Applying for the title of Docent at the Faculty of Education and Psychology

Academic competence

• A doctoral degree
• In-depth knowledge of the field of the docentship. In terms of publications, this means that in addition to the approved doctoral thesis, the applicant must have other publications in the field of the docentship in question that are equivalent in scientific importance and quantity to at least another doctoral thesis of good quality. Research articles, book chapters and monographs will be considered. The publications should extend or deepen the research area of the applicant's doctoral thesis and demonstrate the applicant's ability to carry out independent, scientific research. For example, in terms of articles and book chapters, this typically means 4–8 peer-reviewed publications separate from the doctoral thesis or manuscripts accepted for publication, in which the applicant is the first author in at least three. The number of publications required depends on the importance of the scientific output in the discipline and the applicant's own role in the publications. In the case of monographs, the importance of the work for the discipline and the applicant's own role in the publication, if there are several authors, are also key factors. Applicants should include a statement of their contribution to publications with more than one author.
• In addition to publications, the applicant should have a proven track record of building an independent research career, such as funding or project management for their own research, involvement in thesis supervision, and active participation in international activities in their field.
• In their application, applicants should describe why they are applying for the title of Docent in the Faculty of Education and Psychology, how their activities are related to the research areas of the faculty and how they plan to participate in the activities of the faculty in the coming years (e.g., within the next five years).

Teaching skill requirements

Good teaching skills are required. This means, for example, applying research knowledge to one’s own teaching, developing one’s own teaching, and good interpersonal skills. The assessment is based on the teaching qualifications specified in the application documents as well as on the demonstration of teaching skills. Applicants for the title of Docent must give a public demonstration of their teaching skills, unless an exemption from the teaching demonstration can be granted on the basis of a teaching demonstration given within three years, which has been evaluated as ‘good’ at the minimum.

Language proficiency requirements

The Docent is expected to have the language skills normally required of university teaching and research staff. The use of a language other than Finnish as the language of instruction, degrees and study credits is regulated in the curriculum of each degree program.

Before submitting an application, the applicant should contact the Dean of the Faculty and/or the professor of the relevant discipline for a preliminary assessment of the need, eligibility and field of the title of Docent.

Before sending the application to the evaluators external to the University, the Docentship Committee of the Faculty of Education and Psychology makes a preliminary assessment of the applicant's qualifications. The committee may also decide not to recommend the application for external evaluation. This decision and the reasons for it will be communicated to the candidate. At the same time, the committee will give instructions on how to complete the application.

The Dean decides, based on the proposal of the Docentship Committee, on two external experts to evaluate the application. The selected experts will be provided with the applicant’s application documents and publications.

If the expert statements are favourable, the faculty members will assess the applicant's teaching ability. The evaluation will be based on the teaching qualifications specified in the application documents as well as on the demonstration of teaching skills. After receiving the favourable expert statements and a statement of the applicant's good teaching record, the Dean will propose to the Vice Rector the title of Docent to be awarded to the applicant.

The application and its attachments should be sent by e-mail to Faculty's management team: kptk-mgmt@oulu.fi .

The application and its attachments can be submitted in Finnish or English.

The application must be accompanied by the following documents, which must be clearly titled (e.g., surname_firstname_resume):

1. Application form form as a msword
2. Curriculum vitae following The Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity’s template for a researcher.
3. The field of the docentship. A free-form description of the scientific field of research related to the applied title of Docent and the applicant’s own contribution to it (maximum 1–2 pages).
4. A list of publications prepared in accordance with the Ministry of Education and Culture’s classification for publications. In preparing the list of publications, it is important to highlight international publications, articles included in an article-based dissertation and publications based on the material for a monograph dissertation. The publications must be numbered.

5. Teaching portfolio (maximum 3 pages), in which the following structure should be followed:

   - Teaching philosophy
   - Pedagogical skills
   - Teaching and supervision experience
   - Production of teaching materials
   - Collaborative development of teaching
   - Other teaching merits and any previous assessment of teaching competence.
   - Attachments may include, for example, student feedback on your teaching or other documentation of your own teaching.

6. Publications (according to the numbering in the list of publications). The publications to be submitted (4–8 publications) must be relevant to the field of the docentship and must demonstrate the high quality and breadth of the applicant's research, the timeliness of the publications, the applicant’s ability to contribute to new scholarly knowledge after completing a dissertation, and the applicant’s development as an independent researcher.
7. A statement of the applicant's contribution to the publications submitted for evaluation, where there is more than one author. The applicant should identify one’s role in the publications as clearly as possible.
8. Diploma. Applicants who have completed a doctoral degree at a university other than the University of Oulu must attach a copy of their degree certificate.