Bachelor's Degree Programme in East Slavic Societies and Religion

Eligibility criteria

Eligible applicants must hold one of the following qualifications:

• Finnish matriculation examination
• International Baccalaureate degree (IB)
• European Baccalaureate degree (EB)
• Deutsches Internationales Abitur degree (DIA) or Reifeprüfung degree (RP) in Finland 
• A Finnish vocational upper secondary qualification, further vocational qualification, or specialist vocational qualification as set in the Vocational Education Act (531/2017)
• any other comparable upper secondary educational qualification that provides eligibility for university-level Bachelor’s studies in the country in question
• Cambridge Assessment International Education A-level or Advanced International Certificate of Education degree (AICE)
• the right to study towards a university degree in Finland
• a degree conferred by a Finnish higher education institution
• at least a bachelor's level degree conferred by a foreign institution

Applicants who are in the final semester of their upper secondary education are also eligible to apply.

Finnish matriculation examinations and Finnish vocational qualifications of which the university has received information by 18 May 2027 will be taken into account. International matriculation examinations and degrees completed abroad will be taken into account if the required attachments have been sent by the deadline.

If you are a refugee or your status is comparable to a refugee, and you thus cannot verify your eligibility to higher education with documentation, the university may allow you to apply to the bachelor’s degree programme. You must have a decision by the authorities regarding your refugee status (decision on asylum or residence permit on the basis of protection), and you must submit a copy of the decision to the Admissions Office on 28 January 2027 at the latest

Language requirements

Applicants must demonstrate the required level of language proficiency for admission by either (1) achieving at least the minimum required results in one of the approved language tests or (2) meeting the language proficiency criteria outlined below. These requirements apply to all applicants. No exceptions or waivers of language proficiency requirements will be given.

1. Applicants can prove their English language skills with one of the following examinations or tests

Matriculation examinations 

• Finnish matriculation examination, English language (A-language, advanced syllabus) completed with a minimum grade of magna cum laude approbatur (M) 
• International Baccalaureate degree (IB): 
  • diploma completed in English, or
  • successful completion of A-level English exam (literature/ language and literature/ literature and performance), or
  • completion of B-level English exam, minimum grade of 5 (good). 
• European Baccalaureate degree (EB): 
  • L1-language (English) completed successfully or
  • L2 – or L3 language (English) completed with a minimum grade of 7. 
• Reifeprüfung (RP) or DIA degree (German school of Helsinki):
  • English A written component completed successfully or
  • an oral score of at least 8 

Language tests 

• TOEFL iBT 
  Overall score 78 (tests completed before January 21, 2026) 

  Overall score 4, with a minimum of 3.5 in each component (tests completed on or after January 21, 2026) 

• IELTS Academic 
  Overall score 6.0, with a minimum of 5.5 in each component
• PTE Academic 
  Overall score 62, with a minimum of 61 in writing
• Cambridge C1 Advanced 
  Overall grade C 
• Cambridge C2 Proficiency 
  Overall result corresponding to level C1 
• National Certificate of Language Proficiency (YKI-test) 
  Level 4 in all subtests (reading comprehension, writing, listening comprehension, and speaking). Results from different examination sessions may be combined.

TOEFL, IELTS, and PTE certificates are valid for two years from the day they are issued, and the test needs to be in effect during the application period, from 7 January 2027 onwards. The language test results must be verifiable from the online verification service of the organiser.

Kindly note that the University of Eastern Finland also accepts the following tests:

• IELTS Academic online and UKVI tests, IELTS One Skill Retake test results
• PTE Academic online and UKVI tests
• TOEFL iBT Home Edition tests, MyBest Scores

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

• 1. a) A language test is not required if the applicant has completed their secondary education in English in EU/EEA countries, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, or in Switzerland. Applicants from EU/EEA countries and Switzerland must prove the language of instruction. The medium of instruction must be clearly stated in the educational documents. If your documents do not explicitly mention English as the medium of instruction, you must provide an additional official statement issued by a representative of your educational institution confirming this.
• 1. b) A language test is not required if the applicant has completed a Bachelor’s, Master’s or higher degree in an English-taught programme in EU/EEA countries, or in one of the following countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Cameroon, Dominica, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Grenada, Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Applicants from these countries must prove the language of instruction. The medium of instruction must be clearly stated in the educational documents. If your documents do not explicitly mention English as the medium of instruction, you must provide an additional official statement issued by a representative of your educational institution confirming this.
• c) A language test is not required if the applicant has completed a Bachelor’s, Master’s or higher degree in an English-taught programme in Australia, Canada, Ghana, Ireland, New Zealand, Nigeria, the United Kingdom, or the United States.  Applicants prove their language skills with a university degree. 

The degree/programme must be taught and assessed in English (at least 50 % of the degree must be completed in English).

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

A language test is not required if the applicant has completed a degree at a Finnish university or university of applied sciences, provided that the degree includes the mandatory foreign language studies in English required by Finnish degree regulations (Government Decree on University Degrees 794/2004 or Government Decree on Degrees of Universities of Applied Sciences 1129/2014).

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

Application details

In 2027, a maximum of 20 students will be admitted to the Bachelor's Degree Programme in East Slavic Cultures and Religion. Ten students will be admitted to each of the following two application options:

• Degree: Bachelor of Arts; Major: East Slavic Languages and Cultures
• Degree: Bachelor of Theology; Major: Orthodox Theology

The application period opens on 7 January 2027 and closes on 21 January 2027 at 3 pm (EET). Applicants need to apply through the national Studyinfo portal at studyinfo.fi. Each applicant can only fill in and submit one application form in the first joint application.

Each applicant may apply to only one of the following two application options:

• Bachelor’s programme in East Slavic Cultures and Religion, East-Slavic Languages and Cultures, Joensuu, Bachelor of Arts (3 years)
• Bachelor’s programme in East Slavic Cultures and Religion, Orthodox Theology, Joensuu, Bachelor of Theology (3 years)

Enclosures

Applicants must upload scanned copies of their educational documents and proof of their English proficiency to the online application form by 3 PM (UTC +2) on 28 January 2027. Paper copies are not required at the application stage.

Students in the final semester of their studies are eligible to apply. Their admission will be conditional until graduation is confirmed.

If educational documents are issued in a language other than English, Finnish or Swedish, official translations of them to one of these languages are required.

Incomplete applications and application documents that have arrived after the given deadline will not be processed.

General information on types of documents and how to submit them.

Admission to the programme is based on an online video interview recorded by the applicant via the Recright platform. The purpose of the interview is to assess the applicant’s motivation, academic interests, and readiness for the Bachelor’s Degree Programme in East Slavic Societies and Religion.

Eligible applicants will receive detailed instructions for completing the online interview on 15 February 2027. The online interview system will be open from 16 February to 2 March 2027.

In the interview, there will be five questions, and each answer is evaluated using points on scale 0 to 5. The applicant must answer all questions and gain at least 1 point for each answer, and at least 10 total points out of 25 points from the interview. The applicants are ranked based on the total score. If more than one applicant has the same combined score, all such applicants will be admitted.

Applicants must have the technical tools to conduct the online interview: a computer or a mobile device with a camera and microphone, a quiet private space and a stable internet connection. The responsibility to organise these technical and physical facilities lies with the applicant. 

The applicant’s eligibility for application and selection will be checked before the final admission decision.

Admission results

Results for studies starting in September 2027 will be published on 31 May 2027 at the latest. When the selection decision has been made, the results will be sent to applicants immediately by e-mail.

Applicants must confirm their study place electronically in Studyinfo by 13 July 2027 at 3 PM (UTC+3). Applicants without a Finnish personal identity code use the confirmation link sent by email. Applicants with a Finnish personal identity code must log into My Studyinfo with Finnish online banking credentials, a mobile certificate, or a certificate card. If you encounter any issues, you may request a separate confirmation form from the programme coordinator.

Conditional admission

Admission is conditional 1) if the applicant applies to UEF with a degree that is not completed during the application period or 2) if the degree cannot be electronically authenticated (verified) at the time of application. In such cases, applicants must submit officially certified copies of the final degree certificate and transcript of records by the deadlines specified by the UEF. Applicants remain conditionally admitted until the required certified documents have been provided.

Electronic verification of educational documents is strongly recommended; paper documents by mail are also accepted. Applicants must use the document submission methods specified by the UEF. For detailed instructions, please see the webpage Verification of official educational documents.

Verified educational documents must be submitted to UEF by 31 May 2027. Applicants who graduate after the application period must submit their final educational documents by 31 July 2027. If the applicant does not deliver their documents by the given deadline, their study right will be cancelled.

Delimitation of granting right to study

You may accept only one study place leading to a higher education degree, and beginning of 1 January 2027 only one study right is possible. This rule applies to all higher education.

Appeal

Applicants who disagree with the student selection decision may apply for rectification of the decision from the Dean of the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Eastern Finland. It is possible to make a request for rectification only after the admission results have been published. The deadline is 10 June 2026 at 3 pm (EEST). The instructions for making a request for rectification can be found on the Admissions results website.  

Tuition fee

The annual tuition fee for non-EU/EEA students is 10,000 €. There are no tuition fees for students who are citizens of EU/EEA countries or Switzerland.

Scholarships

No scholarships are available for the first year of studies. Instead, applicants who accept their study place and pay the tuition fee within three weeks of the admission decision receive a 30% early bird discount on the first-year tuition fee. For the second year, students who complete at least 55 ECTS credits during their first year receive a scholarship covering 30% of the tuition fee. Similarly, students who complete 55 credits during their second year receive a 30% scholarship for the third year.

Other fees

Independent of tuition fees, all degree students are required to pay the Student union membership fee and the Student healthcare fee.