Eligibility criteria
These admission criteria are valid for student selections made in 2025–2028. However, the faculty reserves the right to make changes to the criteria, if necessary, between admissions rounds. The number of study seats is decided on an annual basis and will be published on Studyinfo.fi before each application round.
ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible for the master’s degree programme, you must have a suitable higher education degree and demonstrate adequate English proficiency in one of the methods described below.
1. A higher education degree that fulfils the following requirements:
The degree must give eligibility for master’s-level degree studies in the awarding country. If your degree qualifies you for doctoral-level studies, you should primarily seek admission to a doctoral programme instead.
Suitable fields include, but are not limited to, a degree in development studies, or related social sciences discipline, and a degree in educational sciences.
Applicants with other, diverse background degrees with strong motivation can be considered. However, in Phase 1 of the evaluation, applicants will get more points from their educational background with a degree in educational sciences and social sciences.
The higher education institution awarding the degree must be officially recognised in the national education system, i.e., listed as a degree-granting higher education institution by the country where it is located or by a relevant international organisation (such as UNESCO).
If the degree used to prove eligibility is incomplete at the time of application, you may be admitted on a conditional basis. In this case, you must graduate and submit officially certified copies of the final educational documents so that they are received by the University by the specified deadline. The deadline will be posted on the University’s website before the application period starts.
If you currently hold a study right in this same master’s programme at the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥, you cannot be admitted.
2. English proficiency demonstrated in any of the following ways:
o An upper secondary education completed in English in an EU/EEA country, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the United States, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand.
o A higher education degree completed in English in an EU/EEA country or one of the following: Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Cameroon, Canada, Dominica, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
o A Finnish-medium or Swedish-medium higher education degree completed in a Finnish higher education institution, with a command of a foreign language in English per the Government Decree on University Degrees (794/2004) or the Government Decree on Universities of Applied Sciences (1129/2014). If the degree is still incomplete at the time of application, it must be the same as the one used as the basis for eligibility.
o A higher education degree completed or being completed in Finland, with the English language as a major or specialisation.
o An international English language proficiency test. The approved language tests and minimum results are as follows:
- IELTS Academic, IELTS for UKVI Academic, IELTS Indicator, or IELTS Online: 6.5 (overall score)
- TOEFL iBT, TOEFL iBT Home Edition, or TOEFL iBT Paper Edition: 92 (MyBest score)
- PTE Academic, PTE Academic UKVI, or PTE Academic Online: 62 (overall score)
- Cambridge C2 Proficiency: A, B, C, or C1
- Cambridge C1 Advanced: A, B, or C
IELTS, PTE and TOEFL results must be valid until the end of the application period. Only Cambridge tests completed in 2005 and thereafter are accepted. If the language test result is released after the application has ended, the test report form must be released by and valid on the deadline date for submitting attachments.
o National Certificate of Language Proficiency (YKI) in English: The applicant must have received a grade 5 or higher at the advanced level in all components (speaking, writing, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension). The applicant may combine test results from multiple dates. Only YKI tests completed in 2002 and thereafter are accepted.
The University does not grant waivers for language requirements. If you fail to demonstrate your English skills by one of the above methods, your application will be rejected as ineligible. The University does not consider test report forms received after the specified deadline.
Admissions procedure
Online application, required attachments and interview
Admissions procedure
The admissions process is divided into two steps: 1) submitting the application and all required attachments, and 2) participating in an online interview and completing a written assignment (if applicable).
NB: If you use generative artificial intelligence (AI) to aid your application, you must indicate which model (e.g., ChatGPT, Bing Chat) you have used and in what way through proper citations (written assignments). However, citations are not necessary if you use AI solely for ideation, proofreading, stylization or similar purposes.
Please note that AI-generated motivation letters and research-interest papers tend to be quite general, and they are very similar in structure and content. To get the highest scores in assessment, specificity and personal style are required.
Phase 1: Application and required attachments
First, you must submit your online application on Studyinfo.fi along with the necessary attachments by the given deadlines. Eligible applications that include all required attachments are evaluated using the criteria listed below. Ineligible applications will not be processed further after they have been found not to meet the eligibility criteria/documentary requirements.
An applicant must score a minimum of two (2) points from the Research interest to have their Suitability of previous degree and Motivation letter evaluated. Otherwise, the rest of the application will not be evaluated.
| Category | Points |
|---|
| Description of research interest | 0–5 |
| Suitability of the previous degree | 0–5 |
| Motivation letter | 0–5 |
| Total maximum points | 15 |
In evaluation of the description of the research interest the criteria include: 1) clarity and focus of the title and articulation of the research interest; 2) quality of the argumentation for theoretical and/or practical significance of the area of interest in relation to the objectives of the programme; 3) quality of problematisation embedded in existing literature using appropriate references; and 4) idea concerning research methods and skills needed to be developed. The maximum length of the document is 1000 words, exclusive of list of references, and the evaluation will be based on what is said under the first 1000 words.
In evaluation of the suitability of previous degrees the highest points for applicants will be given for a previous degree in social sciences or educational sciences depending on the specialisation selected in the application form (social sciences or educational sciences). Less points will be given for those applicants who have a degree in fields such as humanities, other behavioral sciences, tourism and marketing, or equivalent. Degrees in natural sciences, engineering, or equivalent, without any social science or educational sciences content demonstrated in the transcript of records, will score 0 points.
In evaluation of the motivation (based on the motivation letter) the criteria include: 1) specificity of description of the reasons for applying to this particular progamme in relation to applicant’s previous experiences and future prospects; and 2) explication of the connection between applicant’s motivation and the content and competencies the programme provides.
Applicants need to receive at least 8 points in Phase 1 to be considered for Phase 2.
Phase 2: Interview and written assignment
After the first phase, 50 highest-scoring applicants are invited to an online interview and to complete a written assignment immediately after the interview. If two or more applicants have equal points from Phase 1, the order will be determined as follows: 1) Description of research interest, 2) Motivation, 3) Suitability of the previous degree. If there is still no difference, the order will be raffled.
You are responsible for providing yourself with the space, time, and equipment to enable participation in the online interview and completing the online written assignment. More detailed instructions will be sent with the interview invitation.
The interview and the assignment will be evaluated according to the following criteria.
| Category | Points |
|---|
| Knowledge of the field of study | 0–5 |
| Interest and motivation | 0–5 |
| Communication and interaction | 0–5 |
| Assignment: academic quality and written communication | 0–5 |
| Total maximum points | 20 |
Knowledge of the field of study is evaluated based on the following criteria: 1) understanding of the field and its central concept of development; 2) articulation of how the field connects with previous studies and experiences of the applicant; and 3) understanding of the career opportunities in the field.
Interest and motivation are evaluated based on the following criteria: 1) articulation of the motivation to study in the programme; 2) familiarity with and interest in the contents of the programme; and 3) articulation of applicant’s own future prospects after accomplishment of the degree.
Communication and interaction are evaluated by the fluency of spoken English and clarity of argumentation demonstrated in the interview.
Assignment is based on the written task completed immediately after the online interview. The task is based on an article that will be send to the applicant with the invitation to the interview. The written assignment is evaluated based on the following criteria: 1) demonstrated understanding of the contents of the assigned article; 2) quality of independent and critical reflection of the assigned article; and 3) quality of analytical and academic writing. Please note the instructions for using generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the admission process are given above.
Applicants need to receive at least 10 points in Phase 2 to be considered for admission to the programme.
Final selection
Your scores from Phases 1 and 2 are added together to form your final admission score. Applicants will be ranked according to their admission scores, and the highest-scoring applicants, in accordance with the number of available study seats, will be admitted. If two or more applicants are tied for the last study place, all of them will be accepted. The faculty may also, at their discretion, admit more applicants than there are study places to ensure there will be enough students to start their studies in the programme. There are no arrangements for clearing, i.e., unaccepted study seats will not be reallocated.
All applicants will be notified of the results by email by the date given on the University’s website. Unsuccessful applicants will be informed of the policy and deadline for appealing against the admission decision.
