Short list for how to become a PhD student at the department
- You must have a MSc degree.
- You must do your best to find a suitable research group/supervisor at the department. Please see the research pages of the department, and especially the research group descriptions.
- Together with your (found) supervisor set up a research plan and submit an application to the department.
Admission to PhD studies
The Faculty of Science takes the formal decision of enrolment. A student should submit the application for PhD studies to the PhD studies committee of the department for approval. The committee may demand that the application is extended or modified before forwarding it to the Faculty of Science.
The right to pursue a PhD degree may be granted on the condition that the applicant's PhD study plan has been approved by the PhD studies committee. The selection criteria include the standard of the basic degree, the feasibility of the research plan and study plan, as well as the availability of supervision.
Students who have been admitted to a graduate school must also enrol at the university by following the application procedure described on this page.
Supervisor
A student who wants to be PhD student should start by finding a supervisor at the department, who works in the field of interest of the student and who is willing to supervise the student. If the student is unsure of which supervisor to contact, he or she may first contact the PhD studies committee, which will steer the student in the right direction. Generally, a supervisor is a professor and/or principal investigator employed by the department.
Note! If the student is not able to find a supervisor at the department who is willing to supervise his or her studies, the student cannot be admitted to enrol as a PhD student.
The student and the supervisor should work together setting up the application and especially the research and study plan of the student.
Application
Applications are submitted in English.
The formal requirements of the application and the application form are given on the pages of the Faculty of Science. In addition to the requirements of the Faculty, the department requires applicants to specify two mentors in the application and to include a 4-5-page research plan according to the example below.
Mentors
Mentors support the student in his or her studies and meet with the student at least twice a year. A mentor should have a PhD degree and may work at the department or come from another department or university. If the student already has mentors or a support team within the frames of a graduate school, the same mentors should be used in the application. If the student has several supervisors, fewer mentors may be specified in the application.
The mentors are specified in the box for supervisor in the application form. Please use the sub-headline Mentors, then give the names, titles and contact information for the mentors.
Studies plan
The postgraduate studies in the research area should include the PhD student seminar (6 credits). Please note that the student is supposed to attend the seminar throughout the PhD studies, every year.
Note that according to the PhD degree requirements, the general postgraduate studies (10 credits) include all the different specified areas. Please list these in your plan for general studies (see the requirements).
Research plan
The research plan should be 4-5 pages long, the title should be the topic of your planned research and the plan should contain at least the following sections- State of the art of the research sub-field
- Planned research including methods. (List 3-5 research questions if appropriate)
- Expected research results (answers to your research questions) and time schedule including expected dissertation date.
- Concrete goals for the first two years of study, especially what you are going to do for the next 6 months.
- Financing plan
- References
Please have your supervisor read your plan and sign it as well as the application form.
Submission
There is no deadline for applications. The application with appendices is submitted to the PhD studies committee of the department both on paper and in electronic form (pdf) to the following address:
Research Coordinator Greger Lindén
Department of computer Science
P.O.Box 68 (Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2b)
Fi-00014 UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI
The pdf version should be sent to researchcoordinator@cs.helsinki.fi.
The application will be either accepted, rejected or returned for further improvements by the PhD studies committee. If the application is approved, the PhD studies comittee will sign the application, not the professor in charge of the area.
Applications to graduate schools
Note that the graduate schools have their own application procedures and deadlines. Please read the web pages of the schools to find out more information.
Students who have been admitted to a graduate school must also enrol at the university by following the application procedure described on this page.