Scholarships

The Donner Institute announces scholarships for doctoral students to be applied for the year 2025. Also grants to cover research expenses are announced. The application period is 10.1–10.2 2025. The electronic application form opens on 10 January at 9.00 and closes on 10 February at 16.00 (Finnish time UTC+02:00).

Application Categories

Scholarships for Doctoral Students

The research grants are awarded to doctoral students primarily working in Åbo and Uppsala, with priority given to doctoral students registered at Åbo Akademi University or Uppsala University. The scholarships are awarded only to formally accepted doctoral candidates, whose research focuses primarily on the fields of comparative religion, philosophy of religion or cultural studies to the extent that they pertain to research questions relating to religion in a broad sense. In selecting the recipients of the scholarships, the Donner Institute takes into account the will of the donors. According to the testamentary instruction, the purpose of the Donner fund is to advance the research on the history of religion and culture “on strictly scientific grounds”, primarily with a focus on mysticism and esotericism, but also by considering contemporary phenomena within the fields of religion, philosophy, science, art and literature.

Up to four scholarships are granted for a period of 12 months and two scholarships for six months, following the scholarship rate implemented by Åbo Akademi University (2,300 euros per month). Scholarships can either be raised for full-time or half-time research. The scholarship amount should be claimed in its entirety during the year in which it has been granted, or the following year (i.e., for this year’s scholarships, during 2025–2026).

Research Expenses

The Donner Institute also announces funds to cover costs that arise in connection with research work, such as costs for material collection, fieldwork, interviews and transcripts, implementation of surveys, infrastructure necessary for research, software and licensing costs, travel in connection with material collection, language editing, etc. The sum announced for application amounts to 5,000 euros total and the aim is to distribute it over several motivated applications.

As with the scholarships for doctoral students, only formally accepted doctoral candidates can apply for the scholarship. Priority is given to applicants from Åbo Akademi University and Uppsala University with a thematic focus in line with the Institute’s task and the donors’ will, as described above. The funds cannot be used to cover salary costs, full-time research or costs for travelling to the university where the candidate is registered. The funds cannot be applied for retroactively.

Evaluation Criteria and Process

The following criteria are taken into account in the evaluation of the applications: research idea, scientific quality, feasibility of the project, relevance in society as well as its connection to the purpose and aims of the Institute. For applicants, who have previously received funding for their research, progression is also assessed.

The Donner Institute does not grant scholarships to the same applicant two years in a row: a person, who has been granted a scholarship in 2024 is eligible to apply again in 2026.

The applications are evaluated by the board of the Institute. Decisions on scholarships are taken at the board meeting in March 2025.

The receivers of the scholarships undertake to submit a report of the scholarship period to the board of the Institute within 2026. Furthermore, receivers shall submit a short presentation of their research to be published at the Institute’s website. DI supports open science, and all grantees of scholarships for doctoral students are required to write a short news article about their research to be published in the online research portal Katsomukset (in Swedish) or at the Institute’s website. During the scholarship period, we expect scholarship holders to, in relation to their research, accept requests for guest lectures at the Donner Institute, Åbo Akademi University, Uppsala University or the University of Turku. All scholarship holders shall also send a printed copy of their thesis to the Donner Institute after they have defended their thesis, if the thesis is published in printed format.

To apply

Scholarships for Doctoral Students

The applicant should fill in the electronic application form and, as attachments, submit (1) a CV, (2) a list of publications, (3) a revised research plan and (4) a certificate of attendance (Finland) or valid individual study plan (Sweden/other Nordic countries). A letter of reference from the applicant’s supervisor should be sent directly to the institute via a separate link. The supervisor should address the relevant assessment criteria: research idea, scientific quality, feasibility of the project, relevance in society, connection to the purpose and aims of the Institute as well as progression.

The research plan (max 10 000 characters including blank spaces) should include exactly the following subheadings:

• Research problem
• Scientific background
• Theoretical perspective
• Research methods and materials
• Ethical issues
• Schedule & budget
• Research environment, mobility and international networks

If the applicant has completed her/his primary education in Swedish or Finnish, the application must be written in Swedish. The appended research plan can be submitted also in English. Other applicants may use the English application form.

Research Expenses

The applicant should fill in the electronic application form and, as attachments, submit (1) a CV, (2) a list of publications, (3) a revised research plan, (4) a budget that clearly justifies the sum applied for and, (5) if the application concerns language editing: an offer from the commissioned language editor. A letter of reference from the applicant’s supervisor should be sent directly to the institute via a separate link. The supervisor should address the relevant assessment criteria: research idea, scientific quality, feasibility of the project, relevance in society, connection to the purpose and aims of the Institute as well as progression.

If the applicant has completed her/his primary education in Swedish or Finnish, the application must be written in Swedish. The appended research plan can be submitted also in English. Other applicants may use the English application form.

For further information concerning the handling of personal data at Åbo Akademi University Foundation, see: http://stiftelsenabo.fi/privacy-policy-statement/. Read about the register of scholarship holders here.

For further information about the application process, please contact Research Manager Sofia Sjö, sofia.sjo@abo.fi, tel: + +358 50 362 3269.