University of Helsinki - A Leading European University

General application information

• Application period
• University Admissions Finland
• Documents required for the application
• Instructions on certificates and transcripts
• Pending Bachelor's degree
• Student selection information
• Language requirements and UAF's online registration

 

Application period

The general application period begins on November 15, 2010 and closes on Januuary 31, 2011 (16:15/4:15 p.m. GMT +2).

The University of Helsinki has only one application period per year for graduate students (Bachelor degree holders applying for a Master's programme). The online applicant e-registration can be accessed during the application period only.

University Admissions Finland

All applications and documents to the University of Helsinki must be mailed to the following address, unless otherwise stated:

University Admissions Finland (UAF)
Snellmaninkatu 14 B
FI-00170 Helsinki
Finland

Please note that in Finland the definition "postgraduate applicant" refers to a holder of a Master’s degree applying for a PhD/Doctor's programme. Application deadlines vary according to the individual Faculty. PhD applicants do not apply through UAF. More information is available at the Postgraduate applicants website .

Also note that applications to some International Master's Degree Programmes – mainly to Erasmus Mundus programmes – must be sent to the co-ordinating University or Faculty. If in doubt, please check the programmes' website for more information.

Documents required for the application

You may apply for as many as three degree programmes/majors at the University of Helsinki. However, in this case you must submit three fully documented application files (including a signed application form for each).

To the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, however, you may submit applications to two degree programmes only and within them only to one major subject.

Only those applications that are fully documented can be considered for further processing. Each International Master's Degree Programme has individual admission requirements and procedures. Check the programme’s website for detailed information on the application procedure. The information below gives only a general idea of the required documents.

When you have completed the applicant e-registration, you may print the application from directly from the website or send to your mail box as a PDF file (this file must be printed). Your registration data is saved on the UAF database. After printing, you must sign the print-out to make it an official application. The signed print-out you should send to the University Admissions with all the obligatory documents to create yourself an applicant file.

You can register on the UAF online applicant registration site from November 15, 2010 to January 31, 2011 (16:15/4:15 p.m. GMT +2).

The application file must include all the attachments listed below.

• Your degree certificate from an institution of higher education.
• Your transcript, which indicates the grading system of the institution of higher education.
• The test score of a language test you have taken. In the 2009 student selections the main reason for rejecting an application was the inadequate or missing language test score. Note that you need to submit the language test score only once. Some test scores can also be verified online: see the Language Requirements web page for details. Please note that TOEFL and IELTS scores are valid for two years after the test date.
• A motivation letter as a part of the online applicant registration. Depending on your chosen programme, this can be an open freely-formulated letter or you are asked to answer specific question related to the major. Please note that an applicant might be rejected if he/she does not clearly show motivation for the major he/she is applying for.

If available:

• Photo copy of your passport.
• Diploma supplement.
• Certificate supplement.

If you are applying for a Master’s Degree Programme at the Faculty of Social Sciences, in addition to the above documents, you must include the following obligatory enclosures to your application.

• A thousand-word summary of the applicant's Bachelor's thesis (about three standard, A4-size pages) written either in English, Finnish or Swedish.
• Please note that the Faculty of Social Sciences has its individual admissions requirements for students applying to the Master's level: see the Faculty's website above for details.
• The department of Economics also requires that the applicants for the Master's Degree Programme in Economics take the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) General Test. The test score information must come directly from the testing organisation.The GRE code of the University of Helsinki is 9872.

Instructions on certificates and transcripts

• The application together with the supporting documents is to be returned to the University Admissions Finland by the closing date. Late applications will not be considered.
• All attached documents must be in Finnish, Swedish or English. All documents to the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, however, must be translated into English; no documents translated into other languages will be accepted.
• All translations of obligatory enclosures must be done by official translators. The translations must bear the stamp and signature of the translator. Please note that you have to send a legalised copy of the translated document also in its original language.
• All copies of obligatory enclosures must be legalised by the institution that has issued the original document or by a notary public or equivalent.
• The authenticity of all documents submitted to the University Admissions Finland will be examined. The use of forged documents will lead to the automatic rejection of the applicant.
• For the acceptable ways of indicating your Language test scores, see the Language requirements web page .
• For each degree programme / major you have applied for, you must submit a printed and signed application form and a full set of requested obligatory enclosures. However, only one language test score is needed.
• The application with all the required enclosures must be mailed via regular (air) mail or send through an international courier service (Fed-Ex, UPS, TNT, DHL or equivalent) to University Admissions Finland.
• E-mailed or faxed applications or documents will not be accepted.

Your performance in your previous studies should indicate very good or outstanding academic abilities.

Pending Bachelor’s degree

If your final Bachelor’s diploma and transcript are not available within the application period (November 15, 2010 to January 31, 2011) and you are applying for one of the International Master’s Degree Programmes, do not wait to receive your final papers. Instead, submit the documents you have available (the latest transcript, provisional certificate, or some other educational assessment document indicating your status as well as your completed coursework) and point out the anticipated university graduation date on the online applicant registration form available during the application period above. If you can, obtain an authorised certificate on your approaching graduation from your university.

Note that the Faculties are prepared to process final Bachelor´s diplomas and transcripts until early August 2011: however, this may vary according to an individual Master's programme.

Student selection information

Information on student selections of the International Master's Degree Programmes (IMDP's) will be available from the Faculties of the University of Helsinki in April. Every applicant accepted for studies is sent a letter of acceptance in regular air mail. No fixed date can be given when these letters are sent out – there is variation on the exact date from a faculty to another. Some IMDP's (mainly joint degree programmes, CBU's) have later closing dates: these programmes inform their applicants on later date.

Applicants who are rejected receive a letter of rejection in regular mail or through e-mail. The letter points out the reasons for rejection as well as gives information on how to appeal against the decision. However, it should be pointed out that the appeal must include cogent and concrete evidence on a mistake made in the processing of the student’s application file or on unfair treatment in an entrance examination. Applications that have not been attached with the requested enclosures are automatically rejected and do not justify an appeal.

Language requirements and UAF online registration

• Table of language requirements (PDF, 6 pages)
• The online applicant registration is available only from November 15, 2010 to January 31, 2011.