The dean awards the incentive scholarship to those students who have completed at least 60 credits during the academic year (1 August – 31 July) and have applied for the scholarship. The required 60 credits need to be mainly included in the bachelor’s or master’s degree.

In addition, getting the scholarship requires completing the degree within the normative duration of studies according to the following criteria.

Students completing both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees

• A student needs to graduate with a Bachelor's degree on their third year of attending. If the student completes 60 credits during their third year of study, but they do not graduate with a Bachelor’s degree, they are not entitled to the incentive scholarship.
• A student is entitled to the scholarship, if they graduate within the timeframe (three years) with a Bachelor’s degree, even if they completed less than 60 credits during their third year of attending.
• A student needs to complete 60 credits during their fourth year of attending. However, they cannot be awarded the incentive scholarship on their fourth year, if the Bachelor’s degree is still incomplete.
• A student needs to graduate with a Master’s degree on their fifth year of study. A student is entitled to the scholarship, if they graduate with a Master’s degree, even if they completed less than 60 credits during the academic year.
• The credits being earned need to be mainly included in the degree which is being completed first.

Students completing only a Master’s degree

• A student needs to graduate with a Master’s degree on their second year of study.
• A student is entitled to the scholarship, if they graduate within the timeframe (two years) with a Master’s degree, even if they completed less than 60 credits during their second year of attending.

Further information

For the purposes of the incentive scholarship, studies completed in one academic year means studies that have been completed and marked into the Aalto University student register for the period from 1 August to 31 July. This includes credits earned during that academic year in some other Finnish or foreign higher education institution, provided they have been transferred into the Aalto University student register. Any raised grades must also be entered into the student register by the end of the academic year in order to be counted towards the total credits earned.

A study year is defined by adding up all terms the student has enrolled as attending in the programme. Being absent for half a year cannot be taken into account when awarding the scholarship.

Example. Right to study for both BSc and MSc degrees, started on 1.8.2020:

Further conditions

• The student must have a primary right to study in the School of Science on 31 July of the academic year in question (excluding students who have graduated with a BSc or MSc degree from the School of Science during the academic year). Students with a right to study entering into force the next day, 1 August, are not eligible for the scholarship.
• If the student has another valid right to study for another degree at Aalto University, the student must have completed at least 45 credits in accordance with the study plan of the School of Science.
• Students pursuing double degrees are eligible to apply for the scholarship, if during the academic year they have earned 60 credits for studies included in the programme curriculum (either at the partner university or at Aalto) and these credits have been recorded in Aalto University student register.
• The dean’s incentive scholarship can be obtained from only one Aalto school at a time. Tuition-fee-paying students who have been granted the EUR 1500 incentive scholarship are not eligible for the dean’s incentive scholarship.
• The dean has decided to lower the minimum number of credits required of students who have informed the university of having a learning difficulty or dyslexia, which has slowed the progress of their studies. In such cases, the student is required to earn at least 55 credits during the academic year.

The total number of credits earned is checked on 31 August; any changes made to the register after that date will not be considered. An exception are students who are completing a double degree or who have completed exchange studies abroad, but who have not received the documents from the partner university in time. Their credits must be marked into the student register by 30 September.

The application period for the dean’s incentive scholarship is in October. Application instructions are sent by Aalto email to students who are eligible for the scholarship, based on the credits in their Aalto student register. The application period is also published on university communication channels.

The application period for autumn 2023 is from 3 October 2023 to 31 October 2023. If you meet the criteria for the scholarship but have not received the application instructions to your email, please contact [email protected] during the application period.

The scholarship is only awarded upon application, and applications submitted after the application period will not be considered. The decision on granting the scholarships is made by the dean.

Further information: studentservices(a)aalto.fi.

The scholarship may be awarded to a student of the School of Electrical Engineering who meets the following criteria (1–3):

1. The student has completed at least 60 cr during the academic year in question, of which at least 45 cr are included or are to be included, according to the student’s personal study plan (HOPS), in the student’s bachelor’s and/or master’s degree at the School of Electrical Engineering.
2. The student must meet at least one of the following criteria (a–c):
   a) In the case of bachelor’s students, the student has not been enrolled for more than 7 academic terms as an attending student in the Bachelor's Programme in Electrical Engineering as counted from the end of the academic year in question.
   b) In the case of master’s degree students who have earned a Bachelor of Science (Technology) degree from Aalto University, the student has been enrolled as an attending student, first in a degree programme leading to a Bachelor of Science (Technology) degree and then in a master’s programme of the school for a combined time not exceeding 11 academic terms as counted from the end of the academic year in question.
   c) In the case of master’s students who have not earned a Bachelor of Science (Technology) at Aalto University, the student has not been enrolled as attending in a master’s programme of the School of Electrical Engineering for more than 5 academic terms as counted from the end of the academic year in question.
3. The student has not paid tuition fee to Aalto University in the academic year in question.

In addition, the following students of the School of Electrical Engineering may be eligible for the scholarship:

• A bachelor’s degree student who completes less than 60 cr credits’ worth of studies in the academic year in question but graduates with a Bachelor of Science (Technology) within the target time (6 terms) in the academic year in question.
• A Master of Science (Technology) student who completes less than 60 cr credits’ worth of studies in the academic year in question but graduates with a Master of Science (Technology) within the target time (10 terms) in the academic year in question. This applies to master’s degree students who have completed a Bachelor of Science (Technology) degree at Aalto University. The Bachelor of Science (Technology) degree is included in the target time (10 terms).
• A Master of Science (Technology) student who completes less than 60 cr credits’ worth of studies in the academic year in question but graduates with a Master of Science (Technology) within the target time (4 terms) in the academic year in question. This applies to master’s degree students who have not completed their Bachelor of Science (Technology) degree at Aalto University.

Who is regarded a student of the School of Electrical Engineering?

To be considered a bachelor’s student at the School of Electrical Engineering, the student must have, at the time of applying for the scholarship, a valid right to study towards a Bachelor of Science (Technology) degree at the school or have earned a Bachelor of Science (Technology) degree from the school by 31 July of the academic year in question.

To be considered a master’s student at the School of Electrical Engineering, the student must have, at the time of applying for the scholarship, a valid right to study towards a Master of Science (Technology) degree at the school or have earned a Master of Science (Technology) degree from the school by 31 July of the academic year in question.

Studies completed during the academic year

For the purposes of the incentive scholarship, studies completed in one academic year are studies that have been, as indicated by the student’s transcript of records, completed and marked into the Aalto University student register during academic year in question, i.e. between 1 August and 31 July. The student has the responsibility to make sure that the completion dates of their studies are correct.

Studies completed in one academic year also include credits earned during that academic year in some other Finnish or foreign higher education institution, provided they have been transferred into the Aalto University student register by 30 September in the year the scholarship is applied for.

Academic terms attended

All academic terms in which the student has been enrolled as attending in the degree programme as well as those in which the student has completed studies that have been included in his or her degree or personal study plan are counted towards the academic terms attended.

Further conditions

The student may be awarded a scholarship only once per academic year. Students awarded an equivalent incentive scholarship on the basis of their right to study towards a master’s degree in another Aalto University school of technology are not eligible for the incentive scholarship for the School of Electrical Engineering’s bachelor’s degree students.

Upon request, the scholarship recipients will be issued with a certificate of award.

The scholarship application period is in September. Students who appear to meet the eligibility criteria in the beginning of September will be sent a link to the application form to their Aalto email address.

Students who have completed studies that have not yet been entered into the student information system at the start of September due to, for instance, credit transfers, or have not received the link for other reason, may ask for the link from the Student services by sending an email to [email protected].

The scholarship is not awarded by meeting the award criteria alone, but the student must apply for the scholarship during the application period. Applications submitted after the application deadline will not be considered. For the purpose of paying the scholarship, students’ personal information is attached to the application.

The decision on awarding incentive scholarships is made by the dean of the school. 

The School of Chemical Engineering wants to reward students who earn their degree within the target time, i.e. the normative duration of studies defined by law. The scholarship is awarded in the cases described below.

1. Students admitted to the School of Chemical Engineering to pursue both a Bachelor’s and master’s degree:
   The scholarship for bachelor’s students is awarded to those who have completed all studies (180 credits) and graduated within a period of three academic years. The reward is awarded based on the number of terms you have enrolled as attending in the study programme.
   The scholarship for master’s students is awarded to those who have completed all studies (180 + 120 credits) and graduated within a period of five academic years. The reward is awarded based on the number of terms you have enrolled as attending in the study programme.
2. Students admitted to the School of Chemical Engineering to pursue a Master’s degree:
   The scholarship for master’s students is awarded when all studies (120 cr) have been completed and graduated within a period of two academic years. The reward is awarded based on the number of terms you have enrolled as attending in the study programme.

Please note that this scholarship is not granted in programmes where the students receive a scholarship for living costs.

The Incentive-Based Scholarship can be granted if you have completed 60 ECTS credits (or above) of studies from your approved personal study plan during one academic year. Students in international joint programmes can also apply for the scholarship if they are paying tuition fees to Aalto, and have completed the required 60 ECTS credits while studying at Aalto University during one academic year.

Please note that you cannot include credits which exceed the degree requirements when applying for the scholarship. In addition, thesis credits are taken into account towards the 60 ECTS requirement only after the whole thesis is registered, i.e. partial credits from thesis cannot be counted towards the required credits.

To apply for the Incentive-Based Scholarship, simply follow the information and instructions in the email sent out towards the end of spring term. If you are a fee-paying student and have not received the email by the end of May, or are not sure if you qualify, please contact the student services. The deadline for the scholarship applications is the end of October. 

The scholarship is 1 500 € and it is paid towards the end of autumn term (or upon graduation, where applicable). The first round of scholarship decisions will be made by the end of September for applications returned in the summer months. Thereafter, the scholarship decisions are made once a month. You will receive the scholarship decision to your email. 

The Incentive-Based Scholarship can be granted more than once.