Application procedure for graduate studies

Application period

Next application period opens on December 2, 2013 and closes on January 31, 2014 at 16:00/4 p.m. (GMT +2).

The University of Helsinki has one intake of students per year at the graduate (Master's) level. Students apply via University Admissions Finland (UAF). The application form is available during the application period only.

Erasmus Mundus Master's Degree Programmes may have different application deadlines and application procedures. Please check the programme websites below for detailed information on how to apply:

Please note that if you plan to apply for a degree programme (leading to Master´s degree) offered by the Faculty of Science and you have an applicable degree from a university of applied sciences (e.g. Bachelor's degree) in Finland you should apply through the faculty's own individual admission system.

University Admissions Finland (UAF)

University Admissions Finland is a centralized application and processing service established by 10 Finnish universities. For the applicant the UAF services are free of charge. University Admissions Finland processes all educational certificates, carries out credential evaluation and verifies language skills.

Creating a FuniMa user account

University Admissions Finland updates the application system for the upcoming application period. The former application system My UAF will be replaced by a new system, FuniMa. You will be able to create a FuniMa account from the beginning of November 2013. The appropriate link will be posted on this page.

Even if you applied during the previous application periods, you still need to create a new FuniMa account for this application period. An applicant can only have one user account but it is possible to apply for several programmes through this account. Your FuniMa account will be valid for the whole application period 2013-2014.

You can also keep track of your application status by logging in to your user account.

Legal notice on the personal register maintained by the University (in Finnish)

Application enclosures

Note that the application will be processed in a faculty’s student selection procedure only if the enclosures meet the minimum requirements set by the University of Helsinki.

For more information about how to submit your application documents, visit the following web pages:

Completing your application

The front page of your printed application form has the personal checklist of the required application enclosures for the degree programme you are applying for. To complete your application, follow the instructions given below:

  • Fill in all the required information thoughtfully and then compile the information into the PDF format.
  • Print out the application form (PDF). While filling in your information, you can select to have the PDF document mailed to your personal email and print it out later.
  • Remember to sign the application form!
  • Collect all the enclosures required by the programme: they will be listed your the application form.
  • Write down your application form number into every document, and also into the lower left corner of the envelope.
  • Send the application via mail or a courier service to:

    University Admissions Finland
    Yliopistonkatu 2
    FI-00170 Helsinki
    FINLAND

  • If you use a courier service, also give University Admissions Finland’s phone number +358 9 191 23528 on the shipping document.

Make sure that your application package (application form and enclosures) reaches University Admissions Finland (located in Helsinki, Finland) by the end of the application period at 16.00 (GMT+2) at the latest. Late applications will not be processed by University Admissions Finland nor by the University of Helsinki.

University Admissions Finland only accepts printed applications sent by mail. This means that your application form becomes an application only after you have printed, signed and sent it to University Admissions Finland's office. No email attachments will be accepted.

Applying for more than one programme

A student may apply for as many as three degree programmes/majors. However, then the student must submit three fully documented application files (including a signed application form for each). If University Admissions Finland receives only one application and one set of enclosures, the first degree programme/major listed on the application will be the only one that is considered, even if the student had listed the total of two or three degree other programmes/majors.

Some faculties may restrict the choice of programmes/ majors to two or only one. You should also bear in mind that, on the application form, you have to give reasons for choosing certain programmes/majors. Your choices must be relevant when you consider your educational and linguistic competence.

UAF processes the applications in three stages

University Admissions Finland processes the educational certificates, including credential evaluation and verifies your language skills according to the set requirements. University Admissions Finland processes your documents in three stages and will only proceed to the next stage if the previous stage is completed successfully:

  • arrival of the application form
  • verification of language skills
  • arrival of educational documents and credential evaluation

If any of the documentation is not valid, the process will be stopped and the applicant will be contacted by email. Make sure that you send all the documents and they meet the requirements defined by the programme you are applying for. You will receive an email notification after the documents have been preprocessed and, if necessary, you will receive a request to supplement the application.

University Admissions Finland evaluates eligibility and authenticity of your educational certificates. This includes e.g. contacting your previous educational institution and the language test organizer. Any malpractice will be reported to the universities and appropriate authorities.

Checking the arrival of your application documents

You can keep track of your application status by logging in to your FuniMa user account.

After processing the application, UAF will send you an email informing you of your application status and if needed, requesting you to supplement your application. Please be patient, UAF will contact you as soon as possible.

When contacting the University Admissions Finland or the university, always give your application form number. It is printed on the top right corner of the application form. University Admissions Finland receives hundreds of applications every day. Because of this, they do not have resources to check the arrival of each application and its enclosures before they have been processed. All documents will be processed in the order of arrival.

Reapplying

Through the application process, all applications and the documents attached to them become the property of the University of Helsinki. The application documents will not be returned to the applicant. Only in exceptional cases, when the applicant again applies to the University of Helsinki, may application documents be transferred from a faculty to another student selection unit.

Documents attached to applications that do not meet the minimum requirements will not be sent to the faculties. The Admissions Services will not return them to the applicant or transfer them anywhere.

If the faculty agrees to your request and transfers your documents from previous year, for example, to University Admissions Finland (UAF), it is mandatory for you to create a new application form and send it to UAF. As the application form is revised every year, the previous year’s application is not valid in the following year. If the programme requires a different set of documents or if you have any new documents that you would like to submit, they should be attached with the new application form.

Please note that the country-specific requirements are revised every year. It is your responsibility to make sure that your application documents from the previous application round have been legalized in the manner required by the University of Helsinki.

By logging in to your FuniMa user account, you can check if UAF has received your language test result. Be aware that language requirements might change from year to year. Make sure your test score satisfies the minimum requirement and that is valid throughout the entire application period.

Updated September 25, 2013

Study options
Graduate admissions
Contact information

    Admission services

    admissions@helsinki.fi

    Tel. (+358-9-) 191 24140 (customer service)
    P.O.Box 3, FI-00014 University of Helsinki
    Street address: Fabianinkatu 33, 1st floor

    Opening hours