Application form and its appendices
Before submitting the application, each applicant must contact the professor in charge of his/her doctoral research field and supervising the doctoral thesis (supervising professor).
Electronic application form (Studyinfo.fi)
In the application form, please choose Doctoral Programme in Science as a study programme ("Add study programme").
After reading the instructions and getting all the documents ready, register on the online application system, fill in the application, attach all the required documents and send it.
Required appendices (scanned in pdf form)
- Curriculum vitae (CV) including a list of publications and a proof of other scientific activity
- Study plan
- incl. 40 ECTS of doctoral studies
- Supervision plan
- Research plan with an implementation schedule and funding plan. A research plan includes:
- a preliminary research plan
- a schedule for the research
- possibilities for funding the research work (full-time applicants must have acquired funding for at least six months when applying; plans to apply for funding is not sufficient for a full-time status)
- the aim and impact of the research
- methods and implementation of the scientific plan
- researcher mobility during and after doctoral studies
- a publication plan
- Copy of the identity page of your passport
The study plan, research plan and supervision plan must all be approved and signed by both the applicant and the supervising professor. Upon his or her signature of the documents, the professor in charge of the research field agrees to act as the supervising professor of the applicant.
Applicants with a master´s degree or education earned at an institution other than Aalto University (or the forerunners of Aalto University) shall also provide the following documents:
- Certified copies of the Master’s degree certificate and official transcript
- Master's degree certificate, including all the appendices and the Diploma Supplement in European countries
- Official transcripts of records of all the courses included in the master’s degree
- Official translations of these, if the originals are not in Finnish, Swedish, or English.
- Please upload these as scanned copies to the electronic application form in Studyinfo.
- Please submit also the certified hard copies according to the instructions below*. The certified hard copies need to be submitted to the doctoral programme before admission. Please note that certified hard copies will not be returned to the applicant.
- Abstract of master's thesis in English
- Proof of proficiency in Finnish, Swedish or English. A successful applicant must have an excellent command of Finnish, Swedish, or English.
- Copy of the identity page of your passport
- A document confirming eligibility for doctoral studies, if needed (please see Eligibility for doctoral studies) with an official translation, if the original document is not in Finnish, Swedish or English
*Degrees awarded by a higher education institution outside Finland:
- Send certified hard copies of the required degree documents including official translations (listed above) to our office (Päivi Koivunen, Doctoral Programme in Science, PO BOX 15500, 00076 AALTO)
- Please note that the required degree documents including official translations need to be submitted according to the country-specific document requirements, if the Master’s degree is completed in: Australia, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Canada, China, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Kenya, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa, Sudan, the United Kingdom or the United States. Read the requirements on Country-specific requirements, and send the documents to the doctoral programme by mail (Päivi Koivunen, Doctoral Programme in Science, PO BOX 15500, 00076 AALTO) or by e-mail ([email protected]), if the documents need to be submitted electronically. Please DO NOT send the documents to the Admission Services as instructed in the country specific requirements webpage.
*Degrees awarded by a higher education institution in Finland:
- If you have completed a degree in Finland after 1 January 2003 and you have a Finnish personal identification code, Aalto University will verify your degree electronically using a national database.
- If your degree was completed before 1 January 2003, or you do not have a Finnish personal identification code, send certified hard copies of the required degree documents (listed above) to our office (Päivi Koivunen, Doctoral Programme in Science, PO BOX 15500, 00076 AALTO).
Certified copies and translations
Copies of degree certificates and a transcript of records must be certified by the awarding university or by a notary public. The copies must be taken from the original, official documents. A multiple-page certified copy must be certified on the front side of every page. Each page must have the certifying official’s original signature, printed name, ink stamp and date. Copies of officially certified copies are not accepted, the certifying official’s ink stamps and signatures must be original. A note declaring official copy status (such as a “True copy” stamp) is insufficient.
The translation is official if it has been done by the higher education institution that awarded the degree or by a certified translator (authorised translator). The translations must have the certified translator’s original ink stamp and signature.
The official translations must be either original or certified paper copies of the original documents. Unofficial copies of the translations are insufficient. The official translations must be accompanied by certified paper copies of the original documents in the original language. Translations by themselves are insufficient.