Required application enclosures - Bachelor's programmes

On this page you will find descriptions and submission instructions for the enclosures required from applicants for English-language Bachelor's programmes. Please read the instructions carefully to ensure that your attachments meet the requirements and that you submit them correctly.
Ad­mis­sion groups

There are two application rounds per year for the English-language Bachelor's programmes. Each application round is for one of the two admission groups. Applicants belong to one of the admission groups based on their previous education.

If you are but have not completed (nor will complete by 31 August 2026) a Finnish matriculation examination, an IB or EB diploma, or an RP or DIA examination administered in Finland, you must apply in admission group 1. The application period for admission group 1 is from 2 - 16 January 2026.

If you have completed (or will complete by 31 August 2026) one of the above-mentioned examinations, you must apply in admission group 2. The application period for admission group 2 is 10 – 24 March 2026.

If you apply based on Open University studies, you must apply in admission group 2.

It is very important to know which admission group you belong to and follow the instructions for your group. You are not eligible in the wrong admission group and thus cannot be admitted in that group. 

Do I need to sub­mit en­clos­ures?

In most cases, you will need to submit some enclosures with your application for the English-language Bachelor’s programmes. The required enclosures are:

  • A certificate demonstrating your eligibility for higher education
  • A certificate demonstrating your language skills
  • Authorised translations (if required)
  • A photocopy of your passport, ID card or residence permit card
  • Your SAT or ACT test results (admission group 1 only)

For certain diplomas, the University of Helsinki can verify your eligibility from an electronic database. In these cases, you do not need to submit your diploma. Check carefully below whether or not you need to submit a diploma demonstrating your eligibility. However, you may still have to submit other enclosures.

You will NOT have to submit a diploma demonstrating your eligibility, if one or more of the following apply to you:

  • You have completed a Finnish matriculation examination in or after 1990 or you will complete your matriculation examination in the spring of 2026.
  • You have completed a Finnish vocational upper secondary qualification, a further vocational qualification or a specialist vocational qualification (as referred to in ) in or after 2018, or will graduate by 23 January 2026 at 15:00.
  • You have completed an academic degree in or after 1995 at a Finnish university, a Finnish university of applied sciences or the National Defence University.

You WILL HAVE TO submit a diploma demonstrating your eligibility if your eligibility is based on any other diploma or study right than the ones mentioned above or they have been/will be completed outside the above-mentioned timeframe. Please read the additional information further down on this page.

If you fail to demonstrate your eligibility for higher education by the deadline, or your eligibility cannot be electronically verified, your application will be rejected.

  1. Please check carefully whether the required language skills are met with your degree certificate. If not, please submit another .
  2. The University must determine whether you are subject to a tuition fee. If you are NOT a Finnish citizen, you need to submit a copy of your passport, ID card or residence permit card as instructed. If you are a Finnish citizen, you do not have to submit a document exempting you from tuition fees.
  3. Please make sure to check to which admission group you belong. If you belong to admission group 1, you need to take the required SAT or ACT tests and submit the test scores as instructed.

Please check further down on this page exactly what certificates you need to submit.

Required enclosures

Below you can find detailed information on how to submit your documents and what to consider when submitting certain enclosures.

Applicants who have completed an IB diploma must submit a copy of their actual certificate (Diploma until 2012, and Diploma of the International Baccalaureate as of 2013). The certificate need not be translated.

You can and ask them to send it to Admission Services of the University of Helsinki. If you do not give IBO permission to release your grades to the University of Helsinki, you have to send in the diploma yourself.

Please note, that it might take up to 14 working days for IBO to send the results to the University, so make sure to order your transcript well in advance!

If you complete the diploma in the summer of 2026

You must submit the candidate predicted grades provided by the IB school. The prediction must bear the school’s official stamp. The predicted grades must be submitted by the deadline of 31 March 2026 at 15.00 (UTC + 3).

If you are admitted, your admission will be conditional. You must submit an officially certified copy of the final diploma by 31 August 2026 at 15.00 (UTC + 3). Please note, that if your final grades are lower than your predicted grades, you might lose the offered study place.

Applicants who have completed an EB diploma must submit a copy of their certificate. The certificate need not be translated.

If you complete the diploma in the summer of 2026

You must submit the preliminary points provided by the EB school. The preliminary certificate must bear the school’s official stamp. The preliminary certificate must be submitted by the deadline of 31 March 2026 at 15.00 (UTC+3).

If you are admitted, your admission will be conditional. You must submit an officially certified copy of the final diploma by 31 August 2026 at 15.00 (UTC+3).

Applicants who have completed an RP or DIA examination must submit a copy of the four-page German-language certificate Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife. If the RP or DIA examination has been completed in Finland, a Finnish-language certificate of equivalence must be submitted as well. The certificate need not be translated.

If you complete the diploma in the spring/summer of 2026

You must submit a copy of the grade page of the certificate provided by the school in advance. If you are completing your diploma in Finland, please submit the Finnish-language certificate of equivalence as well. These must bear the school’s official stamp and they must be submitted by the deadline of 29 April 2026 at 15.00 (UTC+3).

If you are admitted, your admission will be conditional. You must submit an officially certified copy of the final four-page certificate and the Finnish-language certificate of equivalence by 31 August 2026 at 15.00 (UTC+3).

If your eligibility for higher education is based on education completed outside Finland, you must submit a copy of your diploma. It must feature the school’s official stamp as well as the name, signature and job title of the school's representative. 

Please note that all documents (except IB, EB, RP or DIA diplomas) must be sent together with an authorised translation into Finnish, Swedish or English, if the original document is in another language. An authorised translation can be obtained from the educational institution or an authorised translator. .

If you have previously received a decision from the Finnish National Agency for Education about the recognition of the level of your foreign university degree, you may send a copy of this decision.

If the grounds for your application are a degree completed at a Finnish institution of higher education prior to 1995, you must submit a copy of the degree certificate. For instructions on how to submit enclosures, see information under How to submit enclosures and When to submit enclosures.

For degrees granted in or after 1995 the University of Helsinki’s Admission Services will obtain information on your studies from electronic records. In exceptional cases where information on your studies cannot be obtained from electronic above records, you will be contacted and asked to supplement your application.

These instructions apply to you if you are completing your examination in the spring/summer 2025 and you belong to admission group 1. Please note that your examination must be completed by 31 August 2026 for you to be eligible for admission. 

You must submit a transcript of studies (from the current school year) or another certificate provided by the school indicating the qualification you are pursuing. The certificate must indicate the scope of the qualification and its estimated completion time and feature the school’s official stamp as well as the name, signature and job title of the school's representative. The official prediction provided by your school must be submitted by the deadline of 23 January 2026, 15.00 (UTC+2).

If you are pursuing a qualification outside Finland, please also read the detailed instructions available under Applications based on a qualification completed outside Finland.

If you are admitted, your admission will be conditional. You must submit a copy of your certificate by 31 August 2026, 15.00 (UTC+3).

Applicants in admission group 1 must complete SAT sections Evidence-Based Reading and Writing, and Math or ACT sections Reading, Writing, and Math. The results of the required tests must be at the University of Helsinki by 23 January 2026, 15.00 (UTC+2) to be considered in the spring 2026 admissions round. The tests cannot have been completed more than two years prior to the application deadline.

The University of Helsinki must receive the results of the SAT or ACT tests directly from the test organiser (College Board and ACT). You must select the University of Helsinki (code 0483 for SAT and 8225 for ACT) as the recipient of your results when registering for the test. If you have taken the test at an earlier date, you must request a report of the results to be separately submitted to the University of Helsinki. Instructions for the submission of results are available on and website.

Please note that the test organiser may take some time to send your results to the university. Therefore, you are advised to request the sharing of your results well in advance — possibly even before the application period begins.

You must provide a proof of your language proficiency. Please find all the accepted methods of proving your language proficiency with detailed instructions here: 

The methods and deadline for submitting documents that demonstrate language proficiency are the same as those for other enclosures demonstrating eligibility for higher education. However, please note that if you are completing the Finnish matriculation examination in the spring of 2026 and using it to only prove your language skills, it is enough that the University of Helsinki receives your exam results electronically by 12 June 2026.

This document is needed to determine whether you are exempt from paying the tuition fee as well as for verifying your personal information. The University of Helsinki charges a tuition fee from students studying in languages other than Finnish or Swedish and who are non-EU/EEA citizens. Therefore, the University must determine whether you are subject to a tuition fee. Until proven otherwise, all applicants will be considered subject to a tuition fee.

You are exempted from paying tuition fees in the following cases:

  1. You are a citizen of the EU/EEA or Switzerland. Please submit a copy of your passport’s ID page or a copy of your ID card. Please note that your passport or ID card must be valid when the term starts on 1 August 2026. If you are a Finnish citizen, you do not have to submit a document exempting you from tuition fees, as we will be able to check it from electronic records.
  2. You are not a citizen of the EU/EEA or Switzerland, but you have a residence permit in Finland. Please submit a copy of your residence permit card (type A or P). Please note that your residence permit card must be valid when the term starts on 1 August 2026.

This document can be submitted as a regular copy – an officially certified copy is not required.

More information on .

More information on .

Submitting the required enclosures when applying

During the application stage, simply upload good-quality copies of your original official documents as attachments to the application form, unless otherwise specified (e.g. some language tests and SAT/ACT scores). Please make sure that you submit all pages of the original documents.

Admission group 1: If you apply in admission group 1, you do not need to submit officially certified copies of your documents, unless otherwise specified. However, your admission decision will be conditional, if your eligibility is based on an unfinished degree. If you fail to submit a copy of your diploma by the given deadline, you will lose your study place.

Admission group 2: If you submit unofficial copies of the required enclosures with your application and you are admitted to a Bachelor's programme, the admission decision will be conditional and you must submit officially certified copies. If you fail to submit officially certified copies of the required documents by the given deadline, you will lose your place.

If you want, you can submit officially certified copies of all your certificates already at the application stage.  Read more information about submitting officially certified copies below under the heading at Submitting documents if you have been conditionally admitted.

 

Deadlines

If you apply in admission group 1, please submit your enclosures no later than 23 January 2026 at 15:00 (UTC+2)

If you apply in admission group 2, please submit your enclosures no later than 31 March 2026 at 15:00 (UTC+3).

If a compulsory attachment is missing after the deadline, the application will be rejected as incomplete. You are responsible for submitting the attachments as required by the deadline.

 

How to submit enclosures

The primary method is to submit the required enclosures by attaching them directly to your application form in Studyinfo.   

If for some reason you are unable to save your enclosures as attachments to the application form during the application stage, contact the Admission Services.

If your enclosures are incomplete, you will be asked to supplement your application by the deadline specified. Messages about enclosures will be sent to the email address that you provided in the application form. Be sure to check your email regularly during the application process!

 

Uploading attachments to the application form

  1. Scan your attachments or take good quality photos of them. Make sure that the documents are facing the right way and that you can read the contents properly.
  2. Compile the pages of a single document into a single file: for example, a diploma should be one file, which may contain several pages. Do not merge different documents into one file.
  3. Name your file in such a way that the name of the file reflects both your name and the document: e.g. surname-first name-diploma.
  4. Save your attachments in PDF format in the correct places provided on the application form.
Submitting documents if you have been conditionally admitted

If you are admitted to one of the Bachelor's programmes at the University of Helsinki and 

  • you had not yet graduated when you applied in admission group 1,

    or

  • your admission was based on predicted grades or an unofficial copy of your certificate in admission group 2,

your admission is conditional. In this case, you must submit either a copy of your final diploma or the documents that you uploaded to the application form as electronically verified or officially certified documents by 31 August 2026 at 15.00 (UTC+3).

Admission group 1: If your degree on which your eligibility for higher education is based on was unfinished at the time of application and you are admitted to a Bachelor's programme at the University of Helsinki, the admission decision will be conditional. When accepting the place offered to you, you must submit a copy of your finished diploma. If you fail to submit a copy of your diploma by the deadline, you will lose your place.

Admission group 2: If you have submitted unofficial copies of the required enclosures with your application and you are admitted to a Bachelor’s programme at the University of Helsinki, the admission decision will be conditional. When accepting the place offered to you, you must submit officially certified copies of the certificates demonstrating your eligibility for higher education and your language proficiency. If you fail to submit officially certified copies of the required documents by the deadline, you will lose your place.   

You must submit the required documents by 31 August 2026, 15.00 (UTC + 3). However, we recommend that you deliver the required documents as early as possible.  Before fulfilling the condition you cannot take care of all the required actions related to the beginning of your studies. 

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When to sub­mit en­clos­ures

The different admission groups have separate deadlines for the submission of enclosures during the application period. Please check carefully which admission group you belong to and follow the instructions for your group. You must submit all your application enclosures by the deadline specified for the admission group you are applying in.

Those in admission group 1 must submit all the enclosures referred to in the admission criteria by 23 January 2026, 15.00 (UTC+2).

Those in admission group 2 must submit all the enclosures referred to in the admission criteria by 31 March 2026, 15.00 (UTC+3).

If you submit enclosures by post, please note that a postmark dated before the deadline is NOT sufficient.

Doc­u­ments demon­strat­ing language pro­fi­ciency

The University of Helsinki requires evidence of academic-level language skills from all applicants. Language skills can be indicated by your previous school or university education or by a standardised language test. Statements by individual language teachers are unacceptable, as they cannot be compared with standardised language tests.

You must demonstrate your English language skills in one of the specified ways. Please see detailed instructions on

The methods and deadline for submitting documents that demonstrate language proficiency are the same as those for other enclosures demonstrating eligibility for higher education. See more instructions under How to submit enclosures and When to submit enclosures. However, please note that if you are completing the Finnish matriculation examination in the spring of 2026 and using it to only prove your language skills, it is enough that the University of Helsinki receives your exam results electronically by 12 June 2026.