PhD Scholarship•Finland · Helsinki

RESDOC Doctoral Programme (MSCA COFUND) at the University of Helsinki

Funding

Salary · Fully Funded

Program dates

TBA

RESDOC is an international doctoral training project at the University of Helsinki, Finland, co-funded by the European Union through the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) COFUND scheme under Horizon Europe and by the University of Helsinki. It will recruit a total of 30 doctoral researchers in 2026, who carry out a four-year salaried PhD within one of the University’s doctoral programmes. Research must connect to one of four interdisciplinary themes: infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance in changing environments; biodiversity and nature’s resilience; secure and sustainable food and water systems; and just socio-ecological transition. The project runs from 2027 to 2031.

Benefits & funding

  • Salaried employment: gross salary of about €2,900 per month, on a four-year full-time contract (2027–2030) under the Finnish university collective agreement
  • Annual workload system (approximately 1,612 hours), comprehensive social security, occupational health care, and paid annual vacation
  • Family allowance of about €300 per month gross (before income tax) for researchers with dependents or a spouse; long-term leave allowance and special-needs allowance where applicable
  • Structured training: the doctorate requires a thesis plus 30 ECTS of compulsory studies, of which RESDOC provides 20–25 credits (research skills, transferable competencies, a 3+ ECTS AI training module, innovation and entrepreneurship training)
  • A compulsory two-to-four-month secondment with one of 23 associated partners across academia, the public sector, and industry, with salary continuing during the secondment

Eligibility

  • Open to all nationalities — there is no nationality restriction
  • Hold a Master’s degree (or equivalent qualifying for doctoral studies), completed by the 31 August 2026 deadline, and not already hold a PhD
  • Less than four years of full-time-equivalent research experience
  • MSCA mobility rule: must not have resided or carried out main activity in Finland for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the call deadline
  • Willing to reside in Finland for the full four-year duration; not permanently employed by the University of Helsinki
  • Meet the University of Helsinki’s English language requirements (proof required by 31 December 2026)
  • Research topic must fit a RESDOC theme with available supervision

Application process

  1. 1
    Identify a RESDOC theme and confirm research fit and available supervision at the University of Helsinki.
  2. 2
    Prepare the required documents: a Europass CV (PDF, max 5 MB), a letter of motivation and doctoral study plan, a scanned degree certificate and transcript, proof of English language skills, and a research proposal with an ethics self-assessment.
  3. 3
    Submit the application through the University of Helsinki online recruitment system by 31 August 2026 at 23:59 Finnish time (EET).
  4. 4
    Provide proof of English language proficiency by 31 December 2026.

Program timeline

  1. Call for applications opens

    Jun 1, 2026

  2. Application deadline (23:59 EET)

    Aug 31, 2026

  3. Deadline to provide proof of English language proficiency

    Dec 31, 2026

  4. 2027

    Four-year doctoral contracts begin (project runs 2027–2031)