Research grants

b) Doctoral research grants from the H.W. Donner fund (max 48 months, part of which conditionally)

The H.W. Donner fund announces doctoral research grants for max 48 months. General criteria applies (please see above), as well as additional special criteria regarding eligibility:

• In first-hand, the H.W. Donner research grants can be applied for by doctoral researchers within the subject English language and literature
• Doctoral researchers from other fields of Arts (Languages, Culture, History and Philosophy) can also apply for a H.W. Donner research grant, provided that they have a mobility plan which includes a 3- to 6-month research visit to an English-speaking country. In case the application is made on the basis of a mobility plan, a Letter of Invitation from the host university must be presented upon request. A concrete plan of the research visit must be included in the application (host university, contact person, time schedule for visit, etc.).

Conditional grant: Provided that the Board of the Åbo Akademi University Foundation approves the proposal made by the Donner committee, the Donner doctoral grant can be awarded for a maximum of 48 months. A report on the study progress has to be submitted to the Donner committee every autumn. Based on the report, the Donner committee evaluates whether the doctoral researcher is progressing according within schedule, which is a prerequisite of the grant period to continue.

As a rule, longer grant periods should begin April 1, 2026, at the latest, whereas shorter grants should be utilized during year 2026.

c) Doctoral research grants from the Julius Polin fund (max 48 months, part of which conditionally,  or max 6 months)

The Julius Polin grants are awarded to doctoral researchers within the doctoral programme in Theology. These grants require knowledge of Swedish. For further information (in Swedish), please read here.

d) Doctoral research grants from the Fabian Klingendahl fund (max 12 months)

The Klingendahl fund announces doctoral research grants for max 12 months. General criteria apply (please see above), as well as additional special criteria regarding eligibility:

• The Klingendahl research grants can only be applied for by doctoral researchers within the field of Business and Economics (major subjects: Accounting, Business Administration, Economics (D.Sc. (Econ. & Bus. Adm.) study right), Information Systems, International Marketing, Organization and Management) within the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences.
• doctoral researchers at the beginning of their studies will be prioritized
• grants are awarded for max 12 months, but shorter grants can also be awarded.

e) Runar Erikssons fond (max 12 months)

This grant requires knowledge of Swedish. For further information (in Swedish), please read here.

f) Ellen, Hjalmar och Saga Waselius’ stipendiefond (max 12 months)

This grant requires knowledge of Swedish. For further information (in Swedish), please read here.

g) Marianne Armfelts fond (max 12 months)

The Armfelts fund announces monthly grants for research in connection to the senior population in Finland. The grant can be awarded as a doctoral research grant (2500 €/month) or a postdoctoral research grant (2900 €/month).

Total amount available: 30 256,00 €

h) Anne-Marie Cronströms minnesfond (max 24 months, part of which conditionally)

The Cronström fund announces doctoral research grants within the following fields of research: Estonian-Swedish dialects, material 1923-1940 in Uppsala, Finnish-Swedish dialects, history of art (NB only painting, graphic art), Nordic literature.

Total amount available: 67 298,00 €

Conditional grant: Provided that the Board of the Åbo Akademi University Foundation approves the decision proposal, the Cronström doctoral grant can be awarded for a maximum of 24 months. After the first 12 grant months a yearly report to Research Services is required. Based on the report, an evaluation is made whether the doctoral researcher is progressing according within schedule, which is a prerequisite of the grant period to continue.

i) Fonden för Hedvigs minne

The Fonden för Hedvigs minne fund announces monthly grants for research within the following subjects: art history (history of art), history, and comparative religion (history of religion). The grant can be awarded as a doctoral research grant (2500 €/month) or a postdoctoral research grant (2900 €/month).

Total amount available: 263 327,00 €

j) Nadeschda Martinoffs fond till Hagar Olssons minne (max 12 months)

The Martinoff fund announces monthly grants for research and preservation of the literary remains of Hagar Olsson. The grant can be awarded as a doctoral research grant (2500 €/month) or a postdoctoral research grant (2900 €/month).

Total amount available: 47 122,00 €

Deadline for application is Monday, September 29, 2025, at 23.59.

NB: If you are eligible to apply for a grant from more than one scholarship fund, you have to submit a separate application for each fund.

The application is made in the ÅAU grant application portal stipendier.abo.fi. The first time you are applying for a grant in the portal, you need to create a user profile by registering as a new user (e-mail + password of your own choosing).

IMPORTANT: All who have an abo.fi user account are obliged to use their abo.fi email address to create the user profile.

In the grant application portal there are three different applicant types (Individual applicant, Workgroup, Organisation). Please note that for the doctoral research grants you should use the type ”Individual applicant”.

For the application you need to prepare a research plan. The research plan is submitted as a separate pdf file (only pdf accepted). Please note, that for the application to go forward in the application and evaluation process, the research plan must be written as stated in the instructions:

Instructions for the research plan

For the application you will need to prepare a CV (curriculum vitae), which is submitted as a separate pdf file (only pdf accepted). The CV should be composed according to the template for researcher´s curriculum vitae by The Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity

The applications are evaluated by scholarship fund by the ÅAU Doctoral Programme steering groups (according to which doctoral programme the applicant’s major subject belongs).

Exeption: applications to the Polin scholarship fund are evaluated by the Polin Committee

• The evaluators do not assess any applicant which they supervise or any projects in which they are involved.

Scale

The research plan is evaluated according to the following criteria: academic quality (scale 0-5) and feasibility (within the allotted time) (scale 0-5)

• Academic quality
  • 0 = Poor: Very poor application and/or not feasible time frame
  • 1 = Weak: Few strengths and several major weaknesses
  • 2 = Fair: Some strengths, but at least one major weakness or a number of minor weaknesses.
  • 3 = Good: Strong plan with minor weaknesses
  • 4 = Excellent: Very strong plan with negligible weaknesses
  • 5 = Outstanding: Exceptionally strong plan with negligible weaknesses
• Feasibility (within the allotted time)
  • 0-1 = (most likely) Not feasible
  • 2-3 = Partially feasible
  • 4-5 = Feasible

If the research plan is evaluated as (most likely) Not feasible, the academic quality will be evaluated as 0. If the feasibility is evaluated with a grade between 2-5, the academic quality will be evaluated with a grade on the scale 1-5.

• The evaluators grade each application individually, without discussing the grades with other evaluators.
• The grades are entered into the application portal, where an overall average points will be calculated for each applicant.
• Based on the average points, a list in order of preference for each scholarship fund will be sent to the body in charge of making the grant decision proposal (this body is determined mainly by the scholarship fund regulations)
• The final granting decision will be made according to the scholarship fund regulations. The granting decision will thus be made either by the Board of the ÅAU Foundation or by the ÅAU Rector. Decision meetings (for all funds except Polin) will be arranged during week 48. The Polin granting decision will be made by the ÅAU Foundation Board in January 2026.

Granting decision will be published on this webpage preliminary at the end of November 2025(exeption: Polin granting decision will be published within January 2026 )

All applicants will be informed about the decision also via the grant application portal.

More details about the research grants are given by ÅAU Graduate School student counselor Johanna Hedenborg