Master's Degree Programme in Sustainability Leadership

Eligibility

Applicants with the following degrees and studies are eligible

1. Bachelor’s degree
   • A 3- or 4-year, or equivalent, bachelor’s degree at an accredited university or an accredited university of applied sciences/polytechnic level is required. Also, the degree must give the right to apply for university-level master's studies in the country concerned.
   • The grade point average (GPA) of the degree used as the basis for the application must be at least 3.5/5 (on a 5-point scale).
2. Academic business studies
   • Either a minimum of 60 ECTS* in academic business studies, or a bachelor’s or a master’s (or equivalent) degree in business studies is required. (* 1 ECTS = a workload of 27 hours (lectures, assignments etc.))
   • Language, communication and research method studies, internships, work experience, and final thesis/exam/project are not included in the above-mentioned studies. However, one course in economics, one course in logistics, one course in mathematics, and one course in business law may be included in the above-mentioned studies.
   • If an applicant has several higher education degrees or separate studies in higher education that are not part of a degree, all these academic business studies can be considered when defining the applicant’s eligibility.
3. Research method studies
   • In addition, a minimum of 5 ECTS or two courses (minimum total of 5 ECTS) of research methods studies is required.
   • If the name of your methodological course is not directly 'Econometrics', ‘Statistics’, or 'Quantitative/Qualitative Research Methods,' you may attach a course description to ensure the relevant course is counted toward the required quantitative studies. If no course description is provided, the course suitability will be evaluated based on the course name provided in the transcript.

Please note that all these three (3) requirements must be met for the applicant to be eligible to apply.

You must apply to our programme with your Bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree, which will be used as the basis for the application. You must also submit all other higher educational documents that prove your eligibility to the programme, i.e., if your academic business studies are not included in your bachelor’s degree.

Applicants selected to pursue the master’s degree may be required to take supplementary studies; this is defined on an individual basis and will be included in the study plan for the student.

In addition, applicants who have completed a higher university degree leading to a higher university degree that does not include a lower university degree (e.g., a Finnish master's degree completed before the two-tier degree system) may be selected to complete a master’s degree.

Applicants who have not yet graduated or hold a provisional degree

If you have not completed your bachelor’s degree by the application deadline, you are still eligible to apply. In this case, you may be admitted to the master’s degree programme on the condition that you graduate and send an officially attested copy of the degree certificate to the Universityno later than 31 July 2025 15.00 (Helsinki time, GMT+3). If you do not submit the degree certificate to the University in time, this conditional admission will expire.

Applicants holding a provisional degree certificate may also apply for the programme. That is, the degree must be verifiably completed and the required documents of the completion of this degree must be submitted.

Applicants who are not eligible

Applicants with a Finnish higher university degree in business administration [Master of Science (in the field of Economics and Business Administration)] or equivalent are not eligible. This applies also to those applicants who will graduate [Master of Science (in the field of Economics and Business Administration)] before the right to study begins. 

Proficiency in English

Applicants must either 1) meet the language proficiency criteria (see below), or 2) reach the minimum required language test results to be considered eligible to the University of Eastern Finland. No exceptions will be made and no waivers regarding the language proficiency requirements are given. 

1) Applicants who hold one of the following do not have to take an English language test:

• A language test is not required if the applicant has completed their secondary education in English language in EU/EEA -countries, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand or in Switzerland.
• Finnish as an A language with minimum grade Magna Cum Laude Approbator as a part of Finnish Matriculation Examination. 
• A language test is not required if the applicant has completed a Bachelor’s, Master’s or higher degree in English language in EU/EEA -countries, or in one of the following countries: 
  • Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Cameroon, Canada, Dominica, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South-Africa, Switzerland, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, the United Kingdom, the United States, Zambia, Zimbabwe. 

The degree/programme must be taught and assessed entirely in English. If you verify your language skills with your education degree, the language of instruction and the location information of the teaching campus must be clearly indicated on the educational documents.  If you are applying with one degree and indicating your language skills with another, you are required to submit educational documents for both degrees.

Online studies or studies completed on offshore campuses outside the accepted countries/area cannot be used to indicate language skills, even if the degree-awarding institution is in one of the accepted countries. 

2) All other applicants must take one of the following language tests:

• TOEFL iBT, overall score 92, min. 22 in writing  
• IELTS (academic) overall score 6.5, min. 6.0 in writing 
• PTE (academic), overall score 62, min 54 in writing 
• C1 Advanced overall score C or 180, with min. 162 in writing  
• C2 Proficiency overall score level C1 or 180, with min. 162 in writing 
• National Certificate of Language Proficiency YKI-test: level 5 in all different subtests (reading comprehension, writing and speaking). It is possible to combine different examinations.  

No other degrees or statements of language proficiency will be accepted. 

TOEFL, IELTS and PTE certificates are valid for two years from the day they are issued, i.e. the language test must be in effect during the application period.

The language test results must be verifiable from the online verification service of the organiser.  

Learn more about the language requirements here.

Online applications are to be submitted through Studyinfo portal (new tab) during 8 January - 22 January at 15.00 (Helsinki time, GMT+3). Once you have filled out the online application, required enclosures must be uploaded electronically to the application (recommended file types are pdf and jpeg, max. file size 10 MB) by 29 January 2025 at 15.00 (Helsinki time, GMT+3).

All available study programmes in Finland can be found on the Studyinfo portal where applicants can search for suitable programmes and start the application process. The online application is only open during the application period.

Country-specific requirements will be announced here (new tab).

In Studyinfo.fi, the applicant may apply to a maximum of two (2) application options offered by the UEF Business School.

Applications are assessed based on the information available to the applications after the application and completion period. No further information will be requested, and incomplete applications will be rejected.

Supporting documents to be enclosed along with the application

The required enclosures need to be uploaded electronically to the application by 29 January 2025 15.00 (Helsinki time, GMT+3) at the latest. UEF does not process application documents that have arrived after the deadline. All enclosures are compulsory for the selection process, and if an applicant fails to attach the required documents, their application will be rejected. 

• Bachelor’s degree certificate, and if necessary, an English translation provided by an authorised translator. You are also required to submit educational documents for other degrees that you use to demonstrate your eligibility, e.g., language proficiency or business studies.
• Original (or officially certified copy of) transcript of academic record, and if necessary, an English translation provided by an authorised translator. The transcript must include the course names, the number of credits of each course, grading, beginning and end dates of the studies, and the scale of grading used for the GPA and course grading, otherwise the application will not be considered. Note also, that the grade point average must either be given in the degree certificate, transcript of records or a separate, certified calculation (check below for further information).
• English language test certificate (if needed)
• A copy of a passport/other document of identification (not required from Finnish applicants)
• A 2-minute video, sharing your motivations for studying at UEF. This video is an introduction video of the applicant. The maximum duration is 2 minutes, within which the applicant must answer all the above questions. Please note, that if you are applying to two Business School programmes, you must record a video for both programme applications. The video must start by mentioning the programme and the university applied to. Instructions on how to record the video will be published closer to the admission time. Please answer all 3 of the following questions in the video:
  1. Why should we select you to the UEF Business School?
  2. What are your expectations of this master’s degree programme?
  3. What are your motivations when applying to UEF?

If your educational documents do not mention your GPA, please follow the instructions below: 

• Your GPA must be calculated and signed by the awarding university. It may be attached as a separate document to the application along with the degree certificate and transcript of records. 
• Count the grade point average (GPA) for the degree that meets the requirement of a 3- or 4-year, or equivalent, bachelor’s degree at an accredited university or an accredited university of applied sciences/polytechnic level.
• The GPA calculation should be weighted; multiply the course grades with the course credits and divide by the total credits. 

  • For example, 

    ((grade1×credit1)+(grade2×credit2)+(grade3×credit3)) / (credit1+credit2+credit3) = GPA

• Count the GPA from the courses which have been graded on a numerical scale.
• Do not count courses that have been graded as "passed". 
• Do count the grade for your final thesis/exam/project.
• Please only count grades of individual courses. If your transcript includes average grades for whole study units, do not count grade averages of larger units like minors or similar.

Verification of official educational documents

All accepted students need to provide officially certified copies of their educational documents, in the case that they cannot authenticate their degree/transcript electronically when applying. The students will be conditionally accepted until they have provided the certified copies of the educational documents (degree certificate and transcript of records). Country specific requirements are in use in situations when the applicant cannot provide the documents electronically. The last date to send the documents is 30 May 2025. In case the student does not deliver the documents by the given deadline, their study right will be cancelled.

Admission is conditional if the applicant applies to UEF with a degree that is not finished during the application period. It is required that the applicants deliver copies of the final officially certified degree certificate and the transcript of records to the programme coordinator by 31 July 2025. 

Read more instructions on sending in documents here: www.uef.fi/en/verification-of-official-educational-documents.

Results

Applicants will be selected to pursue master’s degree studies based on their applications. Results will be announced by 28 May 2025, at the latest. The process could be finalised well before the set deadline.  

When the selection decision has been made, the results will be sent immediately to the applicants by email. Those applicants who have been accepted will receive a Notification of Admission, a Confirmation Link (and a Confirmation Form), and an information package (including information about accommodation, student insurance programme, student union etc.) by email. These accepted applicants are required to formally accept their study place no later than 10 July 2025 15.00 (Helsinki time, GMT+3). This is an absolute deadline and will be treated as such.  Failure to accept the study placement by this time will result in the applicant losing their study right. The autumn semester courses will begin on 1 September 2025, and new students are expected to arrive on campus by this date. 

According to the One study place per term provision, a student may accept only one study place leading to a higher education degree in Finland during one academic term. This rule applies to all higher education. For more information please see UEF Kamu: Study regulations (new tab).

Appeal

If you disagree with the decision you may apply for a rectification of the decision from the Board of Appeal of the University of Eastern Finland by 11 June 2025 15.00 (Helsinki time, GMT+3) at the latest. The instructions for making a request for rectification can be found on the Admissions results (new tab) website.

Applications that satisfy the eligibility criteria will be put through a subsequent evaluation process to determine, which applicants are selected for admission to the programme. The following selection process is made up of two (2) phases; in phase one (1) applicants are ranked according to their GPA and in phase two (2) the best scoring applicants will be ranked according to the points received for their previous studies and motivation video. Further information on scoring detailed below. 

The top scoring applicants will be admitted, and the rest of the applications will be rejected. Applicants must receive points from both their previous studies and motivation video to be accepted. Admission points will not be calculated for applicants who do not receive points from both previous studies and motivation video. The programme may accept more applicants to fill the available study places in the programme. There will be no waiting list. 

To be considered for admission, the applicant must receive a minimum of 10 selection points. The applicant may obtain a maximum of 20 selection points. 

Phase 1: Eligible applicants will be ranked based on their GPA

In phase 1, eligible applicants are ranked based on the GPA they received in their bachelor’s degree.

The GPA must either be given in the degree certificate, transcript of records, or a separate, certified calculation, otherwise the application will not be considered.  If the applicant’s GPA does not follow the ECTS grading system, it will be converted accordingly for the programme during the evaluation process.

Phase 2: Suitability of the earlier studies for the master's programme

In the final phase (phase 2), the top ranked applicants based on their GPA, will have their relevant studies and motivational video scored, based on the description below.

First, the motivation video can receive a maximum of 5 selection points. A 0 or 1 point is awarded for each question answered (maximum 3 points). A maximum of 2 points are awarded for communication skills. The video duration is maximum 2 minutes, only the first 2 minutes of the video will be scored.

Finally, applicants are awarded selection points based on the amount of relevant previous studies (in ECTS) in the field of Management and Organisation in Business Studies. In addition, one appropriate research methodology course will also be calculated into this section. These studies are scored as follows: 1 ECTS = 0,5 points (a maximum of 15 points). Internships, work experience, and final thesis/exam/project (or equivalent) are not included in the above-mentioned studies.

If an applicant has several higher education degrees or separate studies in higher education that are not part of a degree, all of these can be considered when calculating the suitable studies, provided that the attachments proving these studies meet the University’s document requirements.

The annual tuition fee for non-EU/EEA students is 10,000 EUR. There are no tuition fees for students who are citizens of EU/EEA countries or Switzerland. Applicants subject to tuition fees can apply for tuition waivers and scholarships during the university application process by completing the relevant section on the application form. The best ranked 50 % of study places will receive a tuition waiver covering 50 % of the tuition fee. In addition, the highest ranked applicant will be completely exempt from paying the tuition fee (UEF Scholarship). 

The tuition fee will remain the same for students throughout the entire time of completing their degrees. The due date for the first instalment is 31 August 2025.

The University of Eastern Finland also grants an Early Bird tuition fee deduction (autumn 2025 fee) of 500 euros to students who accept the study place and pay the tuition fees by 11 June 2025. The Early Bird deduction can only be used in online payment made by the given deadline. The Early Bird deduction ends on 11 June 2025. 

Students who are awarded a tuition fee waiver are required to sign and return a Student Agreement. The tuition fee payment for the 2025-2026 academic year needs to be paid by 31 August 2025. In addition, the Student Union membership fee and the Kela student health care fee are obligatory for degree students.

The waiver is applied for when applying for admission to the university by filling out the relevant section of the application form in the Studyinfo portal. 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.

Waivers are always personal. The decisions on waivers and cannot be appealed against.

Learn more about the tuition fees here If you have any questions about tuition fees and waivers, please don't hesitate to contact: imdpbs-uef(at)uef.fi.