Restrictions on admission

If you are currently or have previously been a degree student of the University of Helsinki, please read the information on this page before applying for a new right to complete a degree.

Admission to the bachelor’s and master’s programmes offered by the University of Helsinki is restricted as outlined below. These restrictions also pertain to those applying through the transfer application procedure. Please contact the University’s admissions advisors if you have any questions.

This restriction applies to applicants for both bachelor’s and master’s programmes.

Your application cannot be accepted if the degree you could complete based on the study right you are applying for is substantially identical to the degree for which you have the study right on the day following the application deadline. In order for your application to have a chance of being accepted, you must voluntarily forfeit your previously granted study right no later than the last day of the application period.

Examples of such situations

Example 1

You have the right to complete a Bachelor’s Programme in Law in Vaasa. You are applying for the right to complete the Bachelor’s Programme in Law in Helsinki through student admission. The content of the degrees offered in Vaasa and Helsinki is substantially the same, even though the place of study is different. Therefore, your application can only be accepted if you voluntarily forfeit your study right associated with Vaasa no later than the last day of the application period.

Example 2

You have the right to complete a Bachelor of Education degree with a focus on early childhood education through on-campus studies. You are applying for the right to complete a Bachelor of Education degree with a focus on early childhood education through multiform learning via student admission. The content of the degrees offered through on-campus and multiform learning is substantially the same, even though the mode of study is different. Therefore, your application can only be accepted if you voluntarily forfeit your study right associated with on-campus studies no later than the last day of the application period.

This restriction applies only to applicants for bachelor’s programmes.

If you are applying for a new study right that leads to the same first-cycle degree title as your previous study right (e.g., Bachelor of Arts), you must graduate by 31 July (i.e., before the new study right becomes valid on 1 August) or forfeit your previous right. You need not forfeit your previous right before you receive information on whether you have been admitted to another degree programme. If you accept a new study right, you simultaneously forfeit your previous right.  

Examples

Example 1

You hold the study right for a Bachelor of Arts degree in the Bachelor’s Programme in History. You apply to the Bachelor’s Programme in Languages to complete a Bachelor of Arts degree. You can be admitted to the programme, but you must graduate, or forfeit your previous study right.  

Example 2

You hold the study right for a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree in the Bachelor’s Programme in Philosophy at the Faculty of Arts. You apply to the Bachelor’s Programme in Politics, Media and Communication at the Faculty of Social Sciences to complete a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree. You can be admitted to the programme, but you must graduate, or forfeit your previous study right.

Example 3

You hold the study right for a Bachelor of Arts (Education) degree in the Study Track in Early Childhood Teacher Education within the Bachelor’s Programme in Education. You apply for a new study right in the Study Track in Class Teacher Education within the Bachelor’s Programme in Education. Your aim is to complete the degrees of Bachelor and Master of Arts (Education). You can be admitted to the Study Track in Class Teacher Education within the Bachelor’s Programme in Education, but you must graduate, or forfeit your previous study right in the Study Track in Early Childhood Teacher Education. 

Please note, however, that if you forfeit your previous study right in the Study Track in Early Childhood Education without graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (Education) degree, you can no longer receive the qualification required of early childhood education teachers, unless you apply and are readmitted to the Study Track in Early Childhood Education within the Bachelor’s Programme in Education. The minimum qualification requirement for early childhood education teachers is a university-level Bachelor of Arts (Education) degree, including studies in early childhood education, i.e., a Bachelor of Arts (Education) degree completed in the Study Track in Early Childhood Education.

This restriction applies to applicants for both bachelor’s and master’s programmes.

If you apply for a new study right in the same degree programme (e.g., a programme that offers several target degrees) in which you are already studying, you must graduate by the deadline indicated or forfeit your previous right.

Deadlines:

  • If you apply for a study right in a bachelor’s programme, you must graduate by 31 July.
  • If you apply for a study right in a master’s programme, you must graduate by 31 July.

You need not forfeit your previous right before you receive information about whether you have been offered a new study right. If you accept a new study right, you simultaneously forfeit your previous right in the same degree programme.

Examples

Example 1

You hold the study right for a Bachelor of Science (Agriculture and Forestry) degree in the Bachelor’s Programme in Environmental and Food Economics. You apply to the Bachelor’s Programme in Environmental and Food Economics to complete a Bachelor of Food Sciences degree. You can be admitted to the programme, but you must graduate, or forfeit your previous right to study.

Example 2

You have previously been granted the study right in the Bachelor’s Programme in Biology and you apply again to the same programme. You cannot be admitted to the programme as a new student because you can continue your studies based on your previous right to study. Your application will not be considered. If you believe that your existing study right may correspond to the relevant option available for application, please contact Admission Services.

Example 3

You hold the study right for a Master of Social Sciences degree in the Master’s Programme in Urban Studies and Planning. You apply through the master’s admissions procedure to the Master’s Programme in Urban Studies and Planning to complete a Master of Arts degree. You can be admitted to the programme, but you must graduate, or forfeit your previous study right.

Example 4

You have previously been granted the study right in the Master’s Programme in Mathematics and Statistics and you apply again to the same programme. You cannot be admitted to the programme as a new student because you can continue your studies based on your previous study right. Your application will not be considered.

Example 5

You hold the study right for a master’s degree in forest economics, granted prior to 1 August 2017. You apply through the master’s admissions procedure to the equivalent Master’s Programme in Forest Sciences. You cannot be admitted to the programme as a new student because you can continue your studies based on your previous study right. Your application will not be considered. If you believe that your existing study right may correspond to the relevant option available for application, please contact Admission Services.

Medical students (degree programmes in medicine and dentistry) can hold only one study right at a time to complete a second-cycle degree (Licentiate of Medicine or Licentiate of Dentistry) at the University of Helsinki.

Example

You hold the study right for a Licentiate of Dentistry degree. You apply for the right to complete a Licentiate of Medicine degree. You can be admitted to the programme, but you must graduate by 31 July (before the new study right becomes valid on 1 August) or forfeit your previous right.

The above restrictions also apply to those participating in a transfer application procedure.

Please note that the restrictions also apply to you if you are applying through both a transfer application procedure and a joint application procedure during the same spring even if you hold no previous right to complete a degree at the University of Helsinki.

Further information is available on the Finnish- and Swedish-language websites.

A study right that can be reinstated is considered a valid study right. If necessary, you can apply to your faculty for the reinstatement of your right to study. If your study right is about to expire, you cannot have it extended by reapplying for the same right. Instead, you must separately apply to your faculty for an extension.