Tutors are senior students who help new students during orientation week and at the beginning of their studies. Each new student is assigned a student tutor who has completed tutoring training. Tutoring is carried out in cooperation with tutors, University personnel and student organizations. Each major has their own tutors, who introduce students to the campus, student organization activities (KY & AYY) and student life in general.

Your student tutor will contact you at the latest during week 34 (19-23.8.2024). Your contact information will be given to your tutor. If you haven't been contacted by your tutor by the end of week 34, please contact [email protected].

Planning officers support students in study affairs: planning of studies (personal study plan), guidance on practical study affairs and counselling in challenging study situations. You meet your programme’s planning officer during the orientation week and can contact them any time during your studies.

You can reach your planning officer through [email protected].

Academic advisers are faculty members who also act as mentors for students of their department. You can talk about your academic ambitions, interests and study goals with the academic adviser.

Some programmes assign academic advisers to all students, some name the advisers per research topic. If you don’t know how to contact an academic adviser, please ask your planning officer through [email protected].

You’ll receive a newsletter for new students via email about once a month during the summer. Please read the emails carefully since they include important information about starting your studies at Aalto University. The email address we use is the one you gave when you applied to Aalto.

Your student tutor and planning officer will contact you in August via email or phone with details about the start of studies. You can also chat with students of Aalto Business School here.

The events and activities during orientation are planned to ensure a smooth start of studies. You will learn all you need about the start of studies by following the instructions on this page, reading your email and participating in the orientation.

Here on your programme pages. This is the study guide of the programme and here you can find the curricula, instructions for study planning, available study options and instructions for all study related matters.

Please familiarise yourself with the page New Master’s students and this page that you are currently on (Starting your studies). These pages contain information relevant to new students. Complete also the preorientation in MyCourses.

You can browse through the Student guide to learn more about practices. The most important information is part of the orientation programme.

The beginning of the academic year is the busiest time for the planning officers and they get many emails. Your planning officer will reply to you as soon as possible.

If you have a study related question, instead of sending an email, please do the following.

1. Check if the information is available on these pages, New Master's students, or in the newsletters you received.
2. If the subject of your question is part of the orientation programme, attend the orientation event. Please also attend the available Q&A sessions and/or clinics and ask there.
3. If you can’t find the information and the matter is urgent, call your planning officer via phone or contact the student services at [email protected].

Please also note that during August-September we can't prioritize emails with questions that will be answered during the orientation or are answered in the materials sent to new students.

The degree structure of your programme and the courses it includes are listed under Curriculum 2024–2026. You can find instructions for planning your studies under During your studies > Planning your studies.

The study plan is created in student information system Sisu and the detailed instructions for creating your study plan are part of the orientation programme.

Please note that all our programmes are full-time programmes that run mainly on campus. We do not recommend working full-time during the studies.

The amount of compulsory attendance depends on the course. Please familiar yourself with the detailed course descriptions in the student information system Sisu.

Yes, you can transfer credits completed outside of Aalto University to your degree. You can use them to substitute a specific Aalto course or include them in the degree as is towards e.g. the electives. Please read more about credit transfer here. The detailed instructions are part of the orientation programme.

Course registrations are done in the student information system Sisu through your study plan. Please see the instructions here. The detailed instructions are also part of the orientation programme.

If the registration period is still ongoing, register for the course even if there appears to be more participants than allowed. The participants will be confirmed only after the registration period has ended. In many courses, priority will be given to students in the programme that organises the course. This information is available on the course brochure in Sisu.

If the registration period has ended, please choose another course.

Personal Study Plan or PSP (sometimes referred to with the Finnish abbreviation HOPS) is a plan for the courses you are going to include in your degree. It also includes a schedule for your studies over the planned study time.

PSP is used for e.g. course registration and graduation, but primarily it is your planning tool that helps you plan your studies. PSPs are made in the Sisu system.

Yes, you can. We ask you to make your personal study plan first and foremost to help you plan your studies. The first version of your study plan is done during the orientation, but you are allowed to change your plans. Please see the instructions under During your studies > Planning your studies.

The scope of the Master's degree is 120 cr. Students are allowed to extend the degree by one course. Plan your studies to meet the 120 credits.

No, they won't. The degree certificate includes only the courses that are part of your degree. You can, however, download a transcript of records from Sisu that will show all the courses you have completed at Aalto University.

This is not possible. You cannot hide or delete courses from the study register.

We recommend that you start the thesis process in the beginning of the second study year.

Most programmes require a 30-credit thesis which equals six months of full-time work. If you won't be able to work on the thesis full-time because of studying other courses or employment, or you have another reason the thesis process will take longer than six months like gathering your own data, plan accordingly to start your thesis process earlier on in your master's studies.

1. For details, see the curriculum for your programme on your programme pages. The curriculum can be found under the heading Curriculum. The curriculum tells you what kinds of courses and study modules make up your degree and what your different options are for completing them.
2. Acquaint yourself with the Student Guide’s listing of minors and courses you can place into the elective studies. You can also read about exchange studies or studying at other Finnish higher education institutions.
3. Start writing your personal study plan (‘HOPS’) in Sisu, the student information system. Sisu has a prepared template for making your study plan, and Sisu will prompt you to fill in the fields that are required.
   • See the School of Business’ guidelines for preparing your HOPS (attachment below this list) if you study in the Finnish-medium Bachelor's Programme in Business or any of the Master's programmes. The guidelines offer advice on common selections and decision-making situations when making a study plan.
   • Make your selections with care, reading Sisu’s instructions (see the bar in the right margin).
   • You can edit your study plan later, supplementing it with elective studies, for example.
   • First-year business (‘mursu’) students in the bachelor’s programme can choose only first-year studies. The remainder of the studies are planned after students have decided on their majors.
   • If you have already completed some studies in another higher education institution, you can apply to have their credits transferred to Aalto. See the instructions on credit transfer before you apply. The studies for which credit was transferred must be included in your degree.
4. Make a schedule plan in Sisu, i.e. add your courses to the timeline for the academic year and the periods. Some programmes have made ‘timing templates’ in Sisu. The templates help you place your compulsory courses in the right order. As for elective studies, you must schedule them yourself.
   • You can find course teaching periods from the Sisu course information sheet by clicking on the course code in the study plan.
   • You should complete about 12 credits per period. That will give you about 60 credits for the academic year. When there are less than 12 credits per period in the timing template, you can put minor studies, language studies or elective studies there.
   • You can plan your schedule freely according to your own situation, but remember to keep in mind the Kela provisions and limits to providing student financial aid as well as the limits to the time remaining in your right to study. Scholarships can also have requirements about the progression of your studies.
   • When you are planning to start a minor, check if their is a specific order in which to take the minor studies or if there are compulsory prerequisites. To find out about such an order, see the page of the minor. Regarding the prerequisites, see the course information sheet on Sisu.
   • Plan exchange studies well ahead of time. If you are going on an exchange, check what studies are scheduled to occur during your exchange term and move them earlier or later as necessary.
5. Update your study plan on a regular basis as necessary. Your plan may change or you may find an interesting course or minor only later on. Throughout your university studies, you should update your plan to meet your current needs.
   • Remember to update the course versions to match those of the academic year you’re in.
   • The Sisu study plan is of practical assistance in many situations related to your studying, as when you are selecting or applying for studies. If you take exchange studies abroad or studies at a different Finnish higher education institution, they must be marked in the study plan as well.
   • You need the study plan also to register for courses and to apply for graduation.

The planning officer for your programme can help you with study planning. The planning officer can:

• talk with you about the compulsory selections in your studies,
• advise you on how to find the information you need for exchange studies or for studying at a different Aalto school,
• review your study plan to ensure that it complies with the rules and instructions, and
• help you in all other matters related to studying and study planning.

To reach your planning officer, see the page Contact.

In some situations, you may have to make a study plan first outside of Sisu. This may be the case if you have lost your right to study or if it has expired, leaving you without an Aalto account (username and password).

In such cases, you need to include the form for extended time or for reinstatement of your right to study as an attachment. You can write up your study plan freely or use the Excel template:

BSc (Econ & Bus Admin) study plan (HOPS), Excel template (for the Finnish-medium Bachelor’s Programme in Business)

MSc (Econ & Bus Admin) study plan (HOPS), Excel template (BIZ Master’s Programmes)

At this time, the School of Business does not have its own mathematics tutoring lab. If you wish, you can visit the School of Science’s maths tutoring lab. Additional information here.

You can choose elective studies to your Master's degree so, that the extent of the degree (120 credits) is fulfilled. You can exceed the extent of the degree by one course maximum.

Elective studies can include basic, intermediate or advanced level courses. You can use the module e.g.

• To broaden your skills and knowledge via multidisciplinary studies:
  • select courses in the field of technology or art
  • select University Wide Studies -courses
  • select courses in other universities via JOO study right
• To deepen your language and communication skills
• To deepen or broaden your skills and knowledge in the field of business
  • select additional courses in your degree programme or major
  • select courses from other degree progarmmes or majors in the School of Business
  • select additional courses in your minor
• To gain work experience and working life skills via practical training
• To gain skills in self leadership and finding meaningfulness via Personal Impact -courses
• To broaden your degree with a second minor, if it fits in your degree
  • Please not that you can only choose the second minor if it fits into your degree or exceeds it by maximum of one course. You can find the requirements of minors in Into Minors 2020-2022.

If you have mandatory language studies in your master's degree, they are included in the elective studies module. You have received information about these in the beginning of your studies, if this applies to you.

• Students who have received their first cycle university degree from the Aalto University or from another Finnish university of from a Finnish university of applied sciences have principally demonstrated their language proficiency in the bachelor's degree or received an exemption. Therefore there is no need to demonstrate language proficiency in the master's degree
• Students, who have received their first cycle university degree outside of Finland and whose language of secondary education is Finnish or Swedish, do demonstrate their language proficiency in the master's degree
• Students, who have received their first cycle university degree outside of Finland and whose language of secondary education is other than Finnish or Swedish, do not demonstrate their language proficiency in the master's degree

If you are uncertain of whether you need to demonstrate language proficiency in the master's degree, please contact your programme's planning officer to get further information about the matter. Read also more about the language requirements for the maturity test in the page Completing your master's thesis > Maturity test.

Double degree programmes allow you to study towards two degrees in parallel: the Master of Science (Economics and Business Administration) degree at Aalto and another master's degree at the partner university. You will study one year at the School of Business and one year at the partner university.

Why should I complete a double degree?

• To increase your depth of understanding in your field of study
• To gain international and intercultural perspectives
• To challenge yourself academically
• To distinguish your degree to attract employers
• To complete two degrees in two years

Update your personal study plan (PSP, also known as HOPS) so that the studies completed in the partner university are included in it. Please refer to the curriculum of the double degree programme you are applying to when updating your plan.

The planning officer of your programme will help you with finding the courses and updating the plan.

Students at the Aalto University School of Business who are selected to a double degree programme are entitled to a scholarship to finance their studies at the partner university. The amount of the scholarship is confirmed annually. In 2024–25, the amount of the scholarship is €3500 for a year abroad.

The scholarships are paid in two installments. The first part of the scholarship (€3000) is paid before departure. The second part (€500) is paid upon return, once you have submitted an exchange report and the original transcript of records to Aalto through the MoveON portal, using the After Exchange online form. The completed studies must fill the set requirements.

If there are any problems with the studies during your year abroad, inform the planning officer of your programme immediately. If you do not complete the planned studies, the second instalment will not be paid and you may be required to pay back part of the first instalment.

After completing the year at the partner university, you are required to

• submit an exchange report
• apply for credit transfer
• give feedback.

The length of the exchange report is a minimum of 2500 words, not including possible pictures. The report is submitted as a PDF attachment through the After Exchange form in MoveON within one month after your last term abroad has ended.

Apply for credit transfer for the courses completed abroad through your study plan. The planning officer of your programme will help you when needed.

Give us feedback regarding the studies in the double degree programme. A link to the feedback form is sent to you after the studies at the partner university. The feedback gives us useful information about the academic level and possible problems and challenges regarding each university.

The general goal of internships is to offer students the chance during their studies to get acquainted with work duties typical in their field. In addition, internships help students to get a better idea of their post-graduation employment prospects and to gain connections to working life. An internship abroad is a good way to get to know your field in an international environment and to learn to work in a foreign culture while enhancing your language proficiency.

The work duties performed by a student in the internship must relate to the field of business. The same duties cannot be counted towards both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree.

The duties held in an internship for a bachelor’s degree must

• give the student the opportunity to become acquainted with working life, and
• give the student the capability to handle business and economics research data in work.

The duties held in an internship for a master’s degree must

• give the student the capability to apply business and economics data and knowledge in work
• deepen the competencies and expertise acquired in the degree programme.

If you have worked in your own business and want to apply to have the experience approved for internship credit, the business must have established steady operations. The Application section and its appendices tell which documents are used for evaluating this.

NB! Work experience from student organizations (such as KY) can't be used for internship credits. This type of work experience can be used for the course Yhteisössä vaikuttaminen (JOIN-A003).

Internships can be approved only for a single, continuous period of employment in one company.

The required amount of work for 3 credits is:

• 6 weeks of full-time work or internship
• 12 weeks of part-time (at least 20 h/week) work or internship
• 24 weeks of part-time (at least 10 h/week) work or internship

The required amount of work for 6 credits is:

• 12 weeks of full-time work or internship
• 24 weeks of part-time (at least 20 h/week) work or internship
• 48 weeks of part-time (at least 10 h/week) work or internship

Internships may not be approved in advance. They are approved on the basis of an application which you submit for approval after the period of your internship has ended. Your employment relationship may continue after the date your internship ends.

Up to six (6) internship credits may be included in a degree. You may apply for a master’s degree internship after you have completed a bachelor’s degree.

Apply for approval of the internship by the end of the term that immediately follows the end of the internship. Spring term ends on 31 July and autumn term on 31 December.

If you worked during the summer of 2022, for example, and your internship ended in July (which is part of spring term 2022), you must apply for approval of the internship no later than the last day of autumn term, 31 December 2022. If your internship ended in August 2022, which is during autumn term 2022, you must apply for approval of the internship no later than the last day of spring term, 31 July 2023. 

An internship performed outside of Finland and elsewhere than in the student’s home country may be approved (effective as of 1 August 2017).

Internships are put in your (HOPS) study plan as elective studies. The correct codes are listed below.

Bachelor’s degree

• 20H00150 Internship, 3 cr
• 20H00100 Internship, 6 cr
• 20H01150 Internship abroad, 3 cr
• 20H01100 Internship abroad, 6 cr

Master's degree

• 20H00250 Internship, 3 cr
• 20H00200 Internship, 6 cr
• 20H02250 Internship abroad, 3 cr
• 20H02200 Internship abroad, 6 cr

Apply to have your internship approved as part of the degree by the end of the term that follows the end of the internship.

Attach the following appendices (each is required):

1. Student's application form: Application in English or in Finnish (PDF)
2. Form to be filled in by the instructor of your internship (your employer) in English or in Finnish (PDF)
3. A copy of your certificate of employment after your internship has ended. If your employment is ongoing, you can ask for a temporary certificate of employment or make sure that the same information can be found on the form filled by the internship instructor.
4. If you are applying for credit for having completed an internship in your own business, append extracts from the balance sheet and income statement of your last accounting period
5. Internship report (See below for guidelines)

Submit your application on the MyCourse page for Internship Report.

Processing usually takes four weeks at most, but may take longer during a vacation season. The credits will be registered on the date, when the report has been submitted (and not when the internship period has ended).

The internship is graded Pass/Fail based on the internship report and the internship form. If your application is approved, your internship will be entered for credit in the Sisu student information system. If your application is rejected or if additional information is required, you will be notified by email. If you receive a fail, you will be provided with reason(s) for the grade.

The report must include all of the points below; otherwise it will be rejected. Organise your report according to the headings listed below. The report is mainly intended to be your reflection on how the work experience you received relates to your studies, how the studies you have completed relate to working life, and how the internship supports your studies.

In the beginning of the report, write your name, student number and the internship code. You can find the codes here.

The report must contain a short description of:

• the work duties performed during the internship,
• the employer’s line of business and the basic mission of the company or organisation,
• and the duties you performed relate to the latter.

The main focus areas of the report are as follows:

You must

• reflect on what you learned in the internship in relation to the courses you have already taken (include references to courses and to the relevant literature),
• describe how the internship is linked to your current studies, and
• think about how the internship has helped you achieve the intended learning outcomes of the major or the degree programme.

The learning outcomes of each major or degree programme are described in your programme’s curriculum. Refer to these learning outcomes, discussing each of the them from the perspective of your internship.

• Suggest ways to improve the duties of the internship in the light of what you have studied.
• Describe how the internship connects to your future career plans.

The finished report must have at least 10 headings: an introduction, the eight items in the above list, and a summary. The report must be 7 to 10 pages long (using line spacing of 1.15, size 11 Calibri font, and all margins at 2 cm). NB! Pages with table of contents or pictures are not counted towards the report's length.

See that the presentation form of the report in consistent, and pay attention to good grammar and putting on the finishing touches. Students who are studying in a Finnish-medium degree programme should write their report in Finnish in most cases. Students who are studying in an English-medium degree programme should write their report in English in most cases.

If you are applying for credit for an internship that was coordinated by Career Services or supported by an Aalto school, or your internship was abroad and you received a scholarship for it, review any of their guidelines for reporting. See the pages on internships in Finland and internationally.

The dean of the School of Business wants to encourage students to graduate with excellent grades in the target time set for their degree. To this end, the school publishes a Dean’s List in a special event every October. Students on the Dean’s List will receive an incentive scholarship of 1000 euros and a certificate of award.  

To make it to the Dean’s List, students must finish their degree within the target time set for the degree and rate among the top 3% in academic performance among the students who began their studies in the same year. Students do not need to apply for inclusion on the list: the school checks the eligibility of all its graduates at the end of each academic year. 

Academic performance is determined on the basis of the weighted average grade of all the studies towards the degree.  

The target time (or the normative duration of studies) is  

• no more than 10 academic terms as an attending student for those pursuing both a bachelor’s and master’s degree at the Aalto University School of Business. 
• no more than 4 academic terms as an attending student for those pursuing only a master’s degree at the Aalto University School of Business. 
• no more than 6 academic terms as an attending student for those pursuing only a bachelor’s degree at the Aalto University School of Business. 

The target time does not include terms that the student has been enrolled as a non-attending student.

MSc degree studies consist of programme studies and elective studies. In some programmes, there is also a compulsory minor. The scope of the modules varies between programmes.

In addition to the goals stated in Government Decree on University Degrees (794/2004) 7 § the aim of the Master of Science degree in Economics and Business Administration is to provide students with

• deep overall knowledge of the area of the specialised master’s degree programme, and very good knowledge of the minor subject or corresponding study entities included in the degree;
• the knowledge and skills required in challenging managerial positions or positions demanding a high level of expertise, or as entrepreneur;
• the ability to independently produce and apply knowledge in the field of business administration and economics, and preparedness for demanding international postgraduate programmes;
• the ability to address ethics, sustainability, and international context; and
• excellent communication and team working skills.

The master's thesis is graded according to common criteria at the School of Business. Read the grading rubric when you are planning and writing your thesis. 

The rubrics are renewed as of August 1, 2024. All bachelor's and master's theses whose preparation begins on August 1, 2024, or later are evaluated using the renewed rubrics. The renewed rubrics are in the pages of the School of Business.

Theses started before August 1, 2024 and submitted for evaluation before January 1, 2025, will be assessed according to the previously applicable assessment rubrics.The rubric can be found here (PDF).  

1. Read more about the thesis seminar of your programme on Sisu.
   • You will find the seminar in your personal study plan or through the curriculum page of your programme.
2. Register for the seminar on Sisu.
3. Take part in the seminar work and write your thesis.
4. The abstract of your thesis acts as your maturity essay. Read more about the maturity essay further down on this page.
5. Format the thesis file for submission.
   • Submit your thesis as a single PDF/A file containing the cover page and thesis abstract. See below for details on preparing the file.
   • Practice saving the thesis in the correct format before the deadline date, because if you encounter any problems, you will not have time to fix them on the day your thesis is due.
6. Submit your master’s thesis for evaluation to MyCourses and to eAge for archiving.
   • Submit the same file to both systems. If you have written your thesis together with an another student, both of you need to submit the same file to MyCourses and eAge.
   • You have to be enrolled as an attending student for the right to study to which the master's thesis relates.
   • The abstracts of bachelor's and master's theses to be saved from January 1, 2024 will always be openly published in the Aaltodoc publication archive together with other metadata of the theses. Read more about theses as public documents here.
   • Further information about publishing theses here.

• Use the thesis template for all Aalto University Schools that can be found here. The first page of the submitted file should be the cover page, while the next should be the thesis abstract page.
• The cover page and the abstract are written in the same language as your thesis and depending on your language of education the abstract may need to be written in other language(s) as well.
• The abstract of your thesis acts as your maturity essay. Read more about the maturity essay and what languages it needs to be written in further down on this page under The maturity essay at the master's level.
• Save your file as an archival PDF/A file. Suitable formats: PDF/A-1a, -1b, -2a and -2b. Do not use any other file format.

General guidelines for master's thesis structure and design can be found here.

Instructions for converting a file to PDF/A compliant version here

For the schedule for thesis evaluation, see the page Graduation. You can submit your thesis for evaluation even before you have completed all your studies.

1. Register for the thesis submission workspace of your department on MyCourses.
   • Department of Management Studies (PMOD, SMCW, IDBM, CS, Global Management*)
   • Department of Accounting and Business Law (accounting, business law)
   • Department of Marketing (marketing)
   • Department of Economics (economics)
   • Department of Information and Service Management (ISM, BA)
   • Department of Finance (finance)
2. Submit your master’s thesis as instructed in the MyCourses workspace.
3. Submit your master’s thesis to eAge for archiving. Click here to go to eAge.
4. Follow your Aalto email as we will use it to contact you if we need additional information.
   • Remember to check your spam folder, because sometimes eAge messages end up there.

* Global Management students who have started their studies before 1.8.2022 should submit their thesis according to their specialization area. Student who have started their studies 1.8.2022, submit the thesis to the workspace of Management studies.

If the thesis and maturity essay are the last study attainments you need to complete to graduate, you can then request for graduation as a Master of Science (Economics and Business Administration). Read more on the page Graduation.

1. If you notice an error in your thesis after its submission but before the deadline:
   • Ask for your eAge form to be returned to you by emailing to [email protected].
   • Correct the error in your thesis.
   • Submit the corrected version to the MyCourses workspace no later than on the deadline date.
   • Once you get your eAge form back, replace the thesis file with the corrected one and resend the form.
   • If you had submitted the earlier version of the thesis separately to your thesis advisor, send the corrected version also to the thesis advisor.
2. If you notice an error after the deadline but before the thesis has been evaluated, please do either of the following:
   • Suspend the thesis evaluation process by sending an email to the planning officer of your programme or to [email protected].
   • Let the thesis advisor evaluate your thesis and then follow the instructions given in item 3 below.
3. If you wish to correct an error in your thesis after its evaluation, you can append an errata document to your thesis as instructed below.

Write your thesis abstract in the same language as the thesis and in translation as necessary (see below):

• If the language of your thesis is Finnish,
  • write its abstract in Finnish and English.
  • If your language of primary and secondary education is Swedish, write it also in Swedish.
• If the language of your thesis is English,
  • write its abstract in English and
  • in your language of primary and secondary education (if that language was Finnish or Swedish).

Note that the translations must be written regardless of whether you show language proficiency in your master’s degree.

Demonstrating language proficiency

If you are unsure about whether you need to demonstrate language proficiency in your master’s thesis, contact a planner for your programme before submitting your thesis.

Students who completed a bachelor’s degree in Finland

In principle, if you completed a bachelor’s degree at Aalto University or at another Finnish university or a Finnish university of applied sciences, you have already demonstrated your language proficiency in that degree or you received an exemption. Therefore, you do not need a demonstration of language proficiency in your master’s degree; instead, your master’s level maturity essay demonstrates your conversance with the subject area of your thesis. Approval of your thesis means approval of your maturity essay as well.

Students who completed a bachelor’s degree abroad

If you completed a bachelor’s degree abroad and your language of primary and secondary education is Finnish or Swedish, you must demonstrate your proficiency in your language of primary and secondary education by a master’s level maturity essay or by a translation of it. If you belong to this group, contact your programme planner once you have submitted your thesis. You will then receive instructions regarding how your essay or translation will be examined.

If you completed a bachelor’s degree abroad and your language of primary and secondary education is not Finnish or Swedish, your maturity essay demonstrates your conversance with the subject area of your thesis. Approval of your thesis means approval of your maturity essay as well.

1. Update your study plan (HOPS) on Sisu and apply for any approvals that may be missing.
   • If any part(s) of your study plan require separate approval, deviate from previous approval, are against the rules or have some other status preventing graduation, then your graduation cannot be processed.
   • Reserve at least three (3) weeks for this processing, so that the problems can be cleared up in time. If your study plan is not in order by graduation day, your graduation will be rescheduled for the next available graduation date. Below under the heading Graduation timetables the table also includes the deadline for updating your study plan and applying for missing approvals. If you need help in updating your study plan, you can use Sisu guidance for students whose timetable is published further down on this page.
   • If you have been admitted to study both a Bachelor's and Master's level degree, don't hide the bachelor level study plan from view in Sisu. Hiding it will prevent us from processing your graduation request.
2. Check that the studies in your study plan show a completion mark (a garland icon) in Sisu. Your thesis, maturity essay, thesis seminar and credit transfers (e.g. exchange studies) are exceptions in that they must be completed by graduation day, but they are not registered yet in Sisu. Submit your thesis as instructed on the Thesis page of your programme pages.
   • Apply for any missing credit transfers by creating a study draft for exchange studies, for example. Information about credit transfers here and instructions for applying for credit transfer here.
   • If Sisu is not showing any completed thesis and/or maturity essay and/or thesis seminar for you, check that your study plan has the correct course codes for them.  You can find the up-to-date codes on your programme’s curriculum page.
   • If the completion ‘garland’ mark is missing from studies other than your thesis, thesis seminar, maturity essay or credit transfers, wait for them to show up in your study plan before moving on to the next stage.
3. Apply for graduation in Sisu, the instructions are here.
   • Do not edit your study plan after submitting your application.
     • If you notice an error before graduation day, cancel your graduation application, make the correction and apply for graduation again
     • If you notice an error after graduation day, contact [email protected] and await instructions before editing your study plan.
4. Respond to the questionnaire for Master's-level School of Business graduates.
   • Aalto University School of Business and The Finnish Business School Graduates gather feedback from graduating students regarding studying and finding employment.
   • Responses are confidential, and responses and respondents can't be connected.
   • The feedback is used in assessing and developing the operation of the university and charting how graduating students find employment and the level of pay.
   • More information here.
5. Follow your Aalto email as we will use it to contact you if we need extra information.
   • It will take several weeks after graduation for your degree and degree certificate to be prepared. For details, read the section Graduation timetables below.
6. You can receive your degree certificate at the graduation ceremony or at the Learning Services HelpDesk.
   • If you need a degree certificate earlier, you may receive a provisional one by contacting [email protected]. Note: Kela, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, requires no separate graduation certificate, as they receive the information from the university directly.

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• The date entered on the degree certificate is the official date of graduation and the last possible date for submitting a graduation request.
  • You must submit your thesis and maturity essay for examination no later than your graduation date. More information on your programme pages During your studies > Thesis.
  • Missing credit transfers for exchange studies, for example, must be sent for processing no later than the graduation date. Information about credit transfers here and instructions for applying for credit transfer here. NB! Credits from internship are not regarded as credit transfer, they are normal course credits!
  • All other completed studies for inclusion in the degree must be approved and the approvals must be visible in the study plan before the request for graduation is submitted.
• After the graduation date, theses and maturity essays are evaluated and entered. Any remaining credit transfers are also processed.
  • You need not do anything about this as the people doing the processing will just follow their given timetables.
• After the graduation date, we will register your degree in Sisu based on your study plan.
  • If there are errors or if completed studies are missing from your study plan, we will contact you after the graduation date. Remember therefore to read your Aalto email regularly!
  • All degrees of students who graduate on the same day will be registered according to the same timetable. That is why graduation requests in Sisu take about three weeks to process after the graduation date. Especially with July and December graduation dates, processing graduation applications takes longer due to the volume of applications.
• When your degree is registered, we will finalise your degree certificate.
  • Degree certificates are given at the same time to all who graduated on the same date.

2024

* No theses or maturity essays may be submitted for examination in June. If you are graduating in June, submit your thesis and maturity essay according to the May timetable.

2025

* No theses or maturity essays may be submitted for examination in June. If you are graduating in June, submit your thesis and maturity essay according to the May timetable.

Degree certificates are given at either the graduation ceremony or can be picked up from the Learning Services HelpDesk by booking an appointment (more information on the page Contact). The HelpDesk needs to inspect your ID before the certificate can be given.

The place, time and other details about collecting your degree certificate will be sent to you by email if you are unable to attend the graduation ceremony.

What should I do if I can’t come to get my degree certificate?

1. You can authorise someone to pick up your certificate at the HelpDesk by giving that person a letter of attorney or other written authorisation. No certificate can be given out unless the receiving party has a proof of identity and the letter of attorney or the written authorisation. Remember to book an appointment for picking up the diploma.
2. You can authorise us to send the certificate to you by mail by sending the letter of attorney or authorisation to School of Business Learning Services by email to [email protected]. Certificates are sent only outside of Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen area. The certificate will be sent to use by certified mail and given only to the individual indicated. The Power of attorney for receipt of degree certificate (Authorization to send degree certificate) can be found here.

The degree certificate (diploma) consists of the certificate of completion of a degree, a transcript of records of the degree studies and the grades received, and a Diploma Supplement, which has explanatory information about the degree.

• The transcript of records, showing the studies in the degree, is based on your study plan.

The degree certificate and its translation are made in duplicate: one copy for you and one for the Aalto University archives. You cannot receive a new copy of the certificate should the original be lost or destroyed; however, you may obtain a certified copy of that in the archives. More information can be found here.

Language of the degree certificate

Graduates of the English-medium Master's programmes receive an English and Finnish degree certificate, if the thesis was written in English.

However, graduates of English Master's programmes who wrote their thesis in Finnish will receive a Finnish degree certificate and an English translation.

Graduates from the Finnish-medium Master's Programme in Business Law (yritysjuridiikan maisteriohjelma) receive a Finnish degree certificate and an English translation.

Degree certificate grades

The degree certificate shows the following:

• The grades of the study units (courses) in the degree.
• The grades of the study modules, calculated as the average grade of the study units (weighted according to the number of credits) in the module. This grade is calculated only if at least half of the study units were graded on a scale of 0 to 5.
• The grade of the degree, calculated as the credit-weighted average of all the study units in the degree that were graded on a scale of 0 to 5.

This calculation includes the thesis, counting it as a study unit. The averages are given at a precision of two decimal places (one-hundredth part).

A Master of Science (Economics and Business Administration) degree is marked as completed with honours if the grade is at least 4.50.

Correcting errors on a certificate

If you notice an error on your certificate, you will receive a corrected one. You must return your defective certificate to Aalto University when you retrieve the corrected one. If your certificate requires a correction, please contact [email protected]. 

The graduation ceremony for students graduating with a Bachelor's degree and Master's degree is held four times a year. The degree certificates for students graduating with a Licentiate's or Doctor's degree are also awarded in this ceremony, if they are graduating at the same time excluding September, when Masters, Licentiates and Doctors degrees will have their own graduation ceremony.

The graduation ceremonies are held at the School of Business on dates of certificate award ceremony usually at 3.15 PM or sometimes 4.15 PM. The graduating students have to be present about half an hour earlier to learn how the ceremony is going to progress and get instructions. The graduating students get an email beforehand with the exact times and information about how many guests they can bring. Normally the number of guests allowed is 0-2. The programme of the ceremony is usually the following:

• Choir (KYL/KYN)
• Dean’s speech
• Diplomas
• Graduate's speech
• Aalto University Business Students - KY
• The Finnish Association of Business School Graduates, Helsinki Section (HEKO)
• Sparkling wine and cake

The ceremony lasts about an hour depending on the programme. In order to attend the graduation ceremony, you need to RSVP with a separate invitation, which will be sent to you via email upon graduating. There is no specific dress code, but usually the graduates are wearing a "smart casual".

Graduation Party

In addition to the School of Business graduation ceremony, an outdoor event “Graduation Party” will be organized on Wednesday 12 June 2024 at 17 for all bachelors, masters and licentiates who have graduated between 1 May 2023 and 30 April 2024 from Aalto University. 
 
Invitations to the event with registration link will be sent in April and May. So, remember to update your email address you’ll be using after the graduation in Sisu! 

Read more about the Party here.

If you graduate in the beginning of a term and you are able to change your enrolment status from attendance to non-attendance before the enrolment period ends, you can apply for a membership fee refund from the Student Union. Those who graduate later during the autumn term can apply for a refund on the following term’s membership fee, i.e. for the spring term. Further information here.

Your study right at Aalto University ends on your graduation date. Because the digital student card Frank App deploys a real-time system in verifying your student status, you cannot continue using the Frank App after you have graduated. If you have a plastic student card, it is valid until the end of your AYY membership period. However, note that if you have a plastic student card and you apply for reimbursement of the membership fee, you must visit your School’s Student Service point with your student card. The Student Service point will record the change and remove the academic year tag on your student card. Read more here.

• When your right to study ends, remove all the software that the university has provided for home use, unless otherwise stated in the license agreement of the software.
• Return all borrowed study material and equipment.
• Return all keys and access badges.
• The right to access Aalto University IT services will remain valid for four months after your graduation, after which it will be removed. The validity period of the access rights may be extended beyond four months only for exceptional reasons.
• Remember to make a copy of the files in your university-provided home directory (network drive) and cloud services (e.g. Google Drive) for yourself, as the files in your home directory will be removed once your access rights expire.
• Any messages sent to a closed Aalto e-mail account will not be delivered. If you have used your Aalto University e-mail address to create user accounts for other services (e.g. Apple ID or Dropbox), please remember to replace the Aalto address with your personal e-mail address in those services.

Please note that you may be bound by a confidentiality obligation even after your graduation, if you have, for instance, gained access to secret information while in a position of trust at the university.

National career monitoring survey is conducted by Career Services of Finnish Universities. The target group in Master's survey is alumni who graduated five years ago and in Doctoral survey alumni who graduated three years.

Please take time to respond when you get the survey after graduation, your response is highly appreciated! It will provide current information from the working life that can be utilized in the development of teaching and research. Additionally, students who are still deciding on their studies and job opportunities value the information gained from the career paths of graduates.

Read more here and here.

The School of Business admits new doctoral candidates in an application process once a year. More information on the doctoral programme and the application process can be found here.

When you graduate with a degree from the School of Business, you become an alum of both the School of Business and Aalto University. Aalto Alumni Community is a unique community of multidisciplinary experts in various sectors in the Finnish society and abroad. Belonging to the alumni community is free and does not bind you to anything. You can always choose how actively you want to participate.

Aalto University graduates' degree information is saved automatically in the alumni register (CRM) after the graduation. Make sure to keep your contact information up to date at aalto.fi/biz/alumni.

Please note that your Aalto e-mail address will expire 2 months after graduation.

As an alum, you will get e.g.

• A chance to stay connected with fellow alumni and students (join the School of Business alumni LinkedIn group and Aalto University Alumni Community group)
• The opportunity to create an alumni email address and mail box: [email protected]
• Aalto University Magazine (order on this page)
• A discount on the price of season cards at UniSport (see further instructions)
• Invitations to alumni events, where you can network and increase your knowledge, e.g., via seminar series and the School of Business Homecoming Day
• Latest news on the School of Business & University developments and current affairs via alumni newsletters
• Information on lifewide learning opportunities
• The opportunity to contribute to the development of the university and provide support to students through mentoring or career events
• Access to Aalto JobTeaser for one year after graduation – change your aalto.fi email to another and set up a new password within four months from your graduation: https://aalto.jobteaser.com/

Learn more about the School of Business alumni activities at aalto.fi/biz/alumni.

Welcome to our alumni community!

Emilia Nevalainen
Alumni Relations Manager
Aalto University School of Business
+358 50 433 9712
alumni-biz(at)aalto.fi

The Finnish Business School Graduates is a central organization for graduates and students in economics and business administration. The Finnish Business School Graduates has about 50,000 individual members. It consists of 25 regional associations and 13 student societies. The Finnish Business School Graduates is the fourth biggest affiliate of Akava - Confederation of Unions for Professional and Managerial Staff in Finland.

Read more about The Finnish Business School Graduates here.