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FAQ / HOW TO APPLY TO UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI -------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for interest in the University of Helsinki and the International Master's Programmes (IMPs). All IMPs are available fully in English. APPLICATION PERIOD The application period for International Master´s Programmes beginning the autumn of 2016 (2016 admissions) opens in early December 2015 and closes on January 27, 2016 at 3:00 pm (GMT +2). For more information on the International Master´s Programmes (IMP), see https://helsinki.fi/en/studying/how-to-apply/international-programmes. The University of Helsinki has only one application and starting period for international students. APPLICATION FORM AND APPLICATION FEE The electronic application form will be available during the application period only at https://studyinfo.fi/wp2/en/. Applicants who have completed their qualification degree outside of EU (European Union), EEA (European Economic Area) and Switzerland will be charged a non-refundable application fee of 100 euro. TUITION FEES Tuition fees will be introduced in 2017. Many details are still open and only an estimate of the minimum fee can be given: 1500 euro per year has been suggested. If you start as a non-fee-paying student, you will continue as such until you graduate with a Master’s degree. Applicants who have completed their qualification degree outside of EU (European Union), EEA (European Economic Area) and Switzerland will be charged a tuition fee. ENCLOSURES Obligatory: - - The printout of the finalized PDF-format application form - Your university transcript or mark sheet that includes full information on your completed coursework, the content of each course, and a chart indicating the grading system of the institution. - Your university diploma or degree certificate, if you have graduated with a university degree. - An academic reference/recommendation letter. Normally a voluntary enclosure, in TRANSMED (Translational Medicine programme) it is obligatory. The documents above must be submitted in their original language and as official (legalized) translations (into English, Finnish, or Swedish). Any photocopy (of any original document) must be legalized by a stamp and signature of an authorized official of the school or university that has issued the original document or by a notary public. Remember to pay attention to the country-specific requirements available at https://helsinki.fi/en/country-specific-requirements - The result of your language test. For acceptable ways of indicating your language skills, see https://helsinki.fi/en/english-language-requirements If available: - A diploma supplement - A certificate supplement - An academic reference (for TRANSMED this is obligatory) Please note that the application will be processed in the faculty´s student selection procedure only if the enclosures meet the minimum requirements set by the University of Helsinki: https://helsinki.fi/en/studying/contact-us/faculties. Some International Master´s Programmes may request additional documents. For details, see https://www.helsinki.fi/en/degreefinder. Admission is paper-based: there is no examination to be passed or an interview to be cleared. APPLYING FOR MORE THAN ONE MAJOR Please note that if you apply for MORE THAN ONE MAJOR, you need to submit A FULL APPLICATION FILE (the printed application form and all obligatory enclosures) FOR EACH MAJOR you apply for. You cannot apply for more than a total of THREE (3) MAJORS. The University of Helsinki DOES NOT ACCEPT scanned applications or documents sent as attachments to an email message, neither do we accept faxed applications or documents. You should send your application documents in regular (air) mail or through an international courier service (UPS, DHL, TNT, Fed-Ex, etc.). Some International Master´s Programmes may request additional documents. For details, see https://www.helsinki.fi/en/degreefinder. Please note that for the ECONOMICS Master´s Programme, you are required to take the GRE General Test: http://www.ets.org/gre. UNIVERSITY ADMISSIONS FINLAND All graduate applications and documents to University of Helsinki must be mailed to the following address: University Admissions Finland Unioninkatu 40B FI-00170 Helsinki Finland University Admissions Finland (UAF) is a centralized application service established by Finnish universities. UAF´s task is to help applicants to go through the application process as smoothly as possible. If you have questions about the application procedure, the UAF personnel can help you via e-mail and over the telephone. For more information, visit the UAF website at http://universityadmissions.fi/. UAF does not have appointment hours for visiting clients. GENERAL INFORMATION The University of Helsinki (UH) is a research-intensive institution. This trend is also reflected in the International Master´s Programmes, taught entirely in English. These programmes provide students with skills needed in demanding professions and give a solid foundation for doctoral (PhD) studies. The prerequisite for the International Master´s Programmes or Master´s level studies in general, is a Bachelor´s degree of equivalent. The extent of the International Master´s Programmes is 120 ECTS credits. Two years of intensive full-time study is required of the student for graduation. All programmes follow the national legislation governing university education and are therefore recognized throughout Europe and the rest of the world. Quality of the programmes is ensured by an international quality assurance system. An important part of the system is the assessment of all research and education of the University of Helsinki carried out by international experts every six years. In 2016, all programmes are free of charge for all accepted students, EU and non-EU students alike. The exception to this rule is the two International Master´s Degree Programmes (Advanced Spectroscopy in Chemistry and Economy, State and Society) that have Euromaster or Erasmus Mundus status. These may have tuition fees. ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS As indicated above, you must have a Bachelor´s degree or equivalent to qualify for entry to an International Master´s Programme. However, the Bachelor´s does not have to be exactly in the same field of study as the Master´s degree you are applying for. Most International Master´s Programmes accept students with a varying background. Some IMDPs may even accept students with a degree from a university of applied sciences. Nevertheless, major parts or modules in your past studies must be relevant to the programme you are applying for. Applicants with a Bachelor's degree from a university of applied sciences should always first contact the Admissions Services (admissions@helsinki.fi). Some programmes may require that the applicant's degree is from a specific field. Please see the programme´s website for detailed requirements. The final assessment of your existing degree will be carried out once you have submitted your application. Detailed information regarding the types of degrees that are acceptable cannot be given in advance. However, you are able to compare the content Bachelor´s degree programme that you have completed with a similar one offered at the University of Helsinki by going through the course information on the appropriate department´s website at http://www.helsinki.fi/units/index.html. The programme/syllabus (often called a study guide) can usually be found by clicking the Studies or Courses link. You will find an overview of all classes offered in English at the Courses in English website at https://www.helsinki.fi/en/courses-in-english. In order to qualify for Master´s level studies, your grades must be fairly good. At the University Helsinki, where a grading scale from 0 to 5 is used, a student wishing to enter Master´s studies must have 3 (three) as the average performance grade in the Bachelor´s degree. In some cases, the average grade requirement may be as high as 4/5 or even higher. PENDING BACHELOR´S DEGREE Even if you are in the middle of the last year of your undergraduate university studies, you should still send in the documents that you have at the moment of application. Do not wait until you receive your final diploma or degree certificate, if it is not available within the application period. Instead, submit the documents you have and indicate in your application the anticipated university graduation date. For the majority of the programmes, the application deadline is January 27, 2016. University Admissions Finland (UAF) must receive the application form, including whatever enclosures you are able to submit. At UAF, the processing of applications will continue until the late February or early March. After this first stage of processing the application files are forwarded to the appropriate faculty. If you are planning to apply for one of the International Master´s Programmes, please note that Bachelor´s diplomas and transcripts may still be processed as late as July 15, 2016. However, this again may vary according to an individual Master's programme. INTERNATIONAL MASTER´S PROGRAMMES At present, the following Master´s Programmes are offered by the University of Helsinki (the coordinating faculty is in brackets): * Advanced Spectroscopy in Chemistry (Euromaster): www.master-asc.org/ * Atmosphere Studies (Science): www.atm.helsinki.fi/ABS/ * Biology (Biological and Environmental Sciences): www.helsinki.fi/bio/faculty/studies/index.html * Biotechnology (Biological and Environmental Sciences): www.helsinki.fi/biotech/ * Chemistry (Science): www.helsinki.fi/facultyofscience/studies/apply_chemistry.html * Computer Science (Science): www.helsinki.fi/facultyofscience/studies/apply_cs.html * Democracy and Global Transformations (Social Sciences): www.helsinki.fi/democracy/ * Economics (Social Sciences): www.helsinki.fi/econ/ (GRE General Test required!) * Economy, State and Society (Erasmus Mundus): http://www.imess.eu/ * Environment and Natural Resources (Agriculture and Forestry): www.helsinki.fi/menvi/ * Environmental Ecology (Biological and Environmental Sciences, in the city of Lahti): www.helsinki.fi/bio/faculty/studies/index.html * Ethnic Relations, Cultural Diversity and Integration (Swedish School of Social Science): www.helsinki.fi/eri/ * European Studies (Arts/Social Sciences): www.helsinki.fi/mes/info/mainpage.html * Food Sciences (Agriculture and Forestry): www.helsinki.fi/mscfood/ * Forest Sciences and Business (Agriculture and Forestry): www.helsinki.fi/mscfb/ * Geography and Geology (Science): www.helsinki.fi/facultyofscience/studies/apply_geo.html * Intercultural Encounters (Arts/Social Sciences): www.helsinki.fi/interculturalencounters/ * International Business Law (Law): www.helsinki.fi/llm/ * Mathematics and Applied Mathematics (Science): www.helsinki.fi/facultyofscience/studies/apply_math_stat.html * Media and Global Communication (Social Sciences): www.helsinki.fi/globalmedia/ * Molecular Bioscience (Biological and Environmental Sciences) www.helsinki.fi/bio/faculty/studies/index.html * Neuroscience (Biosciences): www.helsinki.fi/neuro/ * Physical Sciences (Science): www.helsinki.fi/facultyofscience/studies/apply_physics.html * Plant Production Science (Agriculture and Forestry): www.helsinki.fi/mscpps/ * Public International Law (Law): www.helsinki.fi/llm/ * Religion, Conflict and Dialogue (Theology): www.helsinki.fi/rcd/ * Religious Roots of Europe (Theology): www.helsinki.fi/rre/ * Research Master´s Programme in Social Sciences (Social Sciences): www.helsinki.fi/rems/ * Statistics (Science): www.helsinki.fi/facultyofscience/studies/apply_math_stat.html * Translational Medicine (Medicine): www.helsinki.fi/transmed/ OTHER OPTIONS In addition to the International Master´s Programmes above, it is possible to study using only the English language in some regular majors/degree programmes at the Master´s level. For a complete list of faculties and their departments/majors see www.helsinki.fi/en/studying/how-to-apply/international-programmes. However, this often means that you end up taking numerous reading courses (i.e. reading set books and taking exams), as the majority of lecture courses are not offered in English. Please note that the situation can vary a great deal from one major to another. ************************** Below you will find a short overview of funding options in Helsinki. UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI INTERNATIONAL STUDENT GRANT (UHISG) Students who have been accepted to study in one of the 2016 nominated International Master`s Programmes (IMDPs) are, in the beginning of their first year of studies, eligible for the Helsinki University International Student Grant. Further information regarding the grant and on the application process is available at www.helsinki.fi/en/studying/new-students/costs-and-finance. NON-UNIVERSITY GRANTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS Website address is www.helsinki.fi/en/studying/new-students/costs-and-finance. CIMO SCHOLARSHIPS Website address is http://www.studyinfinland.fi/tuition_and_scholarships/cimo_scholarships. The Finnish Centre for International Mobility (CIMO) offers scholarships for visitors to Finland from abroad, primarily for postgraduate (PhD) studies and research. Read more on CIMO's website, Discover Finland, in the scholarship section. OTHER GRANTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS Most grant and scholarship programmes, offered by various foundations and other organizations in Finland, are also open to international students and researchers. The University Helsinki offers its degree students two funding databases as to facilitate the search for grants and scholarships relevant to their lines of study or research themes. Use the Orientation Handbook´s PDF version for reference (https://www.helsinki.fi/sites/default/files/atoms/files/orientation_handbook_2015_2016_web_0.pdf). Welcome to University of Helsinki! With kind regards, Admissions Services P.O. Box 3 (Fabianinkatu 33) FI-00014 University of Helsinki admissions@helsinki.fi https://www.helsinki.fi/en/studying/how-to-apply https://www.facebook.com/HelsinkiUniversity http://blogs.helsinki.fi/welcometouh/