After the admission decisions have been made, you will receive a letter announcing the decision by email to the address you indicated on the application form.
If your contact details change during the application process, please notify your prospective doctoral programme and Admission Services (phd-admissions(at)helsinki.fi).
If your application is accepted, please carefully follow the instructions provided in the letter.
f your application is rejected, grounds for the decision will be provided to you. If you feel that an error has been made in the admission process, you have the right to appeal.
When you are accepted as a doctoral student at the University of Helsinki you will receive an acceptance letter from your faculty. In the acceptance letter you will find instructions on how to accept your place of study and how to enroll for your first year as a doctoral student.
If you don't accept the place of study by the deadline given by the faculty, you will lose your right to study at the University of Helsinki.
Please note that a first-year student may register as non-attending for the first academic year for the following reasons only:
When your right to pursue a doctoral degree is registered in the student information system, your basic personal information is also registered. Also the information on which doctoral programme you belong to as well as the information on the activity of your studies, i.e. are you completing your studies full- or part-time, is registered in the student register.
If you have been granted a study right as a doctoral student already earlier, you can find more information on annual registration in the Instructions for Students.
One place rule will be extended to cover all education leading to a university degree. This change will affect programmes that begin on August 1, 2016 or later. This rule of one study place per term concerns all degree programme application options.
The main points are:
You can receive a certificate of student status after registering for attendance or non-attendance for the academic year. If you live outside Finland, we will post the certificate to you. Students living in Finland can print out a certificate of student status from Sisu after activating their user account. Detailed instructions on requesting a certificate of student status are available on the Instructions for Students.
The certificate indicates your right to study at the University of Helsinki and includes information on your registration for attendance or non-attendance.
For a residence permit application, you primarily need a hosting agreement.
After accepting your student place and registering for attendance or non-attendance, your data will be stored in the University’s Sisu student records a few weeks after your registration. You will receive a notification after your data has been recorded. Please note that you cannot register for courses before activating your user account. Detailed instructions for activating your user account are available under instructions for new doctoral students on the Instructions for Students.
After accepting your study place, it's time to start planning on relocating to Finland. The University of Helsinki Uni Arrival Advisor is an electronic service that will help you find your way to information related to e.g. immigration, insurance, taxing issues, public transportation and other important things you need to take into account when moving to a new country. Through the service you will get a personal checklist that guides you through the process of arriving in Finland and settling in Helsinki step by step.
If you are moving to Helsinki, it's best to start looking for an apartment as soon as you've accepted the offered study place. Further information on where and how to start looking for housing is available in the Instructions for Students.