Overview

Key Facts

The Commercial Law programme at Hanken School of Economics attracts doctoral students in many fields of Commercial Law, including Intellectual Property Law, Tax Law, Law of Corporate Governance and Labour Law. Hanken also currently hosts two important research centers related to the Department: the IPR University Center and the Hanken Center for Accounting, Finance and Governance.

Doctoral candidates are encouraged to work in close cooperation with other Finnish doctoral candidates in law. In addition, the Nordic Doctoral Network for Intellectual Property Law also provides cooperation with doctoral candidates in other Nordic countries; Sweden, Norway and Denmark. The Network arranges an annual seminar in one of the Nordic countries. In the past, doctoral students in intellectual property law have been encouraged to spend some time in research visits to the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition in Munich, Germany. Joint doctoral workshops have been arranged through a bilateral cooperation program with the University of Bayreuth, funded by the Academy of Finland and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.

Programme Structure

Courses include:

The courses you study do not have to focus directly on the topic of your thesis. They may well cover a broader topic within your chosen major, or relate to some specific aspect of your field of research.
Certain major subjects within the Hanken PhD Programme have set courses or course packages that are mandatory for all students within that major, regardless of their PhD thesis topic. The aim is then to ensure that all students within the major have a solid basic understanding of the discipline.

Key information

Duration

Full-time
- 48 months

Start dates & application deadlines

Starting 2027-08-01 00:00:00
- Apply before 2027-01-08 00:00:00

Language

English

TOEFL^® IBT

92

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PTE Academic

62

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IELTS

6.5

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Credits

240 ECTS

doctoral thesis (180 credit points) and complete 60 ECTS credit points of coursework

Delivered

On Campus

Campus Location

Vaasa, Finland
Helsinki, Finland

Disciplines

Business Law Legal Studies

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Academic requirements

GPA

B

GRE^®

158 _{(quantitative)}

GMAT

600

Applicants applying with a qualifying degree obtained in an EU/EEA country, need to fulfill the following requirements:

The GPA in the qualifying degree needs to be at least a Grade B (US grading scale), GOOD or equivalent or higher. You can check if your GPA meets the requirements by using the WES World Education Systems online grading scale conversion tool. If there is not an conversion table for your country, Hanken will convert your GPA on a case to case basis.

The specific minimum GPA requirement is:

70-79 (the scale used by Hanken 50-100)
3 (Finnish scale of 1-5)
Grade B (American scale)

English requirements

TOEFL^® IBT

92

Schedule TOEFL®

PTE Academic

62

Schedule a PTE test!

IELTS

6.5

Prepare for Your English Test

Cathoven AI IELTS Preparation

Learn your IELTS Score

AI-powered IELTS feedback. Clear, actionable, and tailored to boost your writing & speaking score. No credit card or upfront payment required.

Trusted by 300k learners
98 accuracy using real exam data
4.9/5 student rating

Other requirements

General requirements

A research-based Master's degree with good grades from a recognised university constitutes the basis for admission to doctoral studies. The Master's degree has to include a comprehensive research based thesis.

In order to be admitted as a PhD student the student must have sufficient and relevant previous studies in the field or major to which they apply to.

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Remember, countries and universities may have specific insurance requirements. To learn more about how student insurance work at Hanken School of Economics and/or in Finland, please visit Student Insurance Portal.

Tuition Fees

Tuition fees are shown in and the most likely applicable fee is shown based on your nationality.

International Applies to you

Applies to you

Non-residents

Free
EU/EEA Applies to you

Applies to you

EU/EEA Nationals

Free

Living costs

Vaasa

Finland

680 - 990 EUR / month

The living costs include the total expenses per month, covering accommodation, public transportation, utilities (electricity, internet), books and groceries.

Funding

There are three main potential funding options:

External grant funding from one of the foundations supporting research in the areas relevant to Hanken PhD students, for example the Foundation for Economic Education.