How to start postgraduate (doctoral) studies

15.10.2010

Seija Oikarinen,

Research and Postgraduate Studies Officer

Faculty of Forestry and Agriculture

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The purpose of doctoral studies is for the student to / Tieteellisen jatkokoulutuksen tavoitteena on, että opiskelija:

1) become profoundly familiar with his or her field of research and its

impact on society, and acquire the ability to independently and

critically apply scientific research methods and contribute to new

scientific knowledge within the field;

1)perehtyy syvällisesti omaan tutkimusalaansa ja sen

yhteiskunnalliseen merkitykseen sekä saavuttaa valmiudet

tutkimusalansa piirissä itsenäisesti ja kriittisesti soveltaa tieteellisen

tutkimuksen menetelmiä ja luoda uutta tieteellistä tietoa;

According to the Government Decree on University Degrees 794/2004

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The purpose...

2) become well-versed in the development, basic problems and research

methods of his or her discipline;

2) perehtyy hyvin oman alansa kehitykseen, perusongelmiin ja

tutkimusmenetelmiin;

3) acquire a level of knowledge of general scientific theory, and of the

disciplines related to his or her field of research, that permits him or her

to follow future developments.

3) saavuttaa sellaisen yleisen tieteenteorian ja tutkimusalaansa liittyvien

muiden tieteenalojen tuntemuksen, joka mahdollistaa niiden kehityksen

seuraamisen.

According to the Government Decree on University Degrees 794/2004

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The structure of doctoral studies

A postgraduate degree comprises theoretical studies and research

work. The emphasis is on scientific research.

A minimum of 60 credits* of postgraduate studies in accordance

with the study plan:

*The Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, PhD, degree consists of 40 credits of postgraduate

studies and a doctoral dissertation, which must be defended at a public examination

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The outcome of the research work is

an article-based dissertation (a compilation) or a monograph

an article based dissertation contains a summary + articles:

doctoral and licentiate degrees are granted by the faculties of HU

(not graduate schools)

Each faculty of the University of Helsinki has its own requirements

(and traditions) for doctoral dissertation

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How long does it take to get a doctoral degree?

the target time for completing a

doctoral degree and its studies is

four years of full-time work

(According to the general policy

definitions approved by the Senate

on 8 June 2006 regarding

postgraduate degrees)

target degree is PhD

7 years is the median duration time

to get a doctoral degree

Field of

Education

No of

Doctorates

Median

duration

(y)

Natural

Sciences

118 8

Agriculture

and Forestry

46 7

Veterinary

Medicine

16 8

Pharmacy 17 7

Table 1. Median duration times of Doctoral Studies in 2008 according to the Ministry of Education (Kota Online service)

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What postgraduate students do during postgraduate period?

86% Postgraduate studies 84% Research work 63% Applying research funding 40% Teaching 37% Supervision of Bachelor's and Master's degree students 35% Acting as a person in charge (lab sciences) 27% Other studies 23% Studies and/or research work abroad 22% Other activities e.g. working in an associations 21% Acquisition of chemicals and equipments 19% Technical work (in a lab) 17% Supervision of visiting students

+ 34% PhD students have a job outside the UH

n% of 121 postgraduate students of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry mentioned:

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What you should do before you start to apply

1. Find information

- Faculties' WebPages: Each faculty of the University of

Helsinki has its own application procedure regarding

postgraduate applicants.

- Research

- Guidelines to postgraduate (doctoral) studies

- Doctoral dissertation

- Forms

- Grants

- Graduate Schools

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Find information......

http://www.helsinki.fi/bio/tutkimus/jatkokoulutus/ http://www.helsinki.fi/bio/faculty/research/phd_studies/

http://www.mm.helsinki.fi/opiskelu/jatkotutkinnot.htm http://www.mm.helsinki.fi/english/studies.html

http://www.helsinki.fi/farmasia/tutkimus/jatkokoulutus/hyvaksyminen.htm http://www.helsinki.fi/pharmacy/research/postagraduate/admission.html

http://www.vetmed.helsinki.fi/tutkimus/tutkijankoulutus.html http://www.vetmed.helsinki.fi/english/doctor.html

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What should you do before you start to apply

2. Discuss with

- your professor in charge in a major subject

- your Master Degree's supervisor

about research plan, study plan, funding of doctoral studies,

future plans (post doc plans)...

3. Find your research subject and supervisors and discuss

with them about...

4. Evaluate your motivation –

why do you want to start your doctoral studies?

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Application process

Faculty of When to apply Who reviews your

application?

The right to pursue PhD

studies is granted by the

Biological and

Environmental

Sciences

continuous

(processed 4 times /

year

Main subject ->

administration ->

Dean

Veterinary Medicine continuous Committee for research-

oriented postgraduate

Education (meetings once

a month

Faculty Council

Pharmacy continuous Research Committee Research Committee

Agriculture and

Forestry

continuous Committee for Research

and Postgraduate

Education

Dean

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Registration

Accepted students will be enrolled for the ongoing academic

year.

Students must remember to enrol every year no later than

August 31, to keep the status as a postgraduate student.

You can join the Student Union but it is not obligatory for

postgraduate students. In case you want to join the Student

Union, please pay the student union membership fee (44 €).

You can activate yourself a university user account (access for

WebOodi, Alma-intranet, scientific electronic journals and e-mail

address). www.helsinki.fi/atk/

after that

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Rights and services for postgraduate students

Postgraduate students can enjoy most of the same benefits as

undergraduate and graduate students.

Exceptions for postgraduate students are: Students do not get a discount on bus and train fares licentiate or doctoral students can not use the FSHS services

(starting from August 1st, 2009) Student restaurants have a special price for post-graduate

students.

In order to obtain the Lyyra student card, you have to be a

registered student in a university and a member of HYY (the

student Union of the UH).

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Duties of postgraduate students? – to whom?

Registration for attendance (or non-attendance) is obligatory for all

students: undergraduates, graduates and postgraduates

Research ethics : good scientific practise & knowledge of laws and

regulations (human, animal and gene manipulation studies)

Alma->Support for teaching and research->: Research services

https://alma.helsinki.fi/doclink/51398

Rights and responsibilities of supervisors and postgraduate

students

Students funded by graduate schools – follow up group & annual

monitoring

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Where to find postgraduate courses

Faculties' homepages

http://www.helsinki.fi/jatko-opiskelijaksi/opintotarjonta.shtml

Doctoral studies in Viikki campus – CourseRake

http://www.helsinki.fi/viikki/courserake/

Integrated studies: scientific articles or project work not related to

your PhD work, teaching or supervision of students, popularization of

research (e.g. articles), conference presentations and posters

Graduate Schools' homepages:  

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Graduate Schools operating in Viikki campus

Agrobiotechnology focused on root-microbe systems (AB-RMS) Biological Interactions Graduate School Eläinten hyvinvoinnin tutkijakoulu EnSTe - Finnish Graduate School in Environmental Science and

Technology Finnish Graduate School on Applied Bioscience: Bioengineering,

Food & Nutrition, Environment (ABS) Finnish Graduate School of Neuroscience (FGSN) Finnish Graduate School in Plant Biology (FGSPB) Glykoscience Graduate School (GGS)

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Graduate Schools operating in Viikki campus

Graduate School in Forest Sciences Graduate School in Pharmaceutical Research Graduate School Natural Resources and Environment (NatuRe) Helsinki Graduate School in Biotechnology and Molecular Biology

(GSBM) LUOVA - Finnish School in Wildlife Biology, Conservation and

Management National Graduate School of Muskuloskeletal Disorders and

Biomaterials (TBGS) Viikki Graduate School in Biosciences (VGSB) Yhteiskunnallisen ympäristöalan valtakunnallinen tutkijakoulu

YHTYMÄ

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Funding?

Lack of funding is not a reason to give up postgraduate studies but

it severely hinders your progression

55% working in a project 50% grants: TURA - a funding database Alma->Support for teaching and

research->: Research services https://alma.helsinki.fi/doclink/85396

34% a position outside the UH 20% a position in a graduate school 10% a position at the UH 12% no funding

(answers of 121 postgraduate students of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry)

• 50% of answers have more than one funding source

Where?

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Other useful links also for doctoral studentsCareer Services of UH /Urapalvelut

http://www.helsinki.fi/urapalvelut/tapahtumakalenteri/

Curriculum for Career Individual training session: 1. Self-Assessment Skills 03.11.2010 Curriculum for Career course 03.11.2010 Individual training session: 2. Opportunity Awareness 10.11.2010 Individual training session: 3. From Decision Making to Action Planning

17.11.2010 Individual training session: 4. Job Hunting Skills - Application Documents

01.12.2010 Individual training session: 5. Job Hunting Skills - Interview Process 08.12.2010

Health care for international postgraduate students

Postgraduate students will no longer have access to the services of the

Finnish Student Health Service (YTHS) as of 1 August 2009. The right of international postgraduate and doctoral students to use Finnish

health care services is based on factors such as the following:

*Is the person covered by the social security legislation or health insurance of the EU/EEA countries or Switzerland

*the agreement on medical treatment with Australia or the social security arrangement with the Province of Quebec,

Canada

*Does the person receive a salary from the University of Helsinki or another Finnish organization and what is the

duration of his or her employment relationship

*Does the person receive a salary (income from employment or self-employment) from outside Finland

*Does the person receive a grant from Finland and what is the duration of his or her grant period

*Does the person receive a grant from outside Finland and what is the duration of his or her grant period

*Has a local register office registered the person as having right of residence in a Finnish municipality

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If the person is employed by the University of Helsinki, he or she can use the University's occupational health

services during regular working hours. For further information, please contact the Occupational Well-being Unit of the

Department of Human Resources and Legal Affairs: https://alma.helsinki.fi/doclink/74763.

If a local register office has registered the person as having right of residence in a Finnish municipality, he or she can

use municipal health services. Additional information about right of residence in a Finnish municipality can be

obtained from the local register office (http://www.maistraatti.fi/en/).

Additional information about coverage by and/or access to Finnish social security and/or health insurance can be

obtained from Kela, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (http://www.kela.fi/in/internet/english.nsf/).

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Mela insurance for recipients of grants or scholarships

The Farmers' Social Insurance Institution Mela is responsible for the

statutory pension (MYEL) and occupational accident insurance

(MATA) of the persons who have a grant or a scholarship and who

have to be insured in Finland as of the beginning of 2009. This

insurance is mandatory. The insurance secure, for the work on grant

or scholarship, offered by Mela is available also for the foreign

recipients of grants or scholarships if they are covered by the Finnish

social security. This insurance cover is mandatory and all recipients

of this insurance must be active in the application.

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The recipients of grants or scholarships must take out insurance if

they work uninterruptedly for at least four months with a grant or

scholarship awarded from Finland after 1st of Jan. 2009, and the

amount of grant is at least € 1 093,49 . The premiums are determined on the basis of the earnings. The

recipient pays the pension and occupational accident insurance

premiums, amounting to 11-14 percent of the adopted annual

earnings. For further information on the insurance for grant and scholarship

recipients, please refer to www.mela.fi -> English

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