The Turku Institute for Advanced Studies (TIAS) at the University of Turku invites applications for four Postdoctoral Fellow positions and four Collegium Fellow positions. All eight positions are offered for a three-year period starting from 1 September 2027. Applications are open across disciplines represented in TIAS’s five constituent faculties: Economics, Education, Humanities, Law and Social Sciences.
TIAS Fellowships 2027 at a Glance
| Host | Turku Institute for Advanced Studies (TIAS), University of Turku |
|---|---|
| Country | Finland |
| Total positions | 8 |
| Postdoctoral Fellow positions | 4 · official employment title: Postdoctoral Researcher |
| Collegium Fellow positions | 4 · official employment title: Collegium Researcher |
| Duration | 3 years |
| Call opens | 18 September 2026 |
| Application deadline | 13 November 2026 at 16:00 Finnish time (GMT/UTC +2) |
| Fellowship period | Three-year period starting from 1 September 2027 |
| Fields | Disciplines within Economics, Education, Humanities, Law and Social Sciences |
| Selection basis | Academic excellence |
| Residence | Successful candidates are required to live in Finland and attend campus regularly |
| Last verified | 23 September 2026 |
Role and Tasks of TIAS Fellows
The principal task is to carry out an internationally excellent, self-designed research project over the three-year appointment and disseminate the results through appropriate academic and public outputs.
| Research | Conduct an internationally excellent three-year project and produce outputs such as peer-reviewed articles, books, book chapters, conference papers, newspaper articles and public dissemination activities. |
|---|---|
| TIAS community | Attend and present at TIAS meetings, contribute to events, participate in interdisciplinary work and support the academic and social life of the Institute. |
| Campus presence | Fellows are expected to attend their University of Turku campus regularly and are required to reside in Finland. |
| Annual workload | Full-time appointment of 1,612 working hours per year. |
| Teaching | Teaching may account for a maximum of 5% of the annual workload. |
| Other duties | Up to another 5% of total working time may be devoted to other academic and administrative duties. |
| Research abroad | A Fellow may apply for permission to spend up to three months per year conducting research activities in another country, with a maximum of nine months during the full TIAS Fellowship. |
Eligibility: Postdoctoral vs Collegium Fellow
| Fellowship Route | Eligibility and Career Stage |
|---|---|
| Postdoctoral Fellow | Applicants must have completed their doctoral degree by the end of the application period and normally must have passed the Ph.D. no more than 5 years before 13 November 2026. TIAS expects evidence of international academic activity and the ability to work in a high-standard international research environment. |
| Collegium Fellow | Applicants must have completed their doctoral degree and normally must have passed the Ph.D. no more than 12 years before 13 November 2026. Strong publishing/scientific work, significant international academic-network activity after the doctorate and ambitious research plans aimed at new scientific breakthroughs are required. |
Salary, Research Allowance and Working Conditions
| Postdoctoral Fellow salary | Requirement level 5 with a pre-estimated personal-performance percentage of 17% · current gross salary €3,938/month |
|---|---|
| Collegium Fellow salary | Requirement level 7 with a pre-estimated personal-performance percentage of 17% · current gross salary €5,295/month |
| Research allowance | Up to €3,800 per year |
| Additional development funding | Fellows may apply for additional funds for training and continuing professional development, subject to University rules. |
| Trial period | 6 months |
| Salary progression | Progress in personal performance may be taken into account when salary is determined during employment. |
TIAS describes the Fellowship as providing three years of funding for self-designed research with limited work obligations beyond research. The University of Turku also provides orientation and support for international hires.
Research Fit, Host Department and University Themes
Applicants must identify the University of Turku department in which they wish to be located and explain how their project aligns with that department’s research interests. Applicants do not need to contact departments or staff members before applying.
The motivation letter must also explain why the applicant wants to join TIAS and how the proposed research connects to one or more University of Turku multidisciplinary themes and areas of strength.
| 1 | New technologies and digitalisation |
|---|---|
| 2 | Health, diagnostics and drug development |
| 3 | Children, young people and learning |
| 4 | Cultural memory and social change |
| 5 | Biodiversity and sustainability |
How to Apply and Required Documents
Applications must be submitted through the University of Turku electronic recruitment system. The official TIAS instructions page contains the application-form links for both routes.
Six Required Documents
| 1. Doctoral certificate | Copy of doctoral certificate. If it is not in English, Finnish or Swedish, an official English translation is required. If the degree is completed but the certificate is pending, official confirmation of successful completion may be submitted. |
|---|---|
| 2. Curriculum vitae | Maximum 2 pages and must follow the TIAS CV template. Any career-break justification affecting the Ph.D.-age limit should be stated here. |
| 3. List of publications | Maximum 2 pages. Clearly identify the 5 most important publications in relation to the research plan. Translate non-English titles into English. |
| 4. Research plan | Maximum 25,000 characters without spaces. Must follow the official TIAS research-plan template and character limit strictly. |
| 5. Research plan abstract | 1 page; maximum 2,500 characters without spaces. Must include applicant name/degree, research title, proposed host department, summary of aims/material/methods and up to 5 keywords. |
| 6. Motivation letter | Maximum 2 pages and must follow the official TIAS motivation-letter template. |
Formatting and Upload Rules
- All attachments must be in PDF format.
- Maximum attachment file size: 10 MB.
- Documents must be written in English using Times New Roman, font size 12.
- Footnotes and tables must be at least font size 10; text inside maps/pictures must be at least font size 9.
- Text in maps, pictures, tables, footnotes, bibliography and similar elements counts toward applicable character limits.
- Name attachments using the applicant’s surname and document title.
- Upload the research-plan abstract and motivation letter as Other attachments in the application form.
- Incomplete applications or applications that do not follow the stated structure and limits may be deemed ineligible.
Research Plan Expectations
The research plan should address the project’s background and significance, objectives and methods, interdisciplinary dimensions, implementation timetable, expected publications/outputs, dissemination and open-access strategy, national and international collaboration, linkage with University of Turku research and multidisciplinary themes, bibliography and relevant ethical issues.
Motivation Letter Focus
The motivation letter should explain why the research should be carried out at TIAS and its constituent faculties; how the applicant’s research, contacts, supervision and teaching experience will benefit TIAS and the University; how the three-year period will advance the applicant’s professional development; how the applicant will contribute to the interdisciplinary TIAS community; how the project supports the University’s research profile and multidisciplinary themes; and how the proposal is interdisciplinary.
Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Proposal
Evaluation and Selection Process
TIAS uses a multi-stage international evaluation process. Eligibility is checked first, followed by departmental/faculty shortlisting and external review.
| Eligibility and shortlisting | Applicants are informed of the shortlisting result by email by 15 February 2027. |
|---|---|
| External evaluation | February–April 2027. Shortlisted applications are evaluated by external reviewers; TIAS states that the majority of reviewers are based outside Finland. |
| Final decision | The TIAS Board of Management makes the final selection based on the external evaluations. The TIAS Ethical Advisor checks ethical issues in top applications. |
| Applicant notification | Decisions are communicated in May 2027. |
| Public results | Final results are published on the programme website no later than June 2027. |
| Acceptance | Selected applicants are requested to accept within two weeks; otherwise the position may pass to the highest-ranked reserve-list candidate. |
External Review Criteria
Reviewers rank applications on a 1–6 scale using the following criteria:
- Previous academic achievements relative to career stage.
- Quality and three-year feasibility of the research plan.
- Theoretical and methodological framework.
- Proposed publications and outputs, including career-development potential.
- Overall assessment, which is not simply a mathematical average of the sub-ratings.
Reviewers also comment on ethical issues associated with the proposed research, although ethical issues are not assigned a numerical grade.
Eligible Host Faculties, Departments and Units
Applicants select the proposed host department/unit in the application form. The current TIAS instructions list the following eligible areas.
| Faculty of Education | Department of Education; Department of Teacher Education. |
|---|---|
| Faculty of Humanities | Archaeology; Art History; Comparative Literature; Cultural and Experience Tourism; Cultural Heritage Studies; Cultural History; Cultural Management; Digital Culture; European and World History; European Ethnology; Finnish History; Finnish Literature; Folkloristics; Gender Studies; Landscape Studies; Media Studies; Museology; Musicology; Study of Religion; Applied Language Studies; Chinese; Classics; Digital Language Studies; English; Estonian Language and Culture; Finnish and Finno-Ugric Languages; French; German; Hungarian Language and Culture; Italian; North American Studies; Scandinavian Languages; Spanish; Translation Studies. |
| Faculty of Law | Faculty of Law. |
| Faculty of Social Sciences | INVEST Flagship; Speech-Language Pathology (Logopedics); Psychology; Philosophy; Contemporary History; Political Science; John Morton Center for North American Studies; Centre for East Asian Studies; Social Policy; Social Work; Sociology; Economic Sociology. |
| Turku School of Economics | Management and Organisation; Information Systems Science; Entrepreneurship; Accounting and Finance; Quantitative Methods in Management; Business Law; Marketing; International Business; Operations and Supply Chain Management; Economic Geography; Pan-European Institute; Department of Economics; Finland Futures Research Centre. |
Information Session: 28 September 2026
An online information session for applicants will be held on Monday, 28 September 2026, from 14:00 to 16:00 Finnish time (GMT/UTC +3). The session covers both the TIAS Call for Postdoctoral and Collegium Fellow positions and the TIES2 MSCA COFUND Fellowship Call. The TIAS Director will introduce the calls, explain the application and review process and answer questions.
About TIAS and the University of Turku
Founded in 2008, the Turku Institute for Advanced Studies promotes cutting-edge research in the humanities and social sciences through the University of Turku’s five constituent faculties. TIAS aims to build an interdisciplinary community dedicated to research excellence.
The current applicant instructions describe TIAS as having more than 18 years of research and career-development experience. As of 2026, TIAS reports that 27% of its 129 alumni are full professors, 10% are associate professors or equivalent and 50% work in other academic roles.
The University of Turku is an international academic community of approximately 25,000 students and staff in Southwest Finland. The University emphasizes multidisciplinary research, research infrastructure and international collaboration, and provides support and orientation for international employees relocating to Finland.
Pre-Submission Checklist
- Choose only one TIAS route: Postdoctoral or Collegium Fellow
- Confirm Ph.D.-completion date against the 5-year or 12-year eligibility window
- Document any justified career-break exception in the CV
- Select an eligible University of Turku host department/unit
- Map the project to at least one University multidisciplinary theme
- Use the official CV, research-plan and motivation-letter templates
- Respect all page, character, font and file-size limits
- Identify the five most important publications relevant to the proposal
- Address research ethics in the research plan
- Declare any AI use in proposal preparation
- Upload all six required documents
- Submit before 13 November 2026 at 16:00 Finnish time
Frequently Asked Questions
How many TIAS Fellow positions are available?
There are eight positions: four Postdoctoral Fellows and four Collegium Fellows.
What is the TIAS application deadline?
The deadline is 13 November 2026 at 16:00 Finnish time (GMT/UTC +2).
Can I apply for both Postdoctoral and Collegium Fellow positions?
No. TIAS allows only one application per individual researcher. Applicants should choose the route that best matches their career stage.
Do I need to contact a University of Turku department before applying?
No. Applicants must identify their intended host department and explain the research fit, but TIAS states that contacting departments or staff members beforehand is not necessary.
What is the salary?
The current gross salary is €3,938 per month for Postdoctoral Researchers and €5,295 per month for Collegium Researchers, based on the stated salary-system levels and pre-estimated personal-performance percentage.
Must successful applicants live in Finland?
Yes. Successful candidates are required to live in Finland and attend campus regularly, although Fellows may apply for limited periods of research activity abroad.
Official Sources and Application Links
| TIAS Instructions for Applicants | Primary source for eligibility, application forms, documents, templates, selection process and deadline. |
|---|---|
| TIAS Open Vacancies | Current call status and overview of the four Postdoctoral and four Collegium Fellow positions. |
| TIAS Website | Programme background, Fellows, events and institutional information. |
| Contact | tias@utu.fi |
Application requirements, templates and recruitment-system links can be updated during the call. Applicants should use the current TIAS instructions page as the controlling source immediately before submission.
