How to apply for doctoral education

In accordance with the Universities Act (1172/2014) section 37, a person can be admitted to pursue an academic licentiate or doctoral degree, provided that they have completed

1) a relevant Master's degree awarded by university;

2) a relevant Master's degree awarded by a university of applied sciences; or

3) a relevant applicable study programme abroad which in the awarding country gives eligibility for the corresponding level of higher education.

In addition to the prerequisites described above, a doctoral programme may have further field-specific requirements with regard to the earlier studies of the applicant.

The University of Turku will verify your eligibility for admission from the degree certificate and the transcript of study records provided by you attached to your application (see also the section 'A degree certificate and a transcript of study records as a proofs of eligibility').

In order to successfully proceed in one’s studies and research as well as to integrate oneself into the scientific community, the doctoral researcher is expected to be able to fluently communicate in English both verbally and in writing.

The University follows the manners of verifying language skills which are defined in the Rector’s decision (15.8.2019, updated 21.12.2023). The language requirements are same for all doctoral programmes at the University of Turku, and apply to all applicants. 

For the accepted ways of proving your language skills, please see: Language requirements for admission / Right to study for a doctoral degree | University of Turku (utu.fi).

For more information on the different doctoral programmes’ descriptions, the research conducted in them as well as their other related activity, please consult the webpages of the doctoral programmes.

When you have found a doctoral programme that interests you and suits your research topic, please read the application instructions and the selection criteria carefully and well in advance prior to sending an application.

Most of the doctoral programmes require that the research supervisor(s) has already been selected when entering the application phase. Please visit the webpages of the doctoral programme to check the supervisor requirement as well as to find more specific instructions on finding the supervisors.

Some of the doctoral programmes are multidisciplinary or offer several target degrees within them. You should clearly indicate your target degree on your application form. For information on the offered target degrees, please visit the webpages of the doctoral programmes.

When there is a need to have supervision also by another university outside of Finland, a Cotutelle contract may be a suitable choice.

Cotutelle refers to a doctoral degree, in which the doctoral dissertation is jointly supervised in two universities or other higher education institutions in two countries. Under a Cotutelle contract, the doctoral researcher writes their doctoral dissertation equally in both universities under the joint supervision of two or more supervisors. The hoped-for result of a Cotutelle contract is a doctoral degree awarded by both universities based on one doctoral dissertation.

A Cotutelle contract can be entered into only when the doctoral researcher has been granted a right to study in both contributing universities. The right to study is applied for via normal application procedures.  

More information on the Cotutelle contract

Reserve enough time for filling in the application. You will be able to supplement and edit your application until the end of the application period.

Remember to include all of the requested attachments with your application. Provide the needed certificates of earlier studies and of language skills. Any attachments needed for applying for a particular doctoral programme must also be included with the application.

During the application period, the application forms can be found here.

During the application period we require that you attach scans of the original documents or electronic original documents to the application form. You do not need to send the documents by mail. 

In case your are granted a right to study, you are expected to provide the University of Turku either the original educational documents or copies of the educational documents that have been officially certified as genuine. For graduates from Finnish institutions the verification of the validity of the degrees can be done online, but during the application process it is required that a scan or electronic originals of the documents is attached. It is not enough to state that you have graduated from a specific institution, you must add the degree certificate and transcript of records to your application in the same way as is required from all applicants.

Applying with a degree completed in Finland

Attach to the electronic application form: 

• 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).

Applying with a degree completed outside Finland 

Attach to the electronic application form: 

• 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 of records 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.

Degree certificate

A degree certificate is a document issued by an institution to a student who has successfully completed all studies included in the degree. The student has graduated. The degree certificate should include:

•  the name of the institution awarding the degree, 
• the issuing date, 
• the name of the person to whom the degree certificate has been issued
• the academic title/degree the person has been awarded.

University of Turku requires the original degree certificate (in the original language) AND an official English, Finnish or Swedish translation of the degree certificate.

Temporary (provisional) degree certificate

A temporary (provisional) degree certificate is a document issued by an institution to a student who has been awarded or conferred an academic degree. The temporary degree certificate is issued as a replacement for the final degree certificate, e.g. in case the final degree certificate cannot be given to the student immediately after studies have been completed due to technical or administrative reasons. The temporary degree certificate must include:

• the name of the institution awarding the degree
• the date of awarding/conferral of the degree
• the name of the person to whom the temporary degree certificate has been issued
• the academic title/degree the person has been awarded.

It is important to note that a document stating only that the student has completed all courses of the degree is not sufficient as a temporary degree certificate.

Transcript of study records

The official transcript of records should include the following information:

• full titles of the study units that the student has completed for the degree
• completion times of study units (or at the very least the overall study time at the institution)
• grades obtained
• credits awarded
• information on the grading scale used at the institution at the time of study

The transcript must cover the full length of studies. 

University of Turku requires original transcript of study records (in the original language) AND an official English, Finnish or Swedish translation of the transcript of records.

The high quality and the feasibility of the research plan are the most influential criteria in the selection of doctoral researchers. Please remember to begin the preparation of your research plan well in advance and adhere closely to the research plan instructions of the doctoral programme in question.

Passport or identity card

A scan / photo of your passport's information page or national ID card is required for identification purposes. 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.

Proof of language skills

Applicants must have good English languge skills and a certificate that proves those skills. Read more on the link below. If language skills are demonstrated by a language test, a scan of the language test certificate must be attached to the application. 

Language requirements for admission

Programme specific documents

Doctoral programmes may also ask for documents other than those mentioned above, such as motivation letters. The required attachments are listed on the call for applications of the doctoral programme.

A few months have been reserved for the processing of the application forms and for making decisions based on them. The exact selection schedule is announced on the call for applications.

All of the applicants are personally notified about the doctoral researcher selections, with an e-mail message as the main means of notification.

The acceptance letter provides instructions on the acceptance of the right to study in the Studyinfo service. 

If you have completed your earlier relevant degree outside of Finland, you are required to provide the University of Turku with the original degree certificate and the transcript of study records or officially certified copies of the degree certificate and the transcript of study records (and, when required, the translations of the said documents) in accordance with the instructions in the selection letter.

Please consult the webpage 'Providing original educational documents'  for further instructions.