The doctoral education system of the University of Helsinki consists of four doctoral schools and 32 doctoral programmes. New doctoral candidates apply for doctoral programme membership at the same time as they apply for postgraduate study rights in one of the faculties.
Before applying, please make sure you have read the University of Helsinki general application instructions for doctoral programmes.
The next application period is from February 2, 2021 at 09:00 AM EEST until February 16, 2021 at 03:00 PM EEST.
Applicants will be informed of the decisions by April 7, 2021. Those granted a study right must accept them by April 21, 2021. Study rights granted in the February round of applications will begin on May 1, 2021.
During the spring term 2021, the the next application period is:
According to the Universities Act (558/2009) section 37 eligible applicants for studies leading to a postgraduate research degree have completed
If you have not graduated yet, you need to have your required studies (incl. thesis) completed, graded and registered by the end of the application period. This must be confirmed in a free-of form certificate by an official representative (e.g., Student Services Office) of the university admitting the degree. Applicants who are granted study rights must be able to present a verified copy of their official degree diploma before accepting the offered study place.
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. 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, can also be admitted to pursue a postgraduate research degree.
To start with, you should read the University’s general instructions for doctoral applicants where you can find detailed instructions on how to prepare the required documents for your application. Once you are acquainted with those, come back here to read more about the programme-specific selection criteria and instructions for applicants.
Applications, along with the required additional documents, must be submitted by the end of the application period. Applications are submitted using an electronic application form, which closes at 15:00 local Finnish time on the last day of the round of applications. Those applicants who are required to send certified copies of their educational documents by post must make sure that these documents arrive by the end of the application period.
Applications and additional documents sent by email are not accepted. Incomplete applications are not considered.
All applicants wishing to be considered must submit the following documents to the admission services by the end of application period:
Documents required for the application attached as scanned copies:
Please confirm that you have or you have applied for all needed 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.
Documents needed as certified hard copies in mail (unless the previous degree has been awarded by a university in Finland):
The certified copies of additional documents must be delivered to the Admissions Services of the University of Helsinki. For document requirements and instructions on submitting them, please visit the page Eligibility and educational documents.
However, due to the Corona virus situation there is an exceptional deadline for submitting enclosures in the November application round. Please see more details in Admission instructions.
A successful application is formally eligible and scientifically suitable (in quality and in substance) for the doctoral programme. Eligibility is estimated in regards of background degree and included studies, and language proficiency. Only applications meeting the eligibility criteria continue for scientific evaluation in doctoral programmes.
Applications must be submitted via the online application form. The link for the form can be found in the section ‘Submitting the application’. Prepare your application carefully, concentrating on the sections below, supervision arrangements and in addition, to the educational documents required to support your application. Please, prepare your application and its documents in good time before the deadline. You may use this checklist to ensure, that you have all the necessary documents.
1. The research proposal is the most important part of your application. In the electronic application form, the research proposal is divided into the fields listed below. Prepare your research proposal right from the start to fit the different fields and their maximum lengths, so you will not need to start re-editing the proposal when filling in the application form.
The following fields related to the research plan are included in the electronic application form (the number in parentheses indicates the maximum number of characters per field, spaces included). Please note that these instructions are subject to minor changes:
2. Previously acquired knowledge supporting the dissertation project (the number in parentheses indicates the maximum number of characters per field, spaces included):
3. A study plan (the number in parentheses indicates the maximum number of characters per field, spaces included):
Doctoral programme degree structures can be found in WebOodi (Course catalogues – Doctoral Schools and Programmes) or consult the CVM degree structure and requirements to plan your doctoral studies.
4. The title and summary of your Master´s thesis or equivalent (750).
5. Supervision arrangements: supervisors and members of a thesis committee
In CVM a doctoral candidate must have 1-3 thesis supervisors with doctorate degrees. At least one of the supervisors must in addition hold the title of docent or have equivalent academic qualifications. In case where supervisor is also the coordinating academic (previously called responsible professor), another supervisor is required. The application must be supplemented with a supporting statement signed by the proposed thesis supervisor/supervisors. More information about potential CVM supervisors and their research interests can be found from University of Helsinki Research Portal.
All CVM supervisors commit to adhere to University instructions on supervision practices and to responsible conduct of research of the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity TENK. Supervision agreement in Thessa (a tool for the planning, supervision and monitoring of doctoral studies) obligatory for all new students and their supervisors starting from August 2020.
Every applicant needs to have also a coordinationg academic (previously called also responsible professor) and a thesis committee when applying for the doctoral study right. See the faculty specific instructions regarding coordinating academic in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and in the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry. See also Instructions how to get a thesis committee.
After finding a potential supervisor, contact him or her to discuss your research ideas and plans. Please note that professors and principal investigators get dozens of emails from potential doctoral candidates. If you want to get your email noticed, you must give the professor/ principal investigator the information they need, quickly, clearly and professionally.
Your supervisors, coordinationg academic and thesis committee members must commit to support you during your doctoral studies by signing the form below which must be attached to your online application.
Approval for supervisors and members of the thesis committee - form (pdf)
If you find it difficult to get signatures for your application due to the corona situation, you can ask the supervisors, coordinationg academic and thesis committee members to send a confirmation of their support directly to viikki-phd@helsinki.fi.
The applications, along with the required additional documents, must be submitted by the end of the application period. Applications are submitted using an electronic application form, which closes at 3 PM (Helsinki time) on the last day of the round of applications. Those applicants who are required to send certified copies of the additional documents by post must make sure that these documents arrive by the end of the application period.
It is highly recommended that you fill the application in English, or that at least your research plan is written in English. This is because there are non-Finnish speaking members in the CVM board evaluating the applications.
Applications and additional documents sent by email are not accepted. Incomplete applications are not considered.
Certified copies of additional documents must be delivered to the Admissions Services of the University of Helsinki. For instructions on how to submit your documents, please visit the page Eligibility and educational documents.
For further information, please contact phd-admissions@helsinki.fi
Applicants will be informed of the decisions by April 7, 2021. Those granted a study right must accept them by April 21, 2021. Study rights granted in the February round of applications will begin on May 1, 2021.
Student admissions for doctoral programmes follow the general admissions policies for studies leading to a doctoral degree and clarifications to these policies specific to doctoral programmes. The Doctoral School in Health Sciences has decided the common criteria for all of its doctoral programmes, which have also been confirmed by each Faculty. See the exact criteria of the doctoral programmes of the Doctoral School in Health Sciences.
Applicants dissatisfied with admissions decisions may appeal in writing to the faculty council or a body appointed by it within 14 days of the announcement of the admission results. Should you receive a decision rejecting your application, it will be accompanied by information on the appeals procedure, as referred to in sections 82 and 83 of the Universities Act.