Grants
General information
Application Periods
The Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation has two grant application periods each year, in May and in September.
The next May application period is open 5–16 May 2025. In May, only individuals starting their postgraduate studies in economics who have been nominated by their department of economics to the Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation are eligible to apply for a grant. In addition, these individuals may apply for an extension grant for their second year of postgraduate studies in the following spring.
The next September application period is open 1–26 September 2025. Grants are awarded for postgraduate studies and research in economics, medicine and health economics and for the organization of scientific seminars.
The Board of the Foundation only processes the applications submitted in the Online Grant Service during the application period. If the Foundation receives an application outside the application period, the Board may process the application only in exceptional, duly justified cases.
May Application Period
GRANTS FOR THE FIRST YEAR OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES IN ECONOMICS
In May, first-year postgraduate students in economics who have been nominated by their department of economics to the Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation are eligible to apply for a full-year grant. The grants are intended for full-time postgraduate studies aiming for a doctorate which begin in the autumn of the same year or in the spring of the following year.
Grant quotas have been reserved for the departments of economics in the previous autumn. In spring, the departments nominate candidates for grants within these quotas. The Foundation considers the suggestions from the departments when making its decisions, but makes the final decisions based on the normal grant terms and criteria of the Foundation.
Grant recipients may also apply for an extension grant for their second year of postgraduate studies in the following spring (see the next section).
GRANTS FOR THE SECOND YEAR OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES IN ECONOMICS
In addition, individuals who have received a grant from the Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation in the previous spring for their first year of postgraduate studies in economics may apply for a grant in May. These grants are awarded for the second year of postgraduate studies.
Grants are awarded on the basis of academic performance. The application must include the grades earned for courses related to postgraduate studies.
The applicant must ask their supervisor to submit an online statement/reference in the Online Reference Service on the Foundation’s website by the end of the application period. The applicant cannot view the statement and the statement provider cannot view the application.
MAY APPLICATION GUIDELINES
The application period is 5–16 May 2025. Applications must be submitted to the Foundation in the Online Grant Service by 4 pm on the last day of the application period. Decisions are announced in the beginning of June.
Guidelines for grants for the first year of postgraduate studies and instructions for filling in the application form can be found here.
Guidelines for grants for the second year of postgraduate studies and instructions for filling in the application form can be found here.
The applicants must comply with the the Grant guidelines of the Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation.
Grant applications may be submitted in Finnish or in English.
Applications are submitted online.
Access the Online Grant Service
September Application Period
The Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation awards grants for postgraduate studies and research in economics, medicine and health economics and for the organization of scientific conferences.
The September application period, which is open to all, is 1–26 September 2025. The application period starts at 9 am and ends at 4 pm. Grants may be claimed in 2026 and partly also in 2027.
TO WHOM AND FOR WHAT PURPOSE
All Finnish nationals or individuals, groups and communities operating in Finland are eligible to apply for a grant. Others may apply as well, provided that their application demonstrates clear, strong ties to Finnish science.
There are two types of grants: personal working grants and project/expenditure grants. Grants may be awarded for the following purposes:
- a personal working grant for postgraduate studies, doctoral or post doc research in Finland or abroad (3–12 months),
- The Yrjö Jahnsson Fellowship for a post doc research visit in the field of economics to MIT, especially for more mature post doc researchers or individuals working as (associate) professors (4–12 months, requires good oral English skills, an active presence and contribution to the activities of the university),
- Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation Fellow at the University of Cambridge (4–12 months),
- a project/expenditure grant for funding the research project of a group and
- a project/expenditure grant for organizing a scientific seminar.
The economics departments/disciplines may apply for grant quotas for students who are about to commence their postgraduate studies in economics in autumn 2026 or spring 2026. Instructions will be sent directly to the departments of economics in August.
Grants are not awarded for individual congress trips, but travel, visits and congress expenses that are directly related to research may be covered as part of a grant.
The Foundation does not provide funding for basic studies (e.g. theses at universities of applied sciences, master’s degree programmes, master’s theses, MBA degrees).
PRIORITY THEMES
In research in economics, the Constitution of the Foundation states that priority is given to research that explores monetary theory and wage formation, followed by public finance and other economic policy.
In medicine, funding is only granted for the following research topics:
- the health effects of lifestyle and environmental factors,
- genetic and omics research of diseases of public health significance and
- the health issues of children, young people and young adults, mainly research focusing on psychosocial issues.
In health economics, the priority themes in research are:
- health behavior analysis and
- health systems analysis.
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
The scientific experts of the Foundation assess how well the applications match the Foundation’s priority themes, the academic quality of the research plan, the applicant’s qualifications as a researcher and/or their academic performance and the appropriateness of the sum requested.
The research directors of the Foundation use the assessments of the scientific experts as a basis for drafting grant proposals to the Board. The Board of the Foundation assesses these proposals and makes the decisions. The assessments of individual grants are not made public and no separate justification is provided.
SEPTEMBER APPLICATION GUIDELINES
Applications are submitted in full in the Online Grant Service of the Foundation.
Before filling in an application, please read through the grant guidelines of the Foundation.
Applications that are submitted late, are incomplete or do not comply with the application guidelines will not be processed. The instructions concerning the number of pages, stated in the application form, should also be followed.
Grant applications may be submitted in Finnish or in English. However, applications for the Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation Fellow at MIT and at the University of Cambridge should be written in English.
The grant applicant must ask their supervisor to submit a statement/reference in the Online Reference Service of the Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation by the end of the application period. The applicant cannot view the statement and the statement provider cannot view the application. Statements are required only in the following cases:
- the applicant is applying for a grant for the second year of postgraduate studies in economics or
- the applicant is applying for a grant in medicine and has not produced any scientific publications yet.
The grant application should explicitly mention if the applicant is applying for the Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation Fellow at MIT or at the University of Cambridge.
The names of all grant recipients will be published on 16 December at 7 pm on the website of the Foundation. Grant decisions will also be sent by e-mail. If no grant is awarded, the application will be deleted.
Grant guidelines
Personal Working Grant
The personal working grants are intended to cover the grantee’s living expenses during the grant period.
A one‐year grant for PhD students in Finland amounts to approx. €27,000 (approx. €2,250 per month) and for post‐doctoral researchers to approx. €34,000 (€2,833 per month). These sums include the statutory pension and accident insurance premiums (the MELA payments). Other costs, such as the overhead costs (no more than 7% of the grant) paid by the researcher to the university or other research institution, may be added to the grant sum, in which case they should be included in the cost estimate in the application form.
The size of a grant for studies/research abroad depends on the target country and other costs, which need to be stated in the application.The guidelines of Säätiöiden post doc -pooli can be used in calculating the budget. For more information, please see cost estimate here
The grantee cannot be in full‐time paid employment while in receipt of the grant, but part‐time employment of approx. 25% of full‐time equivalent is permitted. In addition, the grantee may receive only one full‐time grant at a time.
The Foundation does not fund salaries if the applicant is eligible for a grant.
A personal working grant may be awarded for no more than one year at a time.
The grant is personal even if the applicant belongs to a group.
Project Grant (Expenditure Grant)
Project grants are awarded to universities, institutions, communities or working groups to support a research project or seminar. Grants can be used to cover e.g. the costs of hiring research assistants, the acquisition of equipment and other similar expenses that are processed by the financial administration of the department in question. The overhead costs (no more than 15% of the grant) paid to the university or research institute may be added to the project grant. The overhead costs must be stated in the cost estimate in the application form.
Personal grants may not be included in a project grant. If the researchers in a project need funding for full-time, long-term work, the members of the research group should apply for personal working grants themselves, with individual applications.
Purpose and Grant Period
The grant may only be used for the purpose stated in the grant decision. In addition, the grant may only be used during the period stated in the application. The grant cannot be transferred to a third party.
Changes to the purpose or the period are possible only with the consent of the Foundation. The grantee must send the Foundation a written application stating the desired changes and the reasons for them. The grantee must immediately inform the Foundation by email (toimisto@yjs.fi) if his/her studies or research are interrupted.
Payment Schedule
All requests for grant payment are submitted in the Online Grant Service. To submit a request for payment, you need the confirmation code stated in the grant approval letter.
Personal working grants are paid to a Finnish bank account held by the grantee.
Project grants are paid to the bank account of the project managed by the university or other research organization represented by the grantee. The recipient of a project grant is responsible for grant use and reporting on grant use to the Foundation. A multi-partner project must have a project manager and a mutual agreement concerning grant use and responsibilities towards the other parties.
The payment date for grants is the 15th day of the month (or the following working day if the 15th falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday). The request for payment must be submitted in the Online Grant Service before the start of the desired month of payment. Grant payments are not made in July.
Personal working grants are disbursed evenly throughout the grant period in several instalments of €4,000–10,000 each. For example, a one-year grant is usually divided into four instalments. Grants awarded for research visits abroad and project grants can be paid in full in one instalment.
Full-year grants for first-year postgraduate students in economics are paid in instalments in September, November, February and April. The student must provide an interim report on their study progress by e-mail (toimisto@yjs.fi) by the end of January. Grant payments by the Foundation will continue only after an interim report has been provided.
Access the Online Grant Service
Reporting on Grant Use
The grantee shall compile a written report on how the grant was used, which courses were taken, and the results of the study. The final report must reach the Foundation within one year from the completion of payment of the grant. The report is submitted through the Online Grant Service.
In some cases, such as grants for first year doctoral studies, the Foundation requires progress reports during the grant period; these reports can be submitted by email (toimisto@yjs.fi) by the end of January.
Access the Online Grant Service
Cancellation
The grantee must complete a payment schedule form in the Online grant service or contact the Foundation within a year of the grant decision. Otherwise, the Foundation considers the grant cancelled without notice. In addition, if sums remain undrawn three years after the grant decision date, the Foundation considers the rest of the grant cancelled without notice.
If the grant is not used in accordance with these grant guidelines, the grantee can be asked to repay funds to the Foundation.
Grant Announcement
The Foundation will publish announcements of all the grants awarded.
Mentioning the Foundation’s grants in academic publications and seminars, and including them in CVs is generally considered a good practice.
Taxation
If the grant is used to hire assistants, the grantee is responsible for the tax withheld in advance and all the employer’s contributions and obligations.
The grantee must enter the grant in their tax return. The Foundation reports the grants it awards to the Tax Administration according to the tax provisions. Grants received from a private foundation or corporation are taxable insofar as the combined amount of grant income received by the taxpayer for the tax year, after deducting the expenses for the production or retention of income, exceeds the annual amount of the State’s artist grant.
More information: www.vero.fi/en
Social Security
A grantee who has been awarded a personal grant for at least four months of continuous work is legally obligated to take pension insurance from the Farmers’ Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Mela) within three months of commencing work under the grant. The Foundation notifies Mela of the grants awarded, including the grant sum and period, whether the grant covers expenses and if the grant is personal.
More information: www.mela.fi/en
Online reference services
The grant applicant must ask their supervisor to submit a statement/reference in the Online Reference Service of the Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation.
The Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation requires statements only in the following cases:
- the applicant is applying for a grant for the second year of postgraduate studies in economics or
- the applicant is applying for a grant in medicine and has not produced any scientific publications yet.
If more than one student working on their dissertation under the same supervisor applies for a grant, the supervisor will be asked to rank the applicants.
The statement should be submitted during the application period, i.e. either 5–16 May 2025 or 1–26 September 2025. The statement must be in the system by 4 pm on the last day of the application period.
The grant applicant does not have access to the statement.
Statements that arrive late or by e-mail will not be considered.