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 between August 24 and September 7, 2026. 

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 the following year.   

All employment contracts for the doctoral researchers recruited in this call will be placed within the faculties or independent institutes of the university. Any potential changes in the doctoral programme portfolio will not affect the evaluation of the applications or the placement of the positions.

The application together with the required attachments should be submitted via the electronic recruitment system of the University of Helsinki. 

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. 

The doctoral programme steering group makes a proposal on the applicants to be selected for doctoral researcher positions to the unit director responsible for recruitment to the unit where the doctoral researcher in question would be employed. The director of the unit in question makes the decision on the employment.

Check the program-specific application instructions for the language in which you can submit your application.

Applications must be prepared in accordance with the instructions below.

The the list of awarded university-funded doctoral researcher positions will be published on the Doctoral School's website.

Open Positions

More specific information about the available positions in each doctoral programme will be provided in the programme-specific guidelines. The majority of the positions are aimed at doctoral researchers who are in the beginning of their dissertation projects and are intended for the entire duration of the doctoral project (3-4 years). Some programmes may also have shorter positions (1-2 years) available, which are targeted at the later stages of the dissertation work.

The employment can start no earlier than January 1, 2027, and the position must be commenced during the year 2027.

University-funded doctoral researcher positions are always at least 12 months long and full-years in duration. An exception to this is that a doctoral programme may grant a position of 6–12 months to an applicant who is undertaking specialized training related to their doctoral work in medicine, dentistry, or veterinary medicine, or similar professional specialization training aimed at licensed healthcare or veterinary professionals.

In this call, in addition to programme-specific positions, ten four-year positions from the University of Helsinki Science Foundation and 16 three-year positions (R&D funding) will be awarded. Read more about these below (to be published in June).

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants are eligible if:

• The application is submitted by the deadline.
• The application is accompanied by all required attachments in the specified format.
• The applicant's research plan is relevant to the doctoral programme they are applying to.
• The applicant has supervision arrangements in place as per the doctoral programme's guidelines. All applicants must have a supervisor at the time of application. Please also adhere to other supervisory requirements of your doctoral programme.
• Applications and the attachments are prepared in the language required by the doctoral programme (check the programme-specific guidelines regarding the language, which will be published in June).
• The length of the requested position corresponds to the durations of available positions in the programme.

Application documents cannot be supplemented after the application deadline.

Applicants may submit only one application for the university-funded doctoral researcher position in this call. If an applicant submits more than one application, only the most recently dated application will be considered.

If an applicant has previously received funding from a doctoral programme at the University of Helsinki, a new funding period may only be granted if the total duration of funding does not exceed four years.

Applicants for three- to four-year positions should be in the early stages of their doctoral work. Contrary to what was previously announced, the start of study rights before January 1, 2025, is no longer defined as an eligibility factor in the salary position application at the university level. The funded positions are still aimed at applicants in the early stages of their doctoral research, and the purpose of these positions is to facilitate full-time work on the dissertation and doctoral studies, allowing the completion of the doctoral degree within four years. Applicants in the early stages of their dissertation work or just starting their research may apply for the three- to four-year positions. Please also check if your doctoral programme has more specific criteria regarding this.  

Applicants for one- to two-year positions should be those whose doctoral work has advanced to a stage where it can be determined, based on the application and the accompanying research plan, that the work will be completed within the requested funding period.

Applicants with Active Doctoral Study Rights at the University of Helsinki

Applicants who hold active doctoral study rights at the University of Helsinki are required to have their supervision and monitoring details recorded in Thessa accurately and up to date. This includes the supervision plan, information regarding the thesis committee, and annual reporting as required based on the applicant’s stage of studies.

If the study rights began less than a year ago, annual reporting is not required; or if it began less than six months ago, no thesis committee is required. More information about thesis committees can be found on the Studies Service website.

If you already have doctoral study rights at the University of Helsinki, you may apply for a funded doctoral researcher position in the same or another doctoral programme that matches your research profile. If you receive a funded position in a different program, you must transfer to that doctoral programme within 6 months of the probation period. This means you may need to reapply for your study rights if your faculty or target degree changes. You must submit that application by spring 2027 at the latest. Note that this may affect your employment start date.

Applicants without Doctoral Study Rights at the University of Helsinki

Applicants without doctoral study rights at the University of Helsinki may still apply for a funded doctoral researcher position. If selected for a funded position and without prior doctoral study rights, they must obtain such rights within six months of starting their employment in order to retain the position. 

Please be aware that study rights must be applied for in a separate call. You may apply in the September call for study rights, or in spring 2027 at the latest. Note that the absence of an active study right may lead to changes in the start date of the employment or result in losing the position during the probation period. Applicants must ensure they have a realistic opportunity to obtain doctoral study rights within this timeframe. More information on how to apply for doctoral study rights is available on the websites of the doctoral programmes.

Applying When You Haven't Graduated Yet

In some cases, you can apply for a position even if you haven't yet graduated. Please check the specific instructions for your doctoral programme, which will be published in June.

In all cases, the selected applicant must have completed a degree the degree that gives you eligibility to doctoral studies before the employment begins. If the employment starts on January 1, 2027, the right to pursue a doctoral degree must be applied for no later than the spring 2027 application period. The applicant must ensure they have a realistic chance of obtaining the doctoral degree rights within this timeframe.

The doctoral programme may provide ore mprogramme-specific guidelines concerning the eligibility requirements, which can be found in the program-specific instructions, to be published in June.

How to Apply

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

Please note that it is possible to apply for only one university-funded doctoral researcher position in this call. If multiple applications are submitted, only the most recently dated application will be considered and evaluated.

Application Form

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 (August 24 – September 7, 2026). Please note that although the form closes at 11:59 PM, it is recommended to submit your application earlier. We will not respond to questions about the application or the application form after 4:00 PM EEST (UTC+3) on the last day of the call.

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

• Background information, including: 
  
  • Date of birth, gender, nationality, country of residence*
• Information on possible doctoral study rights at the University of Helsinki:
  
  • If you have doctoral study rights, you must fill in your student number, doctoral programme, faculty, and the start date of your study rights.
  • If you do not have doctoral study rights, you must indicate your desired doctoral programme and faculty. Please see a list of all doctoral programmes on the university website.
• Information about the employment contract:
  
  • The doctoral programme you are applying to (this can be the same or different from your current programme).
  • Desired starting date and length (in years) for the salaried position (note the instructions regarding graduation, obtaining study rights, and the length of positions). Indicate the faculty or department where the research will be conducted.
• Information about the doctoral thesis project:
  
  • Preliminary title of your thesis (100 characters or less) and estimated time for defense.
  • Research field(s). You can choose from a menu and add one free-form field and keywords as needed. Please check if your doctoral programme has any specific instructions regarding research fields; these will be published in June. Please specify your research field and keywords (e.g., area of study, specialization, methods) as accurately as possible so that applications can be forwarded to suitable reviewers.
  • Information about previous funding granted for this doctoral project.
• Information about the supervisor(s):
  
  • Supervisor’s name, academic title or degree, and email address. 
• Information about the master’s degree (or equivalent)
• Possible Interruptions in Progress of Doctoral Work. NOTE! Report breaks in the CV under section 7. Career breaks
  
  • Applicants for three- to four-year positions should be in the early stages of their doctoral work. Contrary to what was previously announced, the start of study rights before January 1, 2025, is no longer defined as an eligibility factor in the salary position application at the university level. The funded positions are still aimed at applicants in the early stages of their doctoral research, and the purpose of these positions is to facilitate full-time work on the dissertation and doctoral studies, allowing the completion of the doctoral degree within four years. Applicants in the early stages of their dissertation work or just starting their research may apply for the three- to four-year positions. Please also check if your doctoral programme has more specific criteria regarding this. 

*Gender and nationality information of applicants is collected for statistical purposes. This data does not affect the evaluation of applications.

Required Attachments

Applicants must submit the following attachments in exactly the order presented below when applying for a university-funded doctoral researcher position.

All attachments need to be combined into a single PDF document. Name this document in the format Lastname_Firstname_application and upload it to the CV section of the recruitment system. The maximum size of the combined file is 5 MB. The layout for all attached documents should be: Font Arial/Calibri size 11 (or similar if not using Word), line spacing minimum 1.15. Please note that margins of template documents must not be altered. Applications that are too long or contain additional or previous years’ attachments will be rejected.

• Research Plan (docx)
  
  • To ensure equal treatment of all applicants, please use the structure presented in the template for the research plan and do not exceed the maximum page or character count (including spaces). Applications that deviate from these instructions will be rejected.
  • The maximum length of the research plan is five pages.
• CV (docx)
  
  • To ensure equal treatment of all applicants, please follow the structure presented in the CV template and do not exceed the maximum page or character count (including spaces).  Applications that deviate from these instructions will be rejected.
  • The maximum length of the CV is three pages.
• Supervision Plan (docx)
  
  • To ensure equal treatment of all applicants, please use the structure presented in the supervision plan template and do not exceed the maximum page count. Applications that deviate from these instructions will be rejected.
  • The maximum length of the supervision plan is two pages. 
  • The supervision plan requires the supervisor's signature. Please ensure you obtain this in a timely manner, as incomplete applications will be rejected, and attachments cannot be supplemented after the application period ends.
  • NOTE! The supervision plan created in the Thessa system does NOT replace this attachment.
• Copy of the Master’s Degree (or equivalent) Diploma
  
  • Any programme-specific additional instructions regarding degree diplomas will be published in the programme-specific guidelines in June.
  • All applicants must attach their diploma to the application, even if they already have doctoral study rights or have graduated from the University of Helsinki.
  • If you haven't graduated yet: Check the program-specific instructions to see if you are eligible.
  • A scanned copy of the diploma is sufficient. At this stage, we do not require certified copies of diplomas.
• Transcript of Studies
  
  • Any programme-specific additional instructions regarding study transcripts will be published in the programme-specific guidelines in June.
  • All applicants must include a transcript with their application, even if they already have doctoral study rights or have graduated from the University of Helsinki.
  • If you have already started your doctoral studies, attach transcripts from both your master's and doctoral studies.

Use of Artificial Intelligence in Application Preparation

In preparing the application, the University of Helsinki's policies on the responsible use of artificial intelligence in education and research must be followed. The use of AI must be reported in the research plan.

Evaluation of Applications and Decisions

Evaluation for Three to Four-Year Positions 

External experts appointed by the doctoral programmes’ steering groups will review all eligible applications for three- to four-year positions based on common assessment criteria and a common scale.

The application must achieve at least a score of 3/5 (good) in each assessment criterion as the average from three assessors to proceed in the process. The evaluation criteria and their weightings are presented in the table below. You can download Evaluation instructions for external assessors (docx). 

Interviews

Doctoral programmes may also conduct interviews aimed at complementing the external evaluation and assessing the applicant’s preparedness, commitment, and ability to carry out their plan. More detailed information regarding possible interviews in the doctoral programme will be published in the programme-specific instructions in June.

Evaluation for One- to Two-Year Positions

If there are one- to two-year positions available in the programme, those will be evaluated by the programme steering group or appointed experts. The assessment will emphasize the feasibility of the finalization of the research plan and how well the research has progressed according to the timeline and/or plans. If interviews are held, they will focus on the applicant’s readiness and commitment to complete the work within the requested funding period.

Recruitment Decision

The doctoral programme's steering group will present selected candidates for employment to the director of the respective unit. The unit director will make decisions regarding employment.

All applicants will be notified of decisions by the end of November 2026. The names of selected applicants will be published on the Doctoral School's website. Applicants who did not meet the eligibility requirements will be notified by the end of September.

Further Information

Instructions may vary between doctoral programmes. Please select your intended programme from the menu at the top of the page to view its specific guidelines.

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

Description of the programme  

The Doctoral Programme in Molecular and Cellular Systems of Life (MaCS) encompasses a diverse range of research fields within molecular and cellular biosciences, including both experimental and data-driven approaches. Research in MaCS is agnostic to the organism studied and ranges from in-depth analyses of molecular mechanisms to systems-level approaches; it is often interdisciplinary in nature and may extend beyond MaCS's core fields of research. MaCS welcomes applications for projects stemming from curiosity-driven fundamental research as well as those that include applied aspects with societal relevance, such as biotechnology and human health.  

For more information, please visit the MaCS website.  

Open positions in the Doctoral Programme in Molecular and Cellular Systems of Life 

The Doctoral Programme in Molecular and Cellular Systems of Life is offering 1-4-year positions of full-time research. Applicants must apply for full years, corresponding to the length of time required to complete the doctoral degree.  

The 3–4 -year positions will be given to applicants who have recently started or are about to start their doctoral research. Shorter-term positions may be granted based on the applicant’s situation and the stage of the doctoral thesis (i.e. if you have been working full-time on your doctoral thesis for 2 years, you can apply for 2 years).  

The best 3-4-year applications will be forwarded for the evaluation of UH Research Foundation and R&D positions. 

Eligibility criteria 

Applicants who don’t have a study right yet 

All applicants must have their master’s degree ready and granted by the end of the application year (2026).  

If an applicant selected for a university-funded doctoral researcher position does not yet hold a right to study for doctoral degree at the University of Helsinki, they must obtain it within a six-month probationary period in order to continue in the position.  

Supervision requirements  

All applicants must have 1-3 thesis supervisors with doctoral degrees at the time of application. Please also note the other supervision requirements of the MaCS doctoral programme, which will be required at the stage of applying a study right. 

Language of the applications  

Applications must be submitted in English. 

Scientific fields in the programme

The scientific fields in the Doctoral Programme in Molecular and Cellular Systems of Life (MaCS) are listed below. Please include one (or more, if needed) of the following fields in the “Possible other fields of research” question in the application form. 

The spectrum of scientific fields in MaCS include:  

• Molecular and cellular biosciences 
• Genetics and genomics 
• Neurobiology 
• Developmental biology and physiology 
• Bioinformatics and systems biology 

Other criteria 

• Because the number of funded positions is limited, MaCS can award only one position per principal investigator, main supervisor, or research group during the application round. 
• In the case of a tie in points, the diversity of the student cohort in the doctoral programme may be considered, such as in terms of gender, nationalities, or fields of study. 

Interviews 

Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed on site by an interview panel between November 2 - 4, 2026. The invitations to the interviews and the exact interview date will be sent by email to shortlisted applicants approximately one week before the interviews. The language used in the interviews is English.   

The University of Helsinki Research Foundation will open a call for applications for 10 funded doctoral researcher positions in 2026. The Foundation's application process is carried out in collaboration with the University of Helsinki Doctoral School.

Applicants do not need to submit a separate application to the Research Foundation. The doctoral programmes will select applications from among those received and forward them to the Research Foundation for evaluation.

Application process

Each doctoral programme at the University of Helsinki will select 1–3 applications to be forwarded to the Research Foundation. A committee composed of professor members of the Foundation’s board will evaluate the applications. The committee will make proposals to the Foundation’s board, which will make the final selection decisions by the end of November.
Applicants selected for the Foundation's evaluation will be informed separately about the evaluation process.

Evaluation criteria

The following aspects are emphasised in the Research Foundation's call:

• Scientific excellence
• Interdisciplinarity and societal impact of the applications
• Ability to identify and describe the societal challenges and questions the research seeks to address
• The applicant should be at an early stage of their research career
• The research plan must be feasible

The Research Foundation primarily awards four-year funding.

Doctoral researcher positions funded by additional R&D funding

The University of Helsinki has received additional R&D funding from the Ministry of Education and Culture. From this funding, the university will allocate 16 three-year doctoral researcher positions for the period 2027-2029. 

The positions will be awarded to successful candidates in the autumn 2026 call, specifically to applicants who applied for a three-year position in the doctoral programme, with their employment set to begin between January and March. 

Applicants do not need to submit a separate application for the R&D positions. Doctoral programmes will select those applications for three-year positions that will be forwarded for evaluation.