Master's Degree Programme in Tourism Marketing and Management

Applicants with the following degrees are eligible for the studies

At least a 3-year Bachelors degree in an appropriate field from a recognised university or a recognised university of applied sciences/polytechnic. A minimum of 60 ECTS of studies in business and/or tourism business is required. At least one course in management or leadership and one course in accounting 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.

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.

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

Proficiency in English

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

1. English language test:

• TOEFL Internet-based: Total Score min. 92
• IELTS (Academic): Overall Score min. 6.5
• PTE (Pearson Test of English), min. 62 points
• C1 Advanced: at least 180 (=CAE: at least C)
• C2 Proficiency: at least 180 (=CPE: at least Level C1)

2.  Or, if the applicant fulfils 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)

All available study programmes in Finland can be found on the Studyinfo portal where applicants can search for suitable programmes and start the application. The online application is only open during the application period.

Online applications are to be submitted through Studyinfo portal (www.studyinfo.fi). 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 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.

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 eligibility criteria will be put through a subsequent evaluation process in order to determine which applicants are selected for admission to the programme. The applicants that fulfill the above requirement of 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 20 students annually.

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

1. 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 masters thesis? (max. 250 words of 1000) (0-3 points)

2. Previous studies according to the following criteria

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

Relevant previous studies in the fields of Tourism Management, Tourism Marketing and/or Tourism Business as well as topics connected to hospitality business (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 applicants 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

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

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.

Starting from 2017 onward, an annual tuition fee in the Master's Degree Programme Tourism Marketing and Management for non-EU/EEA students of 8.000 euros will be applied. The tuition fee will remain the same for students throughout the entire time of completing their degrees.

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

Further information on tuition fees and scholarships here.