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Eligibility criteria

Eligibility criteria in the master's programmes taught in English consist of two parts: Tampere University's general eligibility criteria, and programme-specific eligibility criteria, which specify and/or add information to the general criteria. You must meet both to be considered eligible. Applicants who do not meet both the general eligibility and the programme-specific eligibility criteria will not be selected as students in Tampere University.

General eligibility criteria

To be eligible to apply to a master’s programme at Tampere University, you must have:

  1. Bachelor’s degree - nationally recognized first cycle degree*
    • an applicable bachelor’s degree at a university or a university of applied sciences in Finland
    • a bachelor's degree completed in a university outside Finland which provides eligibility for equivalent University master’s degree studies in the country in which it was awarded.
      • With a minimum scope of 180 ECTS credits, three to four years of full-time study
      • from a relevant field for the master’s degree programme that you’re applying to
      • from a recognised institution of higher education
  2. A good command of the English language for academic purposes. For more information, please see Language requirements.

* Eligibility is also considered, if you have completed a master’s programme that does not include the completion of a bachelor’s degree first - such as a master’s degree completed in Finland before 2008 when the two-cycle degree system was introduced, or a so-called long-cycle master’s degree conferred by a foreign institution.

Applicants in the final year of their bachelor’s degree due to graduate in the spring of 2024 are eligible to apply so long as the degree will be completed by 31 July 2024. This providing they fulfil all other requirements and deliver officially certified copies of educational documents by 19 August 2024.  Applications will be assessed based on the officially certified transcript of records which they submit at the time of applying. Please see special instructions for applicants in the final year of the Bachelor's degree.

Admission to studies leading directly to a master's degree will be based on the applicant’s bachelor's degree conferred by a university or a university of applied sciences. Depending on programme-specific admission requirements, the programme may also consider additional factors and/or skills previously acquired by applicants when evaluating applications.

The minimum scope of a previous degree conferred by a foreign institution is 180 ECTS credits (or 3–4 years of full-time study). The degree must confer eligibility to pursue equivalent University master’s degree in the awarding country. The institution that conferred the foreign degree must be recognised by the official authorising body of the country in question. The institution must appear in the list of recognised higher education institutions with degree-conferring authority that is maintained by relevant public authorities in the country in question or an international organisation (such as UNESCO).

The University may require an admitted student to complete supplementary studies to acquire further knowledge and skills. These studies will be determined on a case-by-case basis. The scope of supplementary studies will be equivalent to no more than approximately one year of full-time study (up to 60 credits).

A previously completed master’s degree does not make applicants ineligible for admission, but applicants will only be admitted to study for a second master’s degree for particularly significant reasons. Tampere University reserves the right to not admit applicants whose prior qualifications nominally meet the requirements but who are found not to possess the required knowledge and skills.

Applicants who are already students at Tampere University, as set out in the Degree Regulations of Tampere University (chapter 4, section 11), a student may, at any one time, hold only one right to study towards a specific bachelor’s or master’s degree, or towards a specific scientific, artistic, or professional post-MSc degree at Tampere University. An applicant may not be granted a new right to study towards an equivalent degree for which they already hold the right to study or they have already completed, unless otherwise stipulated by the admission requirements of the faculty in question.

Programme-specific eligibility criteria

Each master's programme can define more detailed programme-specific eligibility criteria including, for example, more specific requirements concerning the applicant's previous education. 

Programme-specific requirements are available on each programme’s admissions criteria in Studyinfo.fi.

Additional information on eligibility

Due to the high number of applicants, application documents cannot be pre-assessed. The number of eligible applicants annually exceeds the number of students that can be accepted. The student selection is made by the faculties admissions committees based on the applicant's bachelor's degree conferred by a university or a university of applied sciences, academic qualifications and merits shown in the application documents.

If you have received an official decision on refugee status (or similar) or have an asylum seekers status in Finland please see additional information Applicants with refugee status webpage.