Requirements for admission to the University of Oulu Graduate School

The following practices will be adopted with regards to the admission of students.

1. Who can apply for admission to the University of Oulu Graduate School?

According to Finnish University law, a student who has completed a relevant Master of Science, or Master of Arts degree, or an equivalent degree giving eligibility for correspondinguniversity studies in the country, can apply for admission to the University of Oulu Graduate School (UniOGS). As a minimum requirement for admission to the UniOGS, the above-mentioned degree must have been completed with good grades (at least 60% of maximum grade, or 3/5); the Graduate School applicant must also possess sufficient language skills.

A candidate holding a Bachelor’s degree may be admitted to a doctoral programme, if the applicant meets one of the following conditions:

1. The applicant has been given the right to undertake doctoral studies in another university from abroad, and the studies in Oulu would lead to a double, or joint doctoral degree,

2. The applicant has been admitted to an International Master’s Programme of the UniOGS and plans to continue towards a doctorate in Oulu; the admission is conditional and requires passing the Master’s degree with good grades (at least 60% of full score) for both the course work and the Master’s thesis, or

3. For applicants of the Faculty of Medicine with at least a Bachelor degree in Medicine, or Dentistry, and working in a research group, admission is conditional until the completion of the Licentiate degree.

2. How to apply to the Graduate School?

Before applying to the Graduate School, applicants are recommended to acquaint themselves with the research groups currently operating in their field of interest at the University of Oulu, and to make contact with potential supervisor/supervisors. A student may be conditionally accepted to the Graduate School, for a period of up to one year, if a confirmed principal supervisor cannot be found before the application deadline.

All students applying for admission to the Graduate School must fill in the application form, which can be accessed from the University of Oulu Graduate School’s website (click here).

Application deadlines for new students are: 31 January 2012, 31 March 2012, 15 May 2012, 31 August 2012 and 31 October 2012. The study rights for doctoral training will commence about 2 months after the application deadline. Exceptions to these rules may be made in special cases; for example, if the applicant is responding to a competitive call for a graduate position/fellowship in one the Doctoral Programmes funded by the Academy of Finland).

3. Admission of students

One of three Doctoral Training Committees operating at the University of Oulu Graduate School reviews all applications relating to the field of expertise of the committee. The fields of expertise of the three Doctoral Training Committees are, respectively, Health and Life Sciences, Human Sciences, and Technology and Natural Sciences. The Committee gives a recommendation for admission to the Dean of the UniOGS, who may admit the students to the University of Oulu Graduate school doctoral programme and who awards the Study Rights.

The Dean may also grant conditional admission, for a period of up to one year, in cases where the student must complete necessary background studies for the doctoral work (if gaps were identified), and/or if a Principal Supervisor must be appointed (e.g. if the student rotates through different labs during the first year). The Principal Supervisor’s recommendation is a prerequisite for the renewal of the admission.

4. Registration of new students

All doctoral students admitted to the University of Oulu Graduate School must register to the University of Oulu each year in order to exercise their Study Rights. Registration is possible once the student has been awarded the Study Rights by the University of Oulu Graduate School.