Doctoral Programme in Science, Technology and Computing

The Doctoral Programme in Science, Technology and Computing (SCITECO) combines science with computational analysis and technology to form a multidisciplinary programme. The computational component includes computing sciences, mathematics and inverse problems and mathematical modelling. Science and technology combine photonics, chemistry and medical physics and technology.

The purpose of the doctoral programme is to provide students with the competences required to create new knowledge, apply scientific research methods in a critical manner and independently, and to work in demanding expert and research positions in academia, business and the public sector. Research conducted in internationally acknowledged research groups forms a key part of the studies. Students will benefit from wide-ranging networking opportunities during their studies.

The director of the doctoral programme is Professor Mika Suvanto, and the coordinator is Noora Heikkilä (contact information below).

Research areas in the doctoral programme

On the programme, students can complete a doctoral degree in the following fields of science and research: photonics, computer science, mathematics, computational physics and inverse problems, chemistry, medical physics and technology.

Please see the links below for more information about the research areas and the responsible professors:

How to apply?

Degrees and main subjects

The degrees available in the doctoral programme are Doctor of Philosophy and Licentiate of Philosophy in following main subjects: Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Computer Science, and Applied Physics.

The responsible persons of the doctoral education in main subjects are:

Physics: Professor Markku Kuittinen
Mathematics: Professor Risto Korhonen
Chemistry: Professor Mika Suvanto
Computer Science: Professor Markku Hauta-Kasari
Applied Physics: Research Manager Tero Karjalainen

Eligibility and admission requirements

According to the Universities Act of Finland (558/2009, Chapter 5, Section 37), eligible for studies leading to a doctoral degree shall be

a person who has completed an applicable higher university or polytechnic degree,
a person who has completed an applicable education abroad which in the awarding country gives eligibility for corresponding higher education,
a person whom the university judges otherwise to have sufficient knowledge and skills for the studies.

There is no term fee for doctoral education in the University of Eastern Finland.

If you are applying for a doctoral study right in a field of research which has not been the main field of you Master's degree, the faculty may require you to complete supplementary studies to ensure that you are qualified to take part in doctoral studies. Possible supplementary studies are specified when the right to doctoral studies is granted and cannot be included in the doctoral degree.

Admission requirements

Students with suitable background education and a MSc or licentiate degree can be accepted as PhD students in the programme (need for supplementary studies will be assessed on a case-by-case basis).

The previous studies required for the doctoral degree programme according a discipline / field of research are as follows:

Relevant previous qualifications in the Photonics: Physics, optics, photonics, technical sciences or another relevant field (with sufficient knowledge of mathematics).
Relevant previous qualifications in the Computer Science: Computer science, technical sciences, applied mathematics, degrees suitable for educational technology research, statistics.
Relevant previous qualifications in the Chemistry: Chemistry, technology of chemistry.
Relevant previous qualifications in the Medical Physics and Technology: Applied physics, material science, mathematics, informatics or another relevant field.
Relevant previous qualifications in the Mathematics: Mathematics, applied mathematics.
Relevant previous qualifications in the Computational Physics and Inverse Problems: Mathematics, physics, computer science, informatics or another relevant field.

Foreign applicants applying to any of the doctoral programmes 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:

PTE (academic): 62
TOEFL (iBT): 92
IELTS (academic): 6.5 (overall)
C1 Advanced (former CAE): 180
C2 Proficiency (former CPE): 180
the applicant has completed all prior studies in English. If the applicant has completed the prior studies in English, he/she must attach to the application a statement from the educational institution indicating that the language of instruction was English; or
the applicant has completed the English test of the Finnish matriculation examination (IB Diploma or English as A1 language); or
the applicant has completed primary education in English in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States.

OR sufficient English language skills proven by an interview with the UEF main supervisor.

Application instructions

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 supervisor(s) or with the head of the doctoral programme.

3. Discuss the research topic, doctoral studies and their completion, as well as other supervisors with the future main supervisor. In the Faculty, two or more persons are appointed on application as the supervisor for post graduate studies. Of these, all must hold a doctoral degree and at least one must be a professor, associate professor or assistant professor (Tenure Track) in the Faculty. If a person other than a professor, associate professor or assistant professor (Tenure Track) in the Faculty is proposed as the main supervisor of a doctoral dissertation, their up-to-date list of publications must accompany the application.

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 (including the funding plan). You must indicate in the application the doctoral programme for which you are applying the right to study (SCITECO).

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 submitted with the application:

a copy of the basic university degree certificate, and other documents which may affect the granting of a study right,
a transcript of earlier academic records,
a preliminary research plan (including the funding plan) approved by the main supervisor,
a supervisor agreement/supervisors' agreement (form in Finnish/form in English)
if necessary, a statement from the Comittee on Research Ethics and a permission for the use of laboratory animals.

The application must include the written consent of at least two supervisors. At least one of the supervisors must be a professor, or a senior researcher with a docent's qualification, at the University of Eastern Finland. For more information about our supervisors, please see the individual research area pages.

All the required enclosures must be uploaded in the online application at the latest within one month after the online application is submitted.

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 (WebOodi), 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 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.

Funding doctoral studies

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.

Application period

The Doctoral Programme in Science, Technology and Computing is open for admissions throughout the year.

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.

Apply via Studyinfo.fi

Fill in the online application for the programme at the Studyinfo portal.

Studies

Requirements for Doctoral Dissertation

A doctoral dissertation can be a scientific account based on independent research, which is regarded as increasing knowledge in the field in question (a monograph). A doctoral dissertation can consist of a sufficient number, determined by the university, of scientific publications discussing the same set of problems (article-based or compiled dissertation). They can be either published or intended/accepted for publication, and they are outlined in a separate summary.

Within the faculty, the structure of an article-based or compiled doctoral dissertation is as follows:

a doctoral dissertation in the form of a collection of research articles typically contains 3-5 peer-reviewed scientific articles, of which at least two or at least 50% must have been published or approved for publication in international, scientific peer review series;
the dissertation must include an account of the author's contribution to joint publications.

When your thesis is ready and you have taken all required courses, it is time for public defence and graduation. Before graduation you need to apply for a printing permission for your thesis. With the same form, your supervisors will propose pre-examiners for your thesis. Instructions for applying the permission and publishing can be found below. Instructions for organizing the defence can found in the webpages of the UEF Doctoral School.

Degree structure and study requirements

Overall scope of studies required for pursuing a doctoral degree is 30 ECTS, including:

Studies in the discipline and field of research 20-22 ECTS. Studies in the programme by research fields are listed in the PDF file.
Transferable skills courses 8-10 ECTS, including a compulsory course on Research Ethics (1 ECTS) or other corresponding studies on research ethics. The list of the UEF Doctoral School Transferable skills courses is available on WebOodi.

The degree must include studies in the discipline and field of research in question, mainly at the advanced level of studies and supporting the research efforts. The studies may also include courses from other faculties, doctoral degree programmes and universities, including summer schools, seminars, book exams, conference presentations or other work, where these support the research efforts. Students are encouraged to take at least two months to conduct part of their work at a university abroad, a sector-specific research institution or a company. The main supervisor assesses the relevancy of completed work from the perspective of the studies as a whole.

Postgraduate Study Plan

Doctoral student must submit a personal doctoral study plan to the Faculty Administration Office (Kaisa Laitinen, kaisa.laitinen@uef.fi, tel. 050 432 7573 in Joensuu, or in Kuopio to Anna-Leena Nylund, anna-leena.nylund@uef.fi, tel. 040 355 2882) 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.