Doctoral education
The University of Eastern Finland offers high-quality research opportunities after obtaining your Master’s degree, including a doctoral degree. Some fields also offer professional postgraduate degrees, such as the medical physicist’s and chemist’s degrees. The aim of scientific doctoral education is to educate professionals in research who have the capacity to work independently in solving scientific problems and producing new scientific knowledge. A doctorate can be a qualification requirement for some positions.
A doctoral degree consists of a doctoral dissertation and compulsory doctoral studies (30 credits). The dissertation is to be defended in a public examination. More information about the degree can be found on Introduction to doctoral education- page.
The aim is to complete doctoral studies in four years.
Applying for a right to doctoral studies
The four faculties at UEF are responsible for the administration of 11 doctoral programmes which are thematic or discipline-specific. The faculty in question grants the right to pursue doctoral studies, appoints the supervisors and approves the research plan.
You may apply for one of the university’s doctoral programmes.
Before applying
Start preparations in good time! Finding a supervisor and preparing the research plan may take months.
1. Plan your doctoral studies.
- Reflect why you wish to pursue a doctoral degree. What is the contentual area on which you want to create new knowledge? How much time and effort you can allocate to your doctoral studies and what is your target schedule for the doctoral degree?
- Make sure that you are eligible for doctoral studies (see below). In addition, you must fulfill the language requirements of the doctoral programme.
- Get to know your funding options. Receiving a study right means that you have a right to study for a doctoral degree, but it does not guarantee funding. Paid positions are limited. How do you plan to finance your doctoral research if you are not selected for a paid doctoral researcher position?
- Select the right doctoral programme based on your previous education and potential research interests. Familiarise yourself carefully with its requirements.
2. Find yourself a supervisor.
- The right to doctoral studies cannot be obtained without consent from the supervisor. Potential supervisors can be found by browsing the webpages of the doctoral programme which introduce the professors, researchers and research groups working in the research areas of the doctoral programme. A supervisory relationship is a long-term and close collaborative relationship, so the decision should not be made lightly, nor should contact be made with inadequate preparation. See also the requirements for supervisors. It is recommended that every doctoral reseacher has two supervisors.
3. Familiarise yourself with the application instructions of your target doctoral programme (see below), and prepare the required documents.
- The research plan is the most important part of the application. It demonstrates not only the scientific contribution but also the feasibility of the project and the realism of the schedule.
- In addition, you will need officially certified paper copies of your degree certificate and transcript of records, as well as language certificates. Check also if there is a country-specific requirement for your documents.
Applying in practice
The application is submitted via Studyinfo.fi-portal. Follow the instructions of your doctoral programme in detail and submit your application on time.
Below you can find links to the application requirements of the doctoral programmes.