Academic career at the University of Turku

The titles at the first stage of the employment relationship are Doctoral Researcher and in projects Project Researcher.

A higher university degree and an approved research plan are required for the position of doctoral researcher. In addition, demonstrated ability and motivation for postgraduate studies and the completion of a doctoral degree in accordance with the research plan are required.

The University of Turku has a graduate school whose doctoral programs cover all disciplines represented by the university. The goal of the doctoral education is to provide the skills to work in research and teaching tasks as well as other demanding specialist tasks.

University of Turku Graduate School UTUGS and Doctoral Programmes

In the second stage, the titles in the teaching-oriented positions are University Teacher and Clinical Teacher, and in the research-oriented positions Postdoctoral Researcher and Senior Researcher.

The teaching-oriented tasks of the second stage are independent teaching positions which include teaching in degree studies and planning and development of education. Positions also include the person’s own scientific research. The requirements for the position are good teaching skills and extensive familiarity with and expertise in the field of teaching.

The aim of a postdoctoral research position is to qualify for an academic career. This lasts typically three to four years after graduation. At this stage, the researcher's identity is strengthened and a more independent and responsible role is assumed. Position includes independent scientific research work, which also includes planning and implementation of research projects and acting as the principal investigator in a research group. The duties also include teaching. The person must be able to conduct independent research work, and must also have sufficient teaching skills. 

The titles of the third stage teaching-oriented positions are University Lecturer and Clinical Instructor, and in research-oriented positions University Research Fellow and Senior Research Fellow.

In teaching-oriented positions, the person is required to have special merits in teaching and, similar to the second stage, good teaching skills and extensive familiarity with and expertise in their field of teaching. The position includes broad teaching responsibility, including teaching in degree studies, supervising thesis work, managing extensive study modules, educational development and responsibility of the degree programme.

At this stage, researchers are independent professionals who also have the ability for academic leadership. In research-oriented positions, in addition to independent research work, the applicant is required to have skills in forming research groups, management skills in projects and in general, responsibility in developing their field of research and postgraduate teaching, and experience of teaching in their own field of research. 

In both teaching and research-oriented positions, mobility and national and international co-operation with different actors can be seen as merits.

The fourth stage of the career model includes the positions of Professor and Research Director.

The responsibilities of professor position include research work that is highly valued by the international academic community and high-level teaching responsibilities, including a responsibility for the discipline and its development, a responsibility for the use of research resources, strategic planning, organising and coordinating of research projects and networks, and extensive responsibility for the degree programme or an extensive responsibility for leading and developing research and postdoctoral training. 

Tenure track positions are filled with an open call for applications. The positions are advertised nationally and internationally.

A person selected for the post of assistant or associate professor must possess an appropriate doctoral degree, ability to conduct independent scientific work and experience in management of scientific research. In addition, the person must have evidence of international co-operation in his or her field of study, and the ability to provide high-quality teaching based on research and to supervise theses and dissertations.

How to prepare an academic portfolio

How to prepare a teaching portfolio

The preparatory group first makes a pre-selection of the applicants based on the information presented in the application and its appendices. After this, the preparatory group obtains expert statements on the scientific merits of the top applicants chosen through the pre-selection process and also interviews the top applicants. The final selection decision is made by the Rector by the proposal of the faculty council.

When recruiting for and evaluating the position of an assistant or associate professor, attention is paid primarily to the scientific potential and quality. The evaluation criteria used in the tenure track system are based on the principles of predictability, transparency and international comparability. In the tenure track system, performance is evaluated in three categories:

• research merits
• teaching, and
• academic leadership and societal interaction.

The evaluation is carried out as an overall evaluation. Also, the University’s Strategy and values are taken into account in all tenure track evaluations.