Doctoral Programme in Health Sciences

In the Doctoral Programme in Health Sciences you can graduate with the following degrees:

- Doctoral degree in Health Sciences (TtT)

- Doctor of Philosophy (in Health Sciences)

Doctor of Philosophy (in Health Sciences) degree is a degree to be completed at the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences for those who hold a master's degree from a field other than sports or health sciences completed in Finland.

The specialisations in the Doctoral Programme in Health Sciences are:

- gerontology and public health

- physiotherapy

- sports and exercise medicine

- health promotion

The doctoral degree consists of the dissertation and 40-60 ECTS credits of doctoral studies. Discipline specific studies constitute at least half of the required studies. Transferable skills studies constitute at the most half of required studies. In doctoral programmes, the curricula include compulsory studies in research ethics (at least one ECTS credit) as well as studies in open science (at least one ECTS credit) and communication studies with the scope of at least two ECTS credits.

To be awarded a doctorate, the student must complete the required postgraduate studies, demonstrate independent and critical thinking in the field of research, and write a doctoral dissertation and defend it in public (Government Decree on University Degrees 794/2004 ).

The objective of the doctoral education is that the doctoral student

1) has thoroughly familiarized themselves with their research field and its societal significance, as well as acquired the readiness to independently and critically apply scientific research methods within their field of study and to generate new scientific knowledge;

2) has become well acquainted with the development of their own field, its fundamental issues, and research methods;

3) has attained a general understanding of scientific theory and knowledge of other disciplines related to their field of study, enabling them to follow their development;

4) demonstrates the ability to design and conduct original research independently;

5) has effective and competent written and oral communication skills in their area of expertise and field of research;

6) follows ethical guidelines of conducting research.