To be eligible to apply in doctoral admissions, you must have a relevant Master’s degree or equivalent.

1. The degree must have been awarded by a higher education institution (university or university of applied sciences in the Finnish education system).
2. The degree must give eligibility to apply for doctoral degree studies at university in the awarding country.
3. The awarding higher education institution has to be a recognised part of the official national education system of the country. It has to be accredited as a degree-granting higher education institution by the country where it is located or by a relevant international organisation (such as UNESCO).

Generally an acceptable master’s degree has been carried out in accordance with the principles of the Bologna Process (3+2 years). As a rule, a higher education degree (or degree combination) earned abroad in a country that does not follow the Bologna Process should include a minimum of 4 years of studies and a master’s thesis.

The degree as a basis for doctoral studies needs to provide the student with an adequate knowledge and skills needed for doctoral studies in the programme chosen. The university may require a student admitted to complete the necessary supplementary studies in order to meet this requirement. 

Read more about eligibility in the application instructions of the doctoral programme you are interested in.

The academic evaluation of the applicant is based on school-specific scientific considerations, the schools’ strategic focus areas, and the applicant’s individual educational potential. Examples of evaluation criteria include: earlier academic performance, capacity to conduct research, the applicant’s possibility to complete studies within the target time, the relevancy of the research, the applicant’s possibility to receive supervision, and the applicant’s study motivation.

You must demonstrate your proficiency with an official language test, unless you are exempt from the language test requirement.

Recognised language tests and their minimum score requirements

• IELTS Academic: 6.5, and 5.5 for Writing;
• TOEFL:
  • iBT (Internet-based Test): 92, and 22 for Writing or
  • PDT (Paper-Delivered Test): Reading 22, Listening 22, and Writing 24
• Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE A): 62, and 54 for writing
• Cambridge English Qualification:
  • C1 Advanced (formerly known as Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English, CAE): A, B or C
  • C2 Proficiency (formerly known as Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English, CPE): A, B, C or Level C1

Aalto University accepts also TOEFL iBT® Home Edition test and IELTS Indicator (Academic) tests.

No language tests other than those mentioned above are accepted. 

Please see more detailed instructions in the application instructions of the doctoral programme you are interested in.

An English language test is not required if:

1. you have earned a higher education degree taught in Finnish, Swedish or English at a university or university of applied sciences in Finland; or
2. you have earned a higher education degree in an English-medium programme at a university or university of applied sciences in an EU/EEA country while residing in that country, in which case the language of the degree must be stated unambiguously in the degree certificate or its appendix, or in the transcript of records or other official document issued by the awarding institution; or
3. you have earned a higher education degree in an English-medium programme at a higher education institution in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom or the United States while residing in that country; or
4. you have received your primary and secondary education in English in an EU/EEA country, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom or the United States while residing in that country;
5. You have completed the Aalto Executive Education MBA, EMBA or DBA degree

A minimum of one half of the degree must be completed in a country and higher education institution that meets the requirements for exempting the student from taking an English language test. Make sure to note this requirement if your degree includes many transfer credits or if it is a double or joint degree.

Please see more detailed instructions in the application instructions of the doctoral programme you are interested in.

Other exemptions (ENG & SCI)

Some of our doctoral programmes allow other exemptions to the list of examptions, please see the application instructions of Doctoral programme in Engineering and Doctoral programme in Science for more information.

In the admission 2024 you can prove your proficiency in Finnish or Swedish in the following ways:

Higher education degree or studies

You can demonstrate proficiency in Finnish or Swedish with a higher education degree or studies, if you have completed one of the following:

• an approved maturity essay in Finnish for a degree at a higher education institution in Finland or an approved maturity essay in Swedish at a higher education institution.
• as part of a degree at a higher education institution in Finland, a language test in Finnish/Swedish or language studies that serve to demonstrate proficiency in oral and written Finnish/Swedish (as the second national language) with a grade of at least Good.
• an academic thesis (or written final project) written in Finnish/Swedish
  (at a higher education institution in Finland or abroad)
• a study module of at least 60 ECTS credits (or 35 older credits, i.e. ‘study weeks’) in the Finnish/Swedish language as an academic subject
  (at a higher education institution in Finland or abroad)

Basic education and upper secondary school education

You can demonstrate Finnish/Swedish proficiency with basic education or upper secondary  school education, if you have one of the following:

• Basic education, an upper secondary school final examination or other examination conferring eligibility for higher education completed in Finnish/Swedish
• The certificate awarded for the studies referred to in the Basic Education Act (628/1998) or the Act on General Upper Secondary Education (629/1998; 714/2018), or studies corresponding to them, with a passing grade in Finnish/Swedish in the subject of "mother tongue and literature" or the "Finnish/Swedish as a second language and literature" syllabus
• passed an amount of studies equivalent to Finland’s basic education syllabus in the subject of Finnish or Swedish through the Kulkuri School of Distance Education / Nomadskolan.

You can demonstrate language proficiency with any of the following studies (without having completed the whole matriculation examination):

• Finland's matriculation examination test of mother tongue and literature in Finnish/Swedish or the ‘Finnish/Swedish as a second language and literature’ test with a grade of at least approbatur (A);
• the test for Finnish/Swedish as the second national language of Finland at the advanced syllabus level, as part of Finland’s matriculation examination, with a grade of at least eximia cum laude approbatur (E);
• the test for Finnish/Swedish as the second national language of Finland at the intermediate syllabus level, as part of Finland’s matriculation examination, with a grade of at least laudatur (L).

International examinations

You can demonstrate your Finnish/Swedish skills without having completed the whole matriculation examination, if you have one of the following:

International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma with one of the following:

• Language A, A1 or A2 syllabus in Finnish/Swedish with a grade of at least 2
• Language B syllabus in Finnish/Swedish with a grade of at least 5

European Baccalaureate (EB) diploma with one of the following:

• Language 1 (L1) or Language 2 (L2) syllabus in Finnish/Swedish with an approved grade
  (a grade of at least 4.00, if the exam is completed before 2021, a grade of at least 5.00, if the exam is completed in 2021 or after)
• Language 3 (ONL) (L3, Other National Language) syllabus in Finnish/Swedish with a grade of at least 8.00

Reifeprüfung (RP) or Deutsche Internationale Abitur (DIA) diploma with one of the following:

• the written test in "Finnish as a mother tongue" with a minimum grade of 4
• the "Finnish as a second language" test at the CEFR level B2 with a minimum grade of 8
• the written test in Swedish with a minimum grade of 4

Language tests

You can demonstrate Finnish/Swedish proficiency with one of the following language tests:

• National Certificate of Language Proficiency (YKI) (Finnish/Swedish) intermediate-level test at a proficiency level of at least 4 in all subtests (reading comprehension, writing, listening comprehension, and speaking).
  Alternatively, completing at least three of the subtests of an advanced-level test (proficiency levels 5 and 6).
  Subtests from different test sittings may be combined.
• Civil Service Language Proficiency Certificate (Finnish/Swedish) with a grade of at least Good on the written and oral component.
• A combination of National Certificate of Language Proficiency (YKI) and Civil service language proficiency certificate (VKT), if you have:
  completed the National Certificate of Language Proficiency (YKI) with proficiency level of at least 4 in the reading comprehension and writing subtests, plus the oral component of the Civil Service Language Proficiency Certificate with a grade of Good; OR
  completed the National Certificate of Language Proficiency (YKI) at a proficiency level of at least 4 in the listening comprehension and speaking subtests, plus the written component of the Civil Service Language Proficiency Certificate (VKT) with a grade of Good.
• TISUS test (Test i svenska för universitetsstudier), if you have passed all parts of the test.

Please see more detailed instructions in the application instructions of the doctoral programme you are interested in.