Master's Degree Programme for Research Chemists

In 2021, a maximum of 24 students will be accepted to the Master’s Degree Programme for Research Chemists. The application period opens on December 1, 20 and closes on January 20, 2021 at 15:00 (GMT+2). Incomplete or delayed applications will not be considered. The applicants will begin the application process on the national studyinfo.fi portal.

The accepted students will be notified of their acceptance no later than on March 26th, 2021. Students will be selected on the basis of their application documents. Meeting the minimum application requirements does not guarantee acceptance to the programme.

Application requirements

All applicants must hold at least a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in chemistry or chemical engineering 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 recognized and accredited university or higher education institution.

A temporary (provisional) degree certificate is accepted if it was awarded no more than five years earlier. The country-specific regulations are described in University of Eastern Finland web-page.

In case, the applicant has not yet received the Degree certificate by the admission deadline, he/she is required to submit an officially certified copy of his/her latest transcript of records during the application period. The country-specific regulations and general instructions are described in University of Eastern Finland web-page. If the applicant receives the degree certificate and the final transcript of records during the application period it is recommended to submit them as soon as possible.  If the degree is not completed by the end of application period the admission is conditional. In this case, the actual degree certificate shall be submitted to the programme coordinator by August 6, 2021 at 15:00 (GMT+2) at the latest, otherwise, the study place will be cancelled.

Official translations

All application documents should be submitted in Finnish, Swedish or English. Also the scanned copies of the original documents have to be submitted. Translations of educational documents must be 1) issued by the awarding institution or 2) officially certified copy of a translation issued by the awarding institution or 3) translated by an official translator or 4) officially certified copy of a translation made by an official translator. Each page of an official translation must bear the translator’s stamp and/or signature. Official translations must be exact translations of the original documents. Translations done by the applicant him- or herself are not accepted. The country-specific requirements and general instructions are described in here.

Language requirements

Applicants for the Master’s degree programmes are required to have sufficient English language proficiency.

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

• TOEFL : 92 and 22 in writing
• TOEFL rPDT test: a minimum score of 20 in the reading section, 20 in the listening section and 22 in the writing section
• IELTS (Academic): 6.5 and 5.5 in writing
• PTE (Academic): 62 and 54 in writing
• C1 Advanced: 180, min. 162 in writing
• C2 Proficiency: 180, min. 162 in writing
• National Certificate of Language Proficiency (YKI) -test: level 5 in the reading comprehension, writing and speaking subtests; website https://www.oph.fi/en/national-certificates-language-proficiency-yki.

The English language test is not required from applicants who have:

• a university degree (Bachelor’s, Master’s or Doctoral degree, or polytechnic/university of applied sciences) completed in English language, or
• completed the upper-secondary education in English in Great Britain, Ireland, United States, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand or in a Nordic Country,
• a degree at a Finnish university or a university of applied sciences with English as the major subject,
• exchange studies (min. 20 ECTS) at the University of Eastern Finland.

If the applicant has completed his/her studies in English, he/she must include the official statement of his/her educational institution that the medium of the instruction has been English.

Furthermore, applicants’ language skills will be deemed sufficient also if applicant has taken the matriculation examination in English language in Finland with a minimum grade of M. Other requirements of international examinations (International Baccalaureate (IB), European Baccalaureate (EB) or Reifeprüfung Diploma are described in the webpages of UEF admissions.

In addition, a certificate or proof of adequate language skills is accepted from applicants who apply from universities with which University of Eastern Finland has academic or educational co-operation agreement or who have recommendations from professor/s of department of chemistry in UEF.

If the applicant is applying with one degree and indicating the language skills with another, he/she is required to submit educational documents regarding both degrees. He/she can only indicate the language skills with an incomplete degree if he/she is applying for the studies with the same degree.

The language test certificates are valid for two years from the day they are issued and they have to be valid during the application period.

If the result of the language test is below the required minimum, the application will not be considered for the admission.

Download your attachments to the application form in pdf/jpg/png -format. If you cannot upload your attachments online please contact the admissions office for further instructions, admissions@uef.fi. The attachments must be submitted no later than January 27, 2021 at 15:00 pm (GMT+2) at the latest. All admitted applicants are required to bring their original degree certificates and transcripts of records for verification upon arrival in Finland.

• Completed application form (online)
• The original degree certificate (in the original language) and an English, Finnish or Swedish translation of the degree certificate (scanned document)
• The original transcript of records (in the original language) and an English, Finnish or Swedish translation of the transcript of records. The transcript should include the course units, their completion time, grades and credits awarded, and information on the grading scale used at the institution (scanned document)
• Scanned copy of the identification page of your passport (not required from Finnish applicants)
• Certificate or proof of English language skills. (See admission requirements) 
• Motivational letter describing your educational goals at the University of Eastern Finland. In the motivational letter the applicant should describe the reasons for applying to the programme, which specialization he/she is interested in (inorganic, organic, materials, physical chemistry), any relevant previous experience and future career or educational plans, for example plans to continue on to Ph.D. research
• At least two letters of recommendation from your previous academic instructors. Link to the reference letter (pdf)
• Curriculum Vitae

The application period for 2021 intake will begin on 1 December 2020 and it lasts until 20 January 2021. There is one intake per year and the studies start the following September.  Starting with admissions for studies applicants will begin the application process on the national Studyinfo portal.

After you submit your application you receive a confirmation email. This email includes a link or making changes to your application. Changes can be made until 20 January 2021, but it is possible to upload documents after the application deadline until 27th January (supplementary time). 

At the application state we require only scanned enclosures attached (uploaded) to the application form. Paper copies are not required during the application period.  Once you have filled out the online application, required enclosures must be uploaded electronically to the application (recommended file types pdf and jpeg, max. file size 1.0 GB) until 27 January 2021 at 3 pm (GMT+2).  Please make sure that you upload each enclosure to the right place in the application form.  Your application documents have to arrive by the given deadline. UEF does not process application documents that have arrived after the deadline.

All eligible applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria (max. 50 points)

1. Relevance and depth of chemistry studies in degree (max 15 points) 
2. Grading of studies in general (max. 5 points)
3. Grading of chemistry studies (max. 15 points)
4. Quality of the motivation letter (max. 10 points)
5. Recommendation letters (max. 5 points)

Admission results will be published no later than on March 26th, 2021. All applicants will be informed about the selection results by email. All accepted students will receive a package including a notification of admission, a confirmation form, and other relevant documents. All accepted students should inform whether they accept their study place by latest on May 3, 2021 (exception Finnish students July 16, 2021). Studies start in the beginning of September.

The annual tuition fee is 8,000 euros. Tuition waivers (70% ) are available to all new students admitted to  the programme.  EU/EEA students are exempt from tuition fees.