Master's Degree Programme in Forestry (Transatlantic Forestry)

Degree requirements (when UEF is the home/host university*)

All applicants should have a Bachelor's Degree in forest sciences corresponding to at least 3 years' of full-time academic studies (equivalent of 180 ECTS credit units in the Finnish university system) obtained at an internationally recognised and accredited university or higher education institution. Applicants with a degree in the related field or with a BSc Degree issued by the University of Applied Sciences can also be eligible but they may have to take complementary studies in forest sciences of max. 60 ECTS credits if they are admitted. These studies will not be included in the Master's Degree, but are an addition to it.  

Temporary (provisional) degree certificate
A temporary (provisional) 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 temporary degree certificate is issued 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. The temporary 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. A temporary (provisional) degree certificate is accepted if it was awarded no more than five years earlier. The five-year validity period begins from the date on which the degree was conferred and must not expire prior to the application deadline. In other words, a temporary degree certificate is not accepted if it was awarded more than five years ago. In such cases, the applicant must present his or her final degree certificate.  

Statement issued by the university
In case, the applicant has not yet received a BSc Degree certificate by the admission deadline, a statement issued by the applicant's university is also accepted as a replacement of the actual degree certificate. This statement should include the name of the institution which is going to award the degree, the expected date of issue (graduation), and the name of the person to whom the degree certificate will be awarded. The final deadline to submit the actual degree certificate to the programme coordinator at the University of Eastern Finland is 28 July 2023.  

Requirements for the educational documents and their translations.

Language requirements (when UEF is the home/host university*)

Applicants for the Transfor-M are required to have sufficient English language proficiency. Applicants' language skills will be deemed sufficient if their Finnish Bachelor's degree includes compulsory studies in English or if they have:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree (or higher) conducted in English language EU or ETA country or in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom or United States.
• Secondary education conducted in English in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom or United States.  

Furthermore, the following standardized language tests passed with the minimum grade or score specified below will be considered proof of sufficient English skills:  

• The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL iBT or TOEFL iBT Home Edition): 92
• The International English Language Testing System (IELTS or IELTS indicator): overall score 6.5
• PTE (Pearson Test of English): 62
• C1 Advanced (former CAE): overall score of 176
• C2 Proficiency (former CPE): overall score of 180  

Requirements and instructions for language tests.

*If you do not apply to UEF as your home or host university, please check the degree and language requirements at the websites of the Transfor-M Universities you wish to apply to)

You will apply through your desired home university and be selected by both the home and the host university, and will be required to meet the minimum admission criteria for graduate studies at both universities.  

If there are any questions related to the application or general requirements, please contact the local Transfor-M advisor.  

Transfor-M application procedures at UEF

Every year 1-5 students from UEF will get the chance to study in Canada. Selection will favour students with strong academic records and experience and credentials, suggesting serious interest in international work.

Please see below the instructions how to apply for admission:  

1) Apply for the study right at UEF through Studyinfo.fi  between 4 - 18 January 2023 in case you wish to have UEF as the home university. For the instructions see here.  

2) Students who have applied to Transfor-M programme as one of the Canadian universities as the home university and have been pre-selected to Transfor-M programme with UEF as the host university, will be informed how to apply for the study right at UEF in case selected to Transfor-M programme. In principle, students having UEF as the second-year host university in 2023-2024, will apply to UEF through Studyinfo.fi  between 4 - 18 January 2023 as instructed below.

If there are any questions related to the application or general requirements at UEF, please contact the local Transfor-M advisor at UEF.  

Instructions how to apply for the study right at UEF  

The on-line application form must be filled in and the required enclosures need to be attached (in pdf format) with the on-line application. At the application state we require only scanned enclosures attached (uploaded) to the application form. Paper copies are not required during the application period. Please see further instructions and how to submit your application documents here. The recommendation letters can be attached with the online application form OR they can be sent by email directly to the programme coordinator, Ms. Marjoriitta Möttönen (marjoriitta.mottonen@uef.fi) by the referee.

The required enclosures are:  

a. The scanned copy of the original degree certificate (in the original language) and an English, Finnish or Swedish translation of the degree certificate, see admission requirements below  

b. The scanned copy of the original transcript of records (in the original language) and an English, Finnish or Swedish translation of the transcript of records, see admission requirements below  

c. English language certificate, see admission requirements below  

d. Two recommendation letters (use the templates: doc or pdf)

e. A copy of passport (not required from Finnish applicants)  

f. Curriculum vitae  

g. Possible document giving you an exemption from paying tuition fee  In addition, as a part of the admission requirements, in the application form you will be requested to write a motivation letter (max. 1000 characters) and include information about your work experience (max. 500 characters) and international experience (max. 500 characters).  

Application procedure step by step for the University of Eastern Finland  

You will begin the application process on the national Studyinfo portal. Application form is available at studyinfo.fi only when the call for applications is open (4 - 18 January 2023 at 15:00 (GMT +2)).

Go to Studyinfo portal and begin the application here. You must fill in the online application and submit it with the required scanned enclosures. We will not process application documents that have arrived after the deadline.  For more information about how to apply, please see the website of the Admissions Office of the University of Eastern Finland.

Application instructions in a nutshell  

If you wish to have UEF as your home university (or your second-year host university will be UEF), you are advised to fill in the online application form and to make sure you have attached the required application enclosures (in pdf format). At the application state we require only scanned enclosures attached (uploaded) to the application form. Paper copies are not required during the application period.  

Should you have any questions about completing your application, please contact our Admissions Office, admissions@uef.fi, tel. +358 29 445 8990.

In case you have questions concerning the application requirements, please contact Ms Marjoriitta Möttönen, marjoriitta.mottonen@uef.fi, tel. +358 (0) 50 442 3031.  

Application documents will not be returned to the applicant.  

Further information on application procedure at the University of Eastern Finland: Admission to Master's Degree Programmes.

Selection criteria (UEF as the home university)

All eligible applications received in the programme specific call will be evaluated according to five selection criteria:  

• Academic excellence (0-5 points)
• Prestige and level of the home university (0-5 points)
• Relevant studies and other background (eg. work experience, international experience and other projects) (0-5 points)
• Recommendation letters (0-5 points)
• Motivation (0-5 points)  

Whenever two or more applicants have the same total points, the one who has higher points in academic excellence will be placed first. The best 10 applicants according to the ranking list will be selected to the programme and the others will be rejected. 

Admission results

UEF will carry out the student selection and inform the selected applicants on their admission results by latest on 31 March 2023 by email. Admitted students can request paper documents sent by mail if needed. The non-selected applicants will be informed only by email.  

Admitted international students should inform whether they accept their study place by latest on 14 July 2023.

Verification of original documents

We require that all admitted applicants submit their original degree certificates for verification upon arrival in Finland.

Selected students who are unable to deliver the electronically certified final diploma and transcript of records during the application period will be selected on a conditional basis. Students who accept the study place are required to provide officially certified copies of the degree certificate and final transcript of records, or submit them according to country-specific document requirements, by 11.8.2023 at the latest. If the required documents do not arrive on time or cannot be verified electronically by the deadline, the study place will be cancelled.

NB! There are country-specific document requirements in place for academic qualifications awarded in certain countries. If your degree is completed in a country that has country-specific requirements, you must submit your educational documents following the relevant country-specific instructions.

Scholarships and tuition fees in Transfor-M  

We would encourage you to search and apply for funding from all possible sources and foundations for your year abroad as Transfor-M programme is not able to offer any scholarships. You would need to pay to your home institution full tuition and all other mandatory and required fees associated with a normal full-time registration with the fee payment schedule of the home institution. You can receive more details from the local Transfor-M advisor(s) and below.  

Instructions for the EU/EEA students whose home university is UEF

The students coming from EU/EEA countries and whose home university will be UEF should note the fact that you do not need to pay the tuition fees to your host university in Canada which can be regarded as a full scholarship from your Canadian host university. You may, however, need to pay e.g. the compulsory payments related to the visas, health service, insurance etc.  

Instructions for the non-EU/EEA students students whose home university is UEF or one of the Canadian Transfor-M partner universities

The non-EU/EEA students whose home university will be UEF or one of the Canadian Transfor-M partner universities will pay tuition fees to the home university for both first and second academic years.  

Students whose home university is in Canada and who pay these tuition fees to Canada, can apply for an exemption for the tuition fees of UEF.  

The other fees related to e.g. your Finnish residence permit, student union fee, insurance etc. will be on your side.  

The tuition fee for the non-EU/ETA students whose home university is UEF is 8000 euros per academic year. The tuition fee includes the studies included in the degree (120 ECTS) and studies-related counselling and supervision. In addition, the fee includes:

• Assistance in applying for student housing
• An orientation programme
• An appointed student tutor
• Access to IT services
• Wireless Internet access on campus, computer classrooms available 24/7
• Free use of the Library  

The tuition fee waiver is applied for when applying for admission to the university by filling out the relevant section of the application form. The decision about the waiver is made in connection with student admission, and the student is notified of the matter in the letter of acceptance.  

The tuition fee waiver is awarded on the basis of the student's academic achievements described in the admission criteria. The waiver is personal and it is awarded for two academic years.  

The tuition fee waiver exempts the student from the tuition fee partially (70%) (in 2023-2024).  

Applicants will be notified of their acceptance to the university and possible waiver upon their admission.  

The tuition fee is paid in two instalments. The first instalment is paid by 31 June and the second instalment by 30 November.

All degree students of the university are members of the Student Union. The Student Union membership fee is about 70 euros (the exact amount can be found at the student union website) per academic year. The Student Union membership fee entitles the student to, for example:

• reduced lunch prices at student cafeterias
• discounts on local buses and long-distance transportation
• discounts on many public services and free-time activities

Further information is available on the website of the Student Union.

You can receive more details from the local Transfor-M advisor(s).