Please note that this information does not apply to the admission to regular master’s programmes (e.g. the 2nd National Joint Application/ 2a Gemensamma ansökan/ Toinen yhteishaku).
Questions related to the admission process can be e-mailed to admission@abo.fi prior to the admission deadline.
During the application period 3 – 17 January 2024, we require only scans of the original documents, attached to the application form. You have to submit the application by 17 January (3 pm Finnish time) but you can add enclosures until 24 January (also 3 pm).
- Scan the original documents with care, always scan in color and remember to scan all the pages. If your scan is e.g. blurred, discolored or the file is corrupted it will not be accepted. The use of PDF format is encouraged, as this ensures the files can be opened in all operating systems.
- We do not accept scans of photocopies unless photocopies have been certified by the awarding institution.
Incomplete applications will not be processed.
Please note that Åbo Akademi University will not return any documents to the applicants. Therefore do not send original degree certificates with your application.
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Degree Certificate
A degree certificate is a document issued by an institution to a student who has successfully completed all studies included in the degree. The student has graduated. The degree certificate should include the name of the institution awarding the degree, the date of issue, and the name of the person to whom the degree certificate has been issued and which title/degree the person has been awarded.
Note that if you are applying with a for the programme relevant master’s degree you will always need to also enclose your bachelor’s degree certificate.
Temporary (Provisional) Degree Certificate
You may apply with a a temporary (provisional) degree certificate as a replacement for the actual degree certificate e.g. in case the actual degree certificate cannot be given to the student immediately after the studies have been completed due to technical or administrative reasons. A temporary degree certificate is a document issued by an institution to a student who has been awarded or conferred an academic degree. The temporary degree certificate must include:
- the name of the institution awarding the degree
- the date of award/conferral of the degree
- the name of the person to whom the temporary degree certificate has been issued
- which academic title/degree the person has been awarded.
It is important to note that a document stating only that the student has completed all the courses is not sufficient as a temporary degree certificate.
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Transcript of records
The official transcript of records should include the following information:
- full titles of the units that the student has completed for the degree
- completion times of study units (or at the very least the overall study time at the institution)
- grades obtained
- credits awarded
- information on the grading scale used at the institution at the time of study
- If you have not yet graduated: The transcript of records must include the name of the degree that will be awarded to you when you graduate (Bachelor of, Master of, etc.)
Translations
If your educational documents have not been issued in English, Finnish or Swedish, you must also submit official translations into one of these languages. You must also submit your official educational documents in the original language.
An official translation must be one of the following:
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- issued by the awarding institution
- an officially certified copy of a translation issued by the awarding institution
- translated by an official translator
- an officially certified copy of a translation made by an official translator
Each page of an official translation must bear the translator’s stamp and/or signature. Official translations must be exact translations of the original documents. Translations done by the applicant him- or herself are not accepted.
For a complete list of requirements, please also check if there are any programme specific requirements.
If you are admitted as a student, all your educational documents used in the application must be verified. It means that we must receive proof that the educational documents you have uploaded to your electronic application are valid.
Please note: If you have completed your degree at one of the Finnish universities or universities of applied sciences, your degree was completed at the earliest on 1 January 2003, and you have a Finnish personal identification code, you do not need to submit your educational documents, as Åbo Akademi University has electronic access to the required information.
First, check if your educational documents can be verified electronically by either using:
1. Electronic verification services
If you are able to use one of the electronic verification services listed here to verify your educational documents, please use this as your first option for verification.
OR
2. By email straight from the awarding institution
- If your institution does not use any of the electronic credential services listed above to share official educational documents, you may ask that your institution sends your official electronic educational documents by email directly to the Åbo Akademi University to the following email address: admission(at)abo.fi
- In order for the document to be accepted, certain requirements must be met:
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- The email must be sent from the issuing institution’s official institutional email account
- The sending email must be verifiable on the institution’s public website
- The sending email must belong to a person or office that is responsible for issuing official educational documents, for example: registrar’s office, controller of examinations, awards and graduation department etc.
- The attached document must be in PDF format
- The email must include your application number as a reference number
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- Documents sent by email that do not meet the above requirements are not accepted. Please give the above instructions to your institution’s representative when requesting that they send your documents.
If your home institution does not use any of the digital credential services mentioned to share documents OR if your home institution will not send copies of your official educational documents by email directly to the Admission Services from an institutional email address, the verification is done in the following way:
Check if the country you have been awarded a degree in is in the list under the “country specific requirements”
- If the country your degree is awarded in is listed under the country specific requirements, we require you to submit the required documents according to the country specific requirements. Follow the instructions given under the country where your degree has been awarded.
- If the country your degree is awarded in is NOT listed under the country specific requirements, you must bring all original certificates (or officially certified copies) used in the application to the Admissions Office. Bring them with you as physical documents when you begin your studies. They will then be verified and cross-checked with the copies of the certificates uploaded during the application period. Please do NOT send any original documents to us by mail!
The admission is conditional until original certificates are verified.