The first European Doctoral Day was celebrated on 13 May 2026. Tieteentekijät (The Union of Research Professionals) and The Council of Rectors of Finnish Universities UNIFI joined forces in organising a webinar that addressed the position of doctoral researchers within the university community, ways to support the professionalisation of research careers, and doctoral researchers’ participation in university democracy.
We received a wealth of excellent questions from the audience in advance for our panel discussion with docent Mikko Poutanen (Tampere University), vice-rector Anne Portaankorva (University of Helsinki) and me. Our discussion was facilitated by director of the doctoral school at the University of Oulu, Annu Perttunen.
Here I elaborate on some of the topics we discussed during the webinar. These reflections represent my own views and the views of Research Professionals, and not necessarily the views of our other webinar speakers.
Applying for and starting doctoral education and research
One set of questions dealt with the process of applying for doctoral education and research: How early should master’s students start preparing if they aim to pursue a PhD in Finland? What early steps can master’s students take to improve their chances of securing a funded PhD position? What alternative paths there are towards doctoral education?
Nowadays perhaps most doctoral researchers apply for and continue to doctoral education soon if not straight after receiving a master’s degree or equivalent. This is not, however, the only path. Even though current higher education policy strongly emphasises that the transition and continuation should be smooth, it doesn’t need to be hastened. Doctoral researchers study and work in different situations and with different motivations. For example, some decide to do a PhD after already advancing with their professional careers elsewhere. In our Union’s view, it is important to keep the possibility to do a PhD in different life and career stages. It is for the benefit of the individual, of the academic community, and of science and society in general, that there are researchers with different backgrounds participating in doctoral education and research.
It is important to keep the possibility to do a PhD in different life and career stages.
What is important to recognise and remember is that doctoral education differs greatly from other higher education in that pursuing a doctoral degree is both a profession and an education. It is important that universities and other members of the academic community, including us as the trade unions, provide proper information and induction on the meaning of this transition. That should include e.g. information on research careers and working conditions during doctoral education and after completing the PhD. We at Research Professionals have materials and guidance on these matters and happily support the orientation and induction of (new) doctoral researchers.
Progress and duration of a doctoral degree
One of the ongoing discussions regarding the development of doctoral education is the duration of doctoral education and how long does it take to complete a PhD degree. Currently, the average time to complete a PhD degree in Finland is approximately five to six years, but there are considerable differences between fields of science. In the national recommendations for developing doctoral education (2024) by UNIFI it says that “dissertation work must be planned in a way that it can be completed within the target time of 3–4 years.” At Research Professionals, we emphasise that this should be calculated as full-time research and dissertation work. Those who do not work full-time on their PhD cannot be expected to progress in the same way and according to the same schedule as their full-time peers.
The lack of continuous funding for the whole duration of the doctoral research is the most common challenge
Unlike in most Nordic countries, in Finland the doctoral study right and research funding for the dissertation work are separate. The lack of continuous funding for the whole duration of the doctoral research is the most common challenge that affects the ability to conduct full-time doctoral research. We at the Research Professionals oppose the initiative to limit the doctoral study right to a certain duration. Our statement on the matter can be found here (in Finnish). Our main argument is that as long as there is no system for research funding that would ensure full-time research without interruptions, the duration of a doctoral study right should not be limited.
What could be useful, however, is to compose a clear and joint definition for the content and requirements of a PhD degree in Finland. In this kind of definition, it can be stated in what time full-time doctoral research can be expected to be completed. This definition and calculation should refer only to full-time work, which is then extended by periods of part-time work and possible interruptions which can include e.g. family leaves and breaks in funding.
Career prospects of PhD holders
One of the topics that raise most questions is the career prospects after a PhD: How to ensure a smooth transition to postdoc positions or other employment? How the career pathways differ between academia and industry?
First the good news: the general employment situation of PhD holders is good as the unemployment rate among PhD holders is much lower than the general unemployment rate. Still, there are gaps and career breaks especially among early career researchers, as many of them experience unemployment during or after their PhD. This is mainly due to the fragmentation of research funding.
The latest career monitoring survey for doctorates in 2025, monitoring those who have completed their PhD degree three years before (in 2022), shows that circa half of the doctorates work in permanent full-time employment and about one quarter work in fixed-term full-time employment. The type of employment also corresponds well with the skills and qualifications of the doctorates as c. 44 % have research as their main duty at work, followed by teaching and education (13 %), planning and development duties (11 %), and client and patient work (11 %). Almost 40 % of doctorates continue working in a university three years after completing their PhD degree, which is a higher share than in most European countries where the situation between universities and industry is approximately 30:70. The results of the career monitoring survey can be found at Vipunen.fi, for example here.
The higher the education level, the better the employment situation generally is.
Career pathways can be various, as the PhD holders are also different in their profile, expertise and aspirations. It is understandable that the variety of careers can cause uncertainty as, on one hand, there is no simple path what to follow and, on the other hand, advancing on an academic career often means precarity and tightened competition over research funding. Therefore, my best advice is to be aware of, consider and talk about the different career options. And keep in mind the positive aspect even in times of uncertainty: the higher the education level, the better the employment situation generally is.
PhD, senior adviser Miia Ijäs-Idrobo
See also: Recording of the webinar, openly available until 31 May.
Press release: European Doctoral Day highlights the expertise and importance of PhD holders.