• • Doctoral students for completion of their thesis work, i.e., when there is less than one year left until the public defence. The grant is awarded for full-time research as a personal grant exempt from income tax. Tax-free doctoral grants are at the same level as government grants for artists (in 2024: 26 269,46 € per year).
  • Postdoctoral researchers can apply for personal grants up to €10,000 to cover living expenses and other research-related costs.
  • Researchers or research groups can apply for funding for scientific projects. This funding may cover for e.g. recruitment of assistant staff, performance of fieldwork or collection of empirical data. Such funding is always managed by a university or equivalent institution, which must give consent on the application form. The Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters can for specific reasons fund research projects directly. In recent years, grants for scientific projects have not exceeded 30 000 €.
  • Researchers may apply for travel grants related to their research. Funding may be granted for reasonable travel and accommodation costs. The daily allowance is paid up to a maximum of the amount specified in the state’s travel regulations. For travel that is part of a research project, travel costs should be included in the application for the research project.

  Members of the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters may apply for travel grants continuously throughout the year. More information is available here.

  If you are not a member of the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters, your application must be endorsed by a member who serves as a co-guarantor for the application and the performance of the foreseen work. This means that the member is required not only to endorse the application by approving it in writing, but also monitor the project and approve the project report. Applications that lack a guarantor are not processed.

The Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters does not award scholarships for master’s studies.

If you are not a member of the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters, your application must be endorsed by a member who serves as a co-guarantor for the application and the performance of the foreseen work. An application that does not have a guarantor will not be considered. Lists of members of the Society of Sciences and Letters can be found at the following links:

Ordinary Members

Foreign Members

If you do not find a suitable guarantor on the list, you can ask your supervisor for advice.

The Society’s research grants may be applied for in all academic fields except mathematics, physics, astronomy, and chemistry, including medicinal chemistry. Applications in these fields should be directed to the Magnus Ehrnrooth Foundation. On the application form, you must indicate whether the application should be handled by the Section of Biosciences, the Section of Humanities, the Section of Social Sciences, or the Sohlberg Delegation.

The Sohlberg Delegation handles grant applications to the Sohlberg Fund which supports postgraduate research within the geosciences (incl. geography) primarily about the natural conditions in Finland and the Nordic countries. Grants are awarded for conference trips, fieldwork and purchase of programs (not purchase of equipment).

In addition to the information filled in on the electronic form, the application must be accompanied by a customary research plan, CV and list of publications.  If you received a grant the previous year, you should attach a brief account of how you used the money.  The final report must be submitted no later than three months after the end date stated in the application.

If you are not a member of the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters, a statement from a member acting as a guarantor is required. Once the application is submitted, the designated member will receive an email with a link to the support form, which must be completed within 7 days.

The university of the grant recipient may charge a maximum of 10% of the total amount of the grant as overhead costs.

After submitting your application, you have 24 hours to make changes. After this, the application becomes locked. If you need to make changes after this time, you may contact us via the messaging function in your applicant profile.

Grant applications are processed by the grant committees, which are appointed by sections in the Finnish Society and Letters. In addition, there is a special committee for the Sohlberg Fund (research activities in the earth sciences concerning the natural conditions in Finland and the Nordic countries). The scholarship boards make proposals regarding the size and duration of the grants.

In March, the board of the Society decides on the award of the grants in accordance with the adopted budget based on the grant committees’ proposals.

The decisive criteria for the award of grants are scientific quality and relevance. When similar projects compete for funding, priority is given to applications from members.

A list of the awarded research grants will be published on the website of the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters at the end of March. Grant recipients will also be notified by email. To receive the grant, you must log into your profile and complete a disbursement request.

To receive the grant, log into your applicant profile and submit a disbursement request. More detailed instructions are available in the system.

Reports must be submitted no later than three months after the end date stated in the application. The report is submitted via the same electronic system used for the application. Do not send reports by email or mail.

The report may be freely formulated and should describe the main outcomes. Receipts for travel, purchase of materials and equipment, etc. should be attached. If the grant was administered by a university or institution, receipts are not required, but a financial report prepared by the institution must be included.  If the grant was awarded for full-time work or to cover living costs (research grant or doctoral studies) you do not have to specify the expenses nor send receipts, but please provide an account of the time during which the grant was used and whether you received salary during this time.

If you are not a member of the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters, a statement from the guarantor is required. When the report is submitted, the guarantor will receive an email with a link to the statement form, which must be completed within 7 days.

Failure to file a report will affect the handling of future applications.

The grant must be used in the manner intended in the application. If there is a need to significantly alter the research plan, the recipient must request permission to redirect the grant. If no request is made or if it is denied, the grant must be returned as soon as possible. Unused funds must also be returned.

Change requests must be made by logging into your profile and using the messaging function.

The Society has a legal obligation to inform the taxation authorities of all grants over 1000 euro. The awarded amount will be seen on your pre-completed tax return, but if the total amount of grants is less than 26 269,46 € (2024) the amount is exempt of tax. If a larger sum is paid to a research institute, you have to inform the taxation authorities that the grant is not a personal grant. More information about taxation on the Tax Administrator’s web pages.

Any questions about taxation should be directed to the tax authorities.

Mela is the Farmers’ Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Maatalousyrittäjien eläkelaitos in Finnish). They provide comprehensive pension cover and social security also to recipients of scientific grants and scholarships.

The Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters is obliged to report grants awarded to Mela when both the duration of the work and the grant amount exceed the statutory limits.

You have a legal obligation to apply for pension insurance if you meet the following conditions:

• Your grant has been awarded for work lasting at least four months
• The amount of your grant when converted into annual income is 4,506 euros or more (2024).
• You are not employed by the same body that awarded the grant
• You are between the ages of 18 and 68 but not yet on an old-age pension (for those born in 1957 or earlier, the insurance obligation ends at age 68, for those born between 1958 and 1961, the insurance obligation ends at age 69, for those born in 1962 or later, the insurance obligation ends at age 70)
• You are eligible for the Finnish social security system.

If you are eligible for the Finnish social security system, you also have a legal obligation to take out pension insurance if you perform your grant work outside of Finland, or if you come to Finland to work on a grant.

More information on Mela’s web pages

Any questions about insurance should be directed to Mela.

Regarding awarded grants and reporting, please use the correspondence function in the electronic sapplication system.In all matters concerning grants, please contact Office Secretary Anki Geust by email societas@scientiarum.fi or phone +358 50 435 5742.