Welcome to the website of LUOVA!

The Doctoral Programme in Wildlife Biology Research (Finnish acronym LUOVA) started in 1995 and was one of the first doctoral programmes founded in Finland. LUOVA trains postgraduate students in the fields of ecology, evolutionary biology, conservation, and management of natural populations and communities, as well as in taxonomy and systematics, and in computational biology. LUOVA covers both basic and applied research in these fields. Member institutions in LUOVA are the University of Helsinki and the state-run research institutes within the field of the doctoral programme.

LUOVA organizes courses on different aspects of ecology, evolution, conservation, management and research methodology. The doctoral programme also offers its members various forms of support at different stages of their postgraduate studies, and a possibility to apply travel funding to attend courses abroad or collaborate on a PhD thesis chapter.

There are more than 70 students in LUOVA each year and approximately 30% of them are international. Currently 12 students a hold 4-year full time PhD position funded by LUOVA. In 2012 nine LUOVA students defended their doctoral theses. The employment rate of LUOVA graduates is very high.

You are welcome to apply LUOVA membership if:

1. You begin to work on a doctoral thesis related to any of the fields covered by LUOVA, and are not a member of any other doctoral programme.

2. You are enrolled as a PhD student at one of the departments listed below and will eventually be awarded a doctoral degree by the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Science, the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, or the Faculty of Science.

• Department of Biosciences
• Department of Environmental Sciences
• Department of Forest Sciences
• Department of Agricultural Sciences
• Department of Geosciences and Geography

3. Your supervisor is one of LUOVA's supervisors.

For further information, please contact LUOVA's coordinator Anni Tonteri.