Doctoral Programme in Technology - Admission Criteria and Instructions for Applicants

• Make sure you are eligible to apply for a study right in the Faculty of Technology or at Turku School of Economics (Information Systems Science as major subject)
• Read the call for applications and the "How to apply" guide.
• When applying for a study right in the Faculty of Technology, an applicant has to agree with supervisors and a research director about supervision and research plan before the application can be made. This means that you must contact potential supervisors and make a supervision plan and a research plan in collaboration with them.

  • According to the Rector’s decision each doctoral researcher must have at least two supervisors. One supervisor acts as the main supervisor or UGIS supervisor. The Faculty may appoint only one supervisor for a doctoral researcher based on application and for a valid reason. A supervisor must have completed a doctoral degree, and at least one of a doctoral researcher’s supervisors must be a professor (professor, associate professor or assistant professor) or an adjunct professor. In the Faculty of Technology, one of the doctoral researcher’s supervisors has to be employed by the University of Turku or be docent (adjunct professor) of the University of Turku.

• Application attachments: Prepare all the required application attachments according to the call for applications.
• Funding plan: Prepare a funding plan as a right to study does not include funding or scholarship from the University. In the September call, in addition to a right to study, you can also apply for a fixed-term doctoral researcher position under an employment contract. 
• Degree certificates: Prepare your original degree certificates, original transcripts of study records and other original educational documents for the application. If needed, obtain officially certified copies with English translation.
• Proof of language requirements: If you need to verify your language skills with a language test, make sure that you book your test time well in advance. Instructions for language requirements for right to study for a doctoral degree and when is a language test not required.

• Read the Call for applications and the "How to apply" guide (below under "Applications documents and guidelines") carefully before filling in the electronic application.
• Especially if you are applying for a funded position in the autumn call, please read the "How to apply" guide carefully to see how to answer the application questions correctly.
• Make sure you have attached all the required attachments (see the call for applications)
• Ask your supervisor to send a supervisor statement to tech-doc@utu.fi

Please fill the electronic application form and attach the required application documents with it, if not otherwise stated. The application documents must be in pdf-format.

If the application does not contain the mandatory application documents, it will not be taken into consideration.

• Application for the right to study for a doctoral degree in the Faculty of Technology of the University of Turku: In addition to the electronic application form, documents 3-7 are mandatory attachments, documents 9-12 are possibly mandatory attachments, and in addition attachments 1-2 are recommended to be submitted.
• Application for the right to study for a doctoral degree at the Turku School of Economics of the University of Turku (Information Systems Science as field of research): In addition to the electronic application form, documents 3-4 and 6-7 are mandatory attachments, documents 9-11 are possibly mandatory attachments, and in addition attachments 1-2 are recommended to be submitted.
• Application for a funded doctoral researcher position: In addition to the electronic application form, documents 1, 3-4 and 6-8 are mandatory attachments, and in addition attachment 2 is recommended to be submitted.

1) Curriculum vitae (mandatory for funded position applicants)

Please see the instructions of TENK for writing a CV: http://www.tenk.fi/en/template-researchers-curriculum-vitae

2) List of publication (needed if you have publications)

Please see the instructions in the website (Application documents): https://www.utu.fi/en/university/faculty-of-technology/doctoral-training/how-to-apply  

3) Dissertation research plan (in English) (mandatory for all applicants)

In the Faculty of Technology, the maximum length of the research plan in all is 5 pages (Times New Roman 12pt or equivalent; line spacing 1). Research plan should contain:

• Name of the applicant
• Planned title of the doctoral dissertation
• Description of research topic and scientific goals
• Research methods, experimental design and research environment
• Placement of the dissertation research in a possible wider research context of the group
• Timetable of research
• Current state of doctoral thesis and postgraduate studies.
• List of references

For applicants in Information Systems Science the maximum length of research plan is 10 pages, and cover and list of references. See more information from the selection criteria for postgraduate studies at TSE: https://www.utu.fi/en/university/turku-school-of-economics/research/doctoral-training/applying  

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 with Turnitin Originality Check (system for electrical plagiarism detection). The use of artificial intelligence (AI) to assist in the preparation of the research plan in a wider role than checking grammar or generating short expressions should be clearly indicated in the research plan.

4) A copy of the degree certificates and the transcript of study records (mandatory for all applicants)

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 influence in the student selection must be attached in the electronic application form.

b) If the applicant has completed the former degree(s) which make them 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, transcript of study records and other educational documents are not written in English, Finnish or Swedish, official translations of the documents 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 at the latest in 4 March 2024. If the admitted applicant does not deliver the required certificates by the deadline set in the admission notification, they forfeit the study right. Link to the instructions on delivering certificates and country-specific requirements.

c) In the Faculty of Technology, if the degree that gives eligibility for the study right for a doctoral degree is not completed by the deadline of application time, an up-to-date transcript of study records must be attached to the application.

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.

If you have completed the former degree(s) which make you eligible for doctoral studies at a university abroad (i.e. outside Finland), please make sure to have original degree certificates and other relevant educational documents ready at hand if you are granted a right to study. Instructions will be given in the admission notification.

5) Applicants applying for a study right from the Faculty of Technology: Supervision plan signed by supervisor(s), a research director and the applicant (mandatory for study right applicants at the Faculty of Technology)

You must use the supervision plan template found here: https://www.utu.fi/en/research/utugs/dpt/admission.

6) Supervisor’s statement (mandatory for all applicants)

The supervisor must use the template found here: https://www.utu.fi/en/research/utugs/dpt/admission.The template includes instructions.

Supervisor must submit the statement directly to tech-doc@utu.fi (subject line should contain ”DPT Supervisor Statement”).

7) Motivation letter (mandatory for all applicants)

Motivation letter is maximum one page long freeform document, which includes the reasons for performing a doctoral degree in the Doctoral Programme in Technology, and also your career plans after graduation (e.g. with regards to academic career / in Finland or elsewhere).

8) Transcript of study records of completed post-graduate studies (mandatory for funded position applicants who already have the study right)

9) Verification of language proficiency (possibly mandatory for study right applicants, check below)

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

10) Copy of a valid passport (possibly mandatory for study right applicants, check below)

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.                                     

11) A statement of continuous commitment by a company/organization (outside UTU) to an employee's doctoral degree (potentially needed, check below)

A freeform document, in which a company / organization (representative of a company / organization, e.g. superior) express of being aware of the applicant's doctoral education and shows support (e.g. level or type of support, possible resources) for applicant's doctoral degree completion while the applicant works at the same time at the company / organization. The commitment should express also the impact of the thesis work for the company / organization. The absence of a statement will be interpreted as a lack of commitment by the company/organization to support the applicant's doctoral degree completion.

12) Research director’s statement (potentially mandatory for study right applicants at the Faculty of Technology, check below)

• If the success of the applicant in their prior studies has not been sufficient, a statement of research director is needed as attachment of the application. The statement must take a stand on how the applicant has supplemented their knowledge and skills to achieve the required level: by studies, work experience and/or publications related to the field of doctoral thesis research.
• If the applicant does not hold a previous degree in the field of research (s)he is applying for, a statement of research director is needed as attachment of the application: what is the suitability of the previous degree for the applied research field. The statement must take a stand on possible bridge studies, and the justification may take applicant’s work experience and knowledge in relation to planned doctoral thesis work into account. There can be maximum 30 ECTS of bridge studies. Bridge studies cannot be included in postgraduate studies of 40 ECTS.

The research director is the same person, who is suggested to be the research director in applicant’s doctoral thesis work. The research director's statement must be based on the application and its attachments, and it must be signed by the research director.

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

The University of Turku follows the Rector’s decision (15 Aug 2019) on the means of verifying their language proficiency.

Please check the language requirements and whether you will need to provide a proof of language proficiency from the University’s graduate school website.

Please note! 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.

Prepare to deliver your original or originally certified degree certificates to the University of Turku if you are granted the right to study a doctoral degree.

Instructions on delivering certificates and country-specific requirements on the Information for admitted students page.