Doctoral courses and curriculum
Find courses for doctoral students & information about individual studies and credit transfer.
Scope of doctoral studies changes to 30 ECTS
Aalto University Academic Affairs Committee, AAC, has decided to reduce the number of credits required for a doctoral degree from 40 to 30 ECTS. The change affects the Schools of technology (CHEM, ELEC, ENG and SCI) and ARTS, the School of Business will continue with 60 ECTS. The proposal was passed in the AAC meeting on 11 June 2024 and is in force from 1 August 2024. The Schools’ academic committees decide about amending their doctoral curricula for 2024-2026 accordingly.
The decision is based on discussions related to the national doctoral education pilot with the aim of shortening the graduation time. 30 ECTS is the number of credits that is required for the course work to be included in the study modules called General research studies and Research field studies. The doctoral thesis itself is not credited.
Doctoral students who have received their study right before 1 August 2024 can graduate with the current degree structure and scope until 31 December 2027 (or without any time limit if they have completed all the required credits before 1 August 2024). They can also transfer to study according to the new degree structure, if they so wish.
Instructions for the transfer to the 30 ECTS structure
Doctoral programmes will publish their new curricula in their pages in the Student Guide after they have been confirmed by the Academic Committees in the Schools. Once published, they will be available via the link below.
Doctoral personal study plan (DPSP)
Doctoral students plan their studies and research by using the five parts of the DPSP.
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