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Students selected to take part in the School of Business's doctoral programme can complete a doctoral or licentiate degree in business or a doctorate in philosophy. New doctoral candidates are selected to the four year programme through an application process once every year. The new application period for the Doctoral Programme in Business, Economics, and Finance began on 4 October 2016 and will end on 16 January 2017 at 2 p.m. Finnish time. Decisions concerning doctoral candidate selections will be made during March.

‘The aim of doctoral programme is to produce high-level and multidisciplinary experts for national and international markets. Our doctoral programme is run in English, and is intended for candidates, who are motivated to work fulltime on their doctoral studies and produce world-class research,' Professor Janne Tienari, Director of the Doctoral Programme explains.

Our doctors have little trouble finding employment

An average of 20-25 doctoral candidates graduate from the School of Business's doctoral programme each year. After graduating with a doctoral degree, they have had little trouble in finding employment; many have continued to work in the academic world in Finland or abroad while many also work in companies they established even before starting their doctoral studies. Some of our doctoral graduates have been employed by large corporations.

'Studies that support research work (60 credits) are tailored extensively to suit the needs of the doctoral candidate. Doctoral candidates complete studies and write a doctoral dissertation in one of our 12 major subjects. Studies comprise basic theory studies, studies in an area of specialisation and studies related to one's area of research. Funding will be guaranteed for all new full-time doctoral candidates for at least their first two years. Funding will continue after the first year into the second year as long as the doctoral candidate progresses according to the major subject's requirements', tells Ritva Laaksovirta, Coordinator of the Doctoral Programme.

Study units and courses at foreign universities

The School of Business's departments and subjects are engaged in long standing cooperation with foreign universities. Many of our professors have been as visiting professors e.g. at London Business School, EMLyon Business School and at Erasmus University in Rotterdam. According to Professor Tienari, the number of doctoral candidates is rising steadily, and approximately one-fifth of doctoral candidates are foreigners, half of those who began their doctoral studies this year are foreign.

'Many doctoral candidates also incorporate courses, seminars and conference presentations conducted at foreign universities or in researcher networks in their studies. Students can apply for funding from the foundation for study units spent abroad. A considerable number of doctoral candidates also publish their work in the world's leading international scientific journals, e.g. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science and Journal of Financial Economics. Doctoral dissertations are nearly always written in English. Opponents are also often professors from foreign universities, many of whom are quite distinguished in their field of research,' Professor Tienari tells of the programme's internationality.

(into.aalto.fi)