University-funded doctoral researcher positions

The University of Helsinki Doctoral School (UHDS) annually allocates funding to the doctoral programmes for doctoral researcher positions (employment contract). 

The next application period for doctoral researcher positions funded by the University of Helsinki Doctoral School will be open 27.8.-9.9.2024. 

The university-funded doctoral researcher positions enable doctoral researchers to work on their degrees full-time with the goal of completing the doctoral degree in four years. The employment contract determines the exact duration of employment and the start and end dates of the contract. Information on the salary and further details concerning the employment relationship are available in the call for applications (available as soon as the call is open). The positions start at the earliest on 1 January 2025.   

The application together with the required attachments should be submitted via the electronic recruitment system of the University of Helsinki. The link to the application form can be found on this website as soon as the application period opens.

Kindly note that it is possible to apply for only one university-funded doctoral researcher position in this call. Only the most recently dated application will be considered and reviewed if an applicant submits more than one application. 

Applications must be prepared in accordance with the instructions below.

Applicants with an active doctoral study right at one of the faculties of the University of Helsinki are eligible to apply for a doctoral researcher position only if they have not already been employed as a doctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki for four years or longer. 

Applicants with an active doctoral study right are expected to have their Thessa account up-to-date, including thesis committee, annual reports and supervision agreement.

Applicants without a doctoral study right at one of the faculties of the University of Helsinki are eligible to apply for a doctoral researcher position. However, if selected for a funded doctoral researcher position, a doctoral study right must be obtained within six months of starting the position to be able to keep it. Please note that applying for a doctoral study right is a separate process from applying for a doctoral researcher position. You can apply for a doctoral study right in September’s study right call or at the latest in spring 2025. Please note that not having an active study right may result in the employment contract starting later than 1 January 2025. More information on how to apply for doctoral study rights is available on the websites of the doctoral programmes.

Keep in mind that there may be possible additional eligibility criteria for your doctoral programme (select the doctoral programme relevant for you from the menu above to see the additional programme-specific instructions).

Applicants can apply for a doctoral researcher position in a University of Helsinki doctoral programme by completing the application form and enclosing the required attachments.

Applicants already holding a doctoral study right in one doctoral programme at the University of Helsinki can apply for a doctoral researcher position from another doctoral programme that suits their research profile. They will need to change their doctoral programme if selected for a doctoral researcher position from another doctoral programme to be able to start the position. This application must be made in spring 2025 at the latest. It can even be necessary to re-apply for a doctoral study right if the faculty or the target degree changes due to the transfer to another doctoral programme. This can also affect the start date of employment.

Applications for university-funded doctoral researcher positions are submitted via the University of Helsinki recruitment system. The application form is open during the application period (27.8.-9.9.2024). Please note that even though the form closes at 23.59, we advise you to submit your application earlier. We will not answer questions about the application, or the application form, after 16.00 EEST (UTC+3) on the day the call for applications closes. 

Kindly note that it is possible to apply for only one university-funded doctoral researcher position in this call. Only the most recently dated application will be considered and reviewed if an applicant submits more than one application. 

Applicants need to fill in the following information in the application form: 

• Background information, including: 
  • date of birth, gender, nationality, country of residence 
  • Information about Master’s degree (or equivalent) 
• Information about possible doctoral study right at the University of Helsinki 
  • If you have a doctoral study right, you need to fill in the study number, doctoral programme, faculty and the starting date of your study right 
  • If you do not have a doctoral study right, you need to fill in in the desired doctoral programme and faculty. Please see a list of all doctoral programmes on the university website. 
• Information about the working contract 
  • Desired starting date and length (in years) for the salaried position 
  • Faculty or department where the research is carried out
• Information about the doctoral thesis project 
  • Tentative title for your thesis and preliminary year of defense 
  • Research field(s). You can choose two separate fields from a drop-down menu and add one free-form field of science. Please see if your doctoral programme has any additional instructions concerning the fields of research.
• Information about the supervisor(s )
  • Supervisor’s name, title, affiliation, and email address 

Information about applicants’ gender and nationality is collected for statistical purposes only. As it has no influence on the application procedure, applicants may choose to not disclose this information.

Applicants must include the following attachments in exactly the order presented below when applying for a university-funded doctoral researcher position. All attachments need to be combined as one single PDF document. Title this document as Lastname_Firstname_application and upload it to the application system into the CV section. The maximum size of the combined file is 5 MB. Layout for all attached documents: Font Arial/Calibri size 11 or similar if not using Word, row min 1,15.

• Research plan
  • Applicants must use the research plan template and cannot exceed the maximum number of characters including spaces to ensure equal treatment of all applicants. The application will be rejected if the instructions are not followed.
  • Download research plan template (docx-file). This template includes sections for CV and motivation letter. Do not use other CV or motivation letter templates.
  • Maximum length of the research plan is five pages
• CV 
  • The CV must follow the template to ensure equal treatment of all applicants. The application will be rejected if the instructions are not followed.
  • See research plan
  • Maximum length of CV: two pages
• Motivation letter 
  • See research plan
  • Maximum length: one page
• Supervision plan
  • Download supervision plan template (docx-file)
  • Maximum length: two pages
• Copies of your degree diploma and transcript of studies 
  • All applicants should include these in the application, even if they already have a doctoral study right or have graduated from the University of Helsinki

The applications will be assessed according to three evaluation criteria: excellence, competences, and implementation.

• External evaluators will assess the scientific excellence of the applications. Every application will be read and assessed by three external evaluators. You can download the evaluation instructions used by the external evaluators here (PDF-file).
• The competences of the applicants will be evaluated by a competency assessment focusing on the applicants’ creative and analytical thinking skills, independent approach to work, and their ability to collaborate constructively with others.
• The implementation of the applicants’ dissertation projects and their fit with the research profile of the chosen doctoral programme will be evaluated by the steering committees of the doctoral programmes. The doctoral programme steering committees may decide to use some additional evaluation procedures (for example interviewing the highest-ranking applicants). Please see the additional programme-specific instructions for your chosen doctoral programme below.

Selection process 

Please find a preliminary timetable for the selection process below.  

September 2024   

• Call open 27.8.-9.9.  
• Eligibility check 
• Competency assessment (online) between12 and 16 September for eligible applicants. Please allow yourself about an hour to complete the assessments. You will need a smartphone or a computer with a working microphone and web-camera.  
• Scientific evaluation of the applications 
• If you don’t have doctoral study right: September call for study rights in all doctoral programmes 

October 2024  

• Possible doctoral programme specific assessment of the applications (see doctoral programme application instructions for details) 

November 2024   

• Final decisions on the positions by mid-November 
• If you don’t have doctoral study right: November call for study rights in some doctoral programmes 

December 2024   

• Practical arrangements (HR, supervisor, research group) for those selected 

January 2025   

• Earliest possible start of the positions 
• If you don’t have doctoral study right: January call for study rights in some doctoral programmes 

All applicants will be notified of the decisions by the end of November 2024. The names of the selected applicants will be published on the Doctoral School’s web pages.

Select the doctoral programme relevant for you from the menu above to see the additional programme-specific instructions, eligibility criteria, and the number of available positions below.

Further information can be requested by writing to phd-positions(at)helsinki.fi