Master's Degree Programme in Sustainability Leadership

Applicants with the following degrees and studies are eligible:

A 3- or 4-year or equivalent Bachelor’s degree at an accredited university or an accredited university of applied sciences/ polytechnic level. 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 5-point scale). A minimum of 60 ECTS* in academic business studies is required. In addition, the minimum of 5 ECTS of any research methods studies is required. Language, communication and research method studies, internships, 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.     

* 1 ECTS credit = a workload of 27 hours (lectures, assignments, etc.)

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 University no later than 9 August 2024 at 15.00 (Helsinki time, GMT+3). If you do not submit the degree certificate to the University in time, the 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.

Regardless of your educational background, you must apply to our programme with your Bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree.

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.

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 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.

 
Proficiency in English
TOEFL, IELTS and PTE certificates are valid for two years from the day they are issued, i.e., the language test need to be in effect from 3^rd of January 2022 onwards.

The applicants are to prove their language skills in English in one of the ways listed below, and no other degrees or statements of language proficiency will be accepted:

1. English language test:

• TOEFL Internet-based: Total Score min. 92 and 22 in writing
• IELTS (Academic), also IELTS indicator: Overall Score min. 6.5 and 6.0 in writing
• PTE (Pearson Test of English), min. 62 points and 54 in writing
• C1 Advanced: 180 and min. 162 in writing (or at least level C)
• C2 Proficiency: 180 and min. 162 in writing (or least level C1)
• National Certificate of Language Proficiency (YKI) -test: level 5 in the reading comprehension, writing and speaking subtests: https://www.oph.fi/en/national-certificates-language-proficiency-yki

2.  Or, if the applicant fulfils at least one of the following requirements, a separate language test is not required but the applicant is to prove his/her English proficiency with the applicable degree certificate and the transcript of his/her academic record:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree conducted in English language in a Nordic country (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden)
• Bachelor's or Master's degree conducted in English language in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, or the United States
• Bachelor's or Master's degree conducted in English language in an EU/EEA country or in Switzerland 
• Secondary education conducted in English language in a Nordic country (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden)
• Secondary education conducted in English language in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, or the United States
• Secondary education conducted in English language in an EU/EEA country or in Switzerland 
• Finnish matriculation examination: English with a minimum grade of M
• International Baccalaureate (IB) completed in English. If not completed in English, then the following ways of indicating academic language skills are acceptable: 
  • A level English (language and literature or literature and performance) with a minimum grade of 2, OR a minimum score of 5 (good) in B level English
  • IB-degree completed before 2013: A1 English with a minimum grade 2 and English as the A2 language with a minimum grade of 5

• European Baccalaureate (EB):
  • English as the L1-language with an approved grade (a minimum grade of 4) and English as the L2 language with a minimum grade of 7

• RP-Diploma (German School in Helsinki) or the German International Abitur (DIA) Diploma: successful completion of written A Level English OR a minimum score of 8 in oral A Level English.
• 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.

Application procedure

Online applications are to be submitted through Studyinfo portal (new tab) during 3 January - 17 January at 15.00 PM (Helsinki time). 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 24 January 2024 at 15.00 (Helsinki time). 

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. Applicants will be asked to prioritise their top choice of programme from UEF in the application.

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 24 January 2024 at 15.00 (EEST) at the latest. UEF does not process application documents that have arrived after the deadline.

• Degree certificate, and if necessary, an English translation provided by an authorised translator. If you are applying with one degree and indicating your language skills with another, you are required to submit educational documents regarding both degrees.
• 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, and date of each study unit, and also the scale of grading used by the university, 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.
• English language test certificate (if needed)
• A copy of a passport/other document of identification (not required from Finnish applicants)

Selection Process

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 applicants who fulfil the above requirements of previous studies and English language skills are ranked according to the criteria below. The top 15 applicants will be admitted, and the rest of the applicants will be rejected. The programme may accept more applicants to fill the available study places in the programme. There will be no waiting list.


In order to be considered for admission, the applicant must receive a minimum of 15 points. The applicant may obtain a maximum of 30 selection points.

1. Weighted average of studies included in the degree / grade point average (GPA) as follows:

A grade point average of 3.5 is equal to 0 points and the points will increase by 1 point for each 0.1 increase in GPA, i.e., GPA 3.6= 1 point, GPA 3.7= 2points, and finally GPA 5= 15points.  If the grading is other than 1-5, it will be converted to 1-5. 

The grade point average 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 by the Admission Committee for the programme during the evaluation process.

2. Suitability of the earlier studies for the Master's programme 

The amount of relevant previous studies (in ECTS) in the field of Management and Organisation. In addition, one appropriate methodology course will also be calculated into this section: 1 ECTS = 0,5 points. (a maximum of 15 points). Internships 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.

Results

Applicants will be selected to pursue Master's degree studies based on their applications. Results will be announced on 12 April 2024, at the latest. The process could be finalized well before the set deadline.  

When the selection decision has been made, the results will be sent immediately to the applicants by e-mail. Those applicants who have been accepted will receive a Notification of Admission, a Confirmation Link (and Form), and 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 11 July 2024 (15.00 EEST). This is an absolute deadline and will be treated as such.  Failure to accept the study placement by this time will result in the student losing the study right. The autumn semester courses will begin on 1 September 2024.  

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).

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 9 August 2024.

All accepted students need to provide officially certified copies of their 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 document (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 9 August 2024.

 In case the applicants do not deliver the documents by the given deadline, their study right will be cancelled.

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 14 June 2024 at 15.00 pm (EEST) at the latest. The instructions for making a request for rectification can be found on Admissions results website. 

Contact details

Director of the programme: Professor Hanna Lehtimäki, hanna.lehtimaki (at) uef.fi

Programme’s email: imdpbs-uef(at)uef.fi, uef.fi/sld

Starting from 2024, an annual tuition fee of 10.000 euros is applied in the Master's Degree Programme in Sustainability Leadership for non-EU/EEA students. 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 2024.

Half of the 15 selected applicants will be offered a 50% tuition waiver which covers half of their tuition fee for two years of their studies. The waiver is personal and awarded for two years.

The University of Eastern Finland also grants an Early Bird tuition fee deduction (autumn 2024 fee) of 500 € to students who accept the study place and pay the tuition fees by 3 May 2024. The Early Bird deduction can only be used in online payment made by the given deadline.

 The University of Eastern Finland will also grant a Finland Scholarship (Suomi-stipendi) of € 5 000 for the two best applicants in each Master's degree programme. The Finland Scholarship is granted for the first year of Master’s studies and the students who receive it must be non-EU/EEA citizens who are liable to pay tuition fees. The Finland Scholarship includes:

• 100 % tuition waiver for the first year's tuition fee (value € 10 000 in the Master's Degree Programme in Sustainability Leadership)
• € 5 000 relocation grant

The Finland scholarship is a one-year scholarship for first-year Master’s students. For the second year of study, students need to secure sufficient funds themselves. The programmes' general tuition waivers will be offered for the second-year studies. 

The Finland Scholarships will be granted until 2024. Students who apply to Master’s studies in 2025 are not eligible. The national Finland Scholarship programme is funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture.

The waiver and the Finland scholarship are applied for when applying for admission to the university by filling out the relevant sections of the application form in the Opintopolku portal. The decision about the waiver and Finland Scholarship are made in connection with student admission, and the student is notified of the matter in the letter of acceptance.

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

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

Please find further information on tuition fees and scholarships here (new tab).