The joint application procedure is intended for applying to both bachelor’s programmes and Finnish- and Swedish-language master’s programmes. The number of applicants to bachelor’s programmes was 31,192, of whom 3,866 were admitted. This makes the programmes’ admission rate 12.4%.

When comparing the number of applicants to available student places, the most popular degree programmes of the University of Helsinki were in law, psychology and medicine. The number of applicants to bachelor's programmes grew the most in the degree programmes offered by the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Arts, as well as in forestry and class teacher education.

Due to the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Finnish government allocated additional funding to the University of Helsinki for increasing its student intake for the autumn of 2020 by 428 student places. Places were added to a broad range of programmes, with the largest increase seen in the Faculty of Science, and in the field of early childhood education at the Faculty of Educational Sciences.

“My heartfelt congratulations to everyone admitted to the University! We are doing everything in our power to get your studies off to a good start, even though most of the teaching in the autumn will still be organised remotely. The University is closely monitoring the pandemic and any potential changes in it. In contact teaching on the University’s teaching facilities, the rules on social distancing will be strictly applied,” says Susanna Niinistö-Sivuranta, director of development at Teaching and Learning Services.

The University will make use of the experiences gained from digital entrance examinations

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, entrance examinations were primarily held in the form of two-stage digital examinations, while the number of students admitted through certificate-based admission was increased in several degree programmes. Of all admitted students, 61% were selected on the basis of their academic record.

The digital examinations required the deployment of a range of software solutions and systems – at a rapid pace and for the first time. The applicants were also offered various support services, such as a helpline that they could call if they encountered problems. This, in fact, proved to be an indispensable service channel.

“In the future, the experiences gained from the digital entrance examinations will be made use of, but a similar procedure will not be employed in normal circumstances,” says Sini Saarenheimo, head of services at Admissions Services.

The admissions results can be viewed by the applicants in the national Studyinfo service. The offered student places must be accepted by 15.00 on 22 July 2020.

Detailed faculty-specific statistics on student admissions will be published by the end of July. 

For more information, please contact

Sini Saarenheimo, head of services, Admission Services, 
sini.saarenheimo@helsinki.fi, phone: +358 50 448 0840

Read more:

Close to 450 new student places to be made available at the University of Helsinki
Attractiveness of the University of Helsinki grows – Over 32,500 applicants in the joint application procedure (in Finnish and Swedish only)