Study at Aalto

Applying to master’s programmes

Admissions to two-year master’s programmes at Aalto University are once a year.
The application period for studies beginning in the autumn of 2025 runs from 28 November to 27 December 2024.
Aalto University students on campus. Photo by Aleksi Poutanen.

Master's admissions schedule

The application period for master’s programmes beginning in the autumn of 2025 runs from 28 November to 27 December 2024 (3 pm, UTC +2).

28 November 2024 at 9.00/9am (UTC +2) Application period starts and application form opens.
27 December 2024 at 15.00/3pm (UTC +2) Application period ends and application form closes.
3 January 2025 at 15.00/3pm (UTC +2) Deadline for application documents to be uploaded to application form.
January-March 2025 Eligible applications are evaluated by the study option.
11 March 2025 Results of the first stage of the two-stage evaluation in the fields of art and design and architecture.
9 April 2025 Admissions results are published.
29 April 2025 at 15.00/3pm (UTC +3) Deadline to accept the admission offer (study place).
15 May 2025 at 15.00/3pm (UTC +3) For applicants admitted 9–13 April, deadline for Admission Services to receive certified study certificates.
12 June 2025 Admission from the waiting list ends.
31 July 2025 Deadline for applicants with an incomplete degree to graduate.
15 August 2025 at 15.00/3pm (UTC +3)

For applicants with a conditional admission offer due to incomplete degree, deadline for Admission Services to receive a certified copy of the degree certificate.

For applicants admitted from 14 April to 12 June, deadline for Admission Services to receive certified study certificates.

August–September 2025 Studies begin and orientation week.

Study options

Aalto University provides education in three fields of study: art and design, business and economics, and technology and engineering.

The master’s degrees granted are

  • in the field of art and design: Master of Arts (Art and Design),
  • in the field of business and economics: Master of Science (Economics and Business Administration),
  • in the field of technology and engineering: Master of Science (Technology), Master of Science (Architecture) or Master of Science (Landscape Architecture).

You can find all Aalto University study options on the Study options page. You can filter your search results by field of education, level of degree and language of instruction.

On the study option's page, you will find detailed information on the studies, language of instruction and admissions criteria for the study option.

You may apply to a maximum of two study options.

Who can apply? Eligibility in Master's admissions

Applications must be complete and fulfil general eligibility criteria before they are evaluated by the study options.

To fulfill the general eligibility criteria the application must include:
- documents of a degree granting eligibility to master level education;
- an accepted proof of language proficiency; and
- all the required application documents by the deadline.

When an application is complete and fulfill the general eligibility criteria, the study options will then evaluate the application according to their study-option-specific admissions criteria.

How to apply?

The application period for studies beginning in the autumn of 2025 is from 28 November to 27 December 2024 (15.00/3pm, UTC +2).

You may apply to a maximum of two study options.
You may have only one application form, do not fill in several forms. You can apply to one or two study options with your application form.

The application consists of:
- an application form,
- a set of required application documents; and
- study-option-specific application documents.

Fill in the online application form in the Studyinfo.fi system during the application period. You can edit your application form within the application period. Application period ends on 27 December 2024 (15.00/3pm, UTC +2).

You must upload all application documents to your application form before 3 January 2025 15.00/3pm (UTC +2). This deadline also applies to official English language test scores and GMAT or GRE test scores. The deadline cannot be extended. Documents submitted after the deadline will not be considered in any circumstances; the final deadline is the same for all applicants. Incomplete applications will be rejected.

Admission Services review your application and the required documents for the general eligibility requirements. Only applications that are complete and fulfill the general eligibility requirements proceed to the study options for evaluation.

Application and obligatory application documents

The application consists of application form, obligatory application documents and study-option-specific documents. Study-option-specific documents are listed on the webpage of the study option.

You can fill in the application form only during the application period, from 28 November to 27 December 2024 at 15.00/3pm (UTC +2). Read application instructions and study-option-specific evaluation criteria before filling in the application form.

The deadline for the application documents is 3 January 2025 at 15.00/3pm (UTC +2).
You must upload and save all documents to your application form before the deadline. If an obligatory application document is missing from your application after the deadline, your application will be rejected as incomplete.

Upload all the documents as early as possible. Do not leave uploading the documents to the last day.

Carefully scan the original documents and save the files in colour PDF format.
Scan the documents in the correct orientation so that a horizontal document is displayed horizontally, and a vertical document is displayed vertically. Name the files as instructed (e.g. Transcript-lastname-firstname).

Upload each document separately to the correct attachment section on your application form.

1. Obligatory documents

  1. Scanned colour copy of the original Bachelor’s degree certificate* (in PDF format).
    Name the file according to format: Degree-certificate-lastname-firstname.
    *This document requirement does not apply to applicants with an incomplete degree.
    If your degree is unfinished at the application phase, leave the upload attachment section for degree certificate blank. The degree must be completed by 31 July 2025.
  2. Scanned colour copy of the original official transcript of study records of the Bachelor's degree (in PDF format).
    Name the file according to format: Transcript-lastname-firstname.
  3. If your degree certificate and the official transcript of records are not in English, Finnish or Swedish scanned colour copies of authorised translations (in PDF format).
    The instructions for official translations are below (see "Instructions for documents" and "Translations").
    Name the file according to format: Translation-transcript-lastname.
  4. If you have, in addition to a Bachelor's degree, another higher education degree you wish to be taken into consideration in the admissions, scanned colour copies of degree certificate and official transcript of records.
    If the documents are not in English, Finnish or Swedish scanned colour copies of authorised translations are required.
    Upload the documents in PDF format to "Other Higher Education Degree" section of the application form.
  5. Copy of a valid passport or an official government-issued identification card with photo, that includes information on citizenship (in PDF format).
    Upload a copy of the personal information page of the passport only (not all pages).
    Name the file according to format: Passport-lastname-firstname. 
    Further instructions on passport or ID card are below in "Instructions for documents".
  6. Proof of language proficiency in the language of instruction of your study option.
    See the accepted language tests, other accepted methods of demonstrating language skills and document instructions at Language requirements in Master's admissions. Language test scores must be submitted to Aalto University as instructed on the webpage.
  7. Portfolio. All study options in the fields of art and design and architecture require a portfolio in PDF-format.
    Maximum file size in the application form is 1 GB. Smaller file sizes (under 100 MB) are recommended.
    Name the file according to format: Portfolio-lastname-firstname. 
    If your portfolio contains password protected video links, include the password(s) in your portfolio. See the webpage of your study option for further instructions on the portfolio; no additional instructions will be given than those on the study option page.
    If you apply to two study options that require a portfolio, upload your portfolio separately for each study option (in the section "Study-option-specific documents" on the application form).
  8. GMAT or GRE test (business and economics)
    Study options in the field of business and economics require GMAT or GRE test scores in admission group 2. See the admission groups, minimum score requirements and instructions for submitting the scores at: GMAT and GRE test. Official GMAT and GRE test score reports must be sent to Aalto University electronically from the test administrator. GMAT program code is "C1N-9F-85 (MSc Degree Programs)". The GRE test reporting code for Aalto University is "7364".
  9. GRE test (Machine Learning, Data Science and Artificial Intelligence)
    The study option Machine Learning, Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (Macadamia) in the field of technology and engineering requires GRE test scores in admission group 2. See the Macadamia webpage for further information on GRE test requirements and admission groups. The GRE test report must be sent with the Aalto University reporting code "7364".
  10. If you are exempted from the tuition fee based on your residence permit, submit scanned copies of both the front and back sides of your residence permit card in Finland. See the residence permit types that exempt from tuition fees at Scholarships and Tuition Fees page. The fee-exempting residence permit must be valid at the beginning of the academic year i.e., 1 August 2025. Name the file according to format: Residence-permit-lastname-firstname.

2. Study-option-specific documents

  • The study options usually require study-option-specific documents, e.g. motivation letter, CV, certificates of employment or references. The study-option-specific documents are specified on the webpage of the study option.
  • Upload each document separately to the correct section of your application form. There are two upload sections: one for your first study option and another for your possible second study option.
  • Evaluators can only see the obligatory documents and the documents uploaded to the section corresponding their study option (first or second) so carefully upload the correct study-option-specific documents for each study option. Please note that it is your responsibility to upload the right documents to the correct sections.
  • If you only apply to one study option, do not upload any documents to the second study option field.
  • Name the file(s) according to format: Name of document-lastname-firstname (e.g. CV-lastname-firstname).
  • Maximum file size in the application form is 1 GB. Smaller file sizes (under 100 MB) are recommended.
  • Do not submit extra documents. If your study option does not require references, for instance - do not submit them. Extra documents are not taken into account in evaluation and they slow down the processing of your application.
  • While failure to submit study-option-specific documents (except portfolio) does not affect the applicant’s general eligibility, it affects the evaluation done by the study option and may cause rejection.
  • Any questions regarding study-option-specific documents should be addressed to the study options. However, as a rule, all instructions for the study-option-specific documents are given on the study option webpage and additional instructions are not given. Interpretation of the given instructions is at the applicants’ discretion. For contact details, see the webpage of the study option.

Instructions for documents

Tuition fees

In Finland, tuition fees are collected from students who are not citizens of the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA) member states or Switzerland. Tuition fees apply to degree programmes taught in English.

Contact details

The best way to contact Aalto University Admission Services is by email ([email protected]) or by telephone during the telephone service hours (+358 2944 29290). See the opening hours of the telephone service at Admission Services Contact information page.
If your email concerns a specific study option, mention the study option in your message.

If you have questions about the evaluation criteria or studies, please contact the study option in question directly. The contact information for study options can be found at the bottom of their webpages.

Other useful information

Language requirements in Master's admissions

The language of instruction at Aalto University is Finnish, Swedish or English.

In order to be eligible to apply, applicants are required to be proficient in the language of instruction of the study option they are applying for, and to demonstrate this proficiency. When necessary, they may have to pass a language test. The language test scores must meet the minimum requirements set by Aalto University.

Aalto University students on campus. Photo by Aleksi Poutanen

Certified hard copy documents after admission results

Applicants admitted in the Master's admissions must submit certified hard copy documents after the admission results have been published.

Opiskelijoita Aallon kampuksella. Valokuva: A. Toivonen.

GMAT and GRE exams

Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or Graduate Records Examination (GRE) is required for School of Business study options.

Aalto University School of Business students

Scholarships and Tuition Fees

Bachelor's and Master's programmes have a tuition fee for non-EU/EEA citizens. Prospective students subject to tuition fees can apply for Aalto University Scholarship.

Aalto students. Photo by Aino Huovio.

Admission statistics

Student admission statistics are published after each year's admissions.

Students on Aalto University campus. Photo by Petri Anttila.

Study options

Find your programme. Choose the study field, degree level and the language of instruction, and explore all the options.

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