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:
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
Additional information is available at the Faculty of Medicine webpage, under the section “Degree giving the eligibility”.
- If you have completed your former degree at a higher education institution in Finland, you must attach to the application:
- Scans of the original degree certificate or the original electronic degree certificate of the degree which make you eligible for doctoral studies (e.g. Master's degree certificate)
- Scans of the original transcript of records or the original electronic transcript of records of the degree which make you eligible for doctoral studies (e.g. transcript of records of the Master's degree)
- Other original educational documents which may be of relevance in the student selection (e.g. studies you have completed outside the degree that are related to the right to study you are applying for).
- If you have completed your former degree(s) at a higher education institution abroad (i.e. outside of Finland), you must attach to the application:
- Scans of the original degree certificate or the original electronic degree certificate of the degree which make you eligible for doctoral studies (e.g. Master's degree certificate in the same language as the degree was completed in)
- Scans of the original transcript of records or the original electronic transcript of records of the degree which make you eligible for doctoral studies (e.g. transcript of records of the Master's degree in the same language as the degree was completed in)
- Other original educational documents which may be of relevance in the student selection (e.g. studies you have completed outside the degree that are related to the right to study you are applying for).
If the original degree certificates and other educational documents 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 or a translation made by an authorized translator. A transcript or degree certificate in English can be replaced by a Diploma Supplement awarded by a European educational institution if 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.
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.