CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR A DOCTORAL CANDIDATE POSITION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TURKU GRADUATE SCHOOL DOCTORAL PROGRAMME FOR PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL SCIENCES

1.    Short description of the doctoral programme

The doctoral program for Physical and Chemical Sciences (PCS) is responsible for the doctoral education of these sciences in the University of Turku. The research disciplines included to the program are astronomy, chemistry, materials science, physics and theoretical physics. The supervisors of the doctoral students are mainly from the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Department of Chemistry or The Finnish Centre for Astronomy with ESO. The web-pages of the programme can be found at http://www.utu.fi/PCS/.

2. Closing date for applications and what can be applied for

During the time period 15 August – 15 September 2014, the doctoral programme PCS invites applications for:

2.1. The right to pursue a doctoral degree at the University of Turku.

2.2. University of Turku Graduate School (UTUGS)-funded doctoral training positions.

A UTUGS-funded doctoral training position may begin on 1 January 2015 at the earliest and is for a maximum of four years. The position is primarily intended for full-time doctoral dissertation research with the aim of completing the doctoral degree in four years. Duties assigned to a doctoral candidate employed on a UTUGS-funded training position other than those related to doctoral dissertation research must not compromise the full-time doctoral dissertation research and can be at most 5% (80 h) of the annual working time of the doctoral candidate. The 5% rule does not apply to such teaching that benefits the doctoral candidate in the form of ECTS credits imbedded in the doctoral degree.The salary is based on the salary system of Finnish universities and it consists of a task-specific salary component and personal performance salary component. The task-specific salary component of the doctoral candidate is at level 2–4, where the position-specific salary component is 1964.69 -2 452.20 euros per month. In addition, there is a component based on personal performance, which is at most 46.3 % of the position-specific salary. There will be a four month trial period.

3. Who may apply

3.1. The right to pursue a doctoral degree at the University of Turku can be applied for by:

• Persons who meet the eligibility criteria for pursuing a doctoral degree, as stipulated in the Universities Act (558/2009, Section 37).

3.2. A UTUGS-funded doctoral training position can be applied for by:

• All doctoral candidates who have the right to pursue a doctoral degree at the University of Turku and who have not previously had a Ministry of Education and Culture-funded doctoral training position and/or UTUGS-funded doctoral training position for a total of four years.
• Persons who have not yet been granted the right to pursue a doctoral degree at the University of Turku, but who match the profile of the doctoral programme and meet the eligibility criteria for the right to pursue a doctoral degree (see 4.2). As the right to pursue a doctoral degree is a precondition for accepting a doctoral training position funded by the University, the person must apply for both a right to pursue a doctoral degree and a UTUGSfunded position in this call for applications.
• A person who already has a doctoral degree from a Finnish university is not eligible for a UTUGS-funded doctoral training position.

4. Applying

4.1. Application documents

The right to pursue the doctoral degree and funded positions are applied by the same electronic form. A link to the application form and application instructions will be published on the web pages of the doctoral programme (www.utu.fi/PCS). The application consists of the electronic application form and attachments as one pdf-file. Applications received after the deadline will not be processed.

It is important that the applicant fulfills carefully all the details asked in the electronic form.

Application procedure when applicant does not yet have a right to pursue doctoral degree in PCS doctoral programme

The application procedure has two phases. In the first phase the applicant makes an application (the electronic form) where she/he tells about herself/himself and the plans regarding the doctoral studies and dissertation.

After receiving the application the doctoral programme checks the eligibility of the applicant, how the topic of research fits the profile of the programme and assesses the merits of the applicants. Moreover, the doctoral programme checks if it can offer a suitable supervisor for the applicant.

In the second phase of the application procedure the most competitive applicants will be appointed supervisors and a research director, who will contact the applicant. Together with the supervisors the applicant compiles a research plan, a study plan and a financing plan. According to the plan Dean will make the final decision of the selection.

Applicant who does not yet have right to pursue doctoral degree attaches his/her application (electronic form) as one pdf-file:

1. Curriculum vitae (see template: http://www.tenk.fi/en/template-researchers-curriculum-vitae)
2. Publication list (see template: http://www.aka.fi/en-GB/A/Funding-andguidance/How-to-apply/Appendices/List-of-publications/)
3. Copies of the degree certificates of Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees.
4. The transcripts of study records of the degrees mentioned in item 3 and other possible studies.
5. Other documents that may affect the decision-making.

In case, the Master’s degree has been completed outside of Finland, then the applicant has to attach to his/her application:

• A scanned copy of the original certificate of the precious degree (in original language) that qualifies the applicant for doctoral studies (MSc or equivalent). If the original degree certificate is in a different language, also an official translation* to English, Finnish or Swedish of the certificate has to be provided.
• A Scanned copy of the Transcripts of study records concerning the previous degree (in original language). If the transcript is in a different language, also an official translation* to English, Swedish or Finnish has to be provided (or an English Diploma Supplement from a European institute of higher education)

*Translations: An official translation must be one of the following:

• issued by the awarding institution or is an officially certified true copy of a translation issued by the awarding institution
• translated by an official translator or is an officially certified true copy of a translation made by an official translator

Application procedure when applicant has a right to pursue doctoral degree in PCS doctoral programme

Applicant who has already the right to pursue the doctoral degree in PCS doctoral programme fulfills carefully the electronic application form and attaches following documents:

1. Curriculum vitae (see template: http://www.tenk.fi/en/template-researchers-curriculum-vitae)
2. Publication list (see template: http://www.aka.fi/en-GB/A/Funding-andguidance/How-to-apply/Appendices/List-of-publications/)
3. Copies of the degree certificates of Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees.
4. The transcripts of study records of the degrees mentioned in item 3 and other possible studies.
5. Research plan, where it is explained the current state of postgraduate studies and thesis and timetable to finish the degree.
6. Other documents that may affect the decision-making.

4.2. Assessment of applications

4.2.1. The applications will be assessed by the Board of the doctoral program. If needed the best applicants will be interviewed.

4.2.2. Evaluation and election criteria

In addition to the eligibility criteria related to the right to pursue a doctoral degree, also the applicant’s motivation, merits, completed studies, grade of the master’s thesis (or corresponding work) and capability to complete a doctoral degree, as well as the quality and feasibility of the research plan are taken into account in the selection of doctoral candidates. The chosen applicants must have a good knowledge of the English language. A prerequisite for admission is that there is at least one person who has agreed to act as a supervisor and who fulfills the qualification requirements for supervisors. Additionally, the research topic of the Doctoral Candidate must fit the profile of the doctoral programme. The PCS programme is multidisciplinary and aims to promote all its research fields. This may be taken into consideration when positions are filled.

4.3. Decisions

The decisions on granting the rights to pursue a degree as well as the decisions on employing the candidate on a UTUGS-funded doctoral training position are made by the Dean of the faculty in question based on the proposal of the Board of the doctoral programme. The applicants will be informed personally about the decision on granting the right to pursue a degree no later than November 28^th, 2014. In addition, the names of the applicants who have been selected for the funded positions will be published on the website www.utu.fi/PCS by the end November, 2014.

5. Petition for appeal

Applicants not satisfied with the decisions can make a written request for correction from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences within 14 days of the publication of the decisions. Well-justified requests must be delivered to the University of Turku registry with the address: Kirjaamo, FI-20014 Turun yliopisto, Finland.

6. Additional information

http://www.utu.fi/PCS

Coordinator Sanna Ranto (sanna.ranto@utu.fi, +358 2 333 6546) or Head of the program professor Petriina Paturi (petriina.paturi@utu.fi, +358 2 333 5676)