Grants for Master’s Thesis in Urban Research

Call has been opened for the City of Turku’s grants for writing Master’s Thesis in urban research. Call applies for students registered to and actively studying for a degree at University of Turku or Åbo Akademi University. The grant is applied in autumn with a research plan, when the work is ongoing. The grant will be paid next year only against a ready-made Master’s Thesis. Maximum 10 grants will be allocated altogether in the competition funded by the City of Turku.

The goal of Turku Urban Research Programme is to support academic and applicable research, which fosters, in accord with Turku’s strategy, wellbeing and activity of Turku’s inhabitants as well as competitiveness and sustainable growth of the municipality. Within these themes, the topic of Turku Urban Research Programme is social and spatial change in cities as well as a municipality’s opportunities to influence a course of change, whether by itself or co-operating with other actors. The research programme describes research themes broadly, but leaves it to the researchers to define the theoretical framing and the research questions of their studies. The applicant should familiarise with Turku Urban Research Programme.

Turku Urban Research Programme provides funding for Master’s Thesis that build on a theoretical framework and may produce results applicable in the municipality’s development. Evaluation of applications will focus on ambition and feasibility of the research in a given time as well as applicability and originality of the contribution. The desired applicability is insights into municipal government’s options to influence urban development or improve governance – with future orientation, but acknowledging the importance of historical perspectives too. The empirical research may, but it does not have to concern Turku city or city region, if applicability of the results can be otherwise justified.

The City of Turku has reserved annually maximum €20.000 for the grants and will provide maximum 10 grants, €2000 each. The grant is applied and allocated when the work is ongoing, but the grant will be paid only against a ready-made Master’s Thesis. It is required to be finished December 1st the next year at latest, but preferably earlier. The grant is tax-free income.

APPLICATION PERIOD AND DECISIONS

The grants can be applied annually, weeks 42-46. The application period ends on last working day of the week 46, this year November 17th 2023, at 15.00 hours.

The grant is applied electronically in Kuntarekry, the Finnish municipal sector recruitments service. The web service is available in Finnish, Swedish and English.​

Application in Kuntarekry (the link works during the application period)

The needed attachments are a copy of a recent study register sheet and a maximum 2-page summary of the research plan. Longer plans will not be considered.

The concise research plan must follow this structure:

  • Introduction: The background of the research and its subject matter, and the significance of the proposed research in light of this background.
  • Aims: What is to be studied and why, how is it based on previous research, what is the research question.
  • Research materials and methods: The research data and the method chosen for analysing these materials.
  • Applicability: proposal how the results could be useful for the City of Turku.
  • Work outline: phases of the research project.
  • References: a concise list of the most important research literature. The list of references can be the third page of the research plan.

Funding decisions will be made in December 2023.

Additional information

Research Director Sampo Ruoppila