Call for Applications Spring 2022: Doctoral Programmes OPPI and KEVEKO
During the application period 1 March – 18 March 2022 the KEVEKO and OPPI Doctoral Programmes invite applications for the right to study for a doctoral degree at the University of Turku starting on August 1, 2022.
Researchers at the Doctoral Programme on Educational Policy, Lifelong Learning and Comparative Education Research (KEVEKO) conducts research on multi-disciplinary aspects in a culturally diversified environment. KEVEKO provides high quality and comprehensive doctoral education under the guidance of distinguished professors and supervisors. Research support and various funding opportunities to internationalize various researches form the pillar of KEVEKO for a knowledge based professional programme.
Research themes of KEVEKO:
- comparative and international studies of education and education policy,
- studies equity and equality in education,
- studies of educational exclusion and educational transitions of young and young adults,
- studies of higher education and university institutions,
- studies of lifelong learning and working life,
- studies of special education and inclusiveness in schools.
The programme is linked to research conducted at the Department of Education and the Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning and Education (CELE). Professor Tero Järvinen acts as the Head of the programme.
The Doctoral Programme on Learning, Teaching and Learning Environments Research (OPPI) educates internationally oriented professional researchers and experts in learning, teaching and learning environments who promote development activity based on scientific evidence in different fields of education.
The research and doctoral training themes of the OPPI Doctoral Programme are:
- studies of the long-term learning processes of basic skills (reading, mathematics, natural sciences) and the related motivation, metacognition and social processes;
- studies of the possibilities of new technology in learning situations at schools, universities and working life and the reflection of social and technological changes in the development of expertise in different fields;
- studies of teaching and teacher education, e.g. studies of teachers’ pedagogical thinking and ethical and moral challenges of teaching, learning in interaction, teaching and learning different school subjects, and studies of multicultural education and immigrants' educational paths.
The programme is linked to the research conducted at the Department of Teacher Education and the Centre for Research on Learning and Instruction (CERLI). Professor Sara Routarinne acts as the Head of the programme.
The right to study for a doctoral degree at the Faculty of Education, University of Turku can be applied for by persons who meet the eligibility criteria for pursuing a doctoral degree, as stipulated in the Universities Act (558/2009, Section 37) as well as the eligibility criteria for the right to study for a doctoral degree at the Faculty of Education (see Doctoral Training at the Faculty of Education - Application Instructions | University of Turku (utu.fi) --> Who is eligible to apply?)
The right to study for a doctoral degree at the Faculty of Education is applied for by filling in an electronic form and attaching the required additional documents to the electronic application form (see Description of the application documents).
The application form will be accessible as the application period begins on 1 March 2022 and closes at 11:59 pm (local time in Finland) on 18 March 2022.
The application documents will not be returned to the sender.
Applications are reviewed by the steering committees of the KEVEKO and OPPI Doctoral Programmes. 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 national and/or international reviewers. The research plans attached to the applications are checked with the Turnitin OriginalityCheck plagiarism detection software in accordance with the University of Turku quality assurance system.
In the selection the following factors are emphasized: quality and feasibility of the research plan, applicant’s merits and completed studies. In addition, applicant’s capability and motivation to complete a doctoral degree are evaluated.
When admitting the right to study for a doctoral degree, the eligibility criteria of the applicant and the selection criteria of the Faculty of Education are considered in addition to the criteria mentioned above. A prerequisite for admission is that there is at least one person who has agreed to act as a supervisor and who fulfills the qualification requirements for supervisors. The main supervisor should be a professor or a docent working in the faculty (Department of Education or Department of Teacher Education). In addition, the applicant’s research topic must fit in with the profile of the Doctoral Programme.
The Dean/ Vice Dean of the Faculty of Education decides on granting the right to study for a doctoral degree based on the proposals of the steering committees of the Doctoral Programmes.
All applicants will be personally informed about the decisions by 31 May 2022 at the latest.
An admitted applicant has to notify the University of Turku of their acceptance of the study place by 3:00 pm (local time in Finland) on 15 June 2022 according to the instructions given in the admission notification. If the admitted applicant does not give the notification by the end of the allotted period of time mentioned above, they 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 accepts 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, a student 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 and Master level degrees awarded by Finnish universities of applied sciences, Bachelor and Master 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 by 15 September 2022 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 are available here: Providing Original Educational Documents | University of Turku (utu.fi).
Appeal for rectification
If an applicant is dissatisfied with the result of the student selection (right to study for a doctoral degree), they has the right to submit an application for the rectification of the decision to the Faculty of Education within 14 days of the official publishing of the results. Contact information: edupostgraduate@utu.fi.
All documents must be in PDF format
1. Research plan
Please see the programme-specific instructions:
Research plan instructions KEVEKO
Research plan instructions OPPI
By attaching the research plan to the application form, the applicant gives permission to check the research plan with Turnitin OriginalityCheck software (a system for electronic plagiarism detection).
2. Curriculum Vitae (in Finnish or in English)
Please see the instructions for writing a CV: Template for researcher's curriculum vitae | Finnish National Board on Research Integrity TENK. The CV includes a list of publications which should follow the publication type classification by Ministry of Education, Science and Culture.
3. Motivation letter
Motivation letter is a one-page-long freeform document, which contains the reasons for applying to doctoral studies in the Faculty of Education of the University of Turku.
4. Degree certificates and transcripts of study records
A. If the applicant has completed the former degree(s), which make them eligible for doctoral studies at a university in Finland, the degree certificates, the transcripts of study records and other educational documents, which may be of relevance in the student selection must be attached to the electronic application form.
B. If the applicant has completed the former degree(s), which make him/her eligible for doctoral studies at a university abroad (i.e. outside Finland), they must attach the following items to the electronic application form:
- scanned original degree certificates (in the same language as the degree was completed in)
- scanned original transcripts of study records (in the same language as the degree was completed in)
- scanned other original educational documents which may be of relevance in the student selection
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 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.
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 University of Turku as instructed in the admission notification by 15 September 2022 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 are available here: Providing Original Educational Documents | University of Turku (utu.fi).
5. Verification of language proficiency
The University of Turku 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: Language requirements for admission / Right to study for a doctoral degree | University of Turku (utu.fi).
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.
6. Previous right to study for a doctoral degree
If the applicant has a right to study for a doctoral degree at another university or in another doctoral programme at the University of Turku:
- The applicant must provide reasons for changing over to a doctoral programme in the Faculty of Education of the University of Turku.
- If any materials collected during the previous supervision relationship are planned to be used in the dissertation, a consent of the previous supervisor to the use of research materials must be submitted. A student may hold only one doctoral degree study right at the University of Turku at a time.
The applicant must deliver all required documents by the end of the application period. Any late submissions will not be processed.
Coordinator Sanna Niukko (KEVEKO)
Coordinator Jenni Kankaanpää (OPPI)
Chief Academic Officer Anne Niemimäki
edupostgraduate@utu.fi
Doctoral Training at the Faculty of Education | University of Turku (utu.fi)