Doctoral Programme in Fine Arts: General instructions for doctoral studies

Published 27.2.2023 | Updated 18.3.2024

Applying for a travel allowance

The 2024 call for applications for a travel allowance is continuous. The maximum amount of all travel allowances varies annually depending on the funding granted to the doctoral programme. In 2024, the total budget is 6,000 euros.

All doctoral students of the Academy of Fine Arts who have registered as attending can apply for a travel allowance.

Criteria

The allowance is granted for both domestic and foreign conference and seminar trips. Priority will be given to applicants who are giving a presentation at the conference. The allowance is granted from the 2024 budget for trips made during this year. The allowance cannot be granted retroactively for trips that have already taken place. 

The application must be accompanied by a copy of the acceptance letter or email for participating in the conference. The allowance may also be granted on a conditional basis so that the allowance is granted if the applicant is accepted for the conference. 

The application must clearly state the destination, purpose, and time of the trip, itemised travel expenses and reasons why the trip is necessary for the applicant’s own research. The application must also include the supervisor’s statement of support, which the supervisor can also send directly to the doctoral education planning officer by email. Without the supervisor’s statement of support, the application will not be processed. 

The following guidelines are followed in the processing of applications: 

1. When granting the allowance for conference and seminar trips, priority is given to applicants who are giving a presentation at the conference. 
2. The allowance is for participation, travel and accommodation expenses. 
3. The prerequisite for granting the allowance is that the doctoral student has registered as attending, has an up-to-date personal study plan (PSP), and has actively progressed in their studies. 
4. The theme of the conference must meet the needs of the research, that is, it must be appropriate regarding the topic and stage of the studies.

Applying for the allowance

The following must be attached to the application: 

1. A copy of the acceptance letter or email for participation in the conference
2. The supervisor’s statement of support (the supervisor may also send this directly to the planning officer)
3. Up-to-date study transcript, can be downloaded from Peppi

The applications and their attachments are sent as early as possible before the trip by email to the planning officer. Incomplete applications are not processed. 

Once the application has been approved, doctoral students with an employment contract must also prepare a travel plan in the M2 Blue system, through which the travel allowance is also paid to them against their expenditure records. For non-employed doctoral students the allowance is paid as a grant.

Decisions

The doctoral programme’s teaching staff processes travel allowance applications collegially and informs the applicants of their decision through the planning officer. 

Reporting

Conference trips must be reported to the CRIS system as soon as possible after the trip. Keep the original records, as the tax administration may require you to provide information about the grant. If the intended trip is cancelled, the recipient of the grant is obliged to return the grant.

Application for approval of independent study attainments

These instructions explain how to get credits from independently accomplished study attainments. You do not need to fill an application for credits from courses organised by Uniarts Helsinki, as these are always registered into Peppi by academic staff in charge of the course.

The degree of Doctor in Fine Arts may also include doctoral studies that are not organised by Uniarts Helsinki, such as conference presentations, publications, or by separate agreement, also courses organised by other higher education institutions.

Exceptions

These instructions are not for applying to have studies that are already included in a previous degree transferred into your doctoral degree. There is a separate application for credit transfer or recognition and validation of prior learning.

Additionally, you cannot apply for separate credits from such attainments that you will include as part of your doctoral thesis.

How to apply for credits

To include credits from things other than Uniarts Helsinki courses into your degree, send a credit application email to your responsible supervisor. Include the following information in the email:

1. A short description of what you are applying credits for. This should state at least “what, where, and when” as well as a description of 1–2 sentences explaining why the attainment is suitable to be included as part of your doctoral degree in fine arts.
2. Write down which study unit from your PSP this attainment should be registered to and how many credits you are applying for it. Please note the following additional details:
   • Conference presentation: Attach proof of the presentation into your application, such as a verification email or an attendance certificate. You do not need to provide proof, if your responsible supervisor was also present at the event.
   • Symposium: Attach proof of having organised a symposium into the application. You do not need to provide proof, if your responsible supervisor was present at the event.
   • Publication: Attach a link or file that includes the publication details into your application.
   • Studies completed elsewhere: Under the heading “Exceptions” above is a link to an electronic application form, where you can apply for credit transfer from studies conducted at another institution. A study transcript is a compulsory attachment in the application.
   • Some other doctoral level study attainment, such as a summer school for instance. Attach proof of attendance. If you want the attainment to be included as something other than optional studies, explain the reason why it would be suitable as methodological studies or general research skills, for example.
3. Your responsible supervisor decides whether the attainment is accepted as part of your doctoral studies and checks the correct study unit according to the curriculum, as well as the number of credits for it.
4. If the responsible supervisor accepts the credit application, the information is delivered to the doctoral programme’s planning officer, who will register the credits to Peppi. The attainment might be accepted as part of your studies with a different study unit or number of credits than you suggested, if the responsible supervisor sees that the suggestions do not align with the curriculum you are following.

You can apply credits from multiple study attainments in one email, but remember to add all the required information listed above from each of them. This reduces the need to ask for clarifications and speeds up the process.