Master's Degree Programme in International Business and Sales Management

Eligibility

1) Previous degree

At least a 3-year Bachelor's degree in an appropriate field from a recognised university or a recognised university of applied sciences/polytechnic is required for eligibility. If you have not completed your Bachelor's degree by the application deadline, you are 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 6 August 2021 at 15.00 (GMT+2). 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. Regardless of your educational background, you have to apply to our programme with your Bachelor’s degree.

2) Previous business studies  

A minimum of 60 ECTS in business studies is required. Language, communication and research method studies, and internships are not included in the above-mentioned studies. However, one course in economics, one course in logistics and one course in mathematics may be included in the above-mentioned studies.

3) Proficiency in English 

The applicants are to prove their language skills in English as follows: 

A) English language test:

• TOEFL Internet-based: Total Score min. 92. We accept also TOEFL iBT Home Edition test results (online test) for the time being.
• IELTS (Academic): Overall Score min. 6.5. We accept also IELTS indicator test results (online test) for the time being.
• PTE (Pearson Test of English), min. 62 points
• C1 Advanced: at least 180 (=CAE: at least level C)
• C2 Proficiency: at least 180 (=CPE: at least Level C1) 

B) Or, if the applicant fulfills 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
• 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
• English as the A1 language as part of an International Baccalaureate examination (minimum grade 2)
• Secondary education conducted in a Nordic country (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden)

Applicants selected to pursue the Master's degree may be required to take supplementary studies.

Finnish students with foreign Bachelor's degrees, please see "Kieli- ja viestintäopinnot ja koulusivistyskieli" in the Faculty's study guide.

All available study programmes in Finland can be found on the Studyinfo portal where applicants can search for suitable programmes and start the application.

Applicants are required to prioritize one program over the others, if they apply for more than one program from the UEF's Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies. If applicants are admitted to all the programs of their choice, a study place will only be offered for the prioritized program, cancelling the study place from the other programs. 

The online application is only open during the application period. Online applications are to be submitted through Studyinfo portal. 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 10 MB) until 27 January 2021 at 15.00 (GMT+2). Country-specific requirements will be announced here.

Applicants will be selected to pursue Master's degree studies on the basis of their applications. Results will be announced on 26 March 2021, at the latest. The process could be finalized well before the set deadline.

Supporting documents to be enclosed along with the online application

• Degree certificate, and if necessary, an English translation provided by an authorised translator. If you are applying with one degree and indicating youre your language skills with another, you are required to submit educational documents regarding both degrees.
• English language test certificate. It is recommended that you attach to a copy of your English language test certificate to your application.
• 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 number of credits, grading, and date of each study unit, and also the scale of grading used by the university, otherwise the application will not be considered.
• Letter of motivation
• A separate list of the relevant previous studies with a calculation of the average of the above mentioned studies
• ECTS conversion. If the studies completed have not been registered through the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS), applicants are required to submit a study credit conversion table in which their completed study credits, or study hours, are shown in equivalence to the ECTS credit scale (1 ECTS credit equals to 27 hours), otherwise the application will not be considered.
• GMAT score (if needed)
• A passport copy/other document of identification (not required from Finnish applicants)

Applications that satisfy the admission requirements will be put through a subsequent evaluation process in order to determine which applicants are selected for admission to the programme. We accept only official online applications. The applicants that fulfil the admission requirement of previous degree, previous studies, and English language skills are ranked according to the criteria below. Applicant may obtain a maximum of 30 admission points. The programme admits 30 students annually.

The eligible applicants will be evaluated according to the following principles:

1. Motivation 

Letter of motivation in English according to the following criteria (Max. 1000 words as a whole):

• A short introduction of the applicant (degrees and studies, current professional activity, special academic and professional merits) (0-1 point)
• Reasons for applying to the programme (0-2 points)
• Career plans after graduation (0-2 points)
• International experience and interests (0-2 points)
• What kind of topic or topics would you be interested in studying in your Master's thesis? (max. 250 words of 1000) (0-3 points) 

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

Previous studies according to the following criteria:

Relevant previous studies in the fields of International Business, Sales, Sales Management and/or Marketing (including bachelor's thesis or equivalent):

• 60 ECTS or more: 10 points
• 40-59 ECTS: 5 points
• Less than  40 ECTS: 0 points 

3. Average of the suitable previous studies (including bachelor's thesis or equivalent):

• 4,0 or more: 5 points
• 3,0-3,99: 3 points
• 2,99 or less: 0 points 

A separate list of the relevant previous studies with a calculation of the average of the above-mentioned studies must be provided on the online application form. If the calculation does not follow the ECTS grading system, it will be converted accordingly. If the grading is other than 1-5, it will be converted to 1-5. 

4. The better of the following criteria is considered (a or b): 

a. Bachelor's thesis (or equivalent) grade:

• 4,0 or more: 5 points
• 3,0-3,99: 3 points
• 2,99 or less: 0 points 

In case there is no final thesis grade included in the degree or if your admission is conditional:

Grade point average (GPA) as follows:

• 4,0 or more: 5 points
• 3,0-3,99: 3 points
• 2,99 or less: 0 points 

The grade point average must either be given in the degree certificate or a separate, certified calculation must be enclosed, otherwise the applicant receives 0 points. If the applicant's GPA does not follow the ECTS grading system, it will be converted accordingly. 

b. Applicants can obtain points from a Graduate Management Admission Test based on their GMAT score:

• score 600 or more = 5 points
• score 501 - 599 = 3 points
• score 500 or less = 0 points 

Please note that it takes 20 calendar days for you to receive a GMAT score after completing the test.

In order to be considered for admission, the applicant must receive a minimum of 10 points.

For intake 2021

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 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 16 July 2021. Non-EU/EEA applicants are required to formally accept their study place no later than 3 May 2021. This is an absolute deadline and will be treated as such. The autumn semester courses will begin on 1 September 2021.

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 studyinfo.fi.

The annual tuition fee is applied in the Master's Degree Programme in International Business and Sales Management for non-EU/EEA students. The tuition fee will remain the same for students throughout the entire time of completing their degrees. The tuition fee is 8,000 € per academic year (16,000 € for 2 years).  

What does the tuition fee include?  

The tuition fee includes the studies included in the degree (120 ECTS) and studies-related counselling and supervision.

In addition:

• Assistance in applying for student housing
• An orientation programme
• An appointed student tutor
• Access to IT services
• Wireless Internet access on campus, computer classrooms available 24/7
• Free use of the Library
• Finnish Language courses

How to apply for a scholarship?

The University of Eastern Finland offers all new students a partial tuition waiver in Master's degree programmes offered in English. In the Master's Degree Programme in International Business and Sales Management, the tuition waiver is 50% of the annual tuition fee. The due date for the first instalment is 15 June 2021.

The scholarship is applied for when applying for admission to the university by filling out the relevant section of the application form in the Studyinfo.fi portal. The decision about the scholarship is made in connection with student admission, and the student is notified of the matter in the letter of acceptance. 

The scholarship is personal and it is awarded for two academic years. See the criteria at admission requirements.

Students who are awarded a scholarship are required to sign and return a scholarship payment form to the programme coordinator before the payment of the scholarship can begin. 

If you have any questions about tuition fees or scholarships, please don't hesitate to contact: mdp-ibs@uef.fi.

Other considerations

The scholarship is awarded for two academic years. The first year scholarship will be granted based on the criteria prepared in connection with the preparation of the student admission criteria. However, the scholarship awarded for the second year is conditional and tied to the progress of the student's studies. The prerequisite for the scholarship to continue in the second academic year is that the student has completed a minimum of 55 ECTS credits of studies that are included in his or her degree during the first academic year (transferred credits are not taken into consideration). If the above prerequisite is not met, the conditional scholarship awarded for the second academic year can be discontinued on this basis. The student is heard in the matter before a decision to discontinue the scholarship is made.    

The UEF does not offer selected students any additional funding, financial aid or working opportunities. Therefore, students must be able to cover all their own living costs in Finland independently. Finding any other funding opportunities is also the responsibility of the students himself/herself.  

One's own finances are one of the requirements for the Finnish residence permit, and finances need to be available permanently on a student's bank account for the whole period the permit is applicable. Completely financing one's stay and studies in Finland by working is not possible, though part-time work may be available. For more information about the residence permit, please see the Finnish government's Immigration service at migri.fi. 

For further information, please see Studying in Finland (Finnish Immigration Service).

Other mandatory fee  

All degree students of the university are members of the Student Union. The Student Union membership fee is 126 € per academic year.

The Student Union membership fee entitles the student to, for example:     

• free basic health care    
• reduced lunch prices at student cafeterias    
• discounts on local buses and long-distance transportation    
• discounts on many public services and free-time activities

Further information is available on the website of the Student Union.