• applicants to the international master’s degree programmes taught in English must have a nationally recognized first cycle degree – typically a Bachelor’s degree – from an accredited institution of higher education.
• the degree must be in a relevant field in regard to the Master’s degree programme that you are applying to. Please check the programme page for detailed degree requirements.
• the degree must correspond to at least 180 ECTS (European credits) or to three years of full-time study.

You will find the programme specific requirements (relevant subjects) for each program in the programme presentations. As a rule of thumb, you should have the equivalence of 60 credits in your major subject (60 credits equals at least one year of full-time studies), this if the programme has not set a specific requirement as to the number of credits required.

Note that even if you meet the general and specific eligibility criteria you might still be required to do supplementary studies if admitted. This can be the case if you lack certain prerequisites for courses within the programme. Supplementary studies are given alongside the degree studies, and you’ll be registered as a full-time degree student from the beginning. Supplementary studies cannot exceed 60 credits and are not always offered as part of the master’s degree.

If you are formally eligible for studies, your degree certificates and transcripts of records will be assessed individually by the academic board of the programme in order to determine whether the profile of your previous studies match the academic requirements of the sought programme.

A Finnish Polytechnic (university of applied sciences) degree gives eligibility to apply to master-level studies. Note, however, that a degree from a Finnish polytechnic is not always equivalent to a university bachelor’s degree (Kandidat). Therefore, you might be required to do supplementary studies in order to be able to follow a specific course within the programme. Supplementary studies are given alongside the degree studies, and you’ll be registered as a full-time degree student from the beginning. Supplementary studies cannot exceed 60 credits and are not always offered as part of the master’s degree. Please contact the programme directly to find out more about which type of studies are required.

If you are formally eligible for studies, your degree certificates and transcripts of records will be assessed individually by the academic board of the programme in order to determine whether the profile of the previous studies match the academic requirements of the sought programme.

An applicant who has already completed a master’s degree, where the content of the studies is the same as the one offered in the programme that the applicant is applying to, is eligible to apply but cannot use this qualification to gain extra merit in relation to other applicants.

If you have sought to a master’s degree programme identical or almost identical to the degree that you already have, the department can reject admission with the objection that there is no new learning aspect that would motivate admission (as you already have the qualification that you are applying to). If you already have a master level qualification within the same area as the programme you are applying to, you should in the motivation in the application form specify the reasons for applying in relation to the new learning aspect.

Also note that credits from one master’s degree cannot be transferred into another new master’s degree.

If you are formally eligible for studies, your degree certificates and transcripts of records will be assessed individually by the academic board of the programme in order to determine whether the profile of the previous studies match the academic requirements of the sought programme.

If you are graduating after the application deadline, you may apply on the condition that you will graduate by 31 July 2024. You need to submit a certified true copy of the degree to Åbo Akademi University as soon as possible after the graduation.

You will in this case be assessed on the basis of the studies completed so far, and if admitted, you will receive a conditional admission letter. Note that the conditional admission letter is only valid if you graduate by 31 July 2024.

Please fill in the expected date of graduation in the online application form. If the expected date of graduation is later than 31 July 2024 you will be deemed ineligible to apply by Åbo Akademi University.