The Faculty of Science, Forestry and Technology of the University of Eastern Finland responds to global challenges through its high-quality multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research and education.
The Doctoral programme in Science, Forestry and Technology (LUMETO) covers all fields of science and forestry, as well as doctoral education in science, forestry and technology based on them. Research and doctoral training in the LUMETO programme focuses on UEF’s “Environmental change and the sustainable use of natural resources” profile area, in particular, but also on the “Ageing, lifestyles and health” and “Diversifying learning and interaction” profile areas.
The aim of the doctoral programme is to provide the students with the skills to generate new information, to apply the methods of scientific research critically and independently, and to manage specialist and research duties in the academic world, business life and the public sector. Research conducted in research groups of a high international standard is an integral part of the studies. During the studies, the students have the opportunity to network extensively.
The previous doctoral programmes of the Faculty (EPHB, FORES, SCITECO) were combined into the new LUMETO doctoral programme on August 1, 2023.
Research areas in the doctoral programme
You can familiarize yourself with the research fields covered by the doctoral program and potential supervisors from the links below.
How to apply?
A doctoral degree in Philosophy (PhD) or a licentiate degree in Philosophy (LicPhil) may be completed in the following disciplines and fields of research (= major subjects):
- Biology
- Physics
- Applied Physics
- Technical Physics
- Chemistry
- Mathematics
- Computer Science
- Environmental Science
- Forestry
A doctoral degree in Agriculture and Forestry (DSc (Agr. & For.)) or a licentiate degree in Agriculture and Forestry (LicSc (Agr. & For.)) can be completed in the following disciplines and fields of research (= major subjects):
- Forestry
A doctoral degree in Technology (DSc (Tech.)) or a licentiate degree in Technology (LicSc (Tech.)) may be completed in the following disciplines and fields of research (= major subjects):
- Photonics
- Technical Physics
- Sustainable Technology
The licentiate degree is, primarily a qualifying degree.
The applicant for the doctoral programme must have: (1) a suitable Finnish or foreign Master’s degree, (2) sufficient basic knowledge and methodological skills to complete postgraduate scientific studies in the major subject in question, (3) a research plan and (4) at least two supervisors for their doctoral dissertation (licentiate degree).
A person may be admitted to studies leading to a scientific postgraduate degree in the doctoral programme, if they
- hold a Master’s degree in the field of study or a corresponding foreign degree, or
- have completed a Finnish or foreign degree corresponding to a Master’s degree and the faculty considers the person to have sufficient skills and knowledge to succeed in their studies
- have completed a higher university of applied sciences degree in the field and the faculty considers the person to have sufficient skills and knowledge to succeed in their studies.
- have completed suitable studies abroad which in the awarding country give eligibility for a corresponding level of higher education studies and the faculty considers the person to have sufficient skills and knowledge to succeed in their studies.
Postgraduate studies do not need to be completed in the field in which the Master’s degree was completed. If the person wishes to pursue doctoral studies in some other field, e.g., due to work experience or other interest acquired in another field, they must discuss their prior knowledge relevant for the postgraduate studies and any required supplementary studies (a maximum of 60 ECTS) in advance with their supervising professor.
Approval to the doctoral programme requires that the doctoral dissertation or licentiate dissertation proposed by the applicant falls within the scope of the doctoral programme based on the presented research plan, can be completed in four years of full-time research, and the research plan has been inspected and approved by at least two supervisors who have a doctoral degree in a suitable field.
Engagement to act as a supervisor is required as an attachment to the application.
Pursued degree: Doctor of Philosophy or Licentiate of Philosophy:
- Biology: Biology, environmental science, forestry or other relevant field
- Physics: Physics, applied Physics or other relevant field
- Applied Physics: Physics, mathematics, computer science, engineering, chemistry or other relevant field
- Technical physics: Physics, mathematics, computer science, engineering, chemistry or other relevant field
- Chemistry: Chemistry, chemical technology or other relevant field
- Mathematics: Mathematics, applied mathematics or other relevant field
- Computer science: Computer science, technical science, mathematics, applied mathematics, or a degree suited to postgraduate studies in educational technology, statistics, or other relevant field
- Environmental Science: Environmental science, biology, biological sciences, physics, chemistry or other relevant field
- Forestry: Forestry or other relevant field
Pursued degree: Doctor of Agriculture and Forestry or Licentiate of Agriculture and Forestry:
- Forestry: Forestry or other relevant field
Pursued degree: Doctor of Technology or Licentiate of Technology:
- Photonics: Physics, optics, photonics, engineering or other relevant field
- Technical physics: Physics, mathematics, computer science, engineering, chemistry or other relevant field
- Sustainable technologies: Science, forestry, computer science, engineering, or other relevant field
The language proficiency requirements for non-Finnish-speaking applicants have been described as follows:
Foreign applicants applying to the LUMETO doctoral programme in the faculty must demonstrate sufficient proficiency in English when submitting their application. The sufficient proficiency can be demonstrated by providing evidence of any of the following:
- TOEFL (iBT): 92
- IELTS (academic), also IELTS Indicator: 6.5
- PTE (academic): 62
- C1 Advanced (former CAE): C
- C2 Proficiency (former CPE): Level C1
- National Certificate of Language Proficiency (YKI): level 5 in the reading comprehension, writing, and speaking sections
- the applicant has completed a Master’s degree in English. If the applicant completed their prior studies in English, they must attach to the application a statement from the educational institution indicating that the language of instruction was English; or
- the applicant has completed secondary or higher education in English in an EU/EEA country, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, or the United States; or
- the applicant has completed the English test of the Finnish matriculation examination (IB Diploma or English as A1 language); or
- the applicant has sufficient English language skills proven at an interview with the UEF main supervisor. The supervisor will confirm the proficiency in the English language by a signed document.
The right to pursue doctoral studies does not include funding or a contract of employment or teaching tasks at the University. However, full-time doctoral students need funding to cover their costs of living and potential research costs (travel costs, research material etc.). Funding options should be discussed with the supervisor already when planning to apply for a doctoral study right and creating a research plan.
Doctoral studies can be funded for example by a scholarship, by working as a researcher in a research project, by working as a doctoral candidate at the University of Eastern Finland (doctoral student position), or by studying part-time while at work. Doctoral students apply for funding themselves.
Read more about funding options of doctoral studies on Kamu Student handbook.
1. Study the instructions, study requirements and guidelines concerning the doctoral programme issued by the university, the faculty and the programme, which can be found on these web pages.
2. Discuss the possibility to pursue doctoral studies with the potential supervisors. For more information about potential supervisors, please see the individual research area pages.
3. Discuss the research topic, doctoral studies, and other supervisors with the main supervisor. You and your supervisors must negotiate and agree on responsibilities and commitment to supervising your research project. The supervisors must give their written consent on the application form. Draw up a preliminary research plan and ask your supervisors to inspect and approve it.
At least two supervisors are appointed for doctoral researchers, one of whom is the main supervisor and at least one of whom is a member to the university staff. All supervisors must hold a doctoral degree. The scientific qualification of the main supervisor must be equivalent to at least the level of docent. If the main supervisor is not a university staff member, also university staff members the qualification of the supervisor must be at least equivalent to that of a docent. If some other person than staff member of the Faculty of Science, Forestry and Technology is proposed as the main supervisor of the doctoral dissertation, their up-to-date list of publications must be appended to the study right application.
4. The prospective doctoral student applies for the right to pursue doctoral studies using an application form at the Studyinfo.fi.
The following documents must be enclosed with the application:
- a copy of the applicant’s Master’s degree certificate and other documents supporting their admission,
- an academic transcript of the applicant’s earlier studies,
- a preliminary research plan in English (including a schedule and a funding plan), approved by the main supervisor with their signature,
- engagement to act as a supervisor signed by the supervisors,
- Where required, a statement of the ethics committee assessing the ethical aspects of the research and, e.g., a permit to perform studies on animals, must be enclosed with the application.
If your educational document is not issued in English, Finnish or Swedish, applicant must submit the official English translations of the degrees. All translations must be made either by the degree awarding institution or by an authorized translator. Each page of an official translation must bear the translator’s stamp and/or signature. Official translations must be exact translations of the original documents. Translations done by the applicants themselves are not accepted.
All requested appendices must be submitted within two weeks of the submission of the electronic application. Incomplete applications will not be processed.
Registration
After receiving the notification of being admitted to pursue doctoral studies at the University of Eastern Finland, new doctoral students must register as a student in the University's Student Services. The faculty will send the registration form to new doctoral students enclosed with a Letter of Admittance. This form is only used on the first registration; in the following years, registration is done through intranet (Peppi), by phone, e-mail or personal visit to Student Services. Registration for the next academic year must be completed before 15th September. Please note that in order to maintain your study right you must register to the university each year.
Postgraduate Study Plan
The studies will be specified in a personal study plan, which must be created within three months after receiving the right to study.
Doctoral student must submit a personal doctoral study plan to the Faculty Administration Office within 3 months after receiving the study right.
The study plan is written under the supervision of the subject's professor and other supervisors. The plan should include the following information: studies included in the degree and their modes of study along with a preliminary timetable. Also visits abroad are mentioned in the study plan. The meaning of the study plan is to ensure that the courses and the research form a good completeness and that the student is really able to complete the studies and research within four years.
Application period
The application periods for the doctoral programme are 2 January – 31 May and 1 August – 30 November each year, but applications are processed throughout the year. Decisions of admissions are sent approximately within two weeks from submitting of the application. A call for applications to doctoral student positions subsidised by the university will be announced separately and will, principally, be organised once a year in the spring.
What is Studyinfo.fi?
Studyinfo.fi is the official national admissions portal with all the up-to-date information about study programmes leading to a degree in Finland.
Studies
Doctoral dissertation
A scientific study that is based on independent research and is deemed to increase knowledge in the field in question (a monograph) can be approved as a doctoral dissertation. A doctoral dissertation can also consist of a sufficient number, as determined by the university, of scientific publications or manuscripts accepted/intended for publication that discuss the same research problem and a summary prepared of them (an article-based dissertation).
Within the faculty, the structure of an article-based doctoral dissertation is as follows:
- An article-based dissertation typically comprises three (3) articles, of which at least two (2) (in mathematics, one) have been published or approved for publication in international scientific peer-review series. If one of the articles is a manuscript, it must have been submitted for evaluation to an international scientific peer-review series.
- In special cases, a doctoral dissertation of two articles that meet the criteria can be accepted, in which case both articles must have been approved for publication.
- The doctoral candidate must be the main author in at least two of the articles, and the doctoral dissertation must specify the share of the doctoral candidate’s work in the co-authored publications.
The qualification of the supervisors, preliminary examiners, examiners, opponent and custos of the doctoral researcher have been defined as follows by the faculty.
Once the doctoral dissertation and all required studies have been completed, a public examination of the dissertation will be organised and the doctoral candidate will graduate as a doctor. Before that, permission to proceed to the public examination must be applied for and the dissertation published.
- Advice on organising the public examination of the doctoral dissertation can be found in the information data bank for doctoral studies in Kamu
Postgraduate studies
The studies will be specified in a personal study plan, which must be created within three months after receiving the right to study.
Doctoral student must submit a personal doctoral study plan to the Faculty Administration Office within 3 months after receiving the study right.
The study plan is written under the supervision of the subject's professor and other supervisors. The plan should include the following information: studies included in the degree and their modes of study along with a preliminary timetable. Also visits abroad are mentioned in the study plan. The meaning of the study plan is to ensure that the courses and the research form a good completeness and that the student is really able to complete the studies and research within four years.
The total scope of postgraduate studies in the doctoral programme is 30 ECTS and the structure is as follows:
- 5-10 ECTS Transferable skills studies, including compulsory Research Ethics (1 ECTS) or a corresponding course, as well as a compulsory course in scientific writing.
- 20–25 ECTS Studies in the discipline and the field of research, including a compulsory research seminar (1–5 ECTS).
The studies can include previously completed studies or suitable studies completed elsewhere which have not been included in the Master's degree. The study requirements of those who have completed a licentiate degree in some other field will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
- Transferable skills studies (5–10 ECTS)
- Research Ethics (1 ECTS) or a corresponding course and a scientific writing course (Research Writing in English 4 ECTS or equivalent, 2-4 ECTS) are compulsory parts of the transferable skills studies. In addition, it is recommended that courses in open science, research funding or research project management be included in the studies.
- The studies may include language studies that promote scientific language skills and working life skills.
2. Studies in the discipline and the field of research (20-25 ECTS)
- A research seminar (1–5 ECTS) is a compulsory part of the field-specific studies. Units organise research seminars annually. The research seminar must be completed in accordance with the instructions of the unit of the doctoral researcher’s discipline. The completion of a research seminar typically includes one’s own presentation and listening to the scientific presentations of others, the required number of which will be specified by the unit.
- The degree must include studies in the discipline and the field of research that support the research work and are, for the most part, of the advanced level.
- Courses offered by other faculties and doctoral programmes and summer schools, seminars or other completed studies can be approved to be included in the studies, if they support the research work. In addition, studies in the discipline and the field of research organised by other Finnish and foreign universities (and higher education institutions) or networks to which UEF belongs (e.g., YUFE) can be included in the studies. The main supervisor assesses the suitability of the courses for the studies.
- The studies in the discipline and the field of research may also include the following:
- Scientific literature in the field of the doctoral dissertation/licentiate thesis (scientific theory and methodology), essays on agreed topics and/or a literature examination supervised by a UEF supervisor (max. 5 ECTS)
- Participation in international scientific conferences (own poster or oral presentation, 1 ECTS/presentation) (max. 3 ECTS)
3. Supplementary studies (support the skills required during postgraduate studies, are excluded from the scope of the degree)
- In order to achieve the skills required by the degree, the degree student may be required to complete supplementary studies. The maximum scope of supplementary studies is 60 ECTS (one academic year) and they will not be included in the degree.
- In the case of applicants who have completed a higher university of applied sciences degree in an appropriate field in Finland, the faculty will consider the applicant’s ability to successfully complete a doctoral degree on a case-by-case basis. The granting of a postgraduate study right requires that supplementary studies be specified for the applicant. However, the maximum scope of the supplementary studies is 60 ECTS. If the volume of the required supplementary studies is too high, the applicant must complete a Master's degree before applying for a postgraduate study right. When assessing the applicant’s ability to complete postgraduate studies and determining the scope of supplementary studies, the faculty observes that the scope of higher university of applied sciences programmes in the field is 60 ECTS or 90 ECTS, i.e., one or one and a half academic years, whereas the scope of the Master’s degree programme is 120 ECTS, i.e., two academic years.
- The same principles are applied to applicants who have completed a corresponding higher university of applied sciences degree in an appropriate field abroad as to applicants who have completed a higher university of applied sciences degree in Finland.
- Postgraduate studies do not need to be completed in the field in which the Master’s degree was completed. If the person wishes to pursue doctoral studies in some other field, e.g., due to work experience or other interest acquired in another field, they must discuss their prior knowledge relevant for the postgraduate studies and any required supplementary studies (a maximum of 60 ECTS) in advance with their supervising professor.
- Supplementary studies are confirmed by a decision of the Dean.
Postgraduate study plan for doctoral researcher
- The postgraduate study plan will be drawn up on a webropol form or a similar in accordance with the instructions of the doctoral programme within three months of the postgraduate study right being obtained. The main supervisor approves the plan for postgraduate studies.
Doctoral researchers who obtained their postgraduate study right at the Faculty of Science, Forestry and Technology before 1 August 2023 may complete their degree in accordance with the old degree requirements or transfer to the new degree requirements.
You can find information for different phases in the doctoral education on Kamu Student handbook:
- Doctoral education at the University of Eastern Finland
- Starting doctoral education
- Doctoral curriculum and study requirements
- Internationalisation in doctoral education
- Guidance and support in doctoral education
- Support for doctoral research
- Funding of doctoral education
- Wellbeing of doctoral researcher
- Permission for public examination and pre-examination of doctoral dissertation
- Publishing of doctoral dissertation
News and events
Dissertation press releases
Upcoming examinations of doctoral dissertations
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17
Jun
2025
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17
Jun
2025
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18
Jun
2025
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19
Jun
2025
Further information on the doctoral programme
The director of doctoral programme is Professor Heli Peltola. For more information about applying to a doctoral programme, please contact the contact person of the discipline you are interested in applying to. Their contact information can be found below.
Biology and Environmental Science: Coordinator Timo Kumlin
Physics, Photonics, Mathematics and Chemistry: Coordinator Noora Heikkilä
Sustainable Technologies: contact persons of Chemistry, Forestry and Computer Science
Forestry: Coordinator Marjoriitta Möttönen
Technical Physics and Applied Physics: Senior Researcher Jorma Joutsensaari
Computer Science: Staff Scientist Jarkko Suhonen
