of Master's thesis
• A language certificate
  Language proficiency in Finnish, Swedish or English is a prerequisite for admission. A department professor may make a statement on the language skills of the international applicant or the applicant may be obliged to prove that he/she possesses the required language skills as defined in a table of acceptable ways of indicating language skill level (pdf). Please note that the Faculty of Science requires Academic Level English skills (AL). It should be emphasised that the University does not accept photocopies of the original score slips: the test score information must come directly from the testing organisation. Applications with photocopied score slips or with otherwise incomplete information on the applicant's English proficiency cannot be processed.
• A research plan
• A plan on how postgraduate studies will be financially supported
  

All the enclosures must be in Finnish, Swedish or English. Any translations must be done by authorized translators who must sign and certify the translations. All the enclosed diplomas must be original documents or certified copies. Copies can be certified by the institution awarding the diploma or by a notary public. Please note that the application can be rejected if any of the required enclosures are missing. There is no deadline for postgraduate applications.

Read more information about the application process How to apply.

For more information, please contact Student Affairs Office

Students who have completed a Master’s degree in Finland

The applicants for postgraduate study at the Faculty of Science must use the application for postgraduate study (pdf) form. The application must include a personal postgraduate study plan, which consists of a research plan and a plan outlining how the studies will be completed.

First, the applicant must contact the department responsible for the field of the planned research. The department will appoint for the student a responsible supervisor, who will assist the student in devising a personal postgraduate study plan. Students who have completed their Master’s degree in a university other than the University of Helsinki must enclose an officially certified copy of their degree certificate with their application.

The application with the required enclosures must be submitted to the Faculty Office. The Dean makes the decision on the admission of postgraduate applicants. The applicants will be informed of the Dean’s decision in writing.

For more information, please contact Student Affairs Office