No, you don't. However, please note that the undergraduate courses offered by Aalto University Summer School can not be included in Aalto degree studies. 

More options for summer studies are available for Aalto students at the Open University. See more information on their website.

Some courses may start as early as May but many courses take place in August. Please check each course website for more information.

The application/registration period for most courses starts every spring. The sooner you register the better your chances of securing a place – some courses use rolling registration and as soon as the course is full, the registration is closed. Please refer to the course page for more information.

You must have completed a high school or vocational degree or equivalent by the time the course starts. However, you do not have to be a degree student at a university to participate in our courses. 

Additionally, all of the summer school course students need to be 18 years or older, as it is the legal age in Finland.

Yes, you can apply unless the course information indicates otherwise. Aalto University Summer School is a great way to update your knowledge base and be inspired by new experiences!

Yes, you can, but please check the scheduling for overlaps.

You will get an official digital Aalto University certificate at the end of the course.

Once you have been accepted to a course and you have paid the course fee (if the course is fee based), the course coordinator will send you an invitation along with the letter of acceptance.

Unfortunately we don’t have a common scholarship scheme for Aalto University Summer School. Some courses however do provide for scholarships and/or offer reduced price for prioritized groups. Please check the course website for further information. Please remember that if you are a student at one of our Partner Universities, your own university may be able to offer you a travel grant. If this applies to you, please contact your international office.

Aalto University Summer School courses are held on Aalto University Otaniemi campus in Espoo, unless otherwise indicated in the course information. The campus is connected to Helsinki by metro (10 min) and to the airport by metro+train or bus (45-60 min). There is some accommodation available in Otaniemi, but more variety and availability nearby, in other parts of Espoo and in Helsinki.

Many of the courses have about 30 participants (please see the course website for more detailed information) and the participants will be a mix of people from other European countries and e.g. Australia, USA, China and India. We welcome participants from all over the world!

Yes. Please be sure to purchase travel insurance from your permanent place of residence, before you travel. If you are an EU/EEA citizen or resident, you may take advantage of the European Health Insurance Card, which you need to get before you travel. Please be aware of its limitations, e.g. that it does not cover private healthcare costs.

You will get more out of the courses, if you have your own laptop but there are PC labs available for you to use. Otaniemi offers great wifi service free of charge! 

Otaniemi offers you great wifi service free of charge, and almost all forms of accommodation have free wireless connections, whether it is an Airbnb, hostel or a hotel.

The language of instruction in all of the fee-based courses is English. If you are not proficient in English, you may not get a passing grade. You need to understand spoken and written English, and you need to be able to express your thoughts in English in order to truly participate in the course. 

Our campus is very international and you will also find that many local people speak English, so you have no problem in getting around by just using English on campus and outside the campus. The variety of accents may be diverse, though! It is always nice to be able to say something in the local language, so we encourage you to learn some Finnish. And don’t forget – if you are a Swedish speaker, Swedish is the other official language of Finland.

We do indeed have a Code of Conduct and all students at Aalto University Summer School are expected to follow it.

Please describe any special needs (e.g. regarding logistics, accommodation, etc.) you may have in your application form or directly to your course coordinator as early as possible. They will do their best to meet your needs.

• If Aalto University cancels the course or program: 100% refund of tuition fee and programme fee 
• Cancelling up to 60 days before the beginning of the course: 85% refund of tuition fee and programme fee (Aalto University will deduct 15% of each course fee as a service and bank cost fee)
• Cancelling up to 30 days before the beginning of the course: 50% refund of tuition fee and programme fee
• Cancelling less than 30 days before the beginning of the course: no refund of tuition fee or programme fee
• Please note that the course might be cancelled if it does not reach the minimum amount of course participants. In this case, students enrolled on the course will be informed about this directly via e-mail.