Steps to start your Doctoral studies

Congratulations on your admission to the University of Lapland!

To secure your place, you must accept your study offer by the deadline stated in your acceptance letter. You can do this via the secure link in your email or by logging in to Studyinfo.fi.

Please note that you may only accept one study place per academic term leading to a higher education degree in Finland (Universities Act 558/2009). If you decide not to take your place, please reject the offer in Studyinfo.fi so your spot can be offered to someone else.

Your study right officially begins on August 1st. After accepting your offer , it’s time to register as an attending student.

If you’re not ready to start (due to military service, illness, or parental leave), you can register as “non-attending” (see details).

Ei-hetua:

You will get a personal ULapland user account, and you can start using it on 1 August 2025 (not earlier). Please activate your personal user account by following the instructions you will receive in a separate email later in the summer, before August. If you have trouble with activating your user account after receiving the instructions, please contact helpdesk@ulapland.fi.

On hetu:

You will get a personal ULapland user account if you don’t yet have one, and you can activate and start using it on 1 August 2025 (not earlier). Please activate your personal user account via https://iam.luc.fi/. If you encounter problems or do not have the means to log into the activation service, please contact hakijapalvelut@ulapland.fi.

TÄHÄN PÄIVITETTÄVÄ DOC OPISKELIJAN OLESKELULUVAN HAKEMINEN

This step is crucial for non-EU/EEA students!

If you’re from outside the EU/EEA/Switzerland, you need a Finnish residence permit to study in Lapland.

You need to apply online at Enter Finland as soon as you’ve accepted your offer and paid your tuition, if required. Please take care of documents you will need, including but not limited to : your acceptance letter, proof of health insurance, proof of sufficient funds, up to date passport and etc. You can also apply for your Finnish personal identity code at the same time.

You need to book a visit to your nearest Finnish embassy or VFS Global centre for identification. As residence permit processing can take 2 to 8 weeks, you should not delay starting the application. Once approved, you’ll get your permit card and if possible, your Finnish ID code as well.

Please note that proof of insurance is required for the residence permit (see the next step for details).

You do not need a residence permit, but given that you are staying for longer than three months, you need to register your right of residence after arrival at the DVV office.

If you plan to move to Finland, after your arrival, your key personal data – e.g. your name, date of birth, nationality, family relationships, and your address in Finland – are registered in the Finnish Population Information System. Applying for PIC can be done together with a residence permit application. If you don’t need to apply for a residence permit, you can apply for your PIC after your arrival in Finland.

When you have a municipality of residence in Finland, you have the right to use the services provided by the municipality, such as public health services. You can find out at the nearest service location of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency whether a municipality of residence in Finland can be registered for you. Read more on the InfoFinland page Municipality of residence in Finland https://www.infofinland.fi/en/frontpage. After you have received your PIC, you need to inform it to the Student Services at opinto@ulapland.fi.

You can start your doctoral studies already before you have arranged funding. Please find information on funding opportunities at www.ulapland.fi/doctoral/funding.

Doctoral students can choose whether they wish to join the student union. The benefits are more limited than they are for undergraduate students. Your study right will begin on 1 August 2025. The student union membership fee for the academic year 2025-2026 is 39 € (separately: autumn term 30 €, spring term 31 €). Please note that doctoral students are not entitled to health services provided by the FSHS (in Finnish: YTHS, website www.fshs.fi). More information on the membership: https://lyy.fi/en/for-students/the-membership-fee/

If you wish to join the student union, you should do so within the registration period. You can join the SU at other times only if you have very firm reasons and justifications for it. You can pay the membership fee electronically as you are carrying out your student registration. More information: www.lyy.fi.

TUKO3001V25-3001 Getting started with doctoral studies and research

Tuesday 12 August 2025, programme

Place: F2063 (Faculty of Art & Design, 2nd floor) and Zoom

• 10:15 Welcoming words
  Vice rector for research, Sari Lindblom
• 10:30–11:45 Discussion about Doctoral education at the University of Lapland
  Specialist Hanna Peltomaa & Coordinator Janne Väätäjä
• Lunch break
• 12:45–13 Checklist before data collection
  Specialist Hanna Peltomaa
• 13–13:30 Library services
  Information specialist Tiina Harjumaa
• short break
• 13:45–14.30 How to get started with your research project
  Vice dean for research Anu Valtonen, Faculty of Social Sciences
• break
• 14:45–15:00 Tieteentekijät – Union of Research Professionals
  Doctoral researchers Heidi Konttinen & Syed Musa Kajim Nuri
• Closing words, Q & A
  Thank you for participating.

We warmly encourage everyone to attend in person to network with fellow doctoral researchers.

However, if you are unable to come to campus, here is the Zoom link:
Meeting ID: 626 0239 0129
Passcode: 639588

Once you’ve arrived and settled in, it’s time to sort your local matters. This makes life way easier for everything from healthcare to getting paid for work.

If you have received your Finnish ID code with your residence permit, you can register your local address at the DVV office. DVV usually organizes pop-up events dedicated for students, and the exact timing of those are announced in late summer.

If you do NOT have a Finnish ID code yet, you can apply for it at DVV when registering your address.

Vastaus

Ruokalat ULapland campus jne.

Vastaus

vastaus