University of Jyväskylä, Faculty of Education and Psychology

Doctoral training curriculum

The Doctoral School of the Faculty of Education and Psychology forms a part of the University ofJyväskylä Graduate School for Doctoral Studies (JYUGS).The Doctoral School organises doctoral training according to the general principles of the University Regulations, Degree Regulations and the principles established by the JYUGS. There are two doctoral programmes at the faculty:

Doctoral programme in education (KASTO)
Doctoral programme inpsychology (PSYTO)

The Faculty Doctoral School has a board that is responsible for the following preparation assignments:

discussions and decision proposals on major definitions of policy (for example curriculum, the criteria for evaluation, structure of article-based dissertation)
responding requests from JYUGS
matters dealing with auditing of doctoral training and quality control
proposed decisions on problematic situations (complaints, statements)
principles of selection criteria of employment contracts of doctoral students and questions of justice (transparency).

The boards of the doctoral programmes are responsible for preparation of the following processes:

opening up application processes for doctoral study rights and salaried positions of doctoral students in the faculty.
reading, evaluating and making proposed decisions for the dean concerning the doctoral study rights and employment contracts
amending the curriculums and processing changes
proposed decisions on problematic situations (complaints, statements)
informing supervisors aboutprogramme level matters

The board of the doctoral programme in education is also responsible for the following tasks: preparatory tasks concerning pre-examination and examination processes (the formal examination of the dissertation’s structure and preparatory tasks of naming the pre-examiners and docentships).

Figure 1 shows the processes of planning, supervision and evaluation in the doctoral school.

Figure 1. Planning, supervision and evaluation from the doctoral student’s perspective at the Faculty of Education and Psychology

1. The aim of doctoral studies, degrees and the form of doctoral dissertation

1.1 The aims of doctoral training

To be awarded a doctorate, the student must complete the required postgraduate studies, demonstrate independent and critical thinking in the field of research, and write a doctoral dissertation and defend it in public (Government Decree on University Degrees 794/2004). The aim of postgraduate education is that student becomes well-versed in his/her own field of research and its social significance and gains knowledge and skills needed to apply scientific research methods independently and critically within his/her field of research in an ethically sustainable way. The student becomes conversant with the development, basic problems and research methods of his/her own field of research; and gains such knowledge of general theory of science and of other disciplines relating to his/her own field of research as enables him/her to follow developments in them.

According to the instructions of University of Jyväskylä Graduate School for Doctoral Studies one of the selection criteria is that the research of the doctoral students in the faculty must fall within the domains of research strategy of the department/faculty. In the faculty of education and psychology the domains are:

Interactionin learning, education and therapy
Learning- learning difficulties, cognitive development, emotions and motivation, digitalization, peer relationships, neural basis of learning, developing brains
Family and childhood - growth and learning environments, participation,parenthood and family relations
World of work -workplace learning, wellbeing, identity, human agency and leadership research
Teaching, guidance and education - Pedagogical research and experimental research connected to learning environments, development of schools, mobile and online interventions, internationality, cultural diversity and multilingualism, equality of education, wellbeing, democracy and human agency

1.2 Doctoral degrees in the faculty

As stated in the degree regulations, the students who are chosen for doctoral training are given a study right for the degree of a doctor or in case there is a particular reason to do so for the degree of a licentiate. The doctoral degree must be completed through four years of full-time studying.The doctoral degrees available at the Faculty of Education and Psychology will be presented below by the programmes.

Doctoralprogrammeineducation

Doctor of Philosophy (Education) and
Doctor of Philosophy

The major in both degrees is one of the following: education, adult education, special education or early childhood education. A doctoral degree consists of a doctoral dissertation and other doctoral studies (40 ECTS). The degree of a Licentiate of Philosophy (Education) or Licentiate of Philosophy can be aimed at as an intermediate degree whichconsists of a dissertation and other doctoral studies (20 ECTS).

The degree of Doctor of Philosophy is a doctoral degree offered by the Faculty of Education and Psychology is aimed for those whose major discipline at the master level degree is not an educational science. Completing the degree follows the regulations of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Education) for the most part. To be eligible for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy you must have completed basic and subject/intermediate studies in education subject or possess a written statement by their main supervisor stating that the applicant has completed studies equivalent to subject/intermediate studies in educational sciences. Moreover, it is recommended that the students who do not have their master’s degree in an educational subject should include in their doctoral degree some advanced studies in an educational subject.

Doctoralprogramme inpsychology

Doctor of Philosophy (Psychology)
Doctor of Philosophy

The major in both degrees is psychology. A doctoral degree consists of a doctoral dissertation and other doctoral studies (40 ECTS). The degree of a Licentiate of Arts (Psychology) or the degree of a Licentiate of Arts can be aimed at as an intermediate degree whichconsists of a dissertation and other doctoral studies (20 ECTS).

1.3 The form of the dissertation at the faculty

Doctoral programme in education.The doctoral dissertation must be an independent piece of research in the field of educational sciences. It can be a monograph or an article-based doctoral dissertation.

1) Article/compilation dissertationconsists of a summary and three articles.

at least two of the articles must be published (paper, online, preprint) oraccepted for publication in a scientific, international, peer-reviewed journal or edited book and
one article/manuscript can be either submitted to a scientific, international, peer-reviewed journal or edited book (notconference proceedings)ora Finnish article published or accepted for publication in a journal which is ranked at least Level 2 by the Publication Forum.When the article-based doctoral dissertation contains a manuscript, whichhas not yet been published, the pre-examiners and the opponents are advised to pay special attention to the quality of the manuscript.

2) A monographis an independent written report of research that does not contain any manuscripts or articles by the author.

Doctoral programme in psychology. The doctoral dissertation must be an independent piece of researh in the field of psychology. It can be a monograph or an article-based doctoral dissertation.

1)Article/compilation dissertation consists of a summary and three articles.

at least two of the articles must be published (paper, online, preprint) or accepted for publication in a scientific, international, peer-reviewed journal or edited book and
one article/manuscript can be either submitted to a scientific, international, peer-reviewed journal or edited book (not conference proceedings)

2) A monograph is an independent written report of research that does not contain any manuscripts or articles by the author.

Doctoral programme in education and Doctoral programme in psychology: Peer review carried out by the editor of the publication is not accepted as a scientific peer review process. Instead, the peer review must be carried out by outside reviewers or the like. Chapters in an edited book must also be peer reviewed. In the case of an edited book, a text in the proofreading phase is regarded as published. The candidate must be the primary author in at least three of the articles if they are co-authored publications. It is not necessary to repeat the empirical findings in the summary. A licentiate study published as a monograph can not form a part of thedoctoral dissertation as such, instead, it is possible to write articles based on the results of the licentiate study and include them in the doctoral dissertation. The dissertation may be written in Finnish, Swedish, English, or in another language approved by the faculty.

The publications of article/compilation dissertations must be saved to our university’s JYX digital archive according to the principles of open science.

2. Application for doctoral studies, supervision and follow-up activities

2.1 Eligibility and selection criteria

Eligibility based on the Universities Act:According to the Universities Act (558/2009, section 37), eligible for studies leading to an academic or artistic postgraduate degree shall be a person who has completed (1) an applicable higher (= master’s / second-cycle) university degree; (2) an applicable higher polytechnic (= Finnish university of applied sciences) degree; or (3) an applicable education completed abroad which in the awarding country gives eligibility for corresponding higher education. The university may require a student admitted to study for an academic or artistic postgraduate degree to complete supplementary studies in order to acquire readiness for the studies.

In the selection for doctoral training instructions of the university will be followed (check out the university website concerning application periods, language requirements and special conditions; General selection criteria).

Selection criteria for doctoral training

Applicant’s knowledge and skills
-success in master’s degree studies or equivalent foreign studies
-suitable language skills needed in the studies
Research topic
-research topic falling within the department/faculty research strategy
-quality and realism of research plan and study plan

Supervision
-availability of competent supervision and sufficiency of supervision resources

Commitment

- doctoral student’s commitment to completing the studies

Doctoral programme in education:In order to pursue a doctoral (or a licentiate) degree you must have in the master’s degree the grade good knowledge (Finnish: hyvättiedot) in the advanced (laudatur) studies of adult education, special education, educationor early childhood education. Furthermore, the master’s thesis included in your master’s degree should be good (at least good, 3 on a 5-grade scale, or cum laude approbatur).

Persons holding a Finnish master’s degree with a major subject from a field other than education, or a degree from a foreign university equivalent to a Finnish master’s degree or other qualifications accepted by the Faculty as an equivalent to a Finnish master’s degree can apply for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Applicants for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy must, however, have completed basic and subject/intermediate studies in an educational subject or possess a written statement by their main supervisor, stating that the applicant has completed studies equivalent to subject/intermediate studies in educational sciences.Pedagogical studies of subject teacher education or pedagogical studies for teachers completed at some other university prior to1997 do not necessarily equal with intermediate studies of education. Pedagogical studies completed at a vocational university of applied sciences do not equal with intermediate studies of education as they are.

The elaborated selection criteria are the following:

research topic must fall within the faculty research strategy

quality and realism of research plan and study plan in addition to following good conduct of research (see the instructions of the University of Jyväskylä Ethical Committee)
availability of competent supervision and sufficiency of supervision resources
doctoral student’s commitment to completing the studies (schedule, study and funding plan)

Doctoral programme in psychology:In order to pursue a doctoral degree in psychology you must have completedthe advanced (laudatur) studies of psychology. Furthermore, the master’s thesis included in your master’s degree should be good (at least good, 3 on a 5-grade scale, or cum laude approbatur).

In the Faculty of Education and Psychology a right to pursue a doctoral degree in psychology can be granted to a person who has completed a previous degree mentioned before or who has otherwise been evaluated to have the ability to perform doctoral studies in the field of psychology. Major discipline studies can be completed during doctoral studies.

2.2 Supervision

Degree regulations of the University of Jyväskylä, section18: “Each postgraduate student shall have a personal supervisor-in-charge, nominated by the faculty or the department. The supervisor-in-charge must have an employment relationship with the University of Jyväskylä, a doctoral degree and sufficient academic merits. In order to ensure continuity of supervision and guidance, a new supervisor-in-charge shall be nominated for the postgraduate student if the first supervisor discontinues the task.”

Doctoral programme in education: The supervisor-in-charge is a professor at thefaculty ofeducation and psychology or hasthe title of a docent (adjunct professor) and is a permanent member of the staff, or has a tenure track position, or a position of an academy research fellow in the faculty. All other supervisors must have doctoral degrees. The supervisor-in-charge, who must represent the educational subjects in the faculty, bears the main responsibility of supervision. A professor of the Finnish Institute of Education can be the supervisor-in-charge if the other supervisor is a professor in the faculty.

Principles of supervision and activities of the follow-up group

At the beginning of the doctoral studies, the supervisors and the student agree on the ways in which they intend to work together. The doctoral student and the supervisors also agree on the aim of the dissertation, its schedule, supervising practices, and the studies to be completed, as well as on all the issues relevant to the progress of the work.The duties of the supervisors and the student are listed below (See also the instruction of JYUGS here:

The duties of the supervisor

Supervision: maintain supervision contact with the doctoral student; support the doctoral student, especially in the beginning of the research work when it is important to get the work started; encourage student initiative and motivation to enable completion of the degree; maintain continuous dialogue via supervision meetings, to be committed to the supervision, and to be familiar with the student’s progress.
Supporting the student’s progress: follow the scheduled progress of the research and the studies
Funding, participation and internationalisation: support the student in applying for research funding; encourage the student to participate and present his or her research in various forums, researcher meetings, and national and international conferences
Reporting and publishing: read and comment orally and in writing on the student’s research manuscripts; agree with the student on the contribution of each author in co-authored publications
Academic practices and research ethics: the supervisor familiarizes the student with responsible conduct of research, ethical principles of publishing and data management.
Expertise and career planning: promote the student’s expertise and qualifications as a researcher
Examination of the dissertation: make sure that the doctoral dissertation manuscript meets the required standard prior to submission for preliminary examination; participate in the choice of pre-examiners and opponents

The duties of the doctoral student

Supervision: be active in staying in contact with the supervisors; be the central agent in his or her own research and studies
Progress: be aware of the postgraduate curriculum and to keep the personal postgraduate study plan up–to-date; gather the knowledge and skills needed in accomplishing the research; keep the supervisors in touch with the progress of the research; report on the progress in the questionnaire of annual registration.
Funding, participation and internationalisation: be active in applying for funding; contribute to the development of internationalisation and cooperative networks
Reporting and publishing: provide research manuscripts for the supervisors to read as agreed
Expertise and career planning: participate actively in departmental and faculty seminars, in various researcher meetings, and in national and international conferences by presenting the dissertation research; those students who have position at a department will have development discussion and evaluative discussions related to the salary system of the university with their superior.

2.3.The follow-up group

A follow-up group is formed for the doctoral student according to the regulations by JYUGS. In addition to the supervisors, the follow-up group is to include at least one external professor or docent external to the research group in which the dissertation is being done. The follow-up group is approved when the study right is granted. The main duty of the follow-up group is to ensure that the student is able to accomplish the degree in four years.

The duties of the follow-up group are (

Supporting and follow-up of the progress of postgraduate studies and dissertation work and collaboratively refining the study and/or research plan, if needed
Supporting the doctoral student’s career planning and discussing postdoctoral employment opportunities with him/her
Paying attention to that the amount of teaching and other duties of the doctoral student is appropriate considering the target time of four years and does not prevent graduation within the target time
According to given instructions, reporting of potential problems with the progress or funding of the doctoral studies (to the steering board of the doctoral programme or to the persons in charge of doctoral training in the department or faculty
Verifying the supervisor information registered in the supervision agreement form in the annual meeting of the doctoralstudent and the follow-up group.

The meetings of the follow-up group cover the following issues: the progress of the student, the development of the PPSP, funding, and the student’s career plans. The follow-up group informs the vice dean of the faculty responsible for the doctoral training about potential problems in the progress or funding. A special task of the follow-up group is to deal with problematic supervisory situations. If no other solutions can be found, supervisors can be changed, with the dean approving the change.