Application for the title of docent: criteria and guidelines

Published 5.12.2023 | Updated 12.11.2026

Criteria for the title of docent

According to the Universities Act, a university may, upon application, award the title of docent (dosentti in Finnish) to a person who has comprehensive knowledge of their field, a capacity for independent research or artistic work demonstrated through publications or some other manner, and good teaching skills.

The university may award the title of docent to a professionally distinguished researcher or artist who participates in the university’s activities and engages in independent work. A docent has special expertise in their own research or artistic field.

The title of docent does not imply an employment relationship with the university. A docent is required, however, to participate in the university’s activities in the role of an expert in their respective field in ways that are agreed upon separately.

The title of docent is valid until further notice. The university has the right to determine on which fields it finds the docentship necessary.

Research-related and artistic qualifications

A docent must have acquired comprehensive knowledge and skills in their own field and proven their capacity for independent and original research or artistic work.

For a research-based docentship, the criterion is that the applicant holds a doctoral degree and has an approved dissertation as well as a track record of publications, with the research in the field of the docentship being of academic significance and scope comparable to another good dissertation.

An artistic docentship requires high-level artistic expertise in the field of the docentship and significant activity as an artist. The title of docent may also be granted to a person whose artistic, research-related and public activities as a whole are of high quality in the field of the docentship.

Two experts are asked to issue a statement about the applicant’s qualifications.

Additional guidelines of the Sibelius Academy

At least three of the academic publications that the person applying for a research-based docentship provides as proof of their academic track record must be published within the past five years, and preferably, some of them should be published internationally. All publications under review must be published after the person has completed their doctoral degree. At least three of the outputs that the person applying for an artistic docentship provides as proof of their artistic track record must be from the past five years. All outputs under review must be completed after the person completed their doctoral degree, if the person has one. If the docentship is based on the applicant’s artistic, research-related and public activities as a whole, some of the publications and outputs under review may be artistic and some academic. At least three publications or outputs must be from the past five years. All publications and outputs under review must have come out after the person has completed their doctoral degree.

The person applying for the title of docent must be nationally or internationally distinguished in their field.

Good teaching skills

A docent is expected to have good teaching skills. Assessment of teaching skills takes into consideration factors such as the applicant’s teaching-related education, teaching experience and feedback given to the applicant on their teaching, learning materials produced by the applicant as well as a teaching demonstration given by the applicant as proof of teaching skills. A teaching demonstration is required so that the applicant’s teaching skills can be assessed. The applicant’s teaching skills may be assessed without a separate teaching demonstration if the applicant can present a suitable recently conducted assessment of their teaching skills.

Additional guidelines of the Sibelius Academy

The applicant is required to give a teaching demonstration if they do not have an approved assessment of a teaching demonstration from the past five years.

Applying for the title of docent

The application process for the title of docent at Uniarts Helsinki begins with the applicant submitting a written application to the university. The application, along with its appendices, must specify the field of the docentship and state whether the application is for a research-based/artistic research docentship or for an artistic docentship.

Before submitting the actual application, a person interested in applying for the title of docent should first discuss the matter with the vice dean responsible for the academy’s doctoral education and research, the director of the Research Institute or a professor in the field and then submit a report of their research and/or artistic activities to the correct administrative body in charge of docentships.

The administrative bodies are the academy board at the Sibelius Academy, research council at the Theatre Academy, division for doctoral education and research at the Academy of Fine Arts and the executive group at the Research Institute.

Upon request, the applicant must also be able to provide a report stating how their prior activities form the expertise that they consider to entitle them to the title of docent.

Documents accompanying the application

1. A curriculum vitae, a description of artistic activities and/or a list of publications and other research work compiled according to the academic bibliography policy, as well as a description of the applicant’s teaching qualifications. Alternatively, these can be presented in an academic portfolio.

2. A maximum of five artistic and/or research publications after the completion of the doctoral research.

Submission of the application to the Registry

Preferably, the application and the appendices are provided electronically in pdf format. The appendices that cannot be provided electronically must be delivered according to the instructions given after the applicant has sent their application in writing.

The application, written in free format, is sent electronically to the Registry of Uniarts Helsinki: kirjaamo@uniarts.fi