Doctoral Programme of the Philosophical Faculty

Major subjects and degrees in the Humanities

• Finnish Language, English Language and Culture, English Language and Translation, Swedish Language, Russian Language and Culture, Russian Language and Translation, Karelian Language and Culture, Linguistics, Translation Studies, Literature, Folklore Studies, Cultural Studies (specialization in Ethnomusicology, Cultural Anthropology, Media Culture and Communication, Gender Studies, Sociology of Arts), Logopedics
  • Doctor of Philosophy

Major subjects and degrees in Theology

• Biblical Studies, Church History, Practical Theology, Systematic Theology, Religious Education, Church Music, Systematic Theology and Patristics, Comparative Religion
  • Doctor of Theology or Doctor of Philosophy

Psychology

• Psychology
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology or Doctor of Philosophy

Major subjects and degrees in Educational Sciences

• Adult Education; Education; Education, Councelling; Home Economics; Craft Science
  • Doctor of Philosophy, or Doctor of Philosophy (Education)
• Special Education; Education, Early Childhood Education
  • Doctor of Philosophy (Education)

From this list, you can check whether you meet the eligibility requirements for the FILOTO doctoral programme.

Eligibility and admission criteria

Eligible for studies leading to a doctoral degree shall be:

• a person who has completed an applicable higher university or polytechnic degree
• a person who has completed an applicable education abroad which in the awarding country gives eligibility for corresponding higher education

Admission criteria

1. The fields of study for the PhD programme of the Philosophical Faculty include humanities, theology, psychology, speech therapy, education, home economics and crafts. In certain exceptional cases, the Steering Committee of the doctoral programme may, on the basis of the applicant's studies and research plan, assess the suitability of another field of study. 

To be selected, the applicant must have completed studies relevant to the subject of the doctoral thesis, which may be part of the qualifying degree or not. Applicants must have completed 30 credits of studies (undergraduate, postgraduate or equivalent) in the major field of the doctoral degree or in an appropriate related field by the time they submit their application. Pedagogical studies for teachers are suitable for studies in the field of education. 

Applicants for a doctorate in psychology must have obtained a Master's degree in psychology from a Finnish university or an equivalent foreign degree. 

The disciplines, majors and degrees covered by the doctoral programme are described above under "Degrees and subjects".

2. The applicant must have at least two supervisors committed to the dissertation work, one of whom is the main supervisor and must be employed by the Philosophical Faculty. All supervisors must hold a doctoral degree. The main supervisor must be a docent or have equivalent scientific qualifications. At the application stage, the applicant must have written consent from the individuals committed to being supervisors.

3. The applicant's research plan must be of high quality and prepared in accordance with the guidelines of the doctoral programme. The research plan is an independent work, but supervisors will guide you in its preparation.

4. Applicants must demonstrate sufficient academic language skills in either Finnish or English. Language proficiency must be demonstrated in connection with the application for a doctoral study place. A previous higher education degree done in Finnish is proof that the applicant has sufficient knowledge of Finnish. For guidance on the requirements for academic English, see below. Dissertations may also be written in a language other than that indicated in the application.
To prove their English language skills when applying, the applicant must either (a) meet the language proficiency criteria (see below), or (b) reach the minimum required language test results to be considered eligible to the University of Eastern Finland. No exceptions will be made and no waivers regarding the language proficiency requirements are given.

(a) Applicants who hold one of the following do not have to take an English language test:

• English as foreign language included in at least a Bachelor-level degree conducted in Nordic country (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) or in an EU/EEA country;
• At least 20 ECTS university-level studies in the subject of English Studies completed in a Nordic or in an EU/EEA country;
• Master's thesis written in English when Master's degree is completed in a Nordic country or in an EU/EEA country;
• Secondary education completed in English language in EU/EEA -countries, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand or in Switzerland.
• A Bachelor’s, Master’s or higher degree in English language completed in EU/EEA -countries, or in one of the following countries: Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Cameroon, Canada, Dominica, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Philippines, Ruanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South-Africa, Switzerland, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, the United Kingdom, the United States, Zambia, Zimbabwe. 

The degree/programme must be taught and assessed entirely in English. If you verify your language skills with your education degree, the language of instruction must be clearly indicated on the educational documents. 

Online studies or studies completed on offshore campuses outside the accepted countries/area cannot be used to indicate language skills, even if the degree-awarding institution is in one of the accepted countries. Please attach to the application an applicable degree certificate, Diploma Supplement, and the transcript of the academic record. 

(b) All other applicants have to take one of the following language tests: 

• TOEFL iBT, overall score 92, minimum 22 in writing
• IELTS (academic) overall score 6.5, minimum 6.0 in writing
• PTE (academic), overall score 62, minimum 54 in writing
• C1 Advanced overall score C or 180, with minimum 162 in writing
• C2 Proficiency overall score level C1 or 180, with minimum 162 in writing
• National Certificate of Language Proficiency YKI-test: level 5 in all different subtests (reading comprehension, writing, and speaking). 

It is possible to combine different examinations. 

TOEFL, IELTS and PTE certificates are valid for two years from the day they are issued. The language test need to be in effect when submitting the application during the application period. 

The language test results must be verifiable from the online verification service of the organizer. 

No other degrees or statements of language proficiency will be accepted. Please note that a written statement by the applicant, prospective supervisor, English teacher, etc., is not an adequate proof of the applicant's sufficient English skills.

Supplementary studies

The board of the doctoral programme may require the applicant to complete supplementary studies if it considers that the applicant has not acquired the knowledge and skills required for doctoral studies through their previous studies. Supplementary studies may be required for students whose undergraduate education is in a field other than the major field of study applied for, or when it is appropriate for the implementation of the research plan. The content and scope of the complementary studies will be assessed for each applicant individually by the board of the doctoral programme in consultation with the persons approved as supervisors. Supplementary studies will be defined in the selection decision and will not exceed 30 credits. They are carried out as part of the studies leading to the degree and cannot be included in the doctoral degree.

Restrictions on Study Rights in Postgraduate Degrees

According to the Education regulations of the University of Eastern Finland, a student may only hold one right to study at the University of Eastern Finland leading to a similar level of scientific or professional postgraduate degree. A new right to study with the corresponding content cannot be granted for the completion of such an aforementioned degree or training in the same field of education or similar subject which the applicant has already completed in the national higher education system, unless otherwise determined by the admission criteria of the faculty.

According to the one study place per academic term rule, a student may accept only one offer of admission to a study programme leading to a higher education degree in Finland in education that begins in the same academic term. Additionally, a student cannot be accepted to other study programmes starting in the same academic term after they have accepted an offer of admission. This rule also applies to postgraduate degrees at universities, including licentiate and doctoral degrees.

The research plan is the most crucial part of your doctoral studies application. Start preparing it well in advance. The purpose of the research plan is to demonstrate that you have sufficient capabilities to complete a doctoral dissertation. 

The research plan is an independent work, but the persons who have agreed to be your supervisors will guide you in its preparation. Contact the supervisors well in advance so they have time to provide feedback on your research plan. Write the plan so that it can be evaluated by people other than experts in your field or subject area. Include references for the sources you use. 

Prepare the research plan so that the research can be completed full-time in 3–4 years. Your topic must be related to a discipline and subject included in the Doctoral Programme of the Philosophical Faculty.

Write the research plan according to these guidelines and headings. The doctoral programme's steering committee will not evaluate research plans that do not follow these guidelines. Even if your doctoral dissertation is an integrated part of a larger, collective research project, you should compose your research plan in such a way that you describe all its components from the perspective of your own research. Each heading has a maximum character count including spaces – often less is sufficient. 

1. Author's name, dissertation topic or preliminary title, and field of research.
2. Research plan abstract (maximum 800 characters) Briefly describe your research problem or research task. Why is solving it important for your field and society? What is your research data, research method, and possible theoretical framework?
3. Background, objectives and impact of the research (maximum 5,000 characters) Describe how your dissertation relates to previous research. Present the theoretical framework and key concepts of your research. Present your research questions or tasks and possible hypotheses. What kind of results are expected and what new knowledge will they bring to the scientific discussion concerning your field or topic? You can also consider how your results might interest and be applicable outside the scientific community. The structure of this section may follow the conventions of your specific discipline.
4. Research data and methods (maximum 4,000 characters) Describe your potential research data. Explain how you plan to acquire it and how you will process it. Is it possible to make the data available to other researchers through archiving? See for example https://www.uef.fi/en/library/research-data-management. Describe your analysis methods to show how they contribute to answering research questions and tasks or verifying hypotheses. Explain the methodological framework if necessary.
5. Ethical considerations (maximum 2,000 characters) Describe ethical issues related to the research topic, methods, or data, such as procedures, informing participants, informed consent, and protecting participant anonymity. Mention if the research involves special ethical concerns. Does the research require approval from the research ethics committee or a research permit? Are there any data protection or ownership and usage rights issues? If data is collected abroad, how have you considered special issues and cooperation partners regarding research permits and ethical guidelines for data collection abroad? Has your research considered questions related to equality, open science, and sustainable development? Answer all the questions that are relevant to your research. Justify if your research does not involve ethical issues or considerations. Consider these ethical guidelines https://tenk.fi/en/ethical-review/ethical-review-human-sciences and https://www.uef.fi/en/research-ethics
6. Work plan (maximum 2,500 characters) Plan the preliminary schedule and phases of the dissertation and doctoral studies (30 ECTS). Are you writing a monograph or article-based dissertation? Describe the writing process and schedule for a monograph dissertation. Describe the publication plan and schedule for an article-based dissertation. It's good to provide working titles for articles and mention which journals you plan to submit them to. Plan the schedule for your doctoral studies over a three-year period. What plans do you have regarding conferences or exchange studies? Is the dissertation part of a research project?
7. Planned funding (maximum 1,000 characters) Explain how you plan to fund your research. Also, describe any funding applied for or received for the research so far.
8. Main literature for the research plan (maximum 2,500 characters) List the sources you have used and referenced in the research plan. You can also mention other key sources not referenced in your plan.

Complete the final research plan using FILOTO's form template. Please download and save the form to your computer first. When filling out the form, it functions optimally with a PDF reader program, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader. The research plan must be included in the doctoral application using the FILOTO's form template.

We also offer open-access self-study materials for making a research plan: Writing a research plan (open materials for PhD studies) (digicampus.fi)

At the application stage, the applicant must obtain written supervision commitments from individuals committed to acting as dissertation supervisors. By committing to supervision, the supervisor confirms that the applicant’s research plan meets the required criteria and is feasible within the proposed timeline. The supervision commitment is a key document in ensuring that the research plan is of sufficient quality to serve as a solid foundation for the doctoral project. 

1. The application must include a statement from the person who has agreed to act as the main supervisor. This statement should assess the quality of the research plan and the applicant’s ability to carry out the research project. The statement is submitted directly to the faculty via an electronic form. The form is not sent to the applicant.

2. Co-supervisor(s) must complete, sign, and return the supervision commitment form to the applicant. The applicant must upload the signed form to their application in Studyinfo. 

   The supervision commitment form can be signed electronically, for example, using UEF Sign or Google’s electronic signature function. Alternatively, the form can be printed, signed, and either scanned or photographed for electronic submission. The form works best when opened with the Microsoft Edge browser or the Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF viewer. Please download and save the form to your computer first, after which you can fill it out.  

Evaluation Process and Decision-Making

The selection of doctoral researchers is based on the admission criteria of the doctoral programme.  The Steering Group of the Doctoral Programme assesses each eligible application against the admission criteria. The dean of the Philosophical faculty will decide on a doctoral study right based on a proposal from the head of the doctoral programme. The dean grants the study rights to doctoral researchers and confirms the supervisors for the doctoral dissertation with their decision. If the study right is not granted, the decision will include the reason for rejecting the application. 

Assessment Criteria for the Research Plan

The following aspects of the research plan are evaluated on a scale of sufficient to insufficient: 

• The research problem or task is motivated and clearly described.
• The background of the research, such as previous research on the topic, theoretical framework, and key concepts are clearly described.
• The scientific objectives of the research and the impact of the results are clearly described.
• The acquisition, processing, and analysis methods of the research data are concretely described.
• Ethical issues of the research are appropriately considered and described.
• The research is realistic and feasible: the schedule, as well as the publication and funding plan, are clearly described.
• The scientific level and innovativeness of the research plan are sufficient for a doctoral dissertation. 

While certain sections of the research plan may be assessed as insufficient, this does not automatically lead to the rejection of the proposal. What is decisive is the overall evaluation of the research plan, which takes into account the general quality and feasibility of the proposal.

Typical Shortcomings in Research Plans

A prevalent issue in research plans assessed as insufficient in quality is incompleteness. Such plans often give the impression that the overall scope hasn't been carefully considered, leading to a lack of clear understanding of the practical implementation of the research. Typical deficiencies include, for example:

• Unclear or inadequate research objectives or research questions.
• Insufficient explanation of previous research, theoretical framework, or key concepts.
• Lack of convincing justification for the scientific relevance of the research.
• Overly general description of research methods.
• Inadequate handling of ethical considerations in relation to the research design or the researcher's position.
• Unrealistic or vague work and/or funding plans.
• Poorly structured research plan; the text is unpolished or difficult to understand.

Doctoral Funding Opportunities

The right to pursue doctoral studies does not include funding. It is recommended to discuss funding opportunities with your supervisor as early as when you are planning to undertake doctoral studies. Funding opportunities include scholarships, paid doctoral researcher positions in doctoral programmes, paid project researcher positions or combining doctoral studies with other paid work. The Philosophical Faculty awards grants for starting (start-up grant) and finishing (finalization grant) doctoral dissertation work. Find out more about funding opportunities for doctoral studies in the KAMU Student Handbook.

Start-up grant of the Philosophical Faculty 

Purpose of the Start-up Grant 

The start-up grant aims to enable full-time work on your doctoral dissertation. The grant supports the process of applying for further funding for your doctoral research, and the preparation and implementation of a related funding plan. It also helps you initiate your research in accordance with your research plan. 

You can apply for the start-up grant at the same time as you apply for the right to pursue doctoral studies in the FILOTO doctoral programme. The grant is awarded for two (2) months, and the amount is €1500/month. 

The start-up grant can only be awarded once. If you have already been granted the right to pursue a doctoral degree in the Philosophical Faculty, you are not eligible to apply for this grant. 

Please note the following conditions: 

• You must begin using the grant within three months of receiving the grant decision. The grant period (2 months) must be continuous.
• The grant period requires full-time work, meaning you must focus entirely on your doctoral research during this time.
• You may not be in full-time paid employment during the grant period.
• The grant cannot be awarded if you have been employed by the University of Eastern Finland during the same calendar year in a position where your duties included doctoral research (e.g. as a project researcher).
• If you are employed by the university in a position other than the one for which the grant is awarded, you must be released from those duties during the grant period.
• You may not use the start-up grant simultaneously with other working grants. If you receive funding for your doctoral research from another source, the faculty’s start-up grant will be cancelled. 

Application process 

You apply for the start-up grant through the Studyinfo portal as part of your application for the right to pursue doctoral studies. 

As part of the application, a statement is also required from the person who has agreed to act as the main supervisor of your doctoral dissertation. The statement should describe the applicant’s current and future funding situation and needs, as well as explain why this particular applicant should be awarded the start-up grant. The main supervisor submits the statement directly to the faculty via the same electronic form used in connection with the application for the right to pursue doctoral studies. The form is not sent to the applicant.

Please discuss the start-up grant application with your prospective main supervisor before submitting your application in Studyinfo. 

Incomplete applications will not be processed. 

Evaluation Criteria 

Applications will be evaluated based on: 

1. The scientific significance and innovativeness of the research
2. The funding plan for the doctoral project
3. The feasibility and realism of the work plan
4. The main supervisor’s statement. 

Affiliation with a research group within the department is considered an advantage. 

You will be informed of the start-up grant decision by email at the same time as the decision on your right to pursue doctoral studies. 

If you are awarded the grant, you are required to submit a written report to the faculty on the use of the grant after the grant period ends. Your main supervisor will also be asked to provide a report on how the grant supported the progress of your research project. 

Further information: info-filoto@uef.fi