The programme admits new doctoral researchers twice a year: once in the spring (typically April) and once in the autumn (typically September).
The spring 2026 application period is from April 1, 2026, 09:00 AM EEST until April 16, 2026, 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.
Applications to the doctoral programme must meet the
Only formally eligible applications proceed to academic assessment in the doctoral programme.
The doctoral programme accepts applications for the following target degrees:
Applications for the right to complete a Doctor of Theology degree are accepted from individuals with a Master of Theology degree awarded by a Finnish university, or an equivalent foreign qualification. Applications for the right to complete a Doctor of Philosophy or Doctor of Social Sciences degree are accepted from individuals with a relevant second-cycle higher education degree other than a Master of Theology or an equivalent foreign qualification. A degree or education is considered relevant if it includes advanced studies (or their equivalent) in a discipline that, in relation to the doctoral thesis topic, provides a sound basis for postgraduate studies. Applications for the right to complete a Doctor of Philosophy (Education) degree are accepted from individuals who have completed advanced studies in education.
Supervision arrangements must be appropriate to the applicant’s target degree and faculty, and include at least one supervisor with a permanent or long-term appointment in the degree-awarding faculty. A ‘long-term appointment’ is one lasting at least three to four years. The University has determined that a doctoral thesis must be able to be completed within three to four years of full-time study.
The doctoral programme requires that the supervision arrangements outlined in the application meet the following requirements:
Well before submitting their application, applicants must contact a representative of the discipline relevant to their research interests at the faculty offering their target degree to discuss their initial research plan and the supervision arrangements for their thesis with a supervisor employed by that faculty. Applicants must take the initiative in finding supervisors.
An email message from each supervisor, supporting the application’s submission and confirming their initial consent to serve in that capacity, must be attached to the application form under ‘Supporting statement by supervisor’.
Exceptionally, an applicant with only one supervisor may apply and be admitted to the programme even if a second supervisor has not yet been named by the application deadline. Please note, however, that the absence of a second supervisor may impact the overall assessment of the application.
At least one supervisor is always required – if no one has agreed to supervise you, you are unfortunately not eligible to apply.
Please note that the doctoral programme is not bound by the initial consent of any supervisors when deciding whether to admit an applicant. Applications are assessed as a whole, and supervision availability alone does not guarantee admission. Applicant assessment by the programme includes consideration of the sufficiency and quality of supervision, as detailed in the application.
A key condition for undertaking doctoral research is that the programme can provide high-quality supervision and support for the proposed thesis. Consequently, supervisors may not, as a rule, concurrently be responsible for more than 10 students actively pursuing a postgraduate degree. The number depends on the supervisor’s mix of full- and part-time supervisees, prior supervisory performance, and other responsibilities in research and within the University community. Supervisors supporting multiple applications will be asked to rank them according to the feasibility and scholarly significance of the research plan and the applicants’ prior academic performance.
Alongside their supervisors, doctoral researchers must be assigned a coordinating academic. They need not find this person themselves, as supervisors arrange it as part of application assessment. Where possible, the coordinating academic should be selected from the discipline represented by the applicant’s doctoral thesis. They must be a professor, associate professor or docent employed by the degree-awarding faculty and familiar with the University of Helsinki’s guidelines for doctoral education and degrees. The coordinating academic may also serve as a thesis supervisor.
This doctoral programme does not require the appointment of thesis committee members at the application stage.
Admissions criteria include previous academic performance, the relevance of previous studies to the prospective doctoral programme, and the research plan.
Assessment of the research plan focuses on:
Assessment of the schedules outlined in the application focuses on the joint responsibility of the supervisor and doctoral researcher to define the thesis topic and content so that the thesis can be completed in three to four years of full-time work.
Applicants who have used AI in preparing their research plan or application must indicate how it was used. Failure to do so may result in the application’s rejection.
Any prior degree (master’s or equivalent) must provide a relevant foundation for the proposed research topic and discipline. A degree or education is considered relevant if it includes advanced studies (or their equivalent) in a discipline that, in relation to the doctoral thesis topic, provides a sound basis for doctoral studies.
Assessment of previous studies focuses on:
No initial study plan is required at the application stage.
In addition to meeting the University’s general
The latter skills are assessed via initial supervision discussions, any other communications and application documents. The supervisors’ statements must confirm whether the applicant possesses sufficient skills in the languages necessary for doctoral research. The doctoral programme steering group conducts the final assessment.
The research plan must indicate the planned thesis language. Assessment of the plan must consider whether supervision and all stages of preliminary examination, approval and assessment of the thesis can be conducted in that language.
Acquainted with the selection criteria and all set to apply? Great! Now go back to the
The doctoral programme decides on admissions in accordance with the University’s general doctoral admissions guidelines and programme-specific criteria.
Applications meeting formal eligibility requirements proceed to a three-stage academic assessment. To inform its decision-making, the doctoral programme requests statements from the supervisors named in the applications. Next, the applications are handled by the steering group of the doctoral programme. The final admission decision is made by the faculty awarding the applicant’s target degree, based on a proposal by the programme steering group. Neither the faculty nor the programme steering group is bound by the content of these statements.
Upon admission, each doctoral researcher’s degree title, programme and supervisors are confirmed, and a coordinating academic is assigned.
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These admissions criteria apply until further notice.