Doctoral Programme of Social and Behavioural Sciences - Admission Criteria and Instructions for Applicants

Next application period:

3 March - 14 March, 2025 (right to study from 1 August 2025)  
Note! The application forms closes at 4 pm local time in Finland. 

Call for applications - Spring 2025 (pdf)

Link to the application form (to MyStudyinfo/Studyinfo)

Application form (In Studyinfo choose: Fill in application form)

The form is accessible only during the application period and closes at 4 pm (local time in Finland, Europe/Helsinki) on the last day.

Please familiarize yourself with the application form well before the end of the application period and allow sufficient time to obtain and/or draw up the necessary attachments.

A general prerequisite for the right to pursue postgraduate studies is an applicable higher academic degree, or a relevant degree from abroad which in the country in question provides eligibility for corresponding postgraduate studies.

To gain admission to pursue a licentiate or doctoral degree in social sciences, the applicant must either have a higher academic degree (master’s degree) in the field of social sciences, or be one whom the faculty considers otherwise to have gained sufficient knowledge and skills.

To gain admission to pursue a licentiate or doctoral degree in psychology, the applicant must have a higher academic degree (master’s degree) in psychology, or be one whom the faculty considers otherwise to have gained sufficient knowledge and skills.

To gain admission to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy degree, the faculty must find the applicant eligible for doctoral studies in philosophy, speech-language pathology or psychology.

Language requirements for admission / Right to study for a doctoral degree:

https://www.utu.fi/en/research/utugs/how-to-apply/language

A high-quality research plan is the most essential selection criteria and it demonstrates the applicant's capabilities for doctoral training. The research plan is done independently. Preparing your research plan carefully will help you stand out from other qualified applicants. Please note that the Doctoral Programme of Social and Behavioural Sciences will evaluate the suitability of your research topic in relation to the research profile and expertise of the major subject and its faculty.

The research plan must not exceed 6 pages (A4, spacing 1, font 12, including list of references).

A research plan needs to include the following components:

1. Abstract
2. Introduction of research setting
3. Research methods, data sets, schedule and supervision
4. Research project’s link to career plan of the applicant

More detailed instructions concerning the research plan are included to an attachment.

By including the research plan to the application the applicant gives permission for checking the research plan with Turnitin OriginalityCheck (system for electrical plagiarism detection).

You can apply to the doctoral programme by filling in the online application form (in Studyinfo). The call for applications will be published before the application period begins.

The application period for the Doctoral Programme of Social and Behavioural Sciences is two times per year:

• September
• March

You can apply:

• a right to pursue a doctoral degree at the University of Turku (both application periods)
• funded doctoral researcher positions (only the autum application period)

The objective of the selection process of doctoral researchers is to have students suitable for a research career track who are skilled, motivated, and committed to research and doctoral studies.

A general prerequisite for the right to pursue postgraduate studies is an applicable higher academic degree, or a relevant degree from abroad which in the country in question provides eligibility for corresponding postgraduate studies.

Please read also the Faculty of Social Sciences instructions on the applying for the right to study for doctoral degree.

A maximum of 50 students are admitted to the Doctoral Programme each year.

The selection criteria are as follows:

• a sufficient grade in the advanced studies stage of a master’s degree - usually at least a good evaluation is required
• a sufficient grade for the master’s thesis – usually at least cum laude approbatur
• the level and feasibility of the applicant’s research plan
• availability of resources for supervision

The board of the doctoral programme will process the applications and invite external experts to evaluate them. The applications are assessed according to the following criteria, where relevant:

• quality of the research plan (general quality, feasibility, relation to doctoral programme re-search profile)

• success in previous studies (master’s thesis grade and other studies)

• academic merits and progress in studies towards a doctoral degree (publications, conference presentations, activity in scientific associations, scientific awards, amount of studies in study register, studying speed, etc.).

The programme offers annually 2-4 salary positions, which are for a maximum of four years. All new employees have a six-month probation at first.

The call for new applications is open in September. More detailed information will be available in the webpage of the doctoral programme or the Faculty of Social Sciences in July. Evaluation process:

- doctoral programme checks the applications and asks supplements when needed (remember for instance language test, when needed)
- applications are evaluated in the disciplines
- according to the evaluation in the disciplines/departments about 10 applications will be send for external evaluation
- external evaluators rank the candidates in order of quality of the applications
- the board of doctoral programme prepars a decision proposal for the Faculty
- Dean of the Faculty makes a decision, which will be published by the end of November.

- Philosophy: Helena Siipi, helena.siipi(a)utu.fi
- East Asian Studies: Lauri Paltemaa, lauri.paltemaa(a)utu.fi
- Speech and Language Pathology, Elina Mainela-Arnold, elina.mainela-arnold(a)utu.fi  
- Contemporary History: Vesa Vares, vesa.vares(a)utu.fi
- Psychology: Johanna Kaakinen, johanna.kaakinen(a)utu.fi 
- Social Policy: Veli-Matti Ritakallio and Heikki Ervasti, veli-matti.ritakallio(a)utu.fi / heikki.ervasti(a)utu.fi
- Social Work: Kirsi Günther, kirsi.gunther(a)utu.fi
- Sociology: Suvi Salmenniemi suvi.salmenniemi(a)utu.fi
- Economic Sociology: Pekka Räsänen, pekka.rasanen(a)utu.fi
- Political Science: Antti Pajala, antti.pajala(a)utu.fi

Enquiries for a supervisor must be included with an abstract of the research plan and CV. 

When applying for the right to study, the applicant must attach to the application the supervisor's commitment to supervise the dissertation. The supervisor must have a doctoral degree thesis and one of the supervisors must be from the discipline to which the application is addressed.

You can familiarize yourself with the faculty's disciplines as well as the research and teaching staff on the faculty's website.

Enquiries for a supervisor must be included with an abstract of the research plan and CV.