According to section 37 of the Universities Act (558/2009), a person must have received one of the
following to be eligible for admission to doctoral studies:
- an applicable higher university degree
- an applicable higher polytechnic degree
- an applicable education completed abroad which in the awarding country gives eligibility for corresponding higher education.
The Universities Act further stipulates that a university may require a doctoral student to take supplementary courses to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to earn a doctoral degree in the arts or sciences.
According to Article 20 of the Degree Rule of the University of Tampere, a person who fulfils the applicability as defined in Article 37 of the University Act may be admitted as a student.
The university may require a person who has admitted to scientific or artistic postgraduate studies as a student to complete the necessary number of supplementary studies in order to achieve the capacity required in education.
In addition to their eligibility, the applicants' study and research plans and the adequacy of faculty resources to provide the teaching and necessary guidance related to education are taken into account.
The Faculty Council shall decide in more detail on the conditions and criteria for admission to postgraduate scientific and artistic degrees, unless otherwise provided or stipulated. The dean accepts graduate students to be admitted to the faculty.
Doctor of Medical Science (MD, PhD)
For doctoral studies leading to the Doctor of Medical Science degree, the faculty may admit applicants who hold the Finnish degree of Licentiate in Medicine or a corresponding degree from an institution of higher education abroad.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
For doctoral studies leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degree, the faculty may admit applicants who have
- earned a Master's degree in Finland
- earned a Master's degree or a corresponding degree in a country other than Finland
- demonstrated their knowledge in some other way.
Doctor of Health Sciences (D.H.Sc)
For doctoral studies leading to the Doctor of Health Sciences degree, the faculty may admit applicatns who hold the Finnish degree of Master of Health Sciences or a corresponding degree from an institution of higher education abroad.
Doctor of Science (Technology), (D.Sc. (Tech.))
For doctoral studies leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degree, the faculty may admit applicants who have
- earned a Master's degree in Finland
- earned a Master's degree or a corresponding degree in a country other than Finland
- demonstrated their knowledge in some other way.
Licentiate of Philosophy
According to section 23 of the Government Decree on University Degrees (794/2004), a doctoral student may apply for the licentiate degree after he/she has completed the postgraduate studies required for a licentiate degree as determined by the University. An integral part of the licentiate degree is the licentiate thesis, through which the student must demonstrate that he/she is well-versed in his/her own research field and can apply research methods independently and critically.
The faculty issues more specific admissions criteria and selects the students to be admitted.