Doctoral Programme in Geosciences

The Doctoral Programme in Geosciences (GeoDoc) is a multidisciplinary postgraduate research training programme for students interested in Earth's crust, its dynamics, phenomena and social dimensions. Geosciences have a significant role in solving global problems and challenges, such as energy and raw material sufficiency, climate change, and chemicalization of the environment which has led to an increased demand of geoscientists in all sectors nationally and internationally. Finland is located on the edge of the Arctic region which has significant natural resources but is also highly vulnerable to climate change impacts. In addition, Finland's bedrock has exceptional discovery potential for many hi-tech metals and critical minerals which provide excellent circumstances for geoscientific research and innovations. Disciplines represented in GeoDoc also make a decisive contribution to the understanding of and anticipation to natural hazards, such as earthquakes, volcanic activities and extreme climatic events. International scientific collaboration networks, high-class infrastructure, multidisciplinary and high quality supervision practice of GeoDoc will support postgraduate research and help develop the researcher identity of doctoral students, and develop their competence for demanding international expert positions in geosciences.

GeoDoc offers high quality postgraduate degree studies, research infrastructure, facilities, and supervision in Geology, Physical Geography, Solid Earth Geophysics, and parts of Archaeology. Research focal areas are Biogeography, Economic Geology, Geochemistry, Geomorphology, Global Change, Hydrogeography, Hydrogeology, Isotope Geology, Paleoclimatology, Paleoecology, Petrology, Quaternary Geology, Raw materials of Earth's crust, Remote Sensing, Sedimentology, Seismology, and Spatial Modelling. GeoDoc is a joint programme of the Department of Geosciences and Geography, the Department of Physics, and the Department of Philosophy, History, Culture and Art Studies.

News

Applying for a doctoral study right

Salaried doctoral student positions

Activities

Funding

Supervision

Contact

News

31.8.2017 Calls for Salaried doctoral student positions and Applications for doctoral study right

will open on 1 September and close on 14 September 2017. Notice that the time frame for both calls is much shorter that in the previous years! Both calls are open for all interested applicants, not only limited to those who submitted a Letter of Intent earlier in May. More information is available on the specific sections of this website.

Applying for a doctoral study right

Planning to apply for a doctoral study right at our programme? Good choice! To start with, you should read the University’s general instructions for doctoral applicants and instructions for the educational documents you are requested to submit to verify your eligibility. Once you’re acquainted with those, come back here to read more about the programme-specific selection criteria and instructions for applicants.

First of all you need to find a supervisor for your PhD project. Unfortunately, the GeoDoc coordinator cannot help you to find a supervisor but you must contact suitable researchers yourself. To get started, please see the list of our supervisors.

Once you have found a supervisor and agreed on a PhD project with him/her the next step is to apply for a PhD study right at GeoDoc.

The application process in a nutshell.

Starting in autumn 2017 the University of Helsinki will have common admission periods for doctoral candidates. Applicants will be informed of the admission results, including the reasons for them by a letter of acceptance, to be sent by e-mail to the address given in the application. Admitted applicants must report whether they accept the offer by a specified deadline. Those who fail to report whether they accept the offer or to submit the requested documents by the deadline will lose their place. During the academic year 2017-2018 the admission periods are as follows:

Application period	Letters of acceptance to be sent by	Deadline for accepting the offer	Study right begins
1.-14.9.2017	16.11.2017	30.11.2017	1.12.2017
1.-14.11.2017	9.1.2018	23.1.2018	24.1.2018
1.-14.2.2018	28.3.2018	11.4.2018	12.4.2018
3.-16.4.2018	15.6.2018	29.6.2018	2.7.2018

SEPTEMBER CALL, 1.-14.9.2017

After the call opens, the electronic form can be found here. Please, see below the sections 1-6 before filling the application. The possible questions concerning the call are to be sent to admissions@helsinki.fi.

Kindly note that the applications, along with the required additional documents, must be submitted by the end of the application period. Applications are submitted via an electronic application form which must be submitted before 15:00 Helsinki time on the last day of the admission period (either EEST/GMT+3 or EET/GMT+2).

Admission criteria for doctoral programmes in the Doctoral School in Natural Sciences
These guidelines apply to doctoral education for which applications can be submitted as of 1 August 2017. The guidelines will apply until further notice.

1. The following admission criteria apply to the programmes in the Doctoral School in Natural Sciences, including the Doctoral Programme in Geosciences (GeoDoc)

2. General information
Student admission to the doctoral programmes is based on the University of Helsinki’s general admission guidelines for doctoral education as well as the programme-specific details.
All postgraduate research students pursue a doctoral degree. The right to complete a degree may only be obtained through an admission procedure. The application periods in the 2017–2018 academic year are indicated on the table above.

3. Eligibility
Pursuant to section 37 of the Universities Act (558/2009), eligible applicants for studies leading to a research degree have completed
1) An applicable second-cycle university degree,
2) An applicable second-cycle degree from a university of applied sciences, or
3) An applicable education at an institution abroad providing eligibility for equivalent higher education in the country in question.

All studies required for a second-cycle degree or equivalent education must be completed before the deadline for applications, and a certificate of this degree must be presented before the doctoral study right can be granted (see deadline for accepting the offer above).

An applicant may also be admitted to pursue a postgraduate research degree if the University finds him or her to have otherwise obtained the required knowledge and skills.

4. Admission criteria
Admission criteria for doctoral education include the applicant’s potential for success in academic postgraduate education, the quality and feasibility of the applicant’s research proposal, the applicant’s motivation, and the supervisory and other resources available for the research. Other criteria include the applicable content of previous studies to the prospective doctoral programme, the suitability of the research proposal for the research profile of the doctoral programme as well as the ability to complete the studies in the target duration. The applicant’s potential and motivation will be assessed on the basis of the quality and feasibility of the research proposal as well as previous academic performance and research experience. The ability to complete the studies in the target duration will be judged on the study plan, research proposal and funding plan. The study plan will be assessed specifically for its feasibility and
appropriateness. Before submitting their application, applicants must request a supporting statement from their dissertation supervisor(s) which will be sent separately to the Admission Services by post.

5. Application documents required
Applicants wishing to be considered must submit the following documents in Finnish, Swedish or English:

A. Electronic Application (form open during the application period), including

A1. A research proposal, including a funding plan. Please use the University of Helsinki research plan template to draw up your research plan.

A2. A study plan. Please acquaint yourself with the doctoral programme’s curriculum before drawing up your study plan.

A3. The title and summary of your Master´s thesis or equivalent or a description of previous academic publications.

A4. The names of the GeoDoc supervisors, who have agreed to supervise your thesis. For further information on the requirements placed on supervision, please see the programme specific selection criteria

B. Attachments to the Electronic Application

B1. Copies of your previous degree certificate(s) (Master's degree or equivalent and potential Bachelor's degree)

B2. Transcript of records for your previous degree(s) (Master's degree or equivalent and potential Bachelor's degree)

B3. Verification of language skills, (see instructions for English, Finnish or Swedish)

B4. A permit by an Ethical Review Board and/or by the National Animal Experiment Board, if required by the research arrangement

B5. A signed letter of commitment from the supervisor(s), who have agreed to supervise your thesis

C. Additional documents to be sent by post (applicants whose previous degree is not from the University of Helsinki)

C1. An officially certified copy of your previous degree certificate (Master's degree or equivalent)

C2. An officially certified copy a of detailed transcript of studies included in the Master's degree (or equvalent)

All educational documents must be either officially certified by the awarding institution, or legalised, unless the degree has been awarded by the University of Helsinki. Officially certified copies issued by a Finnish Notary Public will also be accepted. Please note, however, that there are country-specific document requirements in place for some degree-awarding countries. Documents from these countries must be attested or submitted in a certain way. These Country-Specific Requirements must be followed first and foremost, before any regular requirements for attesting documents.

C3. Verification of language skills. The University of Helsinki demands an indication of academic level language skills of all applicants. See information on the options of verifying your language skills in either Finnish, Swedish or English.

C4. A supporting statement by the dissertation supervisor(s). A separate statement submitted by the supervisor(s) directly to the University of Helsinki admissions service.

Applicants can also submit other enclosures to demonstrate that they have the knowledge and skills required to complete a doctoral degree. The Administrative Procedure Act (434/2003) stipulates that applicants must be provided a reasonable period to supplement a deficient application. Applicants have two weeks to supplement a deficient application, such as a supporting statement by the supervisor(s).

NOTE ALSO THAT all studies required for a second-cycle degree or equivalent education must be completed before the deadline for applications. Applicants for the right to complete a doctoral degree must enclose with their application a copy of their degree diploma and a transcript of studies or of other certificates with which they wish to demonstrate that they have the required knowledge and skills. The copies accompanying the application (incl. of the diploma) must be certified; however, certificates of language tests must be original certificates from the awarding institution. The other documents attached to the application must be in Finnish, Swedish or English, or a translation into one of these by an authorised translator that includes the translator’s signature and stamp. Copies of the degree diploma and the transcript of studies are sufficient if the degree that provides eligibility for postgraduate studies under section 37 of the Universities Act was completed at the University of Helsinki. Applicants must have the language proficiency specified in the University of Helsinki’s general admission guidelines.

6. Submitting the application
All applications must be submitted using the electronic application form. The required additional documents must be sent by post and must arrive by the end of the application period. Applications and additional documents sent by email are not accepted. Incomplete applications are not considered.

The required additional documents should be sent to:

Admission Services
P.O.Box 3
FIN-00014 University of Helsinki
Finland

If sent via courier service, please use the following address:

Admission Services / University of Helsinki
Fabianinkatu 33, 1st floor
00170 Helsinki
Finland

In case of questions concerning application of doctoral study right, please send e-mail to admissions@helsinki.fi .

7. Granting the right to complete a degree
The steering group of each doctoral programme assesses the applications of all applicants to the programme who meet the formal requirements. The purpose of student selection is to assess the motivation, commitment and aptitude of the applicants for studies. The right to complete a doctoral degree is granted on the basis of diplomas, certificates and other documents. The admission criteria include previous academic performance, the applicable content of previous studies to the prospective doctoral programme, the study plan and the research proposal.

When selecting students for doctoral education, it must be ensured that the admitted students have access to high-quality supervision and support related to the topic of their doctoral dissertation. Applications can be rejected if no suitable supervisor can be designated for the dissertation. See programme specific admission criteria for more details.

The steering group then draws up an admission proposal for the faculty’s decision-making. This proposal indicates the names of the admitted and rejected applicants, together with the reasons for each decision. The final decision on admitting an applicant to complete the degree is made by the degree-awarding Faculty.

8. Target degrees
The primary postgraduate degree offered at the University of Helsinki is a doctoral degree. The right to pursue postgraduate studies is always requested and granted with a doctoral degree as the primary goal. However, a Licentiate degree can also be completed in the disciplines represented by each doctoral programme. Faculties which grant the right to complete a doctoral degree (Doctor of Philosophy) in the Doctoral Programme in Geosciences are the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Arts.

9. Announcement of admission results and acceptance of a place offer - one place rule
The faculty responsible for the target degree will announce the admission results, including the reasons for them by a letter of acceptance, to be sent by e-mail to the address given in the application. Admitted applicants must report whether they accept the offer by a specified deadline. Admitted students who fail to notify the University of their acceptance of a place and to submit the relevant documents by the date determined by the University will lose their right to pursue studies.

Section 38 of the Universities Act states that applicants may accept only one place in a degree programme that leads to an academic degree and begins in the same term.

The main points of the one place rule are:

If you are offered more than one study place at a higher education institution leading to a university degree starting at the same term, you may accept only one of them
A place of study granted through a university-to-university transfer within Finland is not governed by this rule.
Accordingly, you may be completing several on-going degree programmes simultaneously, but only if your admission to these programmes has been granted in different terms.

10. Appeals
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.

Salaried doctoral student positions

The call for university funded Ph.D. positions will be open September 1-14, 2017. The open positions are applicable both for new doctoral candidates and for doctoral candidates already working on their theses (funding from one or four years). All applications must be submitted online, the link to the application form will be available by September 1st. Please note that the applicant should have an agreement on a research project with the intended thesis supervisor within GeoDoc.

The application will include the following parts:

The electronic application form, which is to be completed by the applicant and submitted by September 14, 2017 at 15:00 (Helsinki time, UTC+3).
A research plan (max. 6 pages) included as an attachment to the electronic application. The research plan should follow the University of Helsinki Research plan outline. Note, do not write your research plan in the electronic application form, but include it as an attachment.
a recommendation letter from the intended GeoDoc supervisor(s) of applicant’s PhD studies is needed. List of such supervisors is available from this GeoDoc website (see below). The recommendation letter must be submitted using an e-form at https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/81814/lomake.html. Deadline for the recommendation letters is 21 September 2017 at 15.00 EET (GMT+3). The applicant is responsible for informing the supervisor(s) about the recommendation letter and the submission instructions of the e-form.
Applicants who are not currently students of the University of Helsinki should also provide the following attachments: 1) Scanned copy of MSc certificate 2) Scanned copy of transcript of records including all passed course units, their completion date and the grades and credits awarded, and 3) verification of English language skills (if the applicant already has such; required for the admission of study right).

Instructions for filling the electronic application form can be found here.

The applications are evaluated based on the applicant’s performance in previous studies and research, quality and content of the research plan, recommendation by the supervisor(s), and on possible interview of the applicants as well as other pertinent merits.

The decisions will be announced on the doctoral programme’s web page by the beginning of December 2017.

For further information on the doctoral student positions, please contact Tino Johansson tino.johansson(at)helsinki.fi Tel. +358 (0)50 4489425.

Technical support for using the recruitment system: rekrytointi(at)helsinki.fi.

Activities

The Doctoral Programme in Geosciences

organizes in-depth scientific courses and seminars to support doctoral students' research work
provides travel grants for scientific visits and international conferences
promotes best practices in research supervision

Funding

Funded PhD positions

There are currently no open funded positions. The next call for positions will open in September 2017.

Financial support for research training events

The doctoral programme provides financial support for research training events (guest lectures, intensive courses, workshops, etc) that are within the research areas of the programme and benefit its students.

The application time is continuous. A free-form application should be submitted to the GeoDoc coordinator preferrably two months before the start of the event. The application should include a description of the event as well as an approximation of the total costs of the event.

Travel support for doctoral students

The doctoral programme provides travel support for its doctoral students to participate in conferences, intensive courses, summer/winter schools and research visits in Finland and abroad. Funds can be applied for to cover travel, accommodation and visa costs as well as participation fees and per diem allowances. To apply for travel funding, fill out the application form preferably two months prior to the trip (the board decides on funding approximately once a month).

When applying a travel grant for a conference, the doctoral student is supposed to have submitted an abstract for a paper or poster presentation which is approved to the event. The available travel grants are only meant for visits which are essential for completing the applicant’s doctoral thesis. Travel grants will not be provided for field work or analytical costs of PhD research. The maximum travel grant you may apply is 1500 EUR. If the GeoDoc grant does not cover all the identified travel expenses, the doctoral student should seek additional funding from external sources, such as research projects.

Supervision

The programme has supervisors from different Faculties and Departments of the University of Helsinki as well as from other research organizations. The list of current supervisors of the doctoral students is below:

Professors and associate professors

Fortelius, Mikael, professor (Department of Geosciences and Geography; palaeontology)

Gibbard, Phil, professor (Department of Geography, Cambridge University; clastic sedimentology)

Hjulhammar, Marcus, PhD, assistant professor (Department of Philosophy, History, Culture and Art Studies; Baltic maritime archaeology)

Kahma, Kimmo, research professor (Finnish Meteorological Institute; oceanography)

Karhu, Juha, professor, Head of Department (Department of Geosciences and Geography; geochemistry and hydrogeology)

Kotilainen, Aarno, research professor (Geological Survey of Finland; marine geology)

Kukkonen, Ilmo, professor (Department of Physics; solid earth geophysics)

Lahtinen, Raimo, research professor (Geological Survey of Finland; bedrock geology)

Lavento, Mika, professor (Department of Philosophy, History, Culture and Art Studies; archaeology)

Luoto, Miska, professor (Department of Geosciences and Geography; physical geography)

Moore, John, research professor (Arctic Centre, University of Lapland; cryosphere, glaciology)

Pellikka, Petri, professor (Department of Geosciences and Geography; geoinformatics)

Poutanen, Markku, professor, Director (Finnish Geospatial Research Institute; geodesy)

Rämö, Tapani, professor, Director of GeoDoc Program (Department of Geosciences and Geography; petrology, physical geology)

Salonen, Veli-Pekka, professor (Department of Geosciences and Geography; quaternary geology, environmental geology)

Seppä, Heikki, professor (Department of Geosciences and Geography; palaeoecology, climatology)

Soininen, Janne, PhD, associate professor (Department of Geosciences and Geography; aquatic ecosystems)

Wagner, Thomas, professor (School of Geosciences, RWTH Aachen University, Germany; economic geology)

Whipp, David, PhD, associate professor (Department of Geosciences and Geography; geodynamics)

Principal Investigators and other supervisors

Arppe, Laura, PhD, curator (Finnish Museum of Natural History, Natural Sciences Unit; stable isotope geochemistry, palaeoecology, palaeoclimatology)

Eronen, Jussi, PhD, docent (Department of Geosciences and Geography; paleoenvironments)

Halkoaho, Tapio, PhD, docent (Geological Survey of Finland; magmatic petrology, mineralization)

Halla, Jaana, PhD, docent (Finnish Museum of Natural History, Natural Sciences Unit; bedrock geology)

Heikkinen, Pekka, PhD, Research Director (Department of Geosciences and Geography; seismology)

Heikkinen Risto K., PhD (Finnish Environment Institute; climate change impact modelling, biogeography)

Heinonen, Aku, PhD, postdoctoral researcher (Department of Geosciences and Geography; petrology, isotope geology)

Heiskanen, Janne, PhD, (Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki; remote sensing)

Helama, Samuli, PhD, docent (Natural Resources Institute Finland; dendrochronology)

Hölttä, Pentti, PhD, docent (Geological Survey of Finland; metamorphic petrology)

Kaakinen, Anu, PhD, academy research fellow (Department of Geosciences and Geography; sedimentology)

Kohonen, Jarmo, PhD, docent (Geological Survey of Finland; sedimentary petrology)

Koivisto, Emilia, PhD, lecturer (Department of Geosciences and Geography; applied geophysics)

Korja, Annakaisa, Head of Institute of Seismology (Department of Geosciences and Geography; seismology, tectonics, lithospheric research)

Korkka-Niemi, Kirsti, PhD, docent (Department of Geosciences and Geography; hydrogeology, environmental geology)

Kultti, Seija, PhD, university lecturer (Department of Geosciences and Geography; environmental geology, paleoclimatology)

Lahelma, Antti, PhD, docent (Department of Philosophy, History, Culture and Art Studies; history, archaeology)

Lindroos, Antti-Jussi, PhD, docent (Natural Resources Institute Finland; pedology)

Luoto, Tomi, PhD, docent (Department of Geosciences and Geography; paleolimnology, arctic environments)

Luttinen, Arto, Head Curator, PhD, docent (Finnish Museum of Natural History, Natural Sciences Unit; geochemistry, petrology)

Maeda, Eduardo, PhD, postdoctoral researcher (Department of Environmental Sciences; remote sensing, environmental change)

Miettinen, Arto, PhD, docent (Department of Geosciences and Geography; paleoceanography)

Muukkonen, Petteri, PhD, docent (Department of Geosciences and Geography; geoinformatics, remote sensing)

Mõttus, Matti, PhD, academy research fellow, docent (VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland; remote sensing)

Mänttäri, Irmeli, PhD, senior research scientist (Geological Survey of Finland; isotope geology)

Mäntyniemi, Päivi, PhD, docent (Department of Geosciences and Geography; seismology)

Nevalainen, Liisa, PhD, docent (Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä; paleolimnology, aquatic ecosystems)

O’Brien, Hugh, PhD, senior research scientist (Geological Survey of Finland; isotope geology)

Oinonen, Markku, PhD, docent, laboratory director (Finnish Museum of Natural History, Natural Sciences Unit; dating methods)

Ojala, Antti, PhD, docent (Geological Survey of Finland; limnology, paleoenvironments)

Okkonen, Jarkko, PhD (Faculty of Technology, University of Oulu; ground water modelling)

Poutiainen, Matti, PhD, docent (Department of Geosciences and Geography; metamorphic petrology)

Ruth, Olli, PhD, university lecturer (Department of Geosciences and Geography; physical geography)

Sirén, Anders, PhD, senior lecturer (Department of Geosciences and Geography; spatial bioeconomic modeling, land use dynamics)

Sorjonen-Ward, Peter, PhD, docent (Geological Survey of Finland; structural geology)

Viranta-Kovanen, Suvi, PhD, docent (Institute of Biomedicine, evolution biology)

Väliranta, Minna, PhD, docent (Department of Environmental Sciences, Environmental Change Research Unit; palaeoecology, plant macrofossil analysis)

Väre Henry, PhD, docent (Finnish Museum of Natural History, Natural Sciences Unit; tundra vegetation)

Zwinger, Thomas, PhD (Finnish Center for Scientific Computing, glaciology)

Contact

The Board of the GeoDoc Programme in 2017

Professor Tapani Rämö (director) (Geology)

Professor Miska Luoto (Physical Geography)

Professor Ilmo Kukkonen (Geophysics)

University lecturer Seija Kultti (Environmental Geology)

Doctoral student Henrik Kalliomäki

Doctoral student Niina Junno (deputy member)

Research coordinator Tino Johansson (coordinator)

For more information contact the coordinator of GeoDoc:

Email: tino.johansson (at) helsinki.fi

Telephone: +358 (0)50 4489425 or (0)2941 50825

Department of Geosciences and Geography
P.O.Box 68 (Gustaf Hällstömin katu 2b)
FI-00014 University of Helsinki, FINLAND