Funding doctoral education

After accepting the right to pursue postgraduate studies, the doctoral researcher is responsible for securing funding for their research. Funding can be obtained either in the form of a salary or through various grants. It is also possible to conduct doctoral research on a self-funded basis alongside paid employment.

The most financially stable option is a salaried junior researcher position at the university. However, such positions are not frequently available, so it is highly recommended to explore other funding opportunities as well.

Open junior researcher positions are announced at:

– ulapland.fi/työpaikat (Finnish-language job postings)
– ulapland.fi/vacancies (English-language job postings).

We also publish open researcher positions on the Job Market Finland and, depending on the announcement, in other Finnish and international channels such as the Euraxess website.

Another funding option is to join research projects led by more experienced researchers. Most of these large-scale research projects are funded by the Academy of Finland and span several years.

Many researchers work – at least for part of their doctoral studies – with the support of grants awarded by various foundations and associations. Ask your research supervisor for more detailed guidance on funding opportunities specific to your field. It’s also worth exploring the Tiede ja tutkimus database, which is a comprehensive source of grants for science and the arts.

You can apply to the university for the Esko Riepula Grant to support the final stages of your doctoral dissertation (see more information below).

Also, take a look at the websites of the Finnish Union of Researchers (Tieteentekijöiden liitto).

There are also many doctoral researchers at the university who conduct their dissertation research alongside paid employment or, for example, by relying on personal savings. For those who have been in working life longer, a doctoral degree can be part of career development that the employer may be willing to support.

Pursuing a doctoral degree part-time is a long-term project that should be carefully planned in advance. If you are employed, it’s a good idea to consider whether you could occasionally take study leave to fully focus on your dissertation work. Also, find out what funding opportunities are available for research periods taken as leave from work.

 

Esko Riepula Grant for finalising dissertations

The university has grants for doctoral researchers at the final stages of their dissertation work. Grants are awarded for 1–6 months. Naturally, grantees are expected to submit their dissertation andgraduate from the University of Lapland.

Decisions are made four times a year: in March, June, September and December. You need to submit your grant application by the 1st day of the month.

This means that applications for grants starting at the beginning of 2026 must be submitted by 1 December 2025.

The deadlines for applications in 2025 are the following:

• 1 March 2025
• 1 June 2025
• 1 September 2025
• 1 December 2025

The grant is 2189 euros / month. The grant is intended to cover the costs of the finalisation of the dissertation OR translation or proofreading of the work. Finalisation refers to making the dissertation ready for the preliminary examination. Receiving this grant for a certain period of time requires the applicant to have an unsalaried period of the same length in the same year.

This grant is not meant for persons who already receive supplementary funding from the university. Priority is given to dissertations supporting the university’s strategic foci, article dissertations containing articles likely to be published in international refereed journals and applicants who have not received financial support for their dissertation work earlier. The purpose of these grants is to support reaching the field-specific goals of doctoral degrees at the University of Lapland. These goals have been set by the Ministry of Education and Culture.

Application: 
The grant is applied for through an electronic form: Application form

The following documents must be attached to the electronic form:

1) A free-form application, which must include a description of the stage of the dissertation, the dissertation topic, the anticipated grant period and an estimate of the dissertation’s completion date. The application should also indicate whether the applicant is a full-time student or employed, the employer’s name and the period of leave from work. The application must mention any previous grants received for the dissertation work (grantor, amounts and the work stage for which they were received) and any support granted by the faculty.

2) A recommendation letter from the supervisor on the progress of the work / a commitment to supervise the work within the planned time.

NOTE! The form cannot be submitted without the appropriate attachments. The Esko Riepula scholarship is applied for exclusively through this electronic form.

NOTE2! If you are applying for a grant e.g., for language editing, please request a quote in advance either from Acolad Finland Oy or from Lingsoft Language Services Oy before submitting the form. The Esko Riepula grant recipients are subject to the university’s procurement guidelines, which state that the service must be ordered from the aforementioned companies. Scribendi can be used if others are unable to fulfil the assignment.

Contact information:
Doctoral School, tutkijakoulu (at) ulapland.fi

Payment procedure:
If your application is successful, the grant will be paid monthly to your account by the university’s payroll. Costs incurring from translation and proofreading are paid according to real costs. They are paid to the applicant against receipts, or – alternatively – the invoices are addressed directly to the University of Lapland.

Please note:
If you receive a grant of at least four (4) months in Finland for the purpose of research or artistic work in Finland, you are required to take a pension and accident insurance (MYEL insurance). The Farmers’ Social Insurance Institution (Mela) handles the statutory earnings-related pension and occupational accident insurances of Finnish farmers, and also those of grant or scholarship recipients. Under certain conditions, the insurance is also required by scholarships obtained abroad. The insurance obligation applies to both those who have received a personal grant and those who work in a group with the grant. The insurance obligation does not concern grants that are intended to cover expenses, such as travel grants.

Statutory pension insurance for grant and scholarship recipients (MYEL)

Leaflet on grants provided by the Finnish Union of University Researchers and Teachers

Last updated: 22.10.2025