The Arctic in a Changing World

The first half of the 21st century sees the world changing in a pace and thoroughness that nobody has had experience with yet. The planet is warming and the Arctic is the most relevant hotspot for this profound development.

The University of Lapland takes an active role in global Arctic responsibility, and our cross-disciplinary doctoral programme The Arctic in a Changing World contributes with research excellence to meeting the challenge of how we humans can organise our life sustainably amidst such developments. How do we best balance the diverse interests and how can human life in the Arctic become an example of agency and adaptability in changing conditions?

Our thematic doctoral programme offers a PhD focused on selected themes:

• Communities, Inclusion and Welfare
• Governing Transitions in the Arctic: Environment, Law and Politics
• Art, Design and Service Innovation.
  

We welcome doctoral candidates with varying academic backgrounds into our multidisciplinary doctoral programme. To be eligible to apply, you should have a master's degree or equivalent.

As our doctoral candidate you develop an in-depth understanding of the phenomena within the thematics while becoming more aware of their complexity and multidisciplinary character. You become able to independently and critically apply multidisciplinary methods for producing new scientific information. In your dissertation, you will profoundly explore a topic within the programme’s themes from one or more viewpoints.

We place a high importance on research ethics and incorporation of diverse perspectives from different disciplines. In doing so, our programme aims to equip the successful candidates with key expertise relevant for academia as well as society at large.

The doctoral programme crosses disciplinary boundaries with representation from social sciences, legal studies, education, and art & design. It offers PhD education that covers under the umbrella of “The Arctic in a Changing World” a wide range of topics such as inclusive communities and welfare, governing transitions in the environment and society, and innovation in art, design and services.

The thematic studies of the doctoral programme consist of four study modules:

• Introduction to Arctic Research
• Research Seminar
• Research Training and Career
• Current Issues in Arctic Research
  

Doctoral candidates of the programme should include parts from each module in their doctoral study plan (total 20 credits). The courses and credits included in the modules must be approved by the doctoral programme.