Social Sciences, Sustainable Urban Development

Eligible applicants hold an upper secondary education certificate:

• Finnish matriculation examination
• International Baccalaureate degree (IB)
• European Baccalaureate degree (EB)
• Deutsches Internationales Abitur degree (DIA) or Reifeprüfung degree (RP) in Finland
• A Finnish vocational upper secondary qualification, further vocational qualification or specialist vocational qualification as set in the Vocational Education Act (531/2017)
• any other comparable upper secondary educational qualification which provides eligibility for equivalent University-level Bachelor’s studies in the country in question.
• Or has a right to study towards a university degree in Finland, or holds a degree conferred by a Finnish higher education institution or at least a Bachelor level degree conferred by a foreign institution, Advanced International Certificate of Education degree (AICE) or persons who have previously received an exemption (erivapauspäätös) from Tampere University’s vice president for education (2019) or director of student services (before 2019).

Applicants who are in the final semester of their upper secondary education are also eligible to apply. They must complete the previous degree before starting the studies in the programme. Applicants must follow special instructions concerning the educational documents stated below.

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

Admission for the programme is organised in two admission groups.

Admission group I – admission based on SAT test results

All applicants who meet the general requirements for admission are eligible to apply based on their SAT scores.

The SAT Test is obligatory in the admission group I. Admission is based on the results of SAT (sections Evidence-Based Reading and Writing AND Math). You can find information on the SAT test on the College Board website.

All tests need to be taken after 1 January 2020 to be considered. Applicants must complete their SAT Test in March 2022 at the latest.

You can find more information on the test dates, test centres and how to register on the SAT registration webpage.

Applicants who have completed or are completing one of the diplomas eligible in Admission group II can apply in both admission groups, I and II.

Admission group II – certificate-based admission

Admission is based on the admission score which is calculated based on the grades achieved in the Finnish matriculation examination, International Baccalaureate, European Baccalaureate, or Reifeprüfung/Die Deutsche Internationale Abiturprüfung. Please note that in certificate-based admission the Reifeprüfung / Die Deutsche International Abiturprüfung must be completed in Finland to be considered.

To be considered for certificate-based admission, you must meet the following minimum entry requirements: you have received at least the grade C for the Finnish matriculation examination in mother tongue (Finnish/Swedish/Sami as a mother tongue or Finnish/Swedish as a second national language).

The comparable grades in IB/EB/RP/DIA diplomas:

in International Baccalaureate
• 4 in A-language

in European Baccalaureate
• 6,0 in 1. Language (L1)

in Reifeprüfung/Die Deutsche Internationale Abiturprüfung
• 7 in mother tongue (Finnish or German)
This subject must be included in ”Leistungen in der Abiturprüfung/Reifeprüfung”.

The points of applicants who finish their IB degree in the spring 2022 are calculated based on their Candidate Predicted Grades. The points of applicants who finish their EB degree in the spring 2022 are calculated based on the official predicted grades. If an applicant is accepted based on predicted grades, the selection or place in the waiting list is conditional until the applicant submits an official certificate of the final grades to Tampere University Admissions Office and the points are recalculated. The admission is revoked if the points calculated based on the final grades are lower than the predicted grades or the grades no longer meet the minimum requirements and the applicant no longer meets the minimum admission score admitted to the programme. 

When applying to a Bachelor’s programme at Tampere University, you must submit evidence of your good command of the English language for academic purposes. You have two options of demonstrating your English language proficiency: language tests or previous studies.

In both cases you must submit a document as a proof of language skills. Please see detailed instructions and additional information on the language requirements web page.

Tests and the required minimum results

SAT Test
In case admission is based on SAT scores, applicants will not be required to separately demonstrate their language proficiency.

TOEFL iBT/ TOEFL iBT Home Edition/ TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition
78 overall with minimum 20 on Writing

IELTS Academic/ IELTS Indicator
6.0 overall with minimum 5.5 on Writing

PTE Academic
54 overall with minimum 42 on Writing

C1 Advanced, previous as CAE
C

C2 Proficiency, previous as CPE
C1

National Certificate of Language, Proficiency (English)
Proficiency level 4 on all the subtests (reading, writing, listening and speaking).

Previous studies

It is possible to be exempted from submitting a language test score if you have completed particular studies listed by Tampere University that demonstrate your good command of English. If you have completed a Finnish matriculation examination, International Baccalaureate, European Baccalaureate, or Reifeprüfung/Die Deutsche Internationale Abiturprüfung, please check that you meet the minimum requirement for that particular Finnish or international matriculation examination. Only studies that fulfill the criteria will be accepted so if you apply without a valid language test result, carefully examine the exemptions listed by Tampere University and how to submit documents.

10 students are admitted into the specialisation of Social Sciences in the Bachelor's Programme in Sustainable Urban Development, 49% of this allocated in the admission group I and 51% in the admission group II.

Any unfilled places may be allocated to applicants in the other admission group to meet the intake.

70% of the study places are reserved for those applicants who do not hold a higher education qualification or a higher education study place in Finland. Applicants who have accepted a study place in a degree programme in a university of applied sciences or university in Finland that started in autumn 2014 or after will not be considered as first-time applicants.

Admission group I

In admission group I admission is based on the scores an applicant has received in the SAT test (sections Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and Math). All SAT Tests must be completed after 1 January 2020. Applicants must complete their SAT Test in March 2022 at the latest.

To be considered for admission based on the SAT Test, applicants must achieve at least the following minimum score:
SAT (Evidence Based Reading and Writing, Math) 1 200.

Applicants are ranked based on their SAT Test. If more than one applicant has the same score, all applicants whose score meet the minimum score admitted will be admitted to the programme.

Admission group II

In admission group II admission is based on the admission score which is calculated based on the grades achieved in the Finnish matriculation examination, International Baccalaureate, European Baccalaureate, or Reifeprüfung/Die Deutsche Internationale Abiturprüfung.

To be considered for certificate-based admission, you must meet the following minimum entry requirements: you have received at least the grade C for the matriculation examination in mother tongue (Finnish/Swedish/Sami as a mother tongue or Finnish/Swedish as a second national language). If you hold the IB, EB or RP/DIA diploma, your admission score is calculated based on the tables below.

Applicants who meet the minimum entry requirements are ranked based on their admission score.

You can get scores from five subjects:

• Mother tongue
• Applicants best subject of philosophy, history, psychology or social studies
• Applicants three best subject in:
  • Humanities and natural sciences (1 subject)
  • Language (1 subject)
  • Advanced mathematics or basic mathematics.

*Mother tongue: Finnish, Swedish, Sami language or Finnish /Swedish as second national language.

** for EB: philosophy, history, psychology or economics; for IB: philosophy, history, psychology, global politics or economics; for RP: history; for DIA: philosophy, history or economics

*** EB-, IB-, RP-/DIA- subjects that have no correspondence in Finnish matriculation examination are scored according to the other humanities and natural sciences -category.

If applicant is missing one of the above listed subjects, they cannot get scores from it. One subject can only be used once in the scoring. In mathematics scores can only be given either from advanced mathematics or from basic mathematics; not both.

Maximum total score is 157,9.

Applicants are ranked based on their total score. If more than one applicant has the same overall score applicants will be ranked on base of the grade they achieved in Mother tongue in the matriculation examination and if necessary after that on base of the grade philosophy, history, psychology or social studies.

When calculating the initial admission score, the grades of International Baccalaureate (IB), European Baccalaureate (EB), and Reifeprüfung (RP)/ Die Deutsche Internationale Abiturprüfung (DIA) will be converted according to the table below.

Please see details on which examinations are considered equal to those of the Finnish matriculation examination on International Matriculation Examination scoring webpage.

Applicants who have completed multiple examinations in the same subject (such as advanced-level mathematics and basic-level mathematics) will be evaluated on whichever of the two is most favourable to the applicant.

The results of different examinations or parts thereof (Finnish matriculation examination, EB, IB, RP/DIA) may be combined in the interests of applicants as long as at least one diploma has been completed in full.

Please see additional information on the Finnish Joint application to higher education, spring 2022 on the studyinfo webpages.

Admissions step-by-step checklist

1. Check the eligibility criteria, admission procedure and documents needed.
2. Read through the instructions on how to apply and start preparing your application documents as early as possible!
3. Find a test centre and register for the SAT test well in advance (if applying in the admission group I) or take a language test if required (if applying in the admission group II and if applicable).
4. When the application period opens, fill in the online application at Studyinfo.fi during the application period and upload the required enclosures to the application. The application period begins on 5 January at 8.00 UTC +2 and ends on 19 January 2022 at 15.00 UTC +2. Remember to upload all required enclosures on the application form, by 26 January 2022 at 15.00 UTC +2 or by a separate deadline as instructed on section "Application documents".
5. You can apply for a scholarship on the application form, if applicable.
6. Wait for the admission results to be announced.
7. If you are offered a study place, remember to accept it and send certified copies of your educational documents by post by the given deadline. Pay the tuition fee if required.
8. If you are placed on the waiting list, a study place may be offered at the latest on 2 August 2022. After that, the acceptance from the waiting list ends.
9. Start preparing for your arrival in Finland, if arriving from abroad.
10. Register as a student and join the Tampere University community when the studies start in August 2022.
     

After you have submitted your application, you will receive an automatic message from Studyinfo.fi confirming that your online application form has been received. The automatic message includes your application number (type 1.2.246.562.11.00000000000000000000). Please note to use an email that you have access to until the possible start of studies in autumn. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please check your junk mail folder. Otherwise, please contact Tampere University Admissions Services.

Please upload copies of all required documents as enclosures on the application form, unless otherwise stated.

1. Copy of the certificate of upper secondary education and its official English translation

Additional information on educational documents
At the time of applying, only scanned copies of the documents uploaded on the application form are needed. If offered a study place, the applicant must deliver certified copies of educational documents as instructed in the section “Educational documents to be posted after student selection” below.

If the original documents are not in Finnish, Swedish or English, those need to be translated into one of the above mentioned languages either by the authority that issued the original document or by an official translator.

Applicants in their final year of upper secondary education are also eligible to apply. Instead of the certificate of upper secondary education / school leaving certificate they need to submit a document (latest transcript of study records or other certificate provided) issued by their school that indicates the qualification that the applicant is about to complete and the expected date of graduation. They must compete the previous degree before starting the studies in the programme. Please note, that if selected, the applicant must submit a certified copies of these educational documents to Tampere University Admissions Office by post as stated below.

Applicants in admission group II:
All results of Finnish Matriculation Examination completed after 1990 are available for Tampere University in a national database. Therefore, no educational documents need to be uploaded if you have completed the Finnish Matriculation examination in 1990 or later. This applies to applicants on the final year of their studies as well.

All applicants who wish to apply during their last semester of IB, EB or RP/DIA education are required to submit a Predicted Grades document to the Tampere University by uploading the document to the application form by 6 April 2022 15.00 UTC +3. Additionally, after graduation, they will need to upload a copy of the final diploma to the application form by 15 July 2022 15.00 UTC +3. For applicants who have completed an IB diploma, it is possible to share the final grades electronically through IBIS online system.

Please remember that if your admission points have been calculated based on predicted grades, your possible admission or place in the waiting list is conditional until you submit your certificate of the final grades to Tampere University Admissions Office and the points are recalculated. The admission and position on waiting list is revoked you do not submit the document. The admission and position on waiting list may be revoked if the points calculated based on the final grades are lower than the predicted grades or the grades no longer meet the minimum requirements and you no longer meets the minimum admission score admitted to the programme.

In addition, you must deliver a copy of the final diploma by post, as instructed below.

Educational documents to be posted after student selection
If you are offered a study place, you must deliver certified copies of your educational documents by post, please see exemptions below. Your acceptance is conditional until you deliver the documents. We kindly ask you to post the documents as soon as possible after the student selection, as they need to arrive by latest 22 August 2022. Registration for the studies is only possible after the documents have reached the Admissions Office.

A copy of the certificate of upper secondary education /secondary school leaving certificate and its translations into English must be certified by a notary public, the Finnish Embassy/Consulate in your home country, or the institution that issued the original document with an institutional stamp on the documents.

Postal address:
Tampere University
Admissions Office
Kalevantie 4
FI-33014 Tampere University
Finland

Telephone number for arriving courier deliveries:
Tel. +358 50 318 7001
(this number is only for arriving courier deliveries. Contact information for Admissions Office)

• Finnish matriculation examination
  Applicants who have taken the Finnish Matriculation Examination after 1990 do not need to submit any educational documents to Tampere University, as the grades in the matriculation examination will be transferred to Tampere University electronically. This applies to applicant on the final year of their studies as well. If you have competed the matriculation examination before 1990, you must deliver the copies by post.
• International Baccalaureate degree
  For applicants who have completed an IB diploma, instead of posting the certified copies to Tampere University, it is possible and recommended to share the results electronically through IBIS online system.
• Applicants on the final year of any other comparable upper secondary educational qualification which provides eligibility for university-level Bachelor’s studies in the country in question.
  You will need to graduate at latest on 31 July and need to deliver the certified copies of educational documents by post by 22 August 2021 15.00 UTC +3.

2. Copy of your passport's ID page and possible residence permit to Finland

Applicants are required to upload a scanned copy of their passport's ID page for the application form in studyinfo.fi. As an exemption, Finnish citizens do not need to upload their passport as their status can be verified electronically.

In addition, a scanned copy of the residence permit is required from applicants who are non-EU/EEA residents but do have a residence permit in Finland. The copies are used to determine whether you are subject to pay tuition fees or not.

3. The results of the SAT test

In the admission group I, the SAT test is obligatory. All tests need to be taken after 1 January 2020 to be considered. The SAT test must be taken in March 2022 at the latest.

The results must be delivered to Tampere University directly by the College Board, which administers the SAT tests. The College Board Code for Tampere University is 0599.

The results must be available in April 2022 after the results of tests taken in March become available. Applicants must deliver the results to the University within the schedule confirmed by the College Board, by March 25 available for the applicants and within 10 days for the receivers. As a precaution, we will consider results delivered two working days after the official deadline confirmed by College Board.

You can find more information on the test dates, test centres, and how to register on the SAT registration webpage.

You do not need to upload the results for your application form in Studyinfo.fi as the results are submitted to Tampere University directly from the College Board.

4. Proof of English language proficiency

Please check the ways of demonstrating your English language proficiency on Language requirements and submit an appropriate document only if you are not applying on the basis of SAT test results, or your matriculation examination/IB/EB/RP/DIA result in English is not high enough to prove your English language proficiency.

 For admission group I the results will be published at latest in May 2022 and for admission group II in early June, at the latest on 3 June 2022.

Please note that all selected students will need to send certified copies of their educational documents to Tampere University by post. Please see the detailed information instructions above.

The deadline to accept the place offered is 15 July 2022 15.00 UTC +3. If you have been awarded a Tampere University scholarship during the admission process or if you wish to take advantage of the early bird scholarship, please check the deadline for accepting the study place and scholarship in the scholarship letter which you will receive in the acceptance email.

Acceptance from a waiting list

A place on a waiting list means that you fulfilled the minimum requirements for the admission, but considering the quota of study places available, your position among the applicants was not high enough so that the programme could offer you a study place at this point. You are positioned on a waiting list for the programme on base of your admission score.

You will be offered a study place according to your ranking on the list. Please note that your ranking improves if the selected applicants decline the places offered, other applicants from the waiting list accept some other study places or the selected students before do not accept the study places by the deadline 15 July 2022.

If a study place opens it is offered to the next person/persons on the waiting list. If you are offered a study place, you will receive a message from Studyinfo and an email from the Admission Office.

Acceptance from the waiting ends 2 August 2022 and it is not possible to be accepted after that.

One study place per term provision in Finland

According to this provision, a student may accept only one study place leading to a higher education degree in Finland in education that begins in the same academic term. This rule applies to all higher education in Finland. Even if you register as absent or give up your study place, you cannot accept another study place starting in the same academic term. Accepting a study place Tampere University means that you cannot accept another study place for the same term in another Finnish higher education institution, or if you have accepted a study place elsewhere, you cannot accept a study place at Tampere University later. This is to ensure that as many applicants as possible get a study place every year.

The provision does not prevent you from accepting a study place in another degree programme during another academic term. The provision does not apply to studies at higher education institutions outside of Finland. For more information on this, please see Studyinfo.fi.

Appealing the decision concerning student admission

As an applicant, you have the right to know how the admissions criteria have been applied in the application process. For more information on this, please contact the Tampere University Admissions Services or the Faculty.

It is possible to submit an appeal, but only after the student selection has been completed and the results are available. Please note that the original admission decision will not be changed if the decision has been reached fairly and in accordance with the University admissions policy.

You must appeal in writing to Tampere University. Such an appeal must be submitted to Tampere University within 14 days from the time you had the possibility to reviving the results of the student selection. The following information must be stated in the appeal:

• The decision that you are appealing
• The grounds for the appeal
• Your name and home town. In case an authorised representative or spokesperson is acting on your behalf or the appeal has been prepared by a person other than you, his/her name and home town must also be stated
• Your address and phone number so that you may be contacted during the process. An email address must also be provided.

For additional information, please contact the Tampere University Admissions Services or the Faculty.