Doctoral education at the Faculty of Social Sciences

Doctoral education aims primarily to doctoral degree of Doctor of Social Sciences, but a Licentiate of Social Sciences degree is also available.
Doctoral Programmes

Doctoral education in the Faculty of Social Sciences is organised in doctoral programmes. The Faculty of Social Sciences coordinates three doctoral programmes: Doctoral Programme in Economics (DPE), Doctoral Programme in Political, Societal and Regional Changes (PSCR) and Doctoral Programme in Social Sciences. A doctoral study right is always applied to from a specific doctoral programme.

You will find more information on profiles of the doctoral programmes, their teaching curriculum, supervisors in the programme and how to apply for the programme from the websites of the programmes. In conjunction with admission, the doctoral programme and the title of the doctoral degree to be pursued will be confirmed, and supervision arrangements will be confirmed.

Supervisors and coordinating academic

Each doctoral student will be assigned at least two supervisors who have completed a doctoral degree and of whom at least one has a permanent or long-term employment contract with the Faculty in which the student will pursue the doctoral degree.

In addition, each student will be assigned a coordinating academic. At the Faculty of Social Sciences, coordinating academics may be 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

Staff positions on the third tier are e.g., Assistant/Associate professor (tenure track), Senior university lecturer, University lecturer, University researcher, Senior researcher and Academy research fellow.

The coordinating academic may also serve as one of the dissertation supervisors. Further information on the role of the coordinating academic is available on Instructions on Teaching.

Doctoral education in Helsinki University

The doctoral programmes of the Faculty belong to the University of Helsinki Doctoral School, which offers a good forum for interdisciplinary research and scientific networking through its five faculties and 11 doctoral programmes. You may also get familiar with all the doctoral programmes in the University of Helsinki.