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General instructions for Sibelius Academy doctoral students

Find basic information on the planning, supervision and progress of doctoral studies.

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Overall course of studies

Doctoral studies follow the university’s general academic year schedule and their target schedule is 4 years.  

At the beginning of your studies, remember

Take care of the following each year

  • Registration for the academic year 
  • Course enrolment and selection of supporting studies with the supervisor-in-charge (opintojen vastuullinen ohjaaja, or OVO, in Finnish). 
  • Meeting your supervisor (min. once in a term)
  • Doctoral seminar (1-4 years) 
  • Artistic components 
  • Reporting (CRIS)

When you graduate, remember

  • Preliminary examination of the thesis or dissertation 
  • Review of supporting studies with the supervisor-in-charge 
  • Examination or public examination of a doctoral dissertation 
  • Applying for a diploma 
  • Graduation and conferment ceremony 

Study planning, supervision and supporting studies

At the beginning of your studies, the doctoral school will assign you a supervisor-in-charge (OVO). The supervisor-in-charge is a Sibelius Academy professor or teacher who has completed a doctoral degree. You must make a written com­mit­ment to su­per­vi­sion of doc­toral stud­ies with the supervisor, which defines the tasks of supervisors, pre-examiners and students, among other things.  

The coordinating teacher of each study unit is responsible for reporting the completed courses to Peppi and, in exceptional cases, to the doctoral studies support services, from which they are transferred to the study register You can monitor your completed courses and register for courses in Student’s Peppi and Tuudo.   

Studies and cooperation in other universities

You can also include compatible studies completed at other universities in your doctoral degree. These studies can be included in the degree if they have been agreed upon with the supervisor-in-charge in advance.  

We encourage you to participate in international events and conferences as well as forums in the field, such as by making presentations, posters or writing articles. You can also earn credits for participation in conferences and writing articles.  

Read more about the Finnish Doctoral Network for Music Research (MuToVe). 

Reporting

Doctoral students must report any publications and artistic activities related to their doctoral degree each year in the UniartsCRIS system. The reporting deadline for the previous year is usually in January of the following year. Reporting reminders are sent by email lists. If you have any questions about reporting, email cris@uniarts.fi 

Communication channels

Information on education is sent by e-mail, and we only use the uniarts.fi addresses for official communications. Follow Student’s Uniarts regularly and read the internal Uniarts Helsinki newsletters.   

See Artsi for tips on how to communicate about your research  

Facilities and IT services

The general instructions for using and booking Uniarts Helsinki’s facilities and IT services and systems also apply to doctoral students. 

Learn about Student IT services, facilities and systems  

Financing studies

When you apply for grants, financial assistance and work funding, for example, from private foundations, you may request recommendations and statements from your supervisor, teacher or other experts Request the recommendation at least a few weeks before the application deadline and submit the research plan enclosed with the application to the person submitting the statement.  

Carefully read the instructions given by the party granting the financial assistance and provide the person providing a statement with the relevant information (e.g. a link to the statement provider’s online service or an address to which the statement will be sent). 

Jobs for doctoral students

Each year, doctoral schools make a few jobs with a monthly salary available to doctoral students. Students who have made good progress in their studies can be hired for these jobs. Information on job vacancies is provided on the university’s official email lists. 

Sibelius Academy´s support for the artistic components of doctoral degrees

Application period: ongoing

The Sibelius Academy grants support for the completion of the artistic components of a Doctor of Music degree. To be eligible for support, the artistic component must be part of the doctoral candidate’s doctoral degree, and the applicant must be registered as a doctoral candidate at the Sibelius Academy. The grant is awarded either as a tax-free scholarship (for doctoral candidates who are not employed) or as an expense allowance (for doctoral candidates who are employed), depending on the applicant’s current status. Failure to provide a report on the grant will be considered an obstacle to the granting of further similar support.

Criteria

The following criteria will be emphasized in the selection process:

  1. The artistic component must contribute to the doctoral degree (applicant’s justification, supervisor’s statement).
  2. The artistic component must be feasible (applicant’s justification, supervisor’s statement).
  3. The applicant must have sufficient evidence of progress in their studies (transcript of records).
  4. The plan for the artistic component must be carefully prepared, and the financing plan must be specified in detail.

Application instructions for grant applicants (non-employed doctoral researchers)

Grants are awarded on the basis of applications for the implementation of the artistic components of doctoral degrees. These may include, for example, venue rentals, material purchases, composition commissions, assistant fees, or travel expenses. The grants range from approximately €300 to €1,200. Please attach the following documents to your grant application:

  • A plan for the artistic component, describing the objectives, implementation method, schedule, and overall
  • budget. The application must clearly state how the grant being applied for will be used and how it relates to
  • the doctoral degree. The plan should be no longer than 5,000 characters and should be attached to the
  • application as a single PDF file (maximum 5 MB).
  • The budget should list all parties that have already funded or may fund the production (including pending
  • applications). If the subsidy is to be used for remuneration, also reserve funds in the budget for social security contributions amounting to 30% of the remuneration payable (e.g., remuneration of EUR 300 → EUR 390 including ancillary costs).
  • The applicant’s up-to-date transcript of records.
  • Send your abstract and the link mentioned in this application notice to the supervisor responsible for your studies (ovo) for the purpose of issuing a statement.

A report on the use of the grant must be submitted to the research and doctoral training support team within two months of the completion of the artistic component for which the grant was awarded (siba.docedu@uniarts.fi). The Academy has the right to reclaim any grant that has already been paid if it has been used for purposes other than those for which it was granted. Failure to submit a report will be considered an obstacle to the granting of a subsequent grant. The University of the Arts is obliged to report all grants awarded to the tax authorities. Further information on the taxation of grants can be found on the Tax Administration’s website.

Application instructions for employed doctoral researchers (expense allowance)

Support is granted on the basis of applications for the production costs of the artistic section. These may include, for example, venue rentals, material purchases, composition fees, assistant fees, or travel expenses. Attach the following documents to your expense reimbursement application:

  • A comprehensive plan for the artistic section, describing the objectives, implementation method,
  • schedule, and total budget. The application must clearly state how the reimbursement being applied for will be used and how it relates to the doctoral degree. The plan should be no longer than 5,000 characters and should be attached to the application as a single PDF file (maximum 5 MB).
  • The budget should list all parties that have already funded or may fund the production (including pending applications).
  • The applicant’s up-to-date study register extract.
  • Send your abstract and the link mentioned in this call for applications to your supervisor (ovo) for a statement.

Expenses approved in the grant decision will be reimbursed in the M2 system using an expense report, to which receipts and justification must be attached. Original receipts should not be included. Any fees will be paid directly by the Sibelius Academy to the recipient, who should contact the doctoral education support services. If there is a change in the recipient’s employment status, the doctoral education support services must be notified of the change.

Go to the application form
Form for the supervisor to withdraw their statement

Further information

  • siba.docedu@uniarts.fi
  • toni-matti.karjalainen@uniarts.fi
  • markus.mantere@uniarts.fi