Astronomy Opportunities in Finland

Dear Student,
Thank you for your interest in Astronomy studies and research in Finland.
I am asked the question about such opportunities a lot from people around the world.
While I am not an expert, here are a few notes and resources that I started compiling to point people to.
This is a living document, which I will try to expand as I have time,
and please this is not an official document – you should do your own research and check the official websites of universities for their current regulations.
But I hope, this can serve as a starting point or as an inspiration in your research.
So, here we go, in no particular order.
Here is a website for the Finnish Astronomical Society,
https://www.ttseura.fi/rahoitus.html
You can check the funding  opportunities there.

Additionally, the way I found an opportunity was by contacting a specific professor who worked in the field that I was interested in. You might guide your research by other motivation, such as funding availability, personal working preferences, family considerations, and any other personal preferences.

All these four universities have Astronomy PhD programs.
  • University of Oulu
  • University of Helsinki
  • University of Turku
  • Aalto University
However, doing astronomy is possible in programs which are not titled “Astronomy PhD” and might be more applicable to your background/interests. And this will increase your potential list of schools in Finland/and funding opportunities.
For example, if you are doing statistics, maybe checking non-specific Astronomy PhD programs is worth it, if the project is astronomy-related. Here are a few links, but you have to do the research on your own, because it is not in my knowledge.
ELLIS institute, https://www.ellisinstitute.fi/
FCAI center, https://fcai.fi/open-positions
Example of website of a professor, https://users.aalto.fi/~ssarkka/ (Sometimes professors have ‘open positions’ advertised on their own webpages)

Other great universities in Finland

  • LUT university
  • Tampere university
  • Abo academy
  • University of Jyvaskyla
  • University of Vaasa
Some of these universities have SPACE programs , closely related to Astronomy/Astrophysics, and have ties to ESA etc.
I don’t know all the admission requirements, so please check their websites for that.
Please be careful that admission to PhD does not mean funding, at least in University of Turku, so you have to make sure that you clarify that with the university.
University of Turku has in Spring only spaces without funding, and in Autumn spaces without funding and also few spaces with funding.
It will be difficult to do PhD without funding, if you don’t have your personal finances, which usually people don’t.
You can also ask the professors you are interested working with if they have some funding suggestions.
Also, check the websites of your country’s embassy about studies because there might be some international or Finland-specific funding opportunities for your specific country, and also check international or your country-specific Finland-related foundations and organizations for funding. For example, in the USA, there is American-Scandinavian organization, https://www.amscan.org/fellowships-and-grants/
I also suggest for you to create your own website, which has information about your astronomy activities, and add it to your email/CV when you contact people, in addition to your Social,such as LinkedIn page (while the number is growing, still many astronomers do not use or are inactive on LinkedIn as of January 2026 speaking). However Social media pages, including LinkedIn are a great way to follow universities and astronomy-related organizations and groups, because they usually post their current activities there.
You can also subscribe to newsletters and monitor those universities/institutes for their current/upcoming calls for PhD studies and other opportunities.
The URSA , https://www.ursa.fi/etusivu.html ,  is the amateur astronomy organization in Finland. Maybe an avenue to connect via similar interests, as the Finnish Astronomical Society is typically reserved to professional astronomers to some degree. For example, there are amateur astronomy observatories in Finland! And maybe they have some positions available for summer internship or even to contribute to a paper publication (all of which will pad your CV with astro-related experiences and give good opportunities to expand your horizons in the field).
Good luck,
Maria

Additional useful resources

Jan 31, 2026 | Career conundrums, PhD tips, Quasar research | 0 comments

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