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•  (grants to promote science, literature, arts and public education)
•  (grants for several research fields, for Finnish speaking researchers)
• (arts, science and various fields of cultural life)
• (research and education in soil and water technology, the improvement of rural water management, the construction of field drainage and as well as addressing the environmental issues concerning agricultural fields in Finland)
• (development of working-life)
• Foundation for Aalto University Science and Technology (grants for doctoral theses and research visit for researchers at Aalto Schools CHEM, ELEC, ENG, SCI and Department of Architecture)
•  (research on business and economics)
•  (research on municipalities)
•  (in Finnish; motorized traffic and agriculture)
• HSE Support Foundation (Business research, Economics; for Aalto University School of Business and individuals associated with it)
•  (high-level international research, arts and culture)
•  (science, art, and societal activities)
•  (scientific research in business and technology)
•  (humanities, social sciences and environmental sciences, artistic research; artistic work in all fields of art, as well as multidisciplinary work combining art and research)
•  (environmental protection)
• (Information and Communications Technologies)
•  (economic research, priority on cooperative banking operations)
• (medical and economic research as well as fine arts and music)
•  (only in Finnish)
•  (fields represented by the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries)
•  (Research on technology)
• (only in Finnish)
•  (only in Finnish; Business research, company management perspective)
• Yrjö Uitto Foundation (Business research; see info on HSE Support Foundation webpage)

School of Arts, Design and Architecture Support Foundation | Aalto University

•Artistic and scientific work and research, doctoral studies as well as international cooperation at the School of Arts, Design and Architecture.

HSE Support Foundation | Aalto University

•Aalto University School of Business and individuals connected with it

•Application period: February and September

Foundation for Aalto University Science and Technology | Aalto University

•Scientific research and teaching at the Aalto University Schools of Technology (CHEM, ELEC, ENG, SCI) and Department of Architecture (ARTS).

•awards grants for DSc theses on a continuous basis, with the help of industry-donated funds.

• Full-time grants: Grantees are not employees in the frame of the grant, but may have an additional employment contract if allowed by the foundation.
• Part-time grants: allow for part-time employment by the University
• Grants for mobility or research costs: To cover costs related to conference trips, research visits, research mobility or research costs (equipment, materials etc.), also salaried doctoral researchers can apply
• Encouragement grants: For additional encouragement to doctoral dtudents who are pursuing their doctoral studies, also salaried doctoral researchers can apply to supplement their salary

1. Find out
   • what their general purpose, mission, goals are
   • what kind of activities they want to fund (funding strategy)
   • evaluation criteria
   • if they have specific focuses / themes
   • if they have specific restrictions
2. See what they have funded before
   • List of grants often available on
3. Check the practical rules and instructions
   • Application forms (in the submission system)
   • Project plan template?
   • Budget template and rules?

• is targeted towards recently graduated doctors for gaining international experience through visits to universities or research institutions abroad (ICT)
• is a new program targeted to recently graduated Finnish doctors for research visits to universities and research institutions in the United States. (ICT)
• (PoDoCo) creates jobs for PhDs in companies and improves competitiveness

In Aalto ARTS doctoral students' own activeness in pursuing funding is very important, as the departments can offer a salaried positions only to a minority of their doctoral students.

Some departments are able to offer funding for the last 3-6 months to finalize the manuscript for pre-examination, ask for possibilities from your supervising professor.

Check out a list of foundations that fund artistic research and activities.

Overview 

The School of Business's doctoral studies funding is structured as a hybrid model that combines employment and foundation grants. This allows the School to extend its limited resources to the largest possible group of doctoral researchers. It also gradually introduces doctoral researchers to the reality of applying for research funding in academic life.

The School reserves the right to review and adjust these definitions and judgments on the doctoral program funding as needed.  
 

Funding for the first study year 

School of Business guarantees funding for the first study year for full-time on-campus doctoral researchers. The funding can consist of combination of the following components: 

• 50% employment contract with a department. This salary is taxable income. The contract will be done for a period of two years. The employment contract has a six (6) month trial period and will contain a mid term review after the first year to guarantee satisfactory progress in the studies and ensure active funding applications for the second year.
• A so called “half-grant” from one of several foundations. The exact amount depends on the foundation. Please note, that grants are tax-free income up to a limit, but a mandatory pension payment must be made from it.
• In some cases, 50% (replacing the foundation grant) or 100% (replacing both above components) employment contract with a department funded by a research project, with tasks related to that research project which should be highly synergistic with the thesis research. This salary is taxable income.
• Other funding the researcher has personally arranged (e.g., funding from current employer). The impact of such funding to other funding sources should be discussed case by case. 

Funding for second study year 

School of Business guarantees funding also for the second study year for full-time on-campus researchers that have progressed satisfactorily in their studies. The funding consists of 

• 50% employment contract as described in previous section. The contract is done directly for a period of two years in the beginning of your studies. This salary is taxable income.
• A “half-grant” from a foundation. The researcher is responsible for applying for the grant from at least four foundations. School provides a back-up funding solution if the researcher is not granted funding by the foundations, currently 13.000 €. Please note, that the grant is tax-free up to a limit, but a mandatory pension payment must be paid from it.
• Back-up funding: During spring, the school will poll the first-year doctoral researchers for status of funding applications. Those whose funding is still open at that point, will receive further instructions on securing the back-up funding solution.
• In some cases, 50% (replacing the foundation grant) or 100% (replacing both above components) employment contract with a department for instance funded by a research project. This salary is taxable income.
• Other funding the researcher has personally arranged (e.g., funding from an external employer). The impact of such funding to other funding sources should be discussed case by case.  

Funding from third study year onwards 

While the School of Business does not guarantee funding from year three onwards, there are several funding opportunities available. The funding from third year onwards can consist of one or several of the following: 

• The school offers a limited amount of 50% employment contracts on a competitive basis for third- and fourth-year doctoral researchers.
• A grant from a foundation, either a half-grant or a full grant. Please note, that the amount may vary from foundation to foundation. Usually, the foundations are open for extending a full grant over two years, if the researcher has 50% employment contract. The grant is tax-free, but a mandatory pension payment must be made from it.
• 50% or 100% employment contract with a department funded by a research project or otherwise, depending on department policy and funding situation. This salary is taxable income.
• Other funding the doctoral researcher has personally arranged (e.g., funding from an external employer). The impact of such funding to other funding sources should be discussed case by case.
• Please note, that Aalto University offers 10% employment contracts to full grant researchers fulfilling certain conditions. Please contact your HR for guidance and further information. 

FAQ on School of Business doctoral program funding (page requires login to aalto.fi) 

Foundations

One way to finance your doctoral studies is to apply for a grant from a trust fund. See the website for more information.

Some foundations are presented here in brief.

HSE Foundation – Scholarships and Grants

The funding objectives of the HSE Foundation are:
• research projects
• research and conference trips
• international exchange of researchers and students
• master’s theses and doctoral dissertations
• teaching and development projects

Foundation for Economic Education (Liikesivistysrahasto, LSR) primarily supports economic research and economic postgraduate studies.

The goal of this foundation is to promote Finnish research in economics and medicine and to maintain and support Finnish educational and research facilities. It also supports Finnish research in medical economics, overlapping with both the aforementioned fields.

KAUTE economic sciences and technology foundation was founded by Finnish Association of Business School Graduates and Teekkaritoiminnan Edistämisyhdistys in 1956. The purpose of the foundation is to promote economic and technological research and education.

The purpose of this foundation is to promote education and research in the area of top management, primarily in Finland but also internationally. This is done by distributing scholarships and paying lecture fees to visiting lecturers and by financing international scientific symposiums in Finland.

The Finnish Cultural Foundation (Suomen kulttuurirahasto) is a private, non-profit foundation supporting the advancement of Finnish culture. The aim of the Finnish Cultural Foundation is to promote and develop the cultural and economic life in Finland. 

The Heikki and Hilma Honkanen Foundation distributes scholarships to young, talented Finns in support of studies and research. In addition to student scholarships, the board may also decide to distribute researcher scholarships for licentiate and dissertation work in selected fields of science. This foundation and its scholarships are only for Finnish nationals.

The purpose of the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation is to promote and support cultural and economic development in Finland. Scholarships are primarily granted for dissertation work, subsequent research, and towards research groups.

International and national foundations

Many foundations provide funding possibilities for doctoral studies. Read more general advice for applicants here

On the table below you can find a list of some of the prominent Finnish foundations which could provide funding. Please note that the application periods given on the table below are only approximate times and the information is based on previous year's application rounds. Please check the correct times directly from the foundation's pages.

Finalizing funding (2 - 6 months) for completing a doctoral thesis manuscript for the pre-examination

• Only available for the doctoral students of Aalto CHEM
• Application calls are open for two times per year. Finalizing funding for spring 2025 must be applied October-early Nov. 2024, and funding call for autumn 2025 will be open in April-May 2025.
• Please see the more information about the funding from the application form
• The present funding call for autumn season 2025 is open from 28th April until 26th May 2025. In which the applicable funding must start within timeline August – December 2025.

We do not know when the next call for doctoral student funded positions will be organized. We will inform you about the call by e-mail and as a news item in aalto.fi, when it is time for the next call.

AaltoENG doctoral programme positions: the application period is until 12 September 2024 at 3 pm.

The Dean of the Aalto University School of Engineering has opened the call for applications for funded three-year positions in Doctoral Programme starting in January 2025. The number of open positions is 5, and EUR 33.000 per year has been allocated for each position. 

Funded doctoral student positions are open for students having a study right for doctoral degree in Aalto ENG and for those applying for study in right in the autumn 2024 application period. More information on applying for a study right is presented on the Application instructions web page. When allocating places, priority is given to students who are in the early stages of their doctoral dissertation, whose supervising professor is a non-permanent professor who does not have more than four full-time doctoral students. Only one of each professor's applicants can be admitted for a funded position this year.

The doctoral programmepositions will be filled in parts: 24 months + optional 12 months, based on mid-term evaluation. 

The following admission criteria will be emphasized:

• Study performance (B.Sc. and M.Sc.) – M.Sc. average grade clearly above the general average
• M.Sc. thesis – grade 4 (very good) or higher
• Applicant has been deemed by the supervising professor (in his or her statement) as having true potential for earning the degree within 3-4 years from getting study right (this statement should be e-mailed directly to ritva.viero@aalto.fi)
• Research and publication proposal including timetable
• Publications
• Previous funding
• Motivation letter

The applicant is requested to present in the application documents that he/she meets the requirements listed above.

Required application documents:

1. Free form application letter
2. Transcript of records
3. Research and publication proposal and planned timetable
4. CV and list of publications
5. Motivation letter
6. Report on previous funding (if granted)
7. Statement by the supervising professor. The statement should include an account of all the projects for which additional compensation is paid. Professors who supervise several applicants must rank their applicants in order of preference. This document should be e-mailed by the professor to ritva.viero@aalto.fi.

Applications for funded doctoral student positions are submitted by e-mail ritva.viero@aalto.fi

The deadline for applications is on 12 September 2024 at 3 p.m. All the application materials must be submitted in electronic format (pdf). 

For additional information on the application procedure, please contact Planning officer Ritva Viero, ritva.viero@aalto.fi,  +358 50-597 0610.

At Aalto School of Science, the full-time doctoral students primarily work for university research projects in school's departments or in other research units. Those applying for a full-time right to pursue a doctoral degree must have funding secured for at least 6 months (e.g. from the employer, or through project funding or a grant). The financing of studies must always be discussed with the supervising professor. The supervising professor can give more information about research projects in the research field.