The University of Helsinki

The University of Helsinki is a Finnish public university sited in Helsinki, Finland. The University was originally founded in 1640 as a part of the Swedish Empire making it one of the largest and one of the oldest universities in Finland. The university is unique in that it is bilingual for undergraduates. Undergraduate studies are conducted in both Finnish and Swedish. Once students enter their master or doctorate programs English is introduced as a third language. The University of Helsinki sees a yearly enrollment of over 36,500 students.

The PhD Scholarships

There are many PhD scholarship opportunities available for applicants studying at the University of Helsinki. Currently, the school is offering several PhD scholarships ranging a variety of different subjects or faculties within the school. We are focusing on one of their most prestigious PhD scholarships currently available.

The Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences:

The International Biological and Environmental Sciences PhD Scholarships

Scholarship Description: The University of Helsinki is offering this unique international PhD scholarships for doctoral candidates that are research oriented in aquatic, environmental, biological, and/or geo-science. The recipient of this PhD scholarship will be allowed the opportunity to work in and around research vessels in the Baltic Sea. During this time the recipient would be undertaking a variety of different responsibilities such as:

• Collecting sediment and water samples
• Using a range of chemicals and analyzing the sediment and water column samples to extract sediments.
• Incubating experiments using isotopic tracers such as mass spectrometric analysis

During the tenure of their PhD studies the recipient of this scholarship opportunity will be in charge of completing their doctoral thesis as well as at least 3 published articles, as well as be able to present their findings at both national and international conferences.

Scholarship Award: These PhD scholarships are fully funded. International and domestic tuition rates are covered through this scholarship scheme. These PhD scholarships also offer a monthly doctoral salary for qualified applicants. The initial starting salary is €2250 with the opportunity to rise to €2950 with the progression of the doctoral student.

Scholarship Duration: The duration of these PhD scholarships is for a maximum of four years in a full time doctoral program.

Scholarship Requirements:

• The applicant must have an upper second class or first class degree with honours, or a respectable master’s degree in a research subject relative to their PhD interests. Applicants with degrees in environmental, biological, aquatic, and geo-sciences will be awarded preference.
• The applicant must be able to communicate professionally. International applicants must submit language assessment scores.
• The applicant must compose a clear and well thought out research proposal. The research proposal should clearly state a hypothesis and the outline of research intended to be used to prove or discredit their hypothesis.
• The applicant must compose a personal statement or essay illustrating any personal obstacles that they have had to overcome and why they are more deserving of this scholarship opportunity than others.
• The applicant must submit at least 2 references.