Doctoral dissertation funding

The Ģ��ֱ�� does not collect tuition fees from doctoral researchers, and studies at the University are free. However, full-time doctoral students need funding to cover their costs of living and potential research costs.

Forms of funding

When applying to a doctoral programme, you apply for the doctoral study right. The doctoral study right does not include funding, but the necessary funding must be applied for separately.

The most common forms of funding for doctoral students are employment as a doctoral researcher or grant research. If doctoral studies are pursued partly on a grant and partly in an employment relationship with the University, individual doctoral students’ rights and duties may vary during the doctoral training. Doctoral studies can also be pursued on a part-time basis while simultaneously working outside of the University.

In addition to the Doctoral Researcher positions and grants, the University has other ways to support dissertation research. Doctoral researchers' research and travel costs can sometimes be covered with project funding granted to the supervisor or research group. Faculties or departments can also support doctoral researchers' conference trips or research visits and some grants awarded by foundations may include research expense and/or travel grants in addition to a personal working grant. Foundations can also have separate applications for travel grants.

Funding options should be discussed with the representative of the field of study or a possible supervisor already in connection with the preparation of the research plan and doctoral study plan. During your doctoral studies, you can get support for applying for funding from your dissertation supervisor.

Doctoral researcher position

The Doctoral Researcher position is a fixed-term employment relationship with the University. Based on the target time for the completion of a doctoral degree Doctoral Researcher’s contract of employment is a fixed-term contract for a maximum of four years. The person selected for the position receives a monthly salary in accordance with the national salary system of Finnish universities (YPJ system). Eligibility requirements for the post of doctoral researcher are a master's degree and doctoral study right at the Ģ��ֱ��. If the person selected for the position does not have the doctoral study right, it must be obtained within a six-month trial period.

Doctoral researcher positions can be funded by faculties, departments or research projects. The positions are applied for in the university's recruitment system.

Open vacancies

Grants

The grant is a scholarship paid to the doctoral researcher’s bank account. It is often taxable income. The grant is usually awarded by a funder other than the University, such as a fund or foundation. The length of the grant period can vary from a few months to four years. The University cannot award a grant to a doctoral researcher who has previously been employed at the University if the earlier employment relationship has been connected to the dissertation research.

The grant researcher is not employed by the University but belongs to the University's work and research community. The University offers grant researchers tools and services, which are described in more detail in the Guide for grant researchers.

Personal grants awarded by foundations

You can get information on available grants and applying for grants from various funding databases and services (see the link list below).

Please note that grants applied for from foundations are considered supplementary research funding, for which a project proposal must be made in Ģ��ֱ��'s Converis research information system before the application is submitted to the funder.

Note also, that many foundations give funding not only for dissertation work, but also for research-related travel and other expenses.

EDUFI Fellowships

The national EDUFI Fellowship scholarship programme is available for doctoral level studies and research in Finland. Please note that you cannot apply independently for the EDUFI Fellowship - the 'applicant' in this scholarship programme is your Finnish university department. Therefore, to be eligible for the EDUFI Fellowship, you must first successfully apply for admission to a doctoral programme in a Finnish university.

Konnevesi funding and grants

The Ģ��ֱ�� offers doctoral researchers the opportunity to write their dissertations in a calm and carefree environment at the Konnevesi research station. Employed doctoral researchers apply for Konnevesi funding through the Science Council, and non-employed doctoral researchers apply through Student and Academic Services.

Research Council’s Konnevesi funding for research groups and for students finishing their theses

Konnevesi grant for thesis writers

Funding the internship abroad

You can receive a study grant and a student loan during your internship period. In addition, you can receive Kela's housing supplement. However, take into account the effect of a possible salary on your study grant and whether you will receive enough study points during the internship. You can also apply for an Erasmus+ grant for internships in Europe.

Erasmus+ scholarship

Part-time dissertation research

When the doctoral researcher does not have funding for full-time doctoral studies, doctoral studies are considered part-time. It is possible to complete doctoral studies part-time, for example, along with a job outside the University. If temporary separation from work is possible, a more intensive research and study period can be financed with, for example, personal grants.

If you are moving to Finland from abroad, please note that the funds at your disposal must meet your monthly living costs and other needs. If you need a residence permit, you should have a secure means of support. Please visit the website of the Finnish Immigration Service for information about residence permits and related requirements.

Faculty-specific funding opportunities

The Ģ��ֱ�� annually allocates funding to the faculties for salaried Doctoral Researcher positions of up to four years and short-term doctoral training grants.

You can apply for funding from your faculty or department. Keep in mind that there are many doctoral students, and faculties and departments can provide funding only for some of them.

Each year (usually in autumn), the faculty announces vacancies for full-time doctoral researchers. The maximum length of the employment period is normally four years, including other funding from the University for the dissertation work. You can apply for a position if you have valid doctoral study right. Other requirements are defined in more detail in the call for applications.

You can apply for working grants from your department. These are usually announced in the email lists of your department. The length of working grants from the University cannot exceed twelve months. Note that you are not eligible for such grants, if you have already been employed with the title Doctoral Researcher.

In addition, departments can award travel grants or offer an opportunity to use proofreading services (e.g. for the proofreading of publications). Departments define the amount of support and the times of application periods independently and inform about them according to their own practices, usually in their own email lists.

1. Funding from a research project

Many doctoral students of the Faculty of Information Technology receive funding from a research project. You may ask about ongoing or planned projects from your supervisor.

2. Funding from the Doctoral School

The Doctoral School of the Faculty of Information Technology regularly provides funding for doctoral students of the faculty.

NEW STUDENTS (1. YEAR OF DOCTORAL STUDIES)

New/applying doctoral students can apply for funding for doctoral studies starting in autumn 2025 in a call that is open from April 2 until April 30, 2025. Please see the announcement below. The funding is in the form of employment relationship as a doctoral researcher, for a maximum of one year.

Funding for studies starting in spring 2026 can be applied in autumn 2025. The application period and instructions will be announced later.

CONTINUING STUDENTS (2.-4. YEARS OF DOCTORAL STUDIES)

After the first year of studies, doctoral students of the faculty can apply for doctoral school employment relationship (as doctoral researcher) for a maximum of three years, to fund their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year of studies. Application rounds are generally organized twice a year: in spring and in autumn.

The spring 2025 call is open from April 2 until April 30. The spring 2025 call is intended for those doctoral students who need funding beginning in autumn 2025. Those who need funding beginning in spring 2026, may apply in the autumn 2025 call (announced later).

3. Funding from the Faculty Divisions

The purpose of the funding paid from the Faculty Divisions is to enable full time doctoral dissertation work for 1-3 months. You can apply in two categories: 1) Funding for an intensive period e.g. for collecting or analyzing data, or 2) Funding to finish the doctoral dissertation. The call is open continuously.

(UNO intranet, login required)

4. Funding for travel and other expenses

Faculty funding for 1-3 months long research visits to foreign universities can usually be applied 1-2 times a year (see the link below). You can also ask for funding from your own supervisor, the head of the research group, or the head of your division. Travel expenses and other possible research costs may also be applied from some foundations. You can ask about suitable foundations from your supervisor, or search for foundations at the web pages of and

(UNO intranet, login required)
See also: Internationalisation in doctoral studies

Please, discuss with your supervisor(s) about the funding sources for doctoral studies. Usually students begin their studies with external grant funding from Finnish foundations or with JSBE doctoral study grants. For some advanced students, JSBE is able to provide doctoral study positions based on contract of employment.

Please follow our websites and news for announcements of the doctoral study grants and the positions.

Main funding scheme (long-term funding)

JSBE funding for doctoral studies aims for a longterm funding in two options: 1) grant funding or 2) a contract of employment. For the first year of study it is recommended to start with a grant funding.

Supplementary funding scheme

JSBE provides short-term funding for JSBE doctoral students.
The funding applications are announced twice a year.
The main purpose of this supplementary scheme is to provide funding for new doctoral students for autumn term (4 months).
However, discretionary funding can also be given for older doctoral students. Funding can be given as a grant or as a contract of employment.

The criteria used in the funding decisions

Stage of doctoral studies (a degree of priority is given to the 1st and 2nd year doctoral students to provide longer-term funding)
Quality of the application and plan of the doctoral dissertation
Statements from the applicant's Research Group and Supervisors (e.g., Recommendations and endorsement by the Research group, Match of the applicant's research topic with the research activities of his/her Research Group, Ability and commitment of the Research Group to find external funding for doctoral student; Past performance of the Research Group, including the number of completed dissertations it has produced)
Match of the applicant's research topic with the JSBE's focus areas;
Applicant's likely or stated orientation to an academic career.
In accordance with principles of Ģ��ֱ�� Graduate School, doctoral studies can be financed for maximum of four years on a full-time basis.

Faculty grants for doctoral students

Grants for the doctoral students of the Faculty of Mathematics and Sciences

Doctoral Programme in Biological and Environmental Science

Further information on funding from the Doctoral Programme in Biological and Environmental Science is available in (login required).

Funding provided by foundations

Many foundations give funding not only for dissertation work, but also for research-related travel and other expenses. You can ask about suitable foundations from your supervisor, or search for foundations at the web pages of and .

Applying for funding

Applying for funding is a challenging and time-consuming task that should be taken seriously. Nearly all research funding is highly competitive, and in all applications, there is some room for improvement. Application processes are also useful in that they prepare postgraduate students for the challenges of research and expert work.

The instructions for applying vary depending on the financier, so they should always be read very carefully. Each application should therefore be tailored to suit each funder’s needs, and comments from researcher colleagues should be considered. It is also good to examine the financier’s earlier funding decisions, based on which you can consider, for example, for what purposes and how much funding you can apply, as well as evaluate your application’s potential success. In addition, you should always discuss your funding options with your supervisor, who is in charge of assisting you in the application process.

When applying for funding, it is good also to consider the obligations involved in a potential favourable decision: for example, it will be your duty to use the grant for the purpose mentioned in the application and to follow other instructions provided by the financier. Furthermore, you may have to consider issues related to the taxation of your salary or grant, social security, and pension coverage, etc., in the context of grants. Most financiers require a report on the use of the grant at the end of the funding period.

Research and Innovation Services of the Ģ��ֱ�� have created a self-learning course Introduction to Applying for Research Funding. The course offers expertise and practical tips on where to apply for research funding, how to prepare a funding proposal and information on research ethics, data management, IPR and project budgeting. For example, you learn to make your proposal's Gantt chart or work package structure. You can join the course environment at any time, and you can study the course at your own pace. You can get three (3) ECTS credits from the course if you are a doctoral student registered for attendance at the Ģ��ֱ��. The course can be used without credits if you do not need a performance mark.

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