Which curriculum should be followed?
The curricula of the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences are available in Sisu or in the Study Guide (links above in the general instructions).
Students who have started their doctoral studies in autumn 2024 or later must follow the 2024-2028 curriculum.
Students who started their doctoral studies before August 2024 may follow the 2020-2024 curriculum until July 31, 2030 (graduation at latest on July 31, 2030). After this (at latest), they must switch to following the new study requirements (curriculum 2024-2028). If they wish, the doctoral student can switch to following the new curriculum before this deadline.
NOTE! If the student has been assigned supplementary studies upon their admission to doctoral studies, they must complete them regardless of which curriculum they are following. Please find more detailed information below.
Students who have started their doctoral studies on or before 1.1.2025
Doctoral students are required to complete 40-60 ECTS credits of studies included in the doctoral degree, taking into account their background and the curriculum they follow. The studies are defined in each doctoral student's personal study plan at the admission stage.
If the main subject of the previous (M.Sc.) degree is different from the specialisation of doctoral studies, the necessary amount of supplementary studies defined by the Faculty must be completed to achieve the required competencies for the specialisation. The amount of supplementary studies is generally 15 ECTS (recommended intermediate-level studies). The supplementary studies are defined in each doctoral student's personal study plan at the admission stage. Supplementary studies are not included in the degree. For those accepted with a master’s degree from a university of applied sciences, 60 ECTS credits of advanced studies in the specialisation are automatically assigned, of which 15 ECTS credits are supplementary studies.
It is possible to apply for changes to the personal study plan approved during the admission stage. See the section "Changes to the doctoral study plan" below.
Doctoral programmes offer postgraduate seminars for at least 20 hours during each academic year. More information about these can be asked from the programmes.
Students starting their doctoral studies on or after 1.8.2025
All studies required from the student included in the degree must meet the minimum scope of the curriculum (40 credits). No supplementary studies are assigned to those accepted into the doctoral studies; instead, they must have the required competencies for the studies at the time of admission.
Recommendation for doctoral studies
Upon the admission to doctoral studies, the research plan will be drafted on a template provided by the faculty. The template acts as guidance and recommendation for doctoral studies. You can download the template following the link below:
Template for doctoral study plan at the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences (.docx)
Credits earned from work included in doctoral studies
It is possible to gain credits for work experience (maximum of 10 ECTS if the study right has begun after August 1, 2024, or maximum of 20 ECTS if the study right has begun before July 31, 2024), according to what is agreed on the doctoral student's postgraduate study plan. The work must be demanding and not related to the doctoral dissertation (teaching, research work, participation in the development of the department or the faculty, work conducted outside the university).
The credits earned from work cannot be retroactively obtained; the tasks must be scheduled for the duration of doctoral studies at the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences. Work completed before the granting of the right to postgraduate studies do not qualify for ECTS.
Work that can earn credits in doctoral studies:
- Teaching: Credits can be awarded for a maximum of two university-level courses. In addition to universities, the course can be taught in universities of applied sciences or other research organisations of at least the same level. Teaching duties are recognised only once for university teaching courses; teaching for recurring courses is not considered as credit-producing work.
- Research work (other than one's own doctoral dissertation): Requires a clear, independent and advanced role in the research project, such as a position of person in charge or an expert role.
- Development tasks and other work: Requires a clear, independent and advanced role, such as a position of person in charge or an expert role.
In order to record the credits, the documents and hours of work assignments are delivered to the supervisor-in-charge, who approves the credits to be awarded. The credits will be recorded for the doctoral students when the supervisor informs the doctoral school coordinator via HelpJYU on the number of credits to be recorded and submits a summary of the tasks completed by the doctoral student (what, when and where). When assessing the number of credits earned, the supervisor must note that the workload required for one ECTS is 27 hours.
Changes to the doctoral study plan
It is possible to apply for changes to the personal study plan approved during the admission stage.
In case of major changes to the accepted study plan later during the studies, the modified plan will be processed and accepted by the working group for postgraduate studies. Major changes include for example a substantial change in the number of credits required for the degree within the 40-60 curriculum, and changes in supplementary studies. The updated study plan, approved by the supervisors and including justifications for the change, is submitted to the coordinator of the doctoral school via HelpJYU, who will forward the change proposal to the working group for postgraduate studies for consideration.
Small changes, such as changes in individual study units/courses, do not need to be accepted by the working group.
