Doctoral Courses
The Doctoral and Licentiate degrees include 60 credits of doctoral courses.
These consist of doctoral courses in the major and related subjects and doctoral courses in general methodology, or doctoral courses in the theory of science, or equivalent courses of a methodological character.
The courses that may be included in the required 60 credits in the major or related subjects are determined by the Degree Supervisor. Courses can be selected from those offered by Hanken or by other universities or by National Doctoral Programmes, such as KATAJA and KAVA (FDPE) in Finland or within the EIASM program abroad.
The courses do not have to be directly focused on the specific theme of the thesis. They may well be of a broader character within the major, or related to the area of research the doctoral researcher is active in. In some majors, all doctoral researchers will complete all or many of the same courses, regardless of the theme for their thesis. In this case, the philosophy behind the programme is to provide a deeper understanding of the discipline. The specialisation will then be carried out through the thesis. It is highly unlikely that a doctoral researcher within any major could find all courses related to their thesis theme.
The courses in general methodology and the theory of science are offered to all doctoral researchers, irrespective of their major. Such courses are offered by Hanken and other universities or by National Doctoral Programmes, such as KATAJA and KAVA (FDPE). Courses may also be completed abroad.
Once doctoral researchers have completed 60 credits according to the above requirements, they are permitted to take additional courses. These courses do not have to be approved by the degree supervisor nor be registered at Hanken's Office for study affairs as "extra" studies. Researchers should retain their diplomas or certificates and the extra courses completed can be added to their CVs. Note that if there is a limit on the number of participants in a course, preference will be given to those researchers who actually need that course for their degree.
Doctoral courses expire ten years after their completion, unless the degree has been completed within that time period.
Non-credit courses and other non-credit activities
In addition to courses that are included in the degree, doctoral researcher are expected to take part also in other activities in order to deepen their knowledge of research and the discipline, and in order to get feedback on their thesis project. Such activities include conferences, short seminars, tutorials and workshops. The degree supervisor is the person who decides which of these activities can be credit-bearing. An event that only requires a doctoral researcher's presence and the presentation of a research paper will not provide credits, but the experience will useful. Contacts with others in the same field will also be useful and might provide valuable help in writing the thesis.
Professional development courses will not provide credits for the degree. For instance, a course in pedagogics to enhance a doctoral researcher's teaching skills cannot be regarded as a part of the doctoral degree. On the other hand, the experience from such a course will most probably be very valuable to you professionally. Such courses should be added to the doctoral researcher's CV.
Courses and degrees completed before admission to doctoral studies, and which have been regarded as meeting eligibility requirements for undertaking doctoral studies at Hanken cannot be included in either doctoral or licentiate degrees.
Credits will not be awarded for the licentiate seminar, practical work experience or language courses.