Doctoral studies: Dissertation supervision

At the application stage, applicants must already have at least one supervisor committed to the task, who will act as the supervisor-in-charge. The applicant must name the proposed supervisor-in-charge in the StudyInfo application and attach the supervisor’s endorsement to the application, confirming their support for the research and doctoral study plan and commitment to supervision. The endorsement must be made on the form provided. In addition to the person committed to acting as the supervisor-in-charge, the applicant may provide information on other persons committed to acting as supervisors and on the follow-up group on the StudyInfo application form, if known. All supervisors and members of the follow-up group who have committed to the task must comply with the requirements and guidelines of the University of Jyväskylä and the faculty. 

Applicants may be interviewed and/or asked to submit a video. Applicants will be contacted and given separate instructions if they are invited for an interview. Instructions regarding any video will be provided in the application instructions or personally after the application period has ended. 

The planned dissertation topic must be in line with the field of study and doctoral degree you wish to pursue. Find out more about the research carried out at the Faculty and contact the researchers in the research group you are interested in to ask about the possibility of getting supervision for your dissertation work.

To be considered for the doctoral programme, applicants must already have at least one supervisor (supervisor-in-charge) who has an employment relationship with the Faculty of Information Technology with an open-ended contract or a fixed-term contract or tenure track of at least four years from the start of the doctoral studies. In addition to the supervisor-in-charge, at least one other supervisor is appointed for all doctoral students. All supervisors must have a doctoral degree.

The information on the supervisors, who have agreed to the role, must be given on the electronic application form in Studyinfo.fi. In addition, the applicant must attach to their application the supervisor-in-charge endorsement from, which is signed by the intended supervisor-in-charge. More detailed instructions on the form can be found on the Required attachments page.

The planned research topic of the dissertation must align with the specialisation and the doctoral degree the applicant wishes to pursue, and be in line with the research conducted at the Faculty. Thus, the applicant must familiarize themselves in advance with the Faculty’s research areas.

Before applying, the applicant must contact the teaching and research staff of the School of Business and Economics to inquire about the possibility of obtaining supervision for the dissertation. The supervisor-in-charge must be employed by the University of Jyväskylä, be a member of the faculty’s teaching and research staff, hold a doctoral degree, and be at least a docent-level researcher.

It is important to contact the potential supervisor-in-charge well in advance (at least one month before the application deadline) to inquire about their availability for supervision. Send the preliminary research and doctoral study plan (use templates on the Required Attachments page) and possible recommendation letters to the supervisor. The supervisor will assess whether the dissertation topic meets the requirements of the study field and degree objective, whether the doctoral study plan is realistic, whether the applicant’s previous studies are suitable for the planned doctoral degree, and whether they are willing to commit to supervising the dissertation.

According to the University of Jyväskylä Degree Regulations (Section 36), each doctoral student must have at least two supervisors appointed by the dean, one of whom shall be the personal supervisor-in-charge. In addition to the supervisor-in-charge, at least one supervisor must be a researcher at the docent level or higher.  A dissertation supervisor can simultaneously act as the supervisor-in-charge for a maximum of 10 active doctoral students pursuing a doctoral degree. In addition, each student pursuing a doctoral degree shall have a follow-up group appointed by the dean. The members of the follow-up group can also be from outside the University. At least one member of the follow-up group must hold a doctoral degree. A supervisor of the dissertation cannot be appointed as a member of the follow-up group. A follow-up group member cannot be closely linked to student's dissertation research, for example as a co-author, or in a role that enables the production of research-based information.

The applicant must attach to their application in Studyinfo the supervisors’ endorsement form (use template on the Required Attachments page), which includes information on the supervisor-in-charge, at least one other supervisor, and the follow-up group. The form must be signed by the supervisor-in-charge. By signing the form, the supervisor-in-charge confirms that they support the research and doctoral study plans, are committed to their duties, and have discussed the supervision resources in the discipline.

Ensuring supervision before submitting the application is one of the selection criteria used in the evaluation of applications for the right to pursue doctoral studies. At the application stage, applicants must already have a responsible supervisor committed to the task, at least one other supervisor, and a follow-up group. The supervisors and follow-up group must comply with the guidelines of the university and faculty. The details of the supervisors and monitoring group who have agreed to take on the tasks must be provided in the application. Failure to provide supervision in accordance with the application guidelines may result in the application being rejected.

Every doctoral student must have a designated supervisor-in-charge and at least one other supervisor. All supervisors need to have a doctoral degree. A supervisor-in-charge can be a professor, an assistant/associate professor, a docent or a person who has significant scientific evidence equivalent to a docent, who is employed at the Faculty of Education and Psychology¹. The supervisor-in-charge must have a non-fixed-term employment contract or alternatively, a fixed-term employment contract during which a doctoral dissertation can be expected to be finished. The supervisory group formed by the supervisors must have at least one supervisor from the faculty² who has a non-fixed employment contract or a tenure track employment contract. In addition to the supervisor-in-charge, at least one other supervisor must be a researcher at the level of docent or higher. There can be members in the supervisory group also outside the University of Jyväskylä. All supervisors and members of the follow-up group who have committed to the task must comply with the requirements and guidelines of the University of Jyväskylä and the faculty. 

¹ In the specialisation of education alternatively at Kokkola University Consortium Chydenius or Finnish Institute for Educational Research

² In the specialisation of education alternatively at Kokkola University Consortium Chydenius

The doctoral study plan signed by the supervisors and a member of the follow-up group has to be scanned as an attachment to the electronic application form.

The supervisors must be stated in the application if Study Info.

After the application the main supervisor will be asked for a main supervisor's statement on the application.

The planned research topic of the dissertation must align with the research conducted at the Faculty. Thus, the applicant must familiarize themselves in advance with the Faculty’s research areas.

Before applying, the applicant must contact a professor of the research area / specialisation or the teaching and research staff of the Faculty to inquire about the possibility of obtaining supervision for the dissertation. The supervisor-in-charge must be employed by the University of Jyväskylä, be a member of the faculty’s teaching and research staff, hold a doctoral degree, and be at least a docent-level researcher.

It is important to contact the potential supervisor-in-charge well in advance (at least one month before the application deadline) to inquire about their availability for supervision. Send the preliminary research and doctoral study plans (use templates on the Required Attachments page) and possible recommendation letters to the supervisor. The supervisor will assess whether the dissertation topic meets the requirements of the study field and degree objective, whether the doctoral study plan is realistic, whether the applicant’s previous studies are suitable for the planned doctoral degree, and whether they are willing to commit to supervising the dissertation.

According to the University of Jyväskylä Degree Regulations (Section 36), each doctoral student must have at least two supervisors appointed by the dean, one of whom shall be the personal supervisor-in-charge. In addition to the supervisor-in-charge, at least one supervisor must be a researcher at the docent level or higher.  A dissertation supervisor can simultaneously act as the supervisor-in-charge for a maximum of 10 active doctoral students pursuing a doctoral degree. In addition, each student pursuing a doctoral degree shall have a follow-up group appointed by the dean. The members of the follow-up group can also be from outside the University. At least one member of the follow-up group must hold a doctoral degree. A supervisor of the dissertation cannot be appointed as a member of the follow-up group. A follow-up group member cannot be closely linked to student's dissertation research, for example as a co-author, or in a role that enables the production of research-based information.

The applicant must attach to their application the supervisors' approval form (use template on the Required Attachments page) signed by all supervisors, the member of the follow-up group, and the specialisation representative, confirming their support for the application and commitment to their tasks.

Take a look at the research in the faculty and contact potential supervisors in your research field to ask about possibility to get supervision in your planned research topic.

Each doctoral student will be assigned at least two supervisors and a follow-up group in accordance with the university and faculty guidelines.

Applicants must have at least one committed supervisor (responsible supervisor) at the application stage. The information on the supervisors who have agreed to the role must be given on the electronic application form. The application must also include the approval of the responsible supervisor, confirming that they commit to providing supervision. The approval must be written on the form provided and signed by the responsible supervisor (see Required attachments). 

The names of the members of the follow-up group can be given on the electronic application form in the Studyinfo portal, or according to separate instructions after the application period has ended.

Positive selection decisions are not made without information about the supervisors and the follow-up group.