Doctoral Programme in Clinical Research - Admission Criteria and Instructions for Applicants

The doctoral researchers of DPCR pursue a doctoral degree either in the Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Social Sciences, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Technology or Turku School of Economics.

Please read carefully the instructions of the faculty you are applying to well advance before the actual application period (below), since there are many things that need to be agreed on or arranged before applying (supervisors, research plan, postgraduate study plan, possible language test etc.).

Instructions for the applicants

• Faculty of Medicine
• Faculty of Science
• Faculty of Technology
• Faculty of Social Sciences
• Turku School of Economics

The supervisor

A prerequisite for admission is that at least two persons* have agreed to act as supervisors and fulfill the qualification requirements for supervisors. Finding a supervisor is the responsibility of the applicant.

Please follow the instructions of the faculty in question. Links to the supervision of each faculty and The School of Economics can be found below in the sections Application documents, subsection 5. Signed supervision and study plan.

*At Faculty of Medicine: When only one supervisor for doctoral training is proposed, a justified application the supervisor’s justified plea for approval of only one supervisor must be attached to the application.

The Follow-up committee

The aim of the follow-up committee is to ensure the progress of the doctoral researcher’s thesis work and studies, to provide an outside perspective to their research, and to support both the doctoral researcher and the supervisors in possible conflict situations.

The applicant negotiates with their supervisor(s) to assemble the follow-up committee and agrees with the members of the committee on annual monitoring practices. The follow-up committee is not mandatory in all the faculties but the Doctoral Programme in Clinical Research strongly recommends forming a follow-up committee regardless of the faculty of the applicant.

• Check the application period
• Read the instructions of the faculty in question and the doctoral programme carefully!
• If you are going to verify your language skills with a language test, make sure that you book your test time well in advance. It is the applicant’s responsibility to make his/her own language test arrangements
• Get the required signatures in time and prepare the appendices
• Fill in the electric application form
• Remember to apply in time
• Keep your original certificates at hand and prepare to acquire officially certified copies if needed!

During the application period  28 October – 8 November 2024 (the application form closes at 3 pm Finnish time), you can apply for:

a) The right to study for a doctoral degree at the University of Turku in the Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Social Sciences, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Technology or Turku School of Economics from 1 January 2025 onwards

In the Call I 28 August to 13 September 4 pm (Finnish time!) 2024, in addition to a study right, you could also apply for:

1. A fixed-term Doctoral researcher position under an employment contract with the University of Turku Graduate School (UTUGS)

The position of a Doctoral researcher is set to begin on 1 January 2025 at the earliest and for the duration of a maximum of four years (up to until 31 December 2028). The positions are intended for full-time doctoral dissertation research. Duties other than those related to doctoral dissertation research, such as teaching duties, must not compromise the completion of the doctoral dissertation within the planned schedule. As a rule, up to 5% (maximum about 80 hrs per academic year) of the annual working time of the Doctoral researcher can consist of teaching.

When determining the length of the employment contract, prior funding granted for pursuing a doctoral degree is taken into account. The maximum length for a Doctoral researcher position is four years. A person already awarded with a doctoral degree cannot be chosen as a Doctoral researcher under an employment contract.

A Doctoral researcher works at the University of Turku. A Doctoral researcher position requires residence in Finland.

Salary is determined in accordance with the University salary system for teaching and research personnel. It consists of a task-specific salary component and a personal performance salary component. The task-specific salary component of a Doctoral Researcher is at levels 2–4, depending on the progress of the doctoral project. The personal performance component, which is added to the task-specific base salary, is also paid. For a doctoral researcher, the salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience and will be approximately 2400–3300 €/month, depending on the progress of the doctoral project. A probationary period of 6 months applies.

From the Doctoral Programme in Clinical Research funded position can also be applied for short periods to be used e.g., in conjunction with clinical specialist training or for other justified reason (the reasoning must be indicated in the application).

2. A fixed-term Doctoral researcher position under an employment contract with iCANDOC doctoral education pilot

When applying for a fixed-term position in the iCANDOC doctoral education pilot, the right to study for a doctoral degree is a prerequisite for accepting the position. Employment begins on 1.1.2025 or, if necessary, as agreed by mutual agreement. The funding is for three years (ending on 31.12.2027), which is the intended duration of the dissertation work.

The employment of a doctoral researcher requires residence in Finland and the place of work is Turku.

Salary is determined in accordance with the University salary system for teaching and research personnel. It consists of a task-specific salary component and a personal performance salary component. The task-specific salary component of a Doctoral Researcher is at levels 2–4, depending on the progress of the doctoral project. The personal performance component, which is added to the task-specific base salary, is also paid. For a doctoral researcher, the salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience and will be approximately 2400–3300 €/month, depending on the progress of the doctoral project. A probationary period of 6 months applies.

The positions are intended for full-time doctoral dissertation research and postgraduate studies. The employment contract is based on a total working time of 1612 hours per year, which gives the Doctoral Researcher freedom to plan their working hours.

The position cannot be filled by an individual who has already completed a doctoral degree or has been granted the right to study for a doctoral degree before 1 November 2023.

What is expected of you?

When applying for a right to study:

• You are required to have completed a relevant higher university degree or a university of applied sciences, or a relevant study programme abroad which in the awarding country gives eligibility for the corresponding level of higher education (Universities Act 558/2009, 37§);
• You must fulfil the University of Turku language skill requirements;
• You are required to fulfil the prerequisites set by the doctoral programme and the faculty in question for granting a right to study. This information is available on the web page of each faculty:
• Faculty of Medicine
• Faculty of Science
• Faculty of Social Sciences
• Faculty of Technology
• Turku School of Economics

If the applicant has a right to study for a doctoral degree at another university or in another doctoral programme at the University of Turku, the applicant must provide reasons for changing over to the Doctoral Programme in Clinical Research. A doctoral researcher may hold only one doctoral degree study right at the University of Turku at a time.

When applying for a fixed-term Doctoral researcher position under an employment contract with UTUGS (only Call I, 28 August - 13 September 2024):

• You are required to have an active right to study in the doctoral programme in clinical research at the University of Turku. If you have not yet been granted a right to study, you must apply for a right to pursue a doctoral degree within this call for applications. A right to study is a prerequisite for an applicant to be chosen for a fixed-term Doctoral researcher position under an employment contract;
• You are planning to pursue or pursuing your first doctoral degree;
• You have not previously been granted a full-time four-year funding for pursuing a doctoral degree.

When applying for a fixed-term Doctoral researcher position under an employment contract with iCANDOC doctoral education pilot (only Call I, 28 August - 13 September 2024):

• You are required to have an active right to study in the doctoral programme in clinical research at the University of Turku. If you have not yet been granted a right to study, you must apply for a right to pursue a doctoral degree within this call for applications. A right to study is a prerequisite for an applicant to be chosen for a fixed-term doctoral researcher position under an employment contract;
• You are planning to pursue or pursuing your first doctoral degree; a person who has already completed a doctoral degree or who has been granted the right to study for a doctoral degree before 1.11.2023 cannot be selected for an employment position as a doctoral researcher in the iCANDOC pilot project.
• A doctoral researcher's employment requires living in Finland and the place of work is Turku.

Please note, that when applying for both the right to study and either or both fixed-term doctoral researcher positions, you will need to fill in the application with the required attachments to the separate online systems (see more information below).

The right to study for a doctoral degree is applied for by filling in an electronic form in the My Studyinfo service and the fixed-term doctoral researcher positions are applied for by filling in an electronic form in the University of Turku recruitment system (TalentAdore). For both applications you will need to attach the required additional documents (in pdf form). Application documents are specified in the section Attachments to the application below. It is requested that application documents are written in English.

Links to the electronic application forms and a guides with instructions will be published on this web page and for the iCANDOC doctoral education pilot project, on the websites of the iCANDOC pilot at the University of Turku and the national iCANDOC pilot.

How to apply for the right to study for a doctoral degree (Calls I and II):

The right to study for a doctoral degree is applied for by filling in an electronic form in My Studyinfo service and attaching the required additional documents specified in Appendix 1. The form will be accessible as the application period begins on 28 August 2024 and closes at 4 pm (local time in Finland) on 13 September 2024. A link to the electronic form will be published on the website of the graduate school. In the Call I, the application form was open from 28 August to 13 September 4 pm (Finnish time!) 2024.

During the Call II application round, the applicant may apply to a maximum of one doctoral programme at the University of Turku. You can only have one valid study right at a time for a doctoral degree at the University of Turku.

Applications that arrive after the application period has ended will not be processed. When the application period has ended, you cannot change the doctoral programme you are applying for, or any other information.

In My Studyinfo service, you can only apply for right to study a doctoral degree. If you also want to apply for a fixed-term doctoral researcher position under an employment contract with UTUGS and/or iCANDOC doctoral education pilot project (only Call I 28 August - 13 September 2024 ), you must apply for that position separately (for details, please, see section How to apply the fixed-term doctoral researcher position under an employment contract with UTUGS AND/OR iCANDOC doctoral education pilot project).

How to apply for the fixed-term doctoral researcher position under an employment contract with UTUGS AND/OR iCANDOC doctoral education pilot project (only Call I, 28 August - 13 September 2024):

The fixed-term doctoral researcher position under an employment contract with UTUGS and/or iCANDOC doctoral education pilot project is applied for by filling in an electronic form in the University of Turku recruitment system (TalentAdore) and attaching the required additional documents specified in Attachments to the application below. The form will be accessible as the application period begins on 28 August 2024 and closes on 13 September 2024 at 4 pm (local time in Finland).

The fixed-term positions are announced at the beginning of the application period in the Open Vacancies at the University of Turku website and on the website of the graduate school. In addition, for iCANDOC doctoral education pilot, on the websites of the University of Turku's iCANDOC and on the national iCAN pilot. All of the required attachments must be submitted before the end of the application period. Applications that arrive after the application period has ended will not be processed. The application documents will not be returned to the sender

Candidates, who applied for a fixed-term doctoral researcher position with UTUGS may be interviewed. Applicants will be notified separately for the interviews.

In the iCANDOC doctoral education pilot project, the most successful iCANDOC applicants based on the evaluation of the doctoral programme are invited to interviews by e-mail, and the most successful applicants are selected to the positions based on the initial evaluation of the doctoral programme, the interview and the evaluation of the iCANDOC pilot project's selection group.

A person selected for the fixed-term position is required to have an active right to study in the Doctoral Programme in Clinical Research. If you have not yet been granted a right to study, you must apply for a right to pursue a doctoral degree in the Doctoral Programme in Clinical Research by filling in an electronic form in My Studyinfo service (for details, please, see section How to apply the right to study for a doctoral degree above).

Application documents:

Please see the required attachments from the application call in question!

If you are applying for a right to pursue a doctoral degree, you are required to submit the attachments 1–6 and if needed also the attachments 7–11. (The following applied only to Call I [28 August - 13 September 2024]: If you already have a right to study and you are only applying for either or both fixed-term doctoral researcher position/s under an employment contract, you are expected to submit attachments 1–4.)

For the application, the applicant must prepare:

• a summary of the research plan (max 1000 characters, field in the application form)) and
• the following documents in PDF format for the application:

1. Research plan

• Note the model of the DPCR (NB! updated 2024, include a financing plan and research group)
• Note instructions on how to describe the statistical methods.

When applying for the Turku School of Economics, the research plan should be maximum of 10 pages, for more instructions see Applying to Doctoral Studies at Turku School of Economics | University of Turku (utu.fi)

The research plan should follow the guidelines for the responsible conduct of research (see Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) | Finnish National Board on Research Integrity TENK). The research plans can be checked with the Turnitin OriginalityCheck plagiarism detection software. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) to assist in the preparation of the research plan should be clearly indicated in the research plan.

2. CV of the applicant including the list of publications (e.g., Template for researcher's curriculum vitae)
3. CV from one supervisor (max 2 pages) and the list of publications 2022-2024
4. Motivation letter (max 1 page)
   • A one-page letter of motivation. In the letter, the applicants must state reasons why they are applying specifically to the University of Turku and to the chosen major subject. The applicants must also express the novelty value the intended research would bring to the scientific field. The letter must also include the applicant’s reflections on their professional aspirations.

Please describe your motivation for completing a doctoral degree in the Doctoral Programme in Clinical Research and how you think the doctoral degree will affect your career. If you apply for iCANDOC doctoral education pilot please describe your motivation for taking part in the project. The motivation letter is a one page long freeform document

If the applicant has a right to study for a doctoral degree at another university or in another doctoral programme at the University of Turku, the applicant must provide reasons for changing over to DPCR. A student may hold only one doctoral degree study right at the University of Turku at a time.

If you are applying to the Turku School of Economics, please also follow the instructions of the School:

• A one-page letter of motivation. In the letter, the applicants must state reasons why they are applying specifically to the University of Turku and to the chosen major subject. The applicants must also express the novelty value the intended research would bring to the scientific field. The letter must also include the applicant’s reflections on their professional aspirations. 

In the TalentAdore electronic application form, there will be two iCANDOC doctoral education pilot specific questions asked, in which only candidates applying for the pilot project are required answer, other applicants may answer no to those questions.

5. Signed supervision plan including the study plan (a mandatory attachment, use template)
   • Faculty of Medicine supervision and study plan
     • Please read the instructions on the Faculty of Medicine web page before making your application.
     • Faculty of Medicine Subjects in doctoral training and heads of subjects
   • Faculty of Science supervision and study plan
   • Faculty of Technology supervision and study plan
   • Faculty of Social Sciences commitment by a supervisor (file or copy of email message by a professor or a researcher with a doctoral degree working at the University of Turku to confirm that she/he is willing to supervise applicant’s dissertation project). No template for study plan.
   • Turku School of Economics supervision plan or a commitment letter by supervisors. Study plan template.
   • When preparing a study plan, please use the study guide.

NB! At least one of the supervisors should have access to UTU IT-systems (utu user account).

6. A copy of the degree certificates and the transcript of study records (for additional information please see the section Degree giving the eligibility)
   1. If you have completed your former degree(s) that make you eligible for doctoral studies at a higher education institution in Finland, you must attach your scanned original degree certificates, transcripts of study records and other educational documents which may be of relevance in the selection to the electronic application form.
   2. If you have completed your former degree(s) that make you eligible for doctoral studies at a higher education institution abroad (i.e., outside of Finland), you must attach the following items to the electronic application form:
      1. scanned original degree certificates (in the language that the degree was completed in)
      2. scanned original transcripts of study records (in the language that the degree was completed in)
      3. scanned other original educational documents which may be of relevance in the student selection and that you are applying based on.

If the original degree certificates or transcripts of study records are not written in English, Finnish or Swedish, official translations to one of these languages must also be submitted. An official translation here refers to a translation of the educational documents issued by the awarding institution and a translation made by an authorised translator. A transcript in English can be replaced by a Diploma Supplement (DS) awarded by a European educational institution, provided that it contains the information about completed courses and other study attainments.

Please make sure that all attachments are good-quality, easy to read, full colour scans or photographs of the complete required document. Attachments that do not meet these requirements may be rejected.

The applicants who have completed their prior degree in a country other than Finland and who are granted a study right in this call, need to deliver either the original degree certificates or certified copies of the original degree certificates and their translations to the University of Turku, as instructed in the admission notification, on 7 March 2025 at the latest. If the admitted applicant does not deliver the required certificates by the deadline, they forfeit the study right. Instructions on delivering certificates and country-specific requirements.

NB! Please keep your original degree certificates and other relevant educational documents at hand during the application process.

7. Verification of language proficiency (if needed)

The University of Turku follows the Rector’s decision (15 Aug 2019) on the means of verifying one’s language proficiency. Please see language requirements on the web page of the university’s graduate school.

If the applicant is required to prove their language proficiency with a language test, a scanned certificate of a completed language test must be attached to the application.

8. Copy of a valid passport

Attach a copy of your valid passport or official identification card with photo and information on citizenship. If you have a Finnish personal identity code and you have entered it on the application form, you do not need to attach a copy of your passport.

9. Letter of support for the collaboration provided by the representative of the research organisation/ principal investigator, if the data is mainly collected outside the University of Turku or the Varha collaborate area. Attach as “other attachment” in the application form.
10. Supervisor's comment on the funding, if the thesis work is a main job for the applicant (not required for the Turku School of Economics). Attach as “other attachment” in the application form.
11. A justified application for the approval of a supervisor, when proposing only one supervisor. One supervisor can be appointed only in special and justified situations. (Note! only when applied for to the Faculty of Medicine. In other Faculties and in the iCANDOC doctoral education pilot project two supervisors are required).

When applying for the right to study for a doctoral degree in the Faculty of Social Sciences, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Technology or Turku School of Economics the required attachments may vary from the above-mentioned. Please check and follow the detailed instructions on the web pages of the faculty in question.

The applicant must deliver all required documents by the end of the application period. Any late submissions will not be processed.

Call I and II, study right

The steering committee of the DPCR will review the applications. The applications may be sent for evaluation to national and/or international reviewers. The research plans attached to the applications may be checked with the Turnitin OriginalityCheck plagiarism detection software in accordance with the University of Turku quality assurance system.

In the selection process, the following factors are emphasized: quality and feasibility of the research plan, applicant’s merits and completed studies as well as applicant’s capability and motivation to complete a doctoral degree. The applicant’s research topic must fit in with the profile of the Doctoral Programme. 

For the right to study for a doctoral degree, the eligibility criteria of the applicant and the selection criteria of the faculty (see section Who may apply) are considered in addition to the criteria mentioned above.

Call I (28 August - 13 September 2024) fixed term doctoral researcher positions:

Those who applied for a fixed-term doctoral researcher position with UTUGS may be interviewed. Applicants will be notified separately for interviews. In the selection process, the following factors are emphasized: quality and feasibility of the research plan, applicant’s merits and completed studies as well as applicant’s capability and motivation to complete a doctoral degree. The applicant’s research topic must fit in with the profile of the Doctoral Programme. Any other funding received by the applicant for doctoral studies and the phase of the thesis are taken into consideration when determining the duration of the Doctoral researcher position. DPCR is multidisciplinary and aims to further all relevant research fields, which may be taken into account when filling the Doctoral researcher positions.

When evaluating applications for the iCANDOC doctoral education pilot project, special attention will be paid to the quality and implementation conditions of the research plan, as well as to the supervisor's experience, studies already completed, the applicant's research merits, and ability and motivation to complete the doctoral degree. In addition, the applicant's research topic must fit the profile of the pilot project. Based on the evaluation of the doctoral programme, the selected applicants will be invited for an interview. The most successful applicants will be selected for the positions, based on the initial evaluation of the doctoral programme, an interview and the evaluation of the iCANDOC pilot project's selection group.

The Dean/Vice Dean of research affairs of the faculty decides on granting the right to study for a doctoral degree based on the proposal of the steering committee of the doctoral programme. Additional information on the decision process can be found on the web pages of each faculty.

The Head of the department decides on recruitment of the applicant for the fixed-term position of a Doctoral researcher based on the proposal of the steering committee of the doctoral programme or application evaluation selection group of the iCANDOC project. Additional information on the decision process of the iCANDOC doctoral education pilot decisions can be found on the webpage of University of Turku iCANDOC doctoral education pilot.

All applicants will be personally informed about the decisions. The decisions for Call I are made by the 1st November 2024. The decisions for Call II are made by the 4th of December 2024 . The names of the applicants who have been selected for a fixed-term Doctoral researcher positions will be announced on the website of the doctoral programme or on the webpage of University of Turku iCANDOC doctoral education pilot by first of November 2024.

An admitted applicant has to notify the University of Turku of their acceptance of the study place by 3:00 pm (local Finnish time) on 13 December 2024 according to the instructions given in the admission notification. If the admitted applicant does not give the notification by the end of the allotted period of time mentioned above, the applicant forfeits the study place. A person admitted to more than one university or polytechnic degree programme only notifies the one educational institution at which they choose to accept the study place. Notification, i.e., accepting a study place, is binding and may not be cancelled or changed later.

According to Finnish university legislation, a student may accept only one study place leading to a higher education degree in Finland during one academic term (autumn term 1 Aug – 31 Dec or spring term 1 Jan – 31 Jul). This rule applies to all higher education, i.e., Bachelor and Master level degrees awarded by Finnish universities of applied sciences, Bachelor and Master degrees awarded by Finnish universities, and Licentiate and Doctoral degrees awarded by Finnish universities. This regulation is not applied to study rights received in transfer student selections, from the Åland University of Applied Sciences, from the Police University College, and from institutions of higher education outside Finland.

The applicants who have completed their prior degree in a country other than Finland and who are granted a study right in this call, need to deliver either the original degree certificates or certified copies of the original degree certificates and their translations to the University of Turku, as instructed in the admission notification, on 7 March 2025 at the latest. If the admitted applicant does not deliver the required certificates by the deadline, they forfeit the study right. Instructions on delivering certificates and country-specific requirements.

Appeal for rectification

If an applicant is dissatisfied with the result of the student selection (right to study for a doctoral degree), he/she has the right to submit an application for the rectification of the decision to the Faculty in question within 14 days of the official publishing of the results.

Doctoral Programme Coordinator: Mikko Tähtö-Pakkanen, websites of the Doctoral Programme in Clinical Research, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Technology, Turku School of Economics and Faculty of Social Sciences. iCANDOC doctoral education pilot coordinator: Verna Louhivuori