The programme admits new doctoral researchers four times a year: twice in the spring and twice in the autumn.
In the spring 2026 only one admissions round is organised.
The spring 2026 application period is from 1 April 2026 at 09:00 AM EEST until 16 April 2026 at 03:00 PM EEST:
A doctoral study right can only be gained through the admissions process. Applying to the programme outside the set admission periods is not possible.
Admission periods for academic year 2026-2027 will be published on this page in spring 2026.
In addition to the
Your previous degree must be relevant to the planned research topic and discipline. A degree is regarded as relevant if it includes sufficient studies in a discipline which, given the topic of the proposed doctoral dissertation, can be regarded as a suitable basis for doctoral studies.
Applicants to the Doctoral Programme in Multidisciplinary Research in Renewable Natural Resources (RENEW) must have completed:
An applicable education at an institution abroad providing eligibility for equivalent higher education in the country in question
In addition, applicants who have been admitted to pursue a licentiate degree in medicine and dentistry or a licentiate degree in veterinary medicine at a Finnish university or at a university from EU/EEA country, or at the University of Helsinki can also be admitted to pursue a postgraduate research degree.
Furthermore, applicants licensed as a healthcare professional by the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health or veterinarians licensed by the Finnish Food Authority who have completed applicable education abroad in their home country equivalent to a second-cycle university degree or a second-cycle degree from a university of applied sciences can be admitted.
Applications must meet the minimum requirements set for supervisory arrangements. The application must include information on the following:
Attach to your application a signed supporting statement / commitment (pdf) stating the planned supervision arrangements. You can find the pdf form below in Doctoral programme's selection criteria, in the subtitle "Supervision".
Please confirm in the application that you have, or you have applied for all needed ethical permissions: a permit by an Ethical Review Board and/or by the National Animal Experiment Board, if required by the research arrangement. The permission documents need not to be attached to the application.
Only applications meeting the formal criteria for eligibility continue to scientific evaluation in the doctoral programmes.
The Doctoral Programme in Multidisciplinary Research in Renewable Natural Resources (RENEW) accepts applications for the following target degrees:
Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry
Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Medicine
Faculty of Science
Faculty of Social Sciences
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Target degree must be available at the chosen faculty and must match with applicant’s background studies. Please, verify which degree is available in the chosen faculty based on your background degree.
The
A suitable field of science is required in the application form. Please, add one from the list below:
Supervisory arrangements and the quality of the research environment are an important part of the selection criteria. The doctoral programme requires that each applicant must have minimum two supervisors when submitting the application. It is the responsibility of the applicant to find supervisors and discuss and agree on the research plan with them. A good starting point for finding a potential supervisor is
RENEW requires the following supervision arrangements to be confirmed at the stage of applying for a study right:
You must attach to your application this supporting statement / commitment form (pdf, will be updated) signed by your supervisors and coordinating academic stating the planned supervision arrangements.
Thesis committee members are not required when applying for the study right. Thesis committees must be formed within 6 months of obtaining study rights.
You must have a coordinating academic from the faculty they are applying for the study right. The coordinating academic must be employed by the faculty. The coordinating academic is familiar with the instructions concerning doctoral education and doctoral degrees at the University of Helsinki. Your supervisor may also act as the coordinating academic, provided they fulfill the criteria (see below for Faculty specific instructions).
The coordinating academic’s role is
Faculty specific instructions for coordinating academics:
In the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry professors and associate professors employed by the faculty may act as coordinating academics for doctoral candidates.
In the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences professors and associate professors employed by the faculty may act as coordinating academics for doctoral researchers.
In the Faculty of Medicine professors, associate professors and docents employed by the faculty may act as coordinating academics for doctoral researchers.
In the Faculty of Science professors and associate professors employed by the faculty may act as coordinating academics for doctoral researchers.
In the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine professors, associate professors, and docents employed by the faculty may act as coordinating academics for doctoral researchers.
In the Faculty of Social Sciences professors or docents on the third or fourth tier of the career path for teaching and research staff at the Faculty or at the Swedish School of Social Science, who are in a contractual employment at the Faculty or at the Swedish School of Social Science, and have prior experience in supervising dissertations to their completion, may act as coordinating academics for doctoral researchers.
Your research plan will be evaluated with the following criteria:
If AI is used, it must be described in the research plan.
Your previous degree must be relevant to the planned research topic and discipline. A degree is regarded as relevant if it includes sufficient studies in a discipline which, given the topic of the proposed doctoral thesis, can be regarded as a suitable basis for doctoral studies.
The following are emphasized when assessing the quality and suitability of previous studies:
No initial study plan is required at the application stage.
Acquainted with the selection criteria and all set to apply? Great! Now go back to the
Decisions on admissions for doctoral studies in the programme are made based on the university’s general criteria for doctoral admissions as well as the programme-specific selection criteria presented on this page.
The final decision on admission is made by the faculty awarding the applicant’s target degree, based on a proposal from the board of the doctoral programme.
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