Doctoral studies

A doctoral degree requires approximately three to four years and a licentiate degree two years of full-time studies. In addition to doctoral studies (min. 30 ECTS cr), a doctoral degree also includes writing a dissertation that is defended publicly in a public examination. There are no tuition fees for doctoral education.

Forthcoming public examinations at LUT University

The university aims at admitting skilled, motivated students who have the aptitude for a career in research and other demanding expert tasks, who are committed to their doctoral studies and research and who have sufficient skills in research.

In addition to the educational background of an applicant, the availability of supervision resources and the suitability of the expertise of supervisors available also have an impact on the selection of doctoral students. Please see Application Processes of Doctoral Programmes.

The Ministry of Education and Culture has now granted funding for a doctoral education pilot programme, where universities hire a thousand new doctoral researchers for three-year contracts to complete a doctoral degree. LUT University has recruited 44 new doctoral students for the pilot. The whole national doctoral pilot consists of 16 programs. The doctoral researchers recruited by LUT have been placed in seven pilot projects.

The first interim report from the national doctoral education pilot has been published and it is available in Finnish from the publication repository of Tampere University.

Degrees and research fields

LUT University offers a possibility to complete the following postgraduate degrees:

Licentiate of Science (Technology) - Doctor of Science (Technology)
Licentiate of Science (Economics and Business Administration) - Doctor of Science (Economics and Business Administration)
Licentiate of Social Sciences - Doctor of Social Sciences
Licentiate of Philosophy - Doctor of Philosophy

Doctoral education is offered in the following research fields:

Energy Engineering, Energy Market and Solar Economy, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Sustainability Science (Doctoral Programme in Energy Systems)
Computational Science, Green Chemical Technology, Industrial Engineering and Management, Software Engineering, Technical Physics, Social Sciences (Doctoral Programme in Engineering Science)
Economics and Business Administration (Doctoral Programme in Business and Management)

LUT University also has double doctoral degree and cotutelle agreements with its partner universities abroad. For additional information on international cooperation and agreements please see LUT intra (restricted access).

Planning doctoral studies at LUT University?

LUT University graduates and those with an existing connection to LUT

If you are planning to start doctoral studies, please contact a potential supervisor in your field of interest in order to settle the basic issues (for example supervision and funding).
After the supervisory resources and the eligibility to apply have been confirmed, you can submit the application via Studyinfo-portal. Before the submission all attachments required for the application process must be ready.

No existing connection to LUT University - finding supervisors

Please fill in the Expression of Interest-form.
The form is used for getting necessary information for example on educational background, funding and research interests of potential candidates. On the basis of that information it is possible to check if suitable supervisory resources are available.
Submitted forms will be processed approximately once a month.
LUT University will contact the senders after the initial assessment and checking supervisory resources has been done. Inquiries while the process is still ongoing will not be answered.
The form is meant for interested candidates who have their own funding available. For open funded positions (employment), please see LUT LUT website.
LUT University does not grant general scholarships for doctoral studies.

Please note! The Expression of Interest-form is not an application for doctoral studies.

Applicants with a doctoral degree

If you plan to study for another doctoral degree, please note that the target degree has to be from a different field than the one already completed. The dissertation must be based on new data and new publications.
For example, if you have a degree of Doctor of Science (Technology) you can apply for the right to study for a degree of Doctor of Science (Economics and Business Administration) or Doctor of Social Sciences provided that you have a suitable background education and possible work experience to complete the degree in the field in question.
However, case-by-case consideration is always used when handling applications from applicants with a doctoral degree.

LUT Doctoral School and doctoral programmes

All doctoral students of the university belong to LUT Doctoral School (LUT DS), which coordinates doctoral education at LUT University. Doctoral programmes operating in schools are responsible for education and supervision. The study affairs team of LUT DS gives advice for all doctoral students and applicants on study administrative issues from application to graduation.

Doctoral Programme in Energy Systems - person in charge Professor Samuli Honkapuro (deputy: Professor Timo Kärki)

Doctoral Programme in Engineering Science - person in charge Professor Bernardo Barbiellini (deputy: Professor Janne Huiskonen)

Doctoral Programme in Business and Management - person in charge Professor Paavo Ritala (deputy: Professor Tanja Leppäaho)

The doctoral progammes of LUT DS are introduced in more detail on the university web pages.

LUT Doctoral School principles (see Files) include guidelines for Doctoral School and for doctoral education in general. The following issues are covered: