Information for rejected applicants

If you were not granted a study right in a University of Helsinki doctoral programme and you consider the admission decision to be erroneous, you may request for rectification of the decision.

The request for rectification is meant for a situation where University of Helsinki has made a mistake in the processing or evaluation of your application. If the rejection is due to something other than our mistake, the decision cannot be changed by requesting for rectification.

In the request for rectification you must clearly state which mistake the University of Helsinki has made and how we should correct the mistake.

A request for rectification cannot be accompanied by a supplemented research plan or by the submission of enclosures for which the deadline for submission has expired.

The request for rectification must be submitted in writing, indicating the following:

• The decision you are requesting rectification for
• Section to be rectified in the decision
• Manner of rectification
• Grounds for the request for rectification
• Your contact details (name, address, email address, telephone number)

All supporting documents must be submitted together with the request.

Draft an individual request for each application option whose admission results you consider erroneous.

Before you start drafting your request for rectification, refer to the to get an idea of what a request for rectification might look like. 

Requests for rectification can be submitted to the University of Helsinki Admissions Services after the student admission results have been published. The exact deadline for requesting a rectification is stated separately for each application period. Requests for rectification received after the deadline will not be processed.

You can submit your request for rectification to University of Helsinki Admissions Services in any of the following ways:

1. Email

You may submit your request for rectification by email to the following address:

Please write Request for rectification in the subject field, followed by the application option that your request concerns (for example, Request for rectification: April round, Doctoral Programme in Economics). Submit your request preferably from the email address you entered in the application form used to apply to the University of Helsinki.

2. Encrypted email

If your request for rectification contains confidential information, you may submit your request as an encrypted email.

In most cases, it is not necessary to include confidential information, such as your national identification number or information about your health or life situation, in your request as they are not included in the admissions criteria that are considered in the admission process. If you wish to include confidential information in your request, we recommend that you submit your request by encrypted email.

To submit an encrypted email to the Admission Services, please follow the instructions on this website: 

3. By regular mail or personal delivery to the Admission Services mailbox

If e-mailing your request for rectification is not possible, requests for rectification can also be submitted by regular mail or by delivering them personally to the Admission Services mailbox. Please follow the instructions under

Please note that requests for rectification submitted by regular mail must arrive to the Admission Services by the deadline announced in your admission results letter. All deadlines are receipt deadlines, not postmark deadlines.

Please submit your request to Admissions Services in only one of the three methods stated above. It is not necessary to submit your request in multiple different ways. Please note that requests for rectification must be submitted specifically to Admissions Services, and not to any other unit of the University of Helsinki (such as the Registry, faculties or Student Services).

University of Helsinki Admissions Services reviews all requests for rectification in an expedited process. The approximate processing time for requests for rectification is one to two months. After your request has been processed, we will notify you of the decision by email or regular mail. If your request is rejected or not considered, instructions for appealing the decision through the administrative court will be given with the notification.

1. Your application has been rejected because you have not submitted the required enclosures by the deadline. You ask to reconsider your application. There has been no mistake on the part of the University of Helsinki and the decision will not be changed.
2. Your application has been rejected because you have not proven your language skills. However, you have submitted the required documents of a degree that meets the language requirements. In your request for rectification, you show that the language requirement has been met and ask for your application to be reconsidered. The University of Helsinki has made an mistake and your application will be re-examined.
3. Your application has been rejected due to inadequate supervision arrangements.
   1. In your application, you have named the supervisors that interest you, but you have not provided a supporting statement, even though your programme required one. There has been no mistake on the part of the University of Helsinki and the decision will not be changed.
   2. The supervision arrangements you have listed do not meet the programme or faculty requirements. There has been no mistake by the University of Helsinki and the decision will not be changed.
4. Your application has been rejected because there were insufficient supervision resources available. You have applied for a programme where the initial support of one supervisor is sufficient at the application stage. A second supervisor and/or coordinating academic for your research project has not been found during the application process. In order to be accepted, your application must have two supervisors and an coordinating academic. No mistake has been made by the University of Helsinki and the decision will not be changed.
5. Your application has been rejected because your research plan has been found to be insufficient. You submit an edited research plan with your request for rectification. The request for rectification concerns the application that you have submitted within the application period. An request for rectification cannot be used to complement your application. The edited research plan will not be taken into account in the evaluation of your application.
6. Your application has been rejected because your previous academic record was insufficient. The University of Helsinki's doctoral programmes are competitive and not all eligible applications are successful.
7. Your application has been rejected because your educational background does not provide a sufficient basis for your chosen target degree. In many programmes, you will have to choose from several possible faculties and degrees. However, not all degrees can be obtained with any educational background. Check your programme’s admission instructions for specific requirements.