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General information on layout and publishing of doctoral dissertation

Before the public examination, a dissertation is often edited and published. The accompanying illustration presents this process at a general level, highlighting the responsibilities of different parties such as the doctoral candidate, the series editor, and the printing house. However, these responsibilities may vary depending on the publication series and printing house. Therefore, it is important to also review faculty-specific guidelines on Kamu.

Student and Learning Services’ Customer Service

The Student and Learning Services’ customer service desk offers general study counselling, information on term registration and study rights and maintains the student register. Changes to personal information are done at the Student and Learning Services’ customer service. The customer services desk also provides study certificates and transcripts of records.

Phone number: +358 29 445 8900

  • phone service: Mon–Thu from 12 to 2 pm (12–14)

Opening/office hours:

Exceptions to the Student and Learning Services’ customer service opening hours are announced here:

Exceptionally our customer service and phone service is open from 18 August to 15 September every weekday from 10 am to 3 pm.

Before contacting us, please check if you can find the answer to your question in Kamu or in KamuBot!

Email address: opiskelu@uef.fi

  • If your message contains confidential information, contact us and we will give you instructions on how to send your message encrypted.

Visiting address:

  • Joensuu Campus, Aurora building, entrance A, ground floor (Yliopistokatu 2)
  • Kuopio Campus, Canthia building, 2. floor, Oppari (Yliopistonrinne 3)

Postal address:

  • Joensuu: University of Eastern Finland, Student and Learning Services, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu
  • Kuopio: University of Eastern Finland, Student and Learning Services, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211 Kuopio

Moodle: Support for Communication in Public Defence

Are you nearing graduation and wondering about the preparation to defend your dissertation? The Doctoral School has created supportive material for you on Moodle “Support for Communication in Public Defence” (requires UEF login)!

The purpose of the material is to provide you with ideas, support and encouragement in communication and interaction during the day of your public defence. Supervisors, custodes, research communities (and those invited to be an Opponent in another university) are very welcome to make use of the material as well.

With the help of the videos (in Finnish and in English), guidance, and examples you can create your lectio praecursoria, practise how to interact with the Opponent during the public defence, illustrate verbally and nonverbally your main arguments, and manage your performance anxiety. You also receive support for media interviews and tips for giving speeches at your post-doctoral party (karonkka). The day celebrates You and the research-based new knowledge.

The material does not replace faculty-specific instructions nor does it collect information on administrative responsibilities for graduating. Always refer to your doctoral programme or faculty in official matters.

Congratulations already on your achievements!

More information: University Lecturer Ira Virtanen

Exchange process in a nutshell

Described here is how the exchange process works in general. Please make sure to go through more detailed instructions before starting your application.

1 Planning the exchange

  • When is the best time for your exchange (which semester during your studies)
  • Where do you wish to study during your exchange (exchange programme, host university)
  • What do you wish to study during your exchange
  • Why do you want to study abroad?
  • Discuss your plans with your departmental coordinator of international affairs

2 Starting the application process (1. stage application)

  • Submit your application during the academic year prior to the planned exchange (in the framework of UEF’s application periods)
  • The application (with the required attachments) is submitted to UEF in the SoleMOVE system

3 Application processing

  • Student can be selected for one (1) preliminary exchange placement to one (1) host university or exchange programme
  • Notification of results is done by email
    • Accepted application: accept or decline the offered placement
    • Rejected application: you will be offered the chance to change the application’s host universities to still available hosts, or reapply for exchange in the next application periods

4 Nomination to the host university

  • International Mobility Services nominates the student as UEF’s candidate for exchange to the host university
  • The student receives instruction and deadlines for the 2nd stage application

5 Submitting an application to the host university (2. stage application)

  • During the semester prior to the planned exchange (i.e., during spring for autumn exchange, during autumn for spring exchange)
  • Instructions and deadlines specific to the host university
  • Student receives application instructions from either directly from the host university or from International Mobility Services at UEF
  • Follow the instructions and submit the application to the host university complete with all required documents

6 Host university reviews student’s application

  • Host university reviews the application and asks for clarification or more documents if necessary
  • Host university sends the student or International Mobility Services an acceptance letter and other information about practical arrangements (e.g. accommodation, arrival etc.)
  • If the host university rejects the application, the situation will be handled on a case-by-case basis

7 Grant application to UEF

  • After acceptance, the student should submit the necessary documents for the grant payment to International Mobility Services
  • Instructions and forms will be sent by email
  • The grant is paid approx. one month prior to the exchange, provided that the student has submitted all the required documents in time
    • NB! During the holiday seasons (late June – early August, end-of-year holidays), grant payments may be delayed

8 Practical arrangements

  • Travel arrangements (tickets etc.)
  • Accommodation arrangements (if the host university has not instructed this matter earlier)
  • Insurance

9 Exchange starts!

  • Exact dates and duration according to the host university’s academic calendar

10 After exchange reporting

  • Mandatory part of the entire process and a requirement for the grant
  • Instructions and forms will be sent by email
  • Contact the departmental coordinator of international affairs to have the studies completed during the exchange included into the degree at UEF

Mentoring programme

An annually recurring mentoring programme helps international students get to know Finnish working life and build their networks. Mentors are working life professionals from several different fields in Eastern Finland.

Mentoring is carried out in small groups, which guarantees the opportunity to participate for as many international students as possible.The mentoring language will be mainly English.

Get help with your career planning

Mentoring can help you find your strengths and areas for development and encourage you to take on new challenges. Also, the mentors can get new energy and fresh perspectives on their work through mentees aka actors.

By taking part in the mentoring programme, you will improve your skills in

  • job search and getting to know different career options and paths
  • developing professional expertise and finding your strengths
  • communication and interaction with others
  • building professional networks
  • developing self-confidence and self-knowledge

In addition to the mentor’s support, mentoring gives peer support and new views on topics discussed in the group.

What we expect from you

As an actor, we expect you to

  • commit to the mentoring programme and group meetings
  • take an active role in the group
  • share your expectations and goals with other participants
  • to understand that mentoring is about sharing working life experiences and spurring you in the first steps of your career, not getting a job offer or an internship from a mentor

How to apply

Application for the spring 2025 group mentoring programme will open in autumn 2024. International degree programme students in Eastern Finland are eligible to apply.

You can apply if you are ready to actively plan your future and share your career aims in a group. In addition, you commit to taking part in mentoring meetings from January to May approximately once a month.

The mentors leading the groups are professionals from different fields and diverse backgrounds. You will be placed in a mentoring group according to the following criteria:

  1. Your preference of the mentor
  2. Your commitment and motivation to the programme
  3. Registration order

In the application form, we will ask for your personal and study information, your motives for participating and your expectations for mentoring. The information you provide is very important as it will be used in group formation. Some of the answers will also be sent to your mentor.

The schedule of the programme is annually as follows:

  • Online mentoring training for actors in December
  • Online kick-off meeting in January
  • 4 to 6 mentoring meetings with your group. The group will agree on whether the meetings will be held face-to-face or online.
  • Online intermediate meeting for both mentors and actors in March
  • Final meeting in May

Further information:
minna.tarvainen@savonia.fi (Savonia students),
marko.pietila@uef.fi (UEF students)

Curricula of Previous Years (2010 – 2021)

The study guides for all degree programmes and academic subjects for the academic years 2010-2021 that include information on curricula, course descriptions and degree structures and were previously published in WebOodi, are available on this website. The study guides are in PDF format and are not accessible in all respects. As of the academic year 2021–2022, the study guides are available in Peppi. WebOodi has been removed from service.

If the information is not available in an accessible format in the study guides of the faculties, departments and units for the academic years 2010–2021, the unit responsible for teaching must be contacted, in which case the information can be provided in an accessible format where necessary.

Academic Year 2020 – 2021

Academic Year 2019 – 2020

Academic Year 2018 – 2019

Academic Year 2017 – 2018

Academic Year 2016 – 2017

Academic Year 2015 – 2016

Academic Year 2014 – 2015

Academic Year 2013 – 2014

Academic Year 2012 – 2013

Academic Year 2011 – 2012

Academic Year 2010 – 2011

Funding options for doctoral researchers 

The right to pursue doctoral studies does not include funding, a contract of employment, or teaching tasks at the university. However, full-time doctoral students need funding to cover their living costs and potential research costs (travel costs, research materials, etc.). Funding options should be discussed with the supervisor already when planning to apply for a doctoral study right and writing a research plan. 

Doctoral studies can be funded, for example, by a scholarship, by working as a researcher in a research project, by working as a doctoral candidate at the University of Eastern Finland (doctoral researcher position), or by studying part-time while at work. Doctoral researchers are themselves responsible for applying for a funding.

Salaried doctoral researcher positions 

UEF doctoral researcher positions 

The University of Eastern Finland has salaried positions for doctoral researchers enabling their engagement in full-time research.

These positions may be applied for by those already enrolled as doctoral researchers at the University of Eastern Finland and by those planning to complete their doctoral degree at the University of Eastern Finland. The call for applications is open during spring term and detailed instructions for applying are published annually on the Open positions webpage

Shared doctoral researcher position system 

In the shared doctoral researcher position system of the University of Eastern Finland, the doctoral researcher has two employment relationships at the same time: a part-time contract of employment both at the University of Eastern Finland and with an external employer. 

The main task of the doctoral researcher is the doctoral dissertation in both employment relationships. Possible other duties may include, to a minor extent, teaching related to or promoting the doctoral dissertation.

When recruiting to the shared doctoral researcher position system, the usability of the expertise gained in doctoral studies for the business sector or society at large is assessed, in addition to the selection criteria of ordinary doctoral programmes. The working life relevance of the external employer of the doctoral researcher is assessed by the management group of the doctoral programme in question. 

The university is willing to negotiate for shared doctoral researcher positions with all organizations interested in strategic partnership. The contact person is the Head of Academic Affairs, Kaisa Laitinen.

Doctoral researcher positions in projects 

Research projects funded by, e.g., the Research Council of Finland, Business Finland, or the European Union may offer doctoral researcher positions. Information about them can be found in Open positions

Grants and Scholarships

Several foundations and associations grant funding for doctoral studies. Learn more about possibilities: 

A a part-time (10%) contract of employment of grant-based researchers

Please, note that the university offers a part-time (10%) contract of employment for grant-funded researchers who have an external funding of at least 12 months.

Grants and scholarships awarded by the university 

In the Faculty of Science, Forestry and Technology, Teollisuusneuvos Heikki Väänänen’s Fund awards annually grants for wood-related scientific research at the University of Eastern Finland. Faculty of Health Sciences awards grants from foundations and funds. Open calls are published in Viva Engage group of each faculty. 

Faculties also award grants for starting or finishing a dissertation:  

  • The Philosophical Faculty awards grants for starting (start-up grant) and finishing (finalization grant) dissertation work. Information about the start-up grant can be found on the doctoral programme’s website (Funding doctoral studies). Doctoral researchers in the final stages of their dissertation work can apply for the finalization grant. The grant application process is typically held twice a year, in spring and autumn. The call for applications is published in the FILOTO Doctoral Programme Viva Engage community (requires UEF login).
  • Within the Faculty of Science, Forestry and Technology, grants for periods of 1–3 months for finishing a dissertation are awarded by the faculty. An application submitted by application form, including the necessary appendices, is to be addressed throughout the calendar year.
  • The departments/schools of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies award work grants for doctoral researchers to the start their doctoral research (start-up grant), depending on the financial situation of the department/school. The application form and instructions are available online. 

A compulsory precondition for work grants is that the recipient is released from his/her actual duty for the grant period. 

Doctoral studies alongside work 

It is also possible to complete a doctoral degree alongside other paid work. 

Studies during exchange

During the exchange period, the student completes courses offered by the host university. After the exchange, the studies are included into the student’s degree at the University of Eastern Finland on the basis of the host university’s transcript of records.

Exchange student’s course offerings

Many foreign universities have their own course offerings for exchange students. In practice, this means that it is not always possible for exchange students to choose courses freely from all the courses offered by the university. In addition, host universities may exclude certain fields from exchange studies. As a rule, the restrictions and course offerings are university-specific, and often the information can be found on the host university’s own website.

Please carefully read the website of the host university you are interested in – you should try to find information that specifically concerns international and exchange students, not degree students. As an exchange student, you are not a degree student at the host university, which means that the same courses are not always available for exchange students.

On the selection of courses

The courses to be completed during the exchange are selected from the host university’s course offering for exchange students. The selection of courses can be affected by, for example, the following:

  • Exchange programme of the host university: does the university have its own, limited selection of courses for exchange students, or field-specific study offerings?
  • Field of agreement in field-specific exchange destinations: In Erasmus+ destinations, studies can mainly be selected in the field for which the destination is contracted. When going to the destination of the major subject, the exchange should include studies in the major subject, and when going through the minor, studies in the minor subject. Therefore, as a rule, it is not possible to go to the exchange destination of a minor subject and study your own major or vice versa.
  • Language of instruction: in which language does the host university offer teaching? Is the selection in English more limited, i.e. do exchange students have to be more flexible in their course choices? It is the student’s responsibility to find out the language of instruction – so please try to take this into account when researching the websites of exchange universities.

Discuss possible course selections and inclusion of studies with the departmental contact person of your department/department.

Credits abroad

Approximately 20–30 ECTS credits of courses at the host university should be completed during the exchange per semester. The ECTS system is commonly used in Europe, i.e. a credit in Italy, for example, is directly proportional to a Finnish credit. Outside Europe, on the other hand, the definition of a credit may vary, i.e. depending on the destination country, one credit there may correspond to several UEF credits.

The host universities often have their own recommendation for exchange students on the number of credits or courses (min/max), which corresponds roughly to that 20–30 ECTS credits in terms of workload. We recommend that students primarily follow the host university’s possible instructions regarding the number of courses and credits.

Studies completed remotely at the University of Eastern Finland during the exchange period (online and distance courses) are not included in the number of credits for the exchange period – during the exchange, the student should primarily take courses offered by the host university.

Study plan during the exchange, AKA Learning Agreement

All exchange students must draw up an exchange study plan before going on exchange or at the latest at the beginning of the exchange. A Learning Agreement is a plan for exchange studies and their inclusion to your degree. In Erasmus+ funded exchanges, the student prepares an electronic study plan, and in other programmes (e.g. bilateral exchange, ISEP exchange), the student fills in UEF’s own LA form.

N.B! The Learning Agreement is mainly compiled after you have been selected as an exchange student at the University of Eastern Finland in the first phase of the application process.

Learning Agreement forms can be specific to each exchange programme. Follow the instructions sent to you.

As a rule, the student is responsible for ensuring that the information recorded in the study plan is correct. In the digital learning agreements of the Erasmus+ programme, the student also enters a plan for credits for studies. Regardless of the exchange program, when doing LA, it is important to contact your department’s international affairs contact person and go through the form with them before signing.

In general, exchange studies can be credited to the degree in two ways, either as inclusion or as a substitution. If you intend to apply for direct substitution of courses for your exchange studies, discuss the matter with the teacher of the course to be substituted in advance. Substitution is always decided by the responsible teacher of the course.

LA is signed by three parties: the student themselves, the departmental contact of the student’s department, and the responsible person at the host university. International Mobility Services do not sign study plans.

All exchange students will receive instructions by email on how to fill in and return the Learning Agreement. Please read the instructions carefully!

In a nutshell:

  1. Choose courses from your host university’s website (or other provided source) and fill out the Learning Agreement form your exchange coordinator has sent you.
  2. Have your departmental coordinator of international matters at UEF approve (i.e., sign) your LA.
  3. Don’t forget to sign your LA yourself!
  4. By the time your exchange begins, please have the contact person at your host university approve (i.e., sign) your LA.
  5. Scan/take a high-quality picture of the document and upload it to your original application on SoleMOVE. NB! Erasmus+ funded exchange (Erasmus+, YUFE, Nordplus, Nordlys) students will compile their LAs in SoleMOVE, and they do not need to upload it separately.

The forms you will need will be sent to you via email. You may also find the forms on Kamu: forms and reporting of outgoing student exchange.

Erasmus+: Digital Learning Agreement (DLA)

Students need to complete Digital Learning Agreement (DLA) for their Erasmus+ study exchange. DLA is also used for Nordlys and Nordplus study exchanges funded with Erasmus+. Exchange coordinator will send you instructions on how to fill in the Digital Learning Agreement. Digital Learning Agreement can also be called as an Online Learning Agreement (OLA).

Separate certificate

The separate certificate includes the name, scope, grade and completion date of the study module and, if necessary, a professional qualifications clause.

Before filling in the application form for a separate certificate, make sure that all courses in the study module have been recorded in the study register. Before applying for a separate certificate, contact the department/school/unit responsible for education and ask for the study module to be compiled and assessed. Once the study module has been compiled and assessed, the transcript of records shows the compiled study module and individual courses with grades. A transcript of records is attached to the separate certificate.

The delivery time of the separate certificate is approximately three – four weeks. During the summer and Christmas holidays the delivery of the certificate may be delayed.

Application form for a separate certificate issued by the faculty

Application form for a separate certificate issued by the Centre for Continuous Learning


Quality Management

What does quality management mean at the University of Eastern Finland?

Quality at the University of Eastern Finland means aligning performance with the objectives to achieve top level education and research that has societal impact.

University’s mission is to educate experts and people with competence who have needed skills for society’s different tasks. The education and research must be high quality and fullfill the criterias set to the content, quality and learning outcomes of the degrees. It is the society’s guarantee that the university can be trusted. Quality management is embedded in all the university’s activities. For the students it shows for example so that the teaching responds the criterias and learning outcomes set from the authorities and working life.

Quality management is a way of ensuring that the right things are done at the right time in the right way. It ensures that the university has justification for its practices and is in control of them. Quality management lets us know whether we are achieving our objectives or if we need to change our approach.

The university’s quality culture refers to the supportive atmosphere of the university community. The quality culture reflects the commitment of the university’s staff and students to their work and studies. Together they uphold and work by the common values and objectives set for the university. Common practices are developed on the basis of feedback from customers and continuous evaluation, and those deemed good are efficiently shared within the university.

Quality policy sets the quality objectives, principles and division of responsibilities governing the university’s activities. Under the quality policy, the university’s activities are based on openness, equality, participation and communality. The university promotes the well-being of its staff and students and takes into consideration the principles of multiculturalism, global social responsibility and sustainable development.

For the students this shows by taking into account student well-being and multiculturalism in different ways, for example they are supported in several ways at the university, with the support of many actors, and through various services and as a increase of the amount of the courses in english. The principles of the sustainability and responsibility are to be seen in the contents and methods of the teaching and in the amount of the sustainability and responsibility related courses. These themes are shown in the strategic focuses of the research. Also the goal of the university becoming carbon neutral by 2025 is a part of this.

Quality System

The quality system (i.e., integrated management system) provides the framework and assigns the responsibilities and procedures for effective quality management, which we use to maintain and improve the quality of the university’s activities. The policies and procedures recorded in the university’s quality system help us ensure that we are on the right path and will achieve our strategic objectives. The quality system’s descriptions and metrics enable us to react to the targets for development identified.

The university’s activities and their development are based on the principle of continuous improvement
Plan – Do – Check – Act and Improve (i.e. the Deming cycle).

Quality management and the principle of the continuous improvement shows in different phases of the studies througt the whole studies. It shows in the fair and appropriate student selection processes having clear selection criteria and in the contents, quality and diverse teaching methods and in the support services of the teaching. Students are involved in institutional and performance development groups and they can especially influence the quality of teaching by giving the feedback from teaching and its support services, which is utilized in developing these prosesses.