Drug Research Doctoral Programme - Admission Criteria and Instructions for Applicants
DRDP serves as a postgraduate programme for graduates of the Master’s Degree Programme in Drug Discovery and Development at the University of Turku but it is open to applicants from anywhere in the world, who have a suitable M.Sc. level education and an interest in drug research.
The training provides a general view of the drug development process, starting from molecular and mechanistic levels and continuing to preclinical and clinical drug research, pharmaceutical development, and pharmacoepidemiology.
The doctoral researchers of Drug Research Doctoral Programme (DRDP) carry out their doctoral studies at the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Science or the Faculty of Technology.
Industrial PhD training in DRDP
DRDP began industrial doctoral training (iPhD) in 2019, in collaboration with industrial partners. The aim of industrial doctoral training is to train doctors with strong scientific thinking in combination with applied research expertise, and capabilities to work in both academic and industrial research environments as well as in their interface. Doctoral researchers on the iPhD track will carry out their research primarily (>75 % of total 4 years) in an industrial environment, and are supervised by both industrial and academic supervisors. The academic training is composed of academic secondments (akateeminen työskentelyjakso, max 25 %), and post-graduate education courses at the UTU.
Doctoral researchers with immunology, immunology-based drug development and/or diagnostics as their field of study have the possibility of applying for the InFLAMES Doctoral Module and of including
the studies offered within the module as part of their doctoral studies.
> Application periods for doctoral training
The next application period is 1.-17.3.2023. The right to study for a doctoral degree will start on 1 August 2023.
Please read carefully the guidelines for applying
Prepare also the documents mentioned in the call for applications of the Drug Research Doctoral Programme.
- Check the application period
- Read the instructions of the faculty in question and the doctoral programme carefully!
- If you are going to verify your language skills with a language test, make sure that you book your test time well in advance. It is the applicant’s responsibility to make his/her own language test arrangements
- Get the required signatures in time and prepare the appendices
- Fill in the electric application form
- Remember to apply in time
- Keep your original certificates at hand and prepare to acquire officially certified copies if needed!
Link to the electronic application form, the list of required attachments and the guide for filling in the form will be available during the application period.
Application period and what can be applied for
On the period of 1.-17.3.2023 applications are invited for the right to study at the University of Turku in the Faculty of Medicine or Faculty of Science or Faculty of Technology in Drug Research Doctoral Programme. The right to study for a doctoral degree will start on 1 August 2023.
Applying
Qualified applicant with research topic fitting the scope of DRDP can apply. The motivation to apply to DRDP is presented in the Motivation letter. The applicant should have two supervisors* with at least one supervisor affiliated with University of Turku and holding the UTU -account (UGIS-supervisor) to use the UGIS system. One member in the follow-up committee should be well familiar with the practicalities of doctoral training in the faculty and DRDP. To plan the theoretical studies, take into account the Learning outcomes of DRDP and your career plans.
*At Faculty of Medicine: 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.
The applicants will be invited to interview after preliminary selection. The interview will contain a brief presentation by the Applicant and an interview by the Board of the DRDP. The invitation with detailed instructions will be sent by email.
Application documents
The application should contain
1) electronic application form DRDP ID number is XXXX (link will be open from 1.3.2023 00:00 to 17.3.2023 (23:59)
2) Pdf files
Instructions for filling the application at Saimi system (pdf)
The application should include the following:
At Faculty of Medicine
1. Motivation letter (why do you wish to perform doctoral studies in this doctoral programme)
2. CV of the applicant (it is mandatory to use attached CV model)
3. Structured research plan approved by the supervisor (max 5 pages).
The plan should consist of: abstract, background, aims and hypotheses, significance, how will the plan be carried out in practice, research environment, timetable and funding plan.
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).
4. the Faculty of Medicine form: Supervision and study plan - fill in electronically, print, sign together with the supervisor/-s and the head of subject and scan as an attachment (a mandatory attachment in the Faculty of Medicine)
See: Subjects in doctoral training and heads of doctoral subject
5. A university degree certificate, if applicant has attained the higher university degree somewhere else than in the University of Turku and in addition, a transcript of studies if the degree has been completed outside Finland.
- If needed - please see the instructions: Degree giving the eligibility
Those applicants who have been granted the right to study and who have completed their studies at a University abroad have to submit officially certified copies of the degree certificates, other educational documents and the official translations of the documents to the University of Turku according to the instructions given in the admission notification. If the admitted applicant does not submit the degree documents in time as indicated in the admission notification, they shall forfeit the study place.
7. If applicant has to pass a language test, the copy of the language test result must be attached to the application
- If needed - please see the instructions: Language proficiency
If applying for the right to study for a doctoral degree at the Faculty of Science or the Faculty of Science, the required attachments may vary from the above-mentioned. Please check and follow the instructions of the faculty in question.
At Faculty of Science and Faculty of Technology
1. Motivation letter (why do you wish to perform doctoral studies in this doctoral programme)
2. CV of the applicant (it is mandatory to use attached CV model)
3. Structured research plan approved by the supervisor (max 5 pages).
The plan should consist of: abstract, background, aims and hypotheses, significance, how will the plan be carried out in practice, research environment, timetable and funding plan.
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).
If you are applying for the right to study for a doctoral degree, attach also:
4. Supervision plan - Postgraduate graduate study plan
Use this Supervision plan at Faculty of Science and
this Supervision plan at Faculty of Technology
At the Faculty of Science or the Faculty of Technology the applicants to the iPhD track add to Supervision plan to the place for "Other things agreed" that they apply to iPhD track.
5. A university degree certificate, if applicant has attained the higher university degree somewhere else than in the University of Turku and in addition, a transcript of studies if the degree has been completed outside Finland.
If needed - please see the instructions: Degree giving the eligibility
Those applicants who have been granted the right to study and who have completed their studies at a University abroad have to submit officially certified copies of the degree certificates, other educational documents and the official translations of the documents to the University of Turku according to the instructions given in the admission notification. If the admitted applicant does not submit the degree documents in time as indicated in the admission notification, they shall forfeit the study place.
6. If applicant has to pass a language test, the copy of the language test result must be attached to the application
If needed - please see the instructions: Language proficiency
Assessment of applications
The steering committee of the doctoral programme will evaluate the applications. The applicant’s motivation, merits, previous studies, and the ability to complete a doctoral degree, as well as the quality and feasibility of the research plan (drug research) are taken into consideration when selecting doctoral candidates. Applicants will be invited to interview after preliminary selection. The invitation will be sent by email. Research proposals may be checked by using Turnitin Originality Check (system for electrical plagiarism detection) before the selection.
Decisions
The Dean of the Faculty of Medicine or Faculty of Science or Faculty of Technology decides on granting the right to study for a doctoral degree (1 January 2023 onwards) based on the proposals of the steering committees of the Doctoral Programmes. All applicants will be personally informed about the decisions by 30 November 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 December 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 3 March 2023 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: Instructions on delivering certificates and country-specific requirements
Appeal for rectification
If an applicant is dissatisfied with the result of the student selection (right to study for a doctoral degree), they have the right to submit an application for the rectification of the decision to the Faculty of Medicine or the Faculty of Science or Faculty of Technology within 14 days of the official publishing of the results.
Additional information
Faculty of Medicine:
Chief Academic Officer Outi Irjala
Faculty of Science and Faculty of Technology:
Chief Academic Officer Sanna Ranto
Additional DRDP information
DRDP director professor Ullamari Pesonen, ullamari.pesonen(at)utu.fi (iPhD)
DRDP coordinator PhD Eeva Valve, eeva.valve(at)utu.fi
DRDP UTUGS 2023-2024 and InFLAMES 2023: Fixed term doctoral researcher positions 2023-2024