Professional Doctorate
12 Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences are preparing a proposal for a Professional Doctorate and a possible pilot in which the degrees will be tested. The proposal is about to be published during the year 2025.
Frequently asked questions
The Professional Doctorate is a degree of the same level as the academic PhD, but meets a different need. It is strongly linked to the world of work and focuses on finding new, practical solutions. The degree is usually carried out in the workplace of the PhD student.
The proposal arises from concerns about the weakened competitiveness of Finland, and the decline in its innovation capacity. In order to increase the competitiveness and added value of companies, we need to raise our skills levels.
Furthermore, we are lagging behind other European countries that have expanded doctoral education in universities of applied sciences in recent years.
The following universities are involved in preparing the doctorate pilot:
- Arcada University of Applied Sciences
- Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences
- Häme University of Applied Sciences
- Humak University of Applied Sciences
- JAMK University of Applied Sciences
- South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences
- Kajaani University of Applied Sciences
- Laurea University of Applied Sciences
- Metropolia University of Applied Sciences
- Oulu University of Applied Sciences
- Satakunta University of Applied Sciences
- Savonia University of Applied Sciences
This means that there is a very significant representation of Finnish universities of applied sciences – about 65 percent of all students in Finnish universities of applied sciences study at these institutions.
The work of the group is led by Heidi Ahokallio-Leppälä, vice president of Häme University of Applied Sciences.
Recent news and articles
Working towards professional doctorates
