Doctoral Programmes
The Finnish doctoral programme system was established in 1995 and has been gradually expanded ever since. On 1 January 2008, the Ministry of Education delegated the decision-making and responsibility for the development and monitoring of doctoral programmes to the Academy of Finland.
Doctoral programmes are assigned the task to provide systematic, high-level and supervised researcher training for a fixed period. The training shall give the skills and competencies needed for research positions but also for other demanding positions of expertise. Doctoral programmes contribute to ensuring the supply of a sufficient number of high-level researchers and experts to meet the needs of universities, business and industry, and society at large.
Doctoral programme calls are arranged every second year. Funding is granted for purposes of establishing new doctoral programmes (e.g. scientific breakthroughs) and for continued funding and the renewal and development of existing doctoral programmes. Applications are invited for doctoral programme positions funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture, and for operating grants for doctoral programmes for the next four-year term.
The four-year doctoral programme positions funded by the Ministry are intended for full-time work on a doctoral dissertation, and doctoral candidates are generally hired to positions funded by the Ministry for the entire four-year term. Operating grants are awarded for purposes of arranging systematic and high-level education and establishing systematic cooperation, both on a national, international and sectoral level. Operating grants cannot be used to fund doctoral programme positions.
The decisions on doctoral programme positions and operating grants for doctoral programmes are made by the Academy of Finland. The Ministry of Education and Culture allocates the doctoral programme positions to universities in accordance with the Academy’s decisions, and the operating grants are awarded to universities by the Academy.
Doctoral programmes as of 1 January 2010
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