Finnish Doctoral Programme in Oral Sciences (FINDOS-Turku) - Admission Criteria and Instructions for Applicants

1. Check the application period and requirements.
2. Read the instructions of the Faculty of Medicine and the Doctoral Programme carefully!
3. 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 their own language test arrangements.
4. Get the required signatures in time and prepare the appendix documents as pdf's.
5. Fill in the electric application form.
6. Remember to apply in time. Applications submitted after the deadline will not be processed.
7. Keep the original degree certificates and other relevant educational documents at hand during the application process.

Specific admission requirements in FINDOS

• Suitable Academic Degree (Licentiate of Dentistry or equivalent, MSc level e.g. in biology, biochemistry or biomaterials). Dental and medical students at the university of Turku may receive the right to study for a doctoral degree already before obtaining the Licentiate degree.
• Research plan approved by the supervisor.
• Research area in the field of oral sciences.

An application should

• Contain a scientifically significant and feasible thesis project which thematically fits in the scope of the scientific fields represented by FINDOS.
• Demonstrate that the applicant is motivated and has potential to develop into an independent researcher.
• Demonstrate that the applicant will significantly benefit from the four-year PhD training program.
• Include structured research and study plans approved by the supervisor.

The supervisor

• Please read carefully the current requirements on the Faculty of Medicine's instructions webpage under section Supervision
• Represents the scientific fields of FINDOS.
• Can provide the doctoral researcher with adequate supervision and scientific training.
• Actively participates in the development of the FINDOS curriculum.

The Follow-up committee for doctoral training

• More information and current requirements are available at the Faculty of Medicine Study guide for doctoral studies - chapter 4.4 (pdf)

During the application period 28 August –13 September 2024, you can apply for:

1. the right to study for a doctoral degree in the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Turku from 1 August 2024 onwards

2. a fixed-term doctoral researcher position under an employment contract 

3. both (1 and 2)

When applying for a right to study

You are required to have completed a relevant Master’s degree awarded by a university 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 for granting a right to study.

The eligibility criteria and other general guidelines can be found on the web pages of the the Faculty of Medicine, and the FINDOS-Turku Doctoral Programme.

When applying for a fixed-term doctoral researcher position under an employment contract

You are required to have an active right to study in the doctoral studies of the Faculty of Medicine in 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 in the Faculty of Medicine 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;

Possible previous funding for pursuing a doctoral degree granted by University of Turku is taken into account when determining the length of the funding period.

The right to study for a doctoral degree 

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. A link to the electronic form will be published on the website of the graduate school. 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.

During one application round the applicant may apply to a maximum of two doctoral programmes at the University of Turku (UTU). You can only have one valid study right at a time for a doctoral degree at the UTU.

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. 

The fixed-term doctoral researcher position under an employment contract

The fixed-term doctoral researcher position is applied for by filling in an electronic form in the UTU recruitment system and attaching the required additional documents. The positions are announced at the beginning of the application period in the Open Vacancies at the UTU website and on the website of the Graduate School. The application 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.

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.

Both the right to study and a fixed-term doctoral researcher position

Please note that when applying for both the right to study and a fixed-term doctoral researcher position, you must fill in the application with the required attachments separately in both online systems specified above.

When you are applying for a right to pursue a doctoral degree, you are required to submit the attachments described below. 

If you already have a right to study a doctoral degree and you are only applying for a fixed-term doctoral researcher position under an employment contract, you are expected to submit attachments 1–3.

For the application the applicant must prepare:

• a summary of the research plan (max 1000 characters) and
• the following documents in pdf-format:

1. Research plan (max 5 pages, see guidelines and additional points)

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). By attaching the research plan to the application form the applicant gives permission for checking the research plan via the Turnitin OriginalityCheck plagiarism detection software, in accordance with the quality assurance system of the University of Turku (UTU).

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) to assist in the preparation of the research plan should be clearly indicated in the research plan.

2. Curriculum Vitae of the applicant, including a list of publications when applicable. Please see the instructions of Finnish National Board on Research Integrity (TENK) for writing a CV.

3. Motivation letter (max 1 page)

The motivation letter is a one page long freeform document, which includes the reasons for applying for the doctoral studies in the Finnish Doctoral Program in Oral Sciences (FINDOS-Turku). If the applicant has a right to study for a doctoral degree at another university or in another doctoral programme at the UTU, the applicant must provide reasons for changing over to FINDOS-Turku. A student may hold only one doctoral degree study right at the UTU at a time. 

4. Supervision and study plan (Fill in electronically, print and sign together with the supervisor/-s and the head of subject) NB! At least one of the supervisors should have access to UTU IT-systems (utu user account). Additional information is available at the Faculty of Medicine webpage, under the “Supervision” section. 

5. A copy of the degree certificates and transcripts of study record

a. 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.

b. 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:

• scanned original degree certificates (in the language that the degree was completed in)
• scanned original transcripts of study records (in the language that the degree was completed in)
• 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.

Those applicants who have been granted a right to study and who have completed their prior degree abroad have to submit either the original degree certificates or certified copies of the degree certificates and other educational documents and the official translations of the documents to the UTU as instructed in the admission notification by 7 March 2025 at the latest. If the admitted applicant does not deliver the required certificates by the deadline, they forfeits the study right. Instructions on delivering certificates and country-specific requirements.

6. Verification of language proficiency

The UTU follows the Rector’s decision (15 Aug 2019) on the means of verifying one’s language proficiency. See the language requirements on the webpage of the university’s graduate school: https://www.utu.fi/en/research/utugs/how-to-apply/language

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.

7. When only one supervisor for doctoral training is proposed, the supervisor’s justified plea for approval of only one supervisor must be attached to the application. See Before applying / Doctoral training at the Faculty of Medicine under section Supervision. 

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.

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

Assessment procedure 

The FINDOS-Turku steering committee will process the applications. Applications may also 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.

Assessment and selection criteria

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

When admitting the right to study for a doctoral degree, the eligibility criteria of the applicant and the selection criteria of the Faculty of Medicine together with the selection criteria of the FINDOS-Turku doctoral programme are considered. 

The Dean/ Vice Dean of the Faculty of Medicine decides on granting the right to study for a doctoral degree based on the proposals of the steering committees of the doctoral programme. The admission decisions for this call are made by the end of November 2024. All applicants will be personally informed about the decision.

The Head of the department decides on recruitment of the applicant for the position of a doctoral researcher based on the proposal of the steering committee of the doctoral programme. The names of the applicants who have been selected for the position of a doctoral researcher will be announced on the website of the doctoral programme by the end of 2024.

An admitted applicant has to notify the University of Turku of their acceptance of the study place by 3:00 pm (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 time period 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, an applicant 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’s and Master’s level degrees awarded by Finnish universities of applied sciences, Bachelor’s and Master’s 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 of Medicine within 14 days of the official publishing of the results. Contact information: med-doctoral@utu.fi.

In 2024, the faculty has updated the curricula. The accepted applicant will complete their doctoral degree in compliance with the instructions and regulations regarding doctoral education that come into effect on August 1, 2024. 

FINDOS-Turku

Faculty of Medicine

Contacts:

findos@utu.fi 

Director of the FINDOS-Turku Ulvi Gursoy, ulvgur@utu.fi

Coordinator Sanni Helander sanni.helander@utu.fi