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.

Fill in an application for extension in Sisu.

1. Update your primary study plan in Sisu. Request approval for any parts of the study plan that need it.
2. Make a timetable for completing the missing courses in the Timeline sheet in Sisu. The study plan must be goal-oriented and feasible.
3. As soon as the status of your study plan is Selections done, navigate back to the notification box on the Sisu front page to apply for the extension.

Send the required attachments mentioned below to [email protected]. Use the following email subject line “SCI, your name, attachment to application for extension”.

• Documentation of the reasons for the delay in your studies. NB! Working will not be taken into account.
• If you have previously been granted an extension of your right to study, please provide an account on how you used the granted extension.
• If you have statutory absences (military service, maternity or paternity leave, parental leave), please provide certificates for these absences.
• If you are studying in a master's programme and are currently working on your master's thesis, send a thesis plan with a timetable. Ask your thesis supervisor for a statement evaluating the progress and timetable for completing your thesis.
• If the reason for delayed studies is illness, submit a medical certificate. Such documents should be fairly recent. Documents which are several years old are usually not taken into account. Send all confidential material to [email protected].

Secure email

• If you are using an email address other than your aalto.fi address, do this: first, sign in to the portal at https://securemail.aalto.fi. Then follow the instructions in the portal to send your attachments to this address: [email protected].
• Use the following email subject line: ‘[Your school: ARTS, BIZ, CHEM, ELEC, ENG, SCI], [your name], attachment to application for extension’.
• Please find the instructions for encrypted email at https://www.aalto.fi/en/cyber-security/deltagon-for-aalto-community.

You may be granted an extension if you can be expected to complete your studies within a reasonable time. The number of courses not completed is considered in relation to the planned time of graduation. Circumstances that may be considered as grounds for an extension include illness, difficult personal circumstances, extracurricular societal activities, student exchange or internship abroad and systematic sports training. If you have been granted an extension before, your progress during that time plays an important part in the decision.

The extension is granted by the dean.

The extension remains the same even if you enrol as absent during the extension. The absences not counted towards the overall duration of study mentioned above do not automatically mean a longer extension. They are, however, taken into account if you apply for another extension.