Are you ready to take your first step towards a career in IT? The bachelor's degree programme in information technology provides core knowledge in computer science. The three-year programme contains studies in multiple areas: basic and advanced programming, algorithms, data management, software design, and human-computer interaction.
Graduated students will be ready for an IT career. After graduation, one can also continue studies at UEF (master's degree programme in information technology) or elsewhere. In addition to computer science studies, the students take one or two minor subjects such as data science, business, law, social sciences, and environmental sciences.
You can also have many interesting experiences through social activities during your studies. There are summer schools, visits to companies, and various other events organised by the student union and the Erasmus student network.
Most of the courses are based on contact teaching in Joensuu and Kuopio. Part of the courses are implemented together with the Bachelor of Engineering (information and communication technology) programme of the Karelia University of Applied Sciences.
For instructions on how to apply and a direct link to the application form on Studyinfo, please scroll down. The application period is open until January 22 2025.
Key information
- Level of degree: Bachelor's degree
- Programme duration: 3 years / 180 ECTS credits
- Language of instruction: English
- Programme start: September 2025
- Tuition fee: EU/EEA or Switzerland citizens have no tuition fee, and non-EU/EEA citizens have 10,000 €/academic year. A 50 % annual scholarship is awarded to the top 28 students per campus
- Tuition waivers are available for everyone
- Study campus: Joensuu and Kuopio
Why study with us?
- The programme provides core knowledge in computer science
- Some companies offer internships and thesis placements for students
- Students who graduate from the programme can continue to our master's degree programme (IMPIT)
- The School of Computing cooperates actively with local IT companies, and many students have found a job before graduation
Studies
Bachelor's degree programme in information technology provides core knowledge in computer science. The programme contains studies in multiple areas: basic and advanced programming, algorithms, data management, software design, and human-computer interaction.
Graduated will be ready for an IT career. After graduation, students can also continue studies in the master's degree programme in information technology at UEF or elsewhere. In addition to computer science studies, the students take one to two minor subjects, such as data science, business, law, social sciences, or environmental sciences.
Bachelor's degree programme in information technology is a three-year programme, and most of the programme’s courses are taught on campus in Joensuu or Kuopio. Some courses are implemented together with Bachelor of Engineering (information and communication technology) offered by Karelia University of Applied Sciences.
How to apply?
Eligible applicants hold an upper secondary education certificate:
- 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 which provides eligibility for university-level Bachelor’s studies in the country in question.
- Advanced International Certificate of Education degree (AICE) in Finland, or has the right to study towards a university degree in Finland, or holds a degree conferred by a Finnish higher education institution or at least a Bachelor level degree conferred by a foreign institution.
Applicants who are in the final semester of their upper secondary education are also eligible to apply.
In entrance examination admission, completed Finnish matriculation examinations and Finnish vocational qualifications of which the university has received information by 13 May 2025 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 that of a refugee, and you thus cannot verify your eligibility for higher education with documentation, the university may allow you to take part in an entrance examination for the bachelor’s degree programme. You must have a decision by the authorities regarding your refugee status (decision on asylum or residence permit based on protection), and you must submit a copy of the decision to the Admissions Office on 29 January 2025 at the latest.
Language requirements:
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.
(1) Applicants who hold one of the following do not have to take an English language test
- Proof of completed secondary or tertiary education taught exclusively in English
- Finnish matriculation examination in English language, minimum grade of magna cum laude approbatur (M)
- International Baccalaureate degree (diploma completed in English, satisfactory completion of A level English exam (literature / language and literature / literature and performance), satisfactory completion of B level English exam, minimum grade of 5 (good).
- EB degree: L1, mother tongue (English) completed successfully OR L2 – or L3 language (English) completed with a minimum score of 7.
- Reifeprüfung (RP) degree (German school of Helsinki) Satisfactory completion of English A (or a similar expected grade from upcoming DIA degree): Written scores are at a satisfactory level AND Oral score being minimum of 8.
The language of instruction of secondary education must be proven with the degree certificate, diploma or transcript. Please note that all teaching and assessments must be entirely in 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.
(2) All other applicants have to take one of the following language tests
Some test organisers give an expiration date on the tests. The language test results must be verifiable from the online verification service of the organiser. Language test scores are valid for two years from the day they are issued.
- TOEFL: minimum score 78 (IBT-test)
- IELTS (academic)-test minimum score 6.0
- PTE (academic)-test minimum score 54
- C1 Advanced score C
- C2 Proficiency minimum score: Level C1
- A National certificate of language proficiency (YKI) (English) of The Finnish National Agency for Education done at level 4 in all different areas.
No other degrees or statements of language proficiency will be accepted.
IELTS and PTE certificates are valid for two years from the day they are issued, i.e., the language test needs to be in effect during the application period, from 8 January 2023 onwards.
A language test is not needed if the applicant’s secondary education was conducted in English or they have completed a university degree or a university of applied sciences degree in English in an EU/EEA country, the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, or Switzerland.
Entrance examination course and video interview
Students are selected for the Bachelor in Science, Information Technology degree programme using an online entrance exam course and a video interview.
There are 40 student places in the Joensuu campus.
There are 40 student places in the Kuopio campus.
Entrance exam course will be passed during the application evaluation period. The course opens on 10 February 2025 and the course must be finished by 16 March 2025. The course must be completed using the university Moodle platform. Access rights for the course will be sent to applicants after the application period. The applicant’s eligibility for application and selection will be checked before the final selection decision.
The course part of the selection: Introduction to Computer Science and Algorithmic Thinking. It contains material and exercises on elementary Computer Science and algorithmic subjects. The course is worth 2 ECTS units, and the selected students can use the credits within their BSc degree.
Scoring the entrance examination course and video interview
The applicants must complete the course by 16 March 2025 to be considered for admission. The maximum for the whole course is 200 points. The applicant must get at least 100 points to be considered for admission. According to the course points, after completing the course, at least 60 of the best applicants for each campus are invited for a video interview. The video interview will be graded based on (1) motivation, (2) presentation skills, and (3) knowledge of the subjects of the entrance exam course. Each grading part (1)-(3) has a maximum of 10 points, and at least 5 points must be achieved in each grading part (1)-(3) to be considered for admission.
The applicants are then ranked based on the combined score of the entrance exam course and video interview, which can be a maximum of 2a 30 points. If more than one applicant has the same combined score, all such applicants will be admitted.
Selections for the video interview will be published by 21 March at the latest. Video interviews will be organized from 31 March to 11 April.
The results of the entrance examination course admission will be announced in the My Studyinfo service on 28 May 2025 at the latest.
The granted right to study
If you are admitted to the programme, you will gain the right to complete a Bachelor in Science, Information Technology degree.
You may accept only one student place leading to a higher education degree in education that begins in the same academic term.
Additional information on applying
Conditional acceptance
You will be informed in the result letter you receive from Studyinfo and in the My Studyinfo service if your acceptance is conditional. If you do not meet the condition by the deadline, you will lose the study place offered to you.
Applicants who complete an IB or EB degree in the same spring they apply
If the applicant completes their IB or EB degree in the spring of 2025, the final result of selection will be made based on the final grades of the IB/EB degree. If, for example, your grades improve from preliminary grades so that your selection points would increase over the cut-off, you will be selected as an extra student. If your grades decline so that you would not have been selected, then the selection will be cancelled. All the information will be checked at the latest when you start your studies. Checking and registering the final grades of applicants whose acceptance is conditional in Studyinfo may change the admission order of all applicants.
Delimitation of granting the right to study
You cannot be granted a new right to study resulting in a Bachelor in Science, Information Technology degree if you already have a valid right to study in the Information Technology degree programme resulting in a Bachelor in Science, Information Technology degree or a right to study in the Information Technology degree programme resulting in a Master of Science degree at the University of Eastern Finland.
Rectifying procedure
If you disagree with the student selection decision, you may apply for a rectification of the decision after the results have been published between 28 May – 11 June 2025 before 3:00 p.m. Appeal instructions.
Attachments
Eligibility
The attachments must be electronically saved on the application form (pdf, jpg, or png) by 29 January 2025 at 3:00 p.m. If attachments are required from you, after submitting the application form, you will receive information on the required attachments on the screen as well as by email (confirmation message about submitting the application form).
Certification of English language skills
To verify your English language proficiency, upload the required document to the application form by 29 January 2025 at 3:00 p.m. If you must upload a required attachment after submitting the application form, you will receive information on the required attachments on the screen and by email (confirmation message about submitting the application form).
Information concerning the required documents.
Applicants receiving their diplomas in 2025 please see our website
The attachment is uploaded to the application form
Deadline for uploading attachments
29 January 2025 at 3:00 p.m.
Annual tuition fees for non-EU/EEA or Switzerland citizens will be 10,000 EUR. There are no tuition fees for EU/ETA or Switzerland citizens.
Non-EU/ETA applicants can apply for tuition fee waivers 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 waiver is personal and it is awarded for two academic years. The waiver exempts the student from the tuition fee partially (50%).
Students granted a tuition waiver or scholarship must sign and return a student agreement. The Early Bird deduction ends on 21 June 2024. The first tuition fee payment for Autumn 2025 needs to be made by 31 August 2025. In addition, the Student Union membership fee and Kela student health care fee are obligatory for bachelor’s degree students.
Application period 2025
Our application period is from 8 January 2025 at 8:00 a.m. to 22 January 2025 at 3:00 p.m. The application is completed and submitted online.
Apply via Studyinfo
Studyinfo.fi is the official national admissions portal with all the up-to-date information about study programmes leading to a degree in Finland.
Contacts
Please do not hesitate to contact us in case you have any questions about our programme: ibpit@uef.fi