Apply for a doctoral Study Right

Admission to doctoral studies at Åbo Akademi University does not include funding from the university. Each doctoral researcher is responsible for securing her/his own funding. A funding must be included in the Individual Study and Follow-up Plan, which is to be completed within three months of accepting the study place.

Doctoral education at Åbo Akademi University is organized into doctoral programmes, which are coordinated under the Åbo Akademi Graduate School.

Here’s how to apply for a doctoral study right at Åbo Akademi University:

1) Check your eligibility for doctoral studies.

You must hold one of the following degrees:

• A releveant higher university degree, or
• A relevant higher degree from university of applied sciences, or
• A relevant foreign degree that qualifies for doctoral studies in the country where it was awarded.

Generally, you are expected to have completed advanced studies in the subject you wish to pursue as your major or have equivalent knowledge either within or beyond your previous degree. If you do not meet all the prerequisites, you may be required to complete supplementary studies. Up to 30 ECTS of supplementary studies may be included in doctoral education. If more than 30 ECTS are needed, these must be completed before admission to doctoral studies.

2) Familiarize yourself with the doctoral programmes and the strategic research profiling.

Each doctoral programme includes one or more major subjects. Admission criteria and programme content vary depending on faculty, programme, and subject.

3) Contact a professor in your intended major subject.

Discuss your research interests and doctoral study plans with a professor in the subject area. You may only submit an application if a responsible supervisor employed at Åbo Akademi University has formally agreed to supervise your doctoral studies by signing the doctoral education plan.

4) Prepare a doctoral education plan according to the required format (in Swedish or English).

A designated form for the doctoral education plan is available and should be used.

The doctoral education plan is a mandatory attachment to the application for doctoral studies. The plan must be signed by the applicant, the proposed supervisor, and the head of subject. If all parties cannot sign a paper copy, it is acceptable to scan and sign in sequence or to attach multiple signature pages to the ISP (as PDF or photo). If all other technical solutions are impossible, the parties may give their approval via email, which should be printed as a PDF and attached to the plan. The main requirement is that the approval of all involved parties is documented.

5) Write the research plan in consultation with the person proposed by the professor/subject as your supervisor.

The research plan is a mandatory attachment to the application for doctoral studies. Please use the research plan document template that is available on the ÅAU web.

The research plan is assessed based on the applicant’s competence and potential, the scientific quality and significance of the plan, and its feasibility within 3–4 years of full-time study, in accordance with the criteria described in the document Evaluation Form for ÅAUGS Doctoral Admission.

The research plan may be subject to plagiarism screening using the plagiarism detection software used at Åbo Akademi University.

6) Submit your application via the national portal Studyinfo during an application period

Only complete applications will be considered. A complete application includes:

1. Doctoral Education Plan
2. Freely formulated application letter (including motivation and suitability for doctoral studies)
3. Research plan written in Swedish or English according to the given instructions
4. CV prepared according to the model provided by the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity
5. Copies of transcripts and degree certificates for both lower and higher university degrees, including transcripts of records (with grades clearly indicated).
(The copies must be certified. Certified means, for example, that an external person has confirmed the accuracy of the copy by signing and dating it.)

How to apply:

• Go to the national application portal Studyinfo
• Enter the name of the doctoral programme you wish to apply for in the search field.
• Select the correct programme from the search results.
• Click on Application ongoing > View application options > Fill in the application form. This function is only active during the application period (approximately one month before the deadline).
• Complete the application and attach all required documents.

Once the Leader of the Graduate School has made a decision on your application, you will receive written notification from the Research Services. Important: You must accept your study place within the deadline stated in the admission notification.

7) Application periods

Doctoral researchers are admitted four times per academic year. Applications are submitted via Studyinfo.

The application periods for the academic year 2025–2026 for all faculties’ doctoral programmes are as follows:

Application for study start in fall 2025	16 September 2025 at 3 p.m. local Finnish time (the application opens on 19 August 2025) 11 November 2025 at 3 p.m. local Finnish time (the application opens on 14 October 2025)
Application for study start in spring 2026	13 January 2026 at 3 p.m. local Finnish time (the application opens on 9 December 2025) 14 April 2026 at 3 p.m. local Finnish time (the application opens on 17 March 2026)

 

8) Tuition fees

For now, there is no tuition fee for doctoral researchers (except for a voluntary Student Union fee, for more information, please visit ÅAU Student Union). On the other hand, there are no scholarship programmes for doctoral researchers. Hence, as a doctoral researcher you are expected to provide financially for yourself.

Contact the doctoral education team at Research Services at: graduateschool@abo.fi

If you are dissatisfied with the admission decision, you may request a reconsideration from Åbo Akademi’s Degree Committee. Instructions for requesting reconsideration are included in the admission decision.