Postgraduate (Doctoral) Studies

In Finnish, the term jatko-opiskelija (postgraduate/graduate) usually refers to post-Master's level studies, Licentiate or PhD (doctoral) studies, due to the fact that most students finish with a Master's degree as their first degree. Most of the research and postgraduate studies carried out in the Faculty of Social Sciences takes place in small-scale projects. In recent years, however, the Faculty has also been involved in several national graduate school projects. In addition to the national graduate schools supported by the Ministry of Education, the Faculty nowadays coordinates two graduate schools of its own.

Admission to postgraduate study

Students who do not hold their first degree from the University of Turku Faculty of Social Sciences must first be admitted by the Faculty.

The postgraduate degrees in Social Sciences are the Licenciate of Social Sciences (valtiotieteiden lisensiaatti, VTL), Doctor of Social Sciences (valtiotieteiden tohtori, VTT) and Doctor of Philosophy - only in Philosophy (filosofian tohtori, FT). The postgraduate degrees in Psychology are the Licentiate of Philosophy (Psychology) (psykologian lisensiaatti (PsL) and Doctor of Philosophy (Psychology) (psykologian tohtori, PsT or filosofian tohtori, FT). The Licentiate is a subdoctoral degree, and is intended to be primarily vocational in orientation.

Doctoral Studies in Social Sciences:
The applicant must have a Master's Degree in Social Sciences, or otherwise provably sufficient skills and knowledge, and have a good knowledge of English or Finnish.

Doctoral Studies in Psychology:
The applicant must have a Master's Degree in Psychology, or otherwise provably sufficient background for doctoral studies in psychology.

Studies for Doctor of Philosophy:
The Faculty may grant a right to study for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to an applicant eligible for doctoral studies in philosophy or psychology.

Graduates holding their degrees from the University of Turku are admitted as research students by the Department concerned, on the recommendation of the relevant professor. The Department then appoints for each student a research supervisor for the dissertation (ohjaaja), and the student submits for approval by the Department an individual plan of postgraduate study, drawn up in accordance with the relevant disciplinary Regulations. This plan of study must then be registered with the Faculty. The disciplinary Regulations for the plan of postgraduate study are available in Finnish or English from the appropriate Department offices.

Application procedure:

The application time for postgraduate degrees is continuous, so applications can be sent in at any time of the year. The applicant must contact the relevant department for supervisor before sending the application. The application can be found here.

Applications are first screened for errors or missing documents by faculty officers. Complete applications are sent to the respective departments (in some cases to the doctoral schools) for an evaluation. The final decision on the acceptance of the candidate is passed by the Dean, based on the evaluation of the department.

The handling of an application normally takes about 1-2 months.

Application Requirements

Applicants for postgraduate degree at the Faculty of Social Sciences must submit:

  • a completed postgraduate application form
  • a certified copy of the university diploma
  • a research/study plan
  • information on language proficiency

The copy of your diploma must be certified by an official of the applicant's previous university or by a notary public.

It is advisable that applicant also encloses to his/her application a letter of motivation, a recommendation given by his/her former professor or other possible references. If you already have a more detailed research plan that defines your research problem, we recommend that you attach it with your application.

Research/Study Plan

The plan must define the field of research, the theme of research and a plan of studies/courses to be completed during the doctoral studies.

Prior Studies

Applicants must have a Master's Degree equivalent to the Finnish Master's Degree, or otherwise provably sufficient skills and knowledge.

Please note that all Master's degrees are not always considered to be of equivalent to a Finnish 'maisteri' (Master's) degree. For example, Master's degree in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan are usually considered to be equivalent to a Finnish lower academic degree, and applicants holding this degree should apply to undergraduate studies with other application material.

Language Requirements

The language of instruction at the undergraduate level (Bachelor and Master -level) at the University of Turku is Finnish, except in the Master's Programmes.

In postgraduate studies (PhD-level) it is also possible to use a major international language such as English when writing the doctoral thesis.

Plan for postgraduate studies

Plan for postgraduate studies should be prepared in co-operation with the supervisor and it must be approved by the department in question.

Funding

Like all the Finnish universities, the University of Turku charges no tuition fees. Neither, on the other hand, can it offer financial assistance or job opportunities to students (except in individual cases and even then only towards the end of their research). All students, Finnish and international, are expected to finance their living costs by themselves.

Some information on scholarships offered for foreign students studying in Finland, and on studying in Finland more generally, is provided by the national Centre for International Mobility, CIMO.

Further information about funding can be obtained here:
http://www.utu.fi/en/studying/students/degree/postgraduate/financing.html .

Postgraduate students are entitled to become members of the Turku University Students Union (Turun yliopiston ylioppilaskunta, TYY). The postgraduate membership fee is about 80 eur. Members of TYY are entitled to certain services, such as the use of the Student Health Care Centre.

Our International Office's web-site also provides some further information on living and studying in Turku in particular.

The Degree of Licentiate / Requirements for the award of the degree of Licentiate

The licentiate degree is 120 credits in extend. Please note: one Finnsih credit equals to one ECTS credit.

It consists of:
Licentiate thesis 60 credits and Other studies 60 credits

The other studies comprise of:

1. Compulsory studies

Post-graduate examination 15 credits

  • content and method to be negotiated with the professor

2. Post-graduate courses and studies 35-40 credits

These can, fore example, consist of:

  • research seminar
  • courses and studies organised by a doctoral school
  • advanced level courses from a relevant minor subject

3. Elective Studies (at most 15 credits)
These can be scientific publications, book-reviews, active participation to scientific congresses, professional studies etc.
A student will be asked to submit a plan of the elective studies for the professor for a review.

The Faculty Council will approve the study plan.

 

The Degree of Doctor / Requirements for the award of the degree of Doctor

1. Coursework in accordance with the Regulations for the Licentiate (see above), or the complete Licentiate degree.

2. Doctoral dissertation, to be approved by the Faculty Council following its publication and public defence.
The doctoral dissertation may consist of a single monograph, or of a series of scientific publications accompanied by an analytical overview setting out the aims, methods, and findings of the research. These publications may include joint publications, on condition that it is clear that the author has made a significant and independent scientific contribution to the research. The student's research supervisor is responsible for investigating to establish that the student's own contribution fulfils the criterion of adequacy and that the manuscript submitted to the Faculty meets the formal requirements for a doctoral dissertation.

The aim is that it should be possible to complete the Doctorate degree in approximately four years of full-time study at post-Master's level. The student's research supervisor is responsible for ensuring that the scale and scope of the research project is commensurate with this aim.

24.08.2011 11:13 Maria Henninen