Call for Applications for Doctoral Researcher Positions at the University of Turku Graduate School, KEVEKO and OPPI Doctoral Programmes (Spring 2026)

During the application period 2 March–16 March 2026 (at 4 pm local time in Finland), you can apply for the right to study for a doctoral degree in the Faculty of Education of the University of Turku from 1 August 2026 onwards. 

• 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§). The degree that gives eligibility for admission must be completed by the end of the application period.

• You must fulfil the University of Turku language skill requirements.

• Your previous studies must include sufficient amount of studies in educational sciences or in other fields relevant to the doctoral programme. The adequacy of former studies in educational sciences or the suitability of previous studies will be assessed by the doctoral programme's Steering Committee when evaluating applications.
• The grade of the Master’s degree thesis must be at least 3 (on a scale of 1-5) or cum laude approbatur.[1] This requirement does not apply to those with a foreign higher university degree.
• In your application, you must provide a supervisor (Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor or Docent) who has approved your research plan and agreed to be your first supervisor. If the first supervisor is not employed by the departments of Faculty of Education, University of Turku, you must identify a second supervisor employed by the Faculty’s departments for your research. If you do not provide a supervisor(s) who meets the Faculty’s supervisor requirements for your research in your application, your application will be rejected and will not be reviewed by the Steering Committee of the doctoral programme.

The right to study for a doctoral degree is applied for by filling in an electronic form in Studyinfo service and attaching the required additional documents. The form will be accessible as the application period begins on 2 March 2026 and closes at 4 pm (local time in Finland) on 16 March 2026.

During one application round the applicant may apply to only 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. The application documents will not be returned to the sender.

Attachments should be submitted in PDF format. Please name the files so that both your name and the type of document are clearly indicated in the file name (e.g. lastname-firstname-CV).

1 Curriculum Vitae (in Finnish or in English)

Instructions by the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity (TENK) for writing a CV.

A list of publications is required to be included in the CV. Include also theses in the list of publications (including the Master’s thesis topic and grade).

2 Research plan (in Finnish or in English)

Please see the doctoral programme’s instructions for writing a research plan (under the title research plan).

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. If the applicant uses artificial intelligence (AI) to develop the research plan, they must report on how it has been used.

3 Motivation letter (in Finnish or in English)

A motivation letter is a one-page-long freeform document, in which you are expected to describe your motivation in pursuing doctoral studies and in conducting research.

4 Degree certificates and transcripts of study records

a) 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).

b) 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 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.

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.

5 Verification of language proficiency

The University of Turku follows the Rector’s decision on the means of verifying one’s language proficiency. See the language requirements on the webpage of the university’s graduate school.

If you are required to prove your language proficiency with a language test, a scanned certificate of a completed language test must be attached to the application.

6 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.

7 Reasons for transferring from another doctoral programme

If you have a right to study for a doctoral degree at another university or in another doctoral programme at the University of Turku, and you wish to transfer to a KEVEKO or OPPI doctoral programme, you must provide reasons for transferring to a doctoral programme in your application. If you intend to use research materials collected during the previous supervision relationship in the dissertation, you must submit a confirmation that you have the right to use the materials.

Applications are reviewed by the Steering Committee of the doctoral programme. A supervisor's statement on the application will be requested for all applications (the supervisor submits the statement directly to the Coordinator of the doctoral programme). Applications may also be sent for evaluation to reviewers.

Applicants must meet the eligibility criteria and selection criteria for doctoral studies at the Faculty of Education.

The evaluation of applications will pay particular attention to the quality and feasibility of the research plan:

• The theoretical level of the research plan; knowledge of the theoretical background and its relevance to the research task

• Methodological feasibility of the study; precision and description of the methods in relation to the research task

• Consideration of research ethical issues in the research design

• Innovation, novelty, scientific and practical impact of the research

• Feasibility of the study; realistic time schedule, plan for resourcing and funding of the studies

• Clarity of the research plan; the research plan should represent good scientific writing.

In addition, the applicant's previous academic achievements, possible research experience and motivation to complete a doctoral degree may be taken into account in the assessment of applications. The applicant's research topic should fit the profile of the doctoral programme.

The Dean / Vice Dean decides on granting the right to study for a doctoral degree based on the proposal of the Steering Committee of the doctoral programme.

The admission decisions are made by the 29 May 2026. All applicants will be personally informed about the decision.

An admitted applicant has to notify the University of Turku of their acceptance of the study place by 3:00 pm (Finnish time) on 15 June 2026 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 9 September 2026 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.

Link to the website of KEVEKO (www.utu.fi/keveko)
Link to the website of OPPI (www.utu.fi/oppi)

Doctoral Programme Coordinator Sanna Niukko, sanna.niukko@utu.fi.

Contact information of the Faculty: 

edupostgraduate@utu.fi 

Chief Academic Officer Anne Niemimäki
Faculty of Education
Educarium, Assistentinkatu 5
20014 University of Turku.

Call for applications (pdf)