Master's Degree Programme in Linguistic Data Sciences

Eligibility  

A previous bachelor's degree corresponding to at least three years of full-time academic studies from an institution for higher education is required from all master's degree applicants. The degree must be awarded by an internationally recognized university.

In the Master’s Degree Programme in Linguistic Data Sciences, a recognized bachelor’s degree (or higher) in the area of Linguistics, Language Studies, or Translation Studies is required for eligibility.

English proficiency  

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 are made and no waivers regarding the language proficiency requirements are given.

1. Applicants who hold one of the following do not have to take an English language test:

• Secondary education or a bachelor's, master's, or higher degree completed in English in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, or an EU/EEA country
• Finnish Matriculation Examination, English language (A-language, advanced syllabus) completed with a minimum grade of eximia cum laude approbatur (E)
• A university degree in Finland with English as a major subject 

Applicants from EU/EEA countries and Switzerland must prove the language of instruction. The language of instruction must be clearly stated in the educational documents. If the documents do not explicitly mention English as the medium of instruction, the applicant must provide an additional official statement issued by a representative of their educational institution confirming this.

Online studies or studies completed on offshore campuses outside the accepted countries 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:

• TOEFL iBT, overall score 100, writing section score 22
• IELTS Academic, overall score 7.0, writing section score 6.5
• PTE Academic, overall score 68, writing section score 59
• C1 Advanced, overall score 185, writing section score 176
• C2 Proficiency, overall score 185, writing section score 176

The University of Eastern Finland also accepts the following tests:

• IELTS Academic Online, IELTS Academic for UKVI, IELTS One Skill Retake
• PTE Academic Online, PTE Academic UKVI
• TOEFL iBT Home Edition, TOEFL MyBest Scores

Language test certificates are valid for two years from the day they are issued. Language test scores need to be in effect during the application period, and the scores must be verifiable from the online verification service of the test organiser.

Application procedure

In 2026, a maximum of 20 students will be admitted to the Master’s Degree Programme in Linguistic Data Sciences. Admitted applicants will gain the right to complete a Master of Arts degree with a major in General Linguistics.

The application period opens on 7 January 2026 and closes on 21 January 2026 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.

Enclosures

The required enclosures need to be uploaded electronically to the application by 28 January 2026 at 3 pm (EET). UEF does not process application documents that have arrived after the deadline.

Required enclosures:

Certificates:

• Degree certificate(s). The degree certificate should include the name of the awarding institution, the date of issue, the recipient's name, and the title/degree conferred.
• Transcript(s) of academic records. The transcript of records should include full titles of the units completed for the degree, completion dates of study units (or at least the overall study period at the institution), grades obtained, credits awarded, and information on the grading scale used by the institution at the time of study.
• English language certificate. Detailed information about submitting language test reports is available on the Language requirements webpage.

Additional enclosure:

• Motivation letter. The letter should clearly outline the applicant’s academic and professional goals, with careful consideration of how these align with the profile areas of the subject of Linguistic Data Sciences programme at UEF. It should also include a clear explanation of the applicant’s personal and academic motivation for applying to this specific programme and relevant connections with the applicant’s previous studies or professional experience.

All enclosures are compulsory. Incomplete applications will not be processed.

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.

Detailed information about submitting enclosures is available at the Application instructions website.

Student selection procedure 

The admission process for the Master's Degree Programme in Linguistic Data Sciences aims to ensure the fair selection of high-quality applicants. Student selection is based on the application documents and an evaluation of how the applicants’ skills and competences align with the master's studies applied for. Meeting the minimum application requirements does not guarantee admission to the programme.

Applicants are ranked according to the selection criteria. The best 20 applicants are accepted to the programme and the rest of the applicants are rejected. The programme may, at its discretion, accept more applicants to fill the available study places.  Applicants are not placed on a waiting list.

Applications will be graded using the following criteria:

• Academic performance: Suitability and content of previous studies in Linguistics, Language Studies, or Translation Studies, and applicant’s success in previous studies: 0–5 points, 60 % of overall score
• Motivation: Applicants’ own explanations of their motivation for applying to the Master's Degree Programme in Linguistic Data Sciences: 0–5 points, 40 % of overall score

Grading scale: 0 = poor, 5 = excellent.

Admission results

The results of the student selection for studies starting in September 2026 will be published by 27 May 2026. All applicants will be notified of the admission decision by email.

Admitted students are required to inform whether they accept their study place offer by 9 July 2026 at 3 pm (EEST), either electronically via the Studyinfo portal or by submitting a confirmation form to the Admissions Office of the University of Eastern Finland.

Conditional admission

Admission to the programme is conditional for applicants who apply with a degree that is not finished during the application period. It is required that conditionally accepted applicants deliver officially certified copies of the final degree certificate and the transcript of records to the programme coordinator by 30 July 2026. 

All accepted students need to provide officially certified copies of their educational documents if they cannot authenticate their degree/transcript electronically when applying. These students will be conditionally accepted until they have provided certified copies of their degree certificate and transcript of records. Country-specific requirements apply in situations when applicants cannot provide the documents electronically. The last date when the documents need to be at the university is 29 May 2026. Failure to deliver the required documents by the given deadline will result in the cancellation of the right to study.

Delimitation of granting right to study

Applicants cannot be granted a new right to study in the Master’s Degree Programme in Linguistic Data Sciences if they already have a valid right to study in the Master’s Degree Programme in Linguistic Data Sciences at the University of Eastern Finland.

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.

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.

Waivers

Applicants subject to tuition fees can apply for tuition waivers and scholarships during the application process by completing the relevant section on the application form. In the Master's Degree Programme in Linguistic Data Sciences, the best 70 % of admitted applicants (as ranked by the reviewers of the applications) receive a scholarship covering 50 % of the tuition fee. In addition, the highest ranked applicant will be completely exempted from paying the tuition fee.

The waiver decision is made during the admissions process, and applicants are informed of the outcome in their acceptance letter. The waiver is valid for two academic years.

Other fees

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