Follow the curriculum of your major and your designated group (entry/exit).

• Your degree consists of studies at Aalto, studies at partner university, and master’s thesis. 
• The scope of the Master's degree is normatively 120 ECTS. Only those courses that you have in the approved personal study plan (HOPS) are included in your degree. The credits in your personal study plan must add up to 120 ECTS (including partner courses) or as close to it as possible.
• At least 50% of the scope of the degree must be completed at Aalto, meaning at least 60 ECTS. If you take extra courses and receive more than 60 ECTS from the partner university, you cannot use them to take less credits at Aalto. 
• The courses you must (compulsory courses) and may (optional courses) complete are defined in the curriculum of your major.
• You can update your study plan (HOPS) until you graduate (exit students) or until we send your transcript to your exit university (entry students).

• You can also enroll and take courses that are not part of your curriculum. These extra credits cannot be included in your degree, but you can download a transcript of records from Sisu that includes all courses you have completed. Only the courses that are included in the degree will show in the transcript you will get with the degree certificate.
• Think carefully about where you want to focus your energy, because 30 ECTS per semester is equivalent to full-time study. Thus, only take extra courses if you have the energy and time to complete them.
• If you want to take extra courses, you need to add them to your study plan to enrol on them. However, the study plan cannot be approved if there are extra courses in it, so do not apply for approval for your study plan before you have removed the extra courses from it. You can remove extra courses safely from the study plan when you have enrolled on the courses and your enrolment has been confirmed. 
• Any extracurricular course you wish to include in your degree must always be approved by the academic coordinator/professor of the major. These are individual exceptions and usually limited to 1 course per student.

All degree students create their personal study plan (HOPS) in Aalto University student information system Sisu. Detailed instructions for creating the study plan can be found in Sisu instructions. 

Familiarize yourself with the curriculum of your major and your year (entry/exit) and create a study plan in Sisu following the curriculum. Check carefully the info texts in Sisu's selection assistant and follow the instructions. 

If you have a compelling reason for an individual exception, add the course to your study plan in the free edit mode and justify the exception. You will also need to apply for module content approval in free edit mode.

You can create multiple versions of your personal study plan, but only one can be primary.

Partner university courses in the study plan

Entry students: Add the partner university courses as two study drafts of 24 ECTS (in major) and 6 ECTS (in minor). Once you have completed the courses in your exit university, the administrative staff will transfer the courses and place them in your study plan. 

Exit students: The administrative staff will register and place the entry year courses to your study plan, once the entry university has uploaded your transcript to EIT portal (done in September). If you have not completed all the courses in your entry university, add them as study drafts to the study plan. 

Choosing a master's thesis code

The code for the master's thesis depends on the department of your master's thesis supervisor. By default, you should select one the following codes (this can be changed later if for some reason the supervisor is from another department):

• AUS, AUSIR, CNI: ELEC.thes
• DSC, HCID: CS.thes

You only need to apply for approval for courses in your major at Aalto University, where it says "approval required". In other words, you don't need to apply for approval for the entire study plan (HOPS). Click the entry/exit year at Aalto and scroll up the selection bar → Apply for module content approval.

Once your study plan has been checked, you receive a message in Sisu. You will not be notified by email. Check the message in Sisu and make the requested changes.

Selections against rules?

If you still cannot see the button "Apply for content approval", it is usually because the structure or the choices in your plan deviate from the default.

• Click the entry/exit year at Aalto (where it says "approval required").
• In the blue bar at the top you will see a small icon with three dots. Click the icon and enter the free editing mode.
• Now the button "Apply for content approval" should appear, and you can click on it. As "grounds for request" you should write what deviates from the default and if and when it has been approved by the professor of the major.
• If your plan is approved, errors will disappear. If it is rejected, you will be instructed to make some changes and reapply for approval.

You can change the personal study plan whenever necessary. If you want to make changes to an already approved study module (for example replace a course with another), you need to first give up the approval you have obtained. Please edit the study module and its contents only after giving up the approval. After editing, reapply for approval for the study module.

1. Click on the study module or grouping module that has been approved (its status is selections approved or selections conditionally approved).
2. Click "Show" to go to the approved application.
3. Select "Give up the approval" in the lower part of the form.
4. Sisu will ask you to confirm. Select "Yes, give up the approval."
5. Make the changes and reapply for approval.

You can find more detailed instructions in Sisu instructions. 

Please always take care of the annual enrolment, whether non-attending or attending. Neglecting the enrolment during the enrolment period leads to a separate fee upon the next enrolment. You can enroll in Oili, if you have Finnish online banking codes or a credit card accepted by the system. Read general information and instructions on the page Annual enrolment.

Please note that all attending students need to pay the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) fee to Kela (Social Insurance Institution of Finland), even if they are abroad. However, you do not have to pay the healthcare fee if you have social security coverage from another EU/EEA country, from Switzerland, or from Great Britain and Northern Ireland. For more information about the FSHS, see https://www.kela.fi/healthcare-fee-for-students-in-higher-education.

Instructions for students unable to enroll in Oili

• If you cannot enrol in Oili, please contact [email protected] and ask for payment instructions of AYY membership fee for basic degree students for autumn / spring / for the whole year. Once you have received the instructions, please pay the fee and send the receipt / payment confirmation to [email protected]. We will register your enrolment.
• In case you urgently need a certificate of enrolment, e.g. for residence permit purposes, please contact [email protected] and we can write you a temporary statement explaining the situation.

The general guideline for all non-EU/EEA students is to apply for the residence permit to their exit university country while they are in Finland, unless instructed otherwise by the exit university or the immigration authorities of their exit country. This usually means that you have to visit an embassy of your exit university country in Helsinki and wait to receive the decision / residence permit card in Finland.

You can also apply for extension to your Finnish residence permit. The most important thing is to make sure that you have a valid residence permit to at least either Finland and/or your exit country, for the whole duration of your studies in EIT Digital Master School. This includes the summer break between entry and exit year, when you attend the Summer School.

Applying for extension to your Finnish residence permit (Aalto entry students)

The benefits of extending your Finnish residence permit

• You can keep your student benefits in Finland and remain legally in Europe until your exit year starts, even considering differences and gaps in academic calendars.
• Some countries might even allow you to study there with the Finnish residence permit. Please check this very carefully with the exit university and/or the immigration authorities of your exit country. A mobility notification might still be required.
• In some cases, the extension might not even require a visit to Migri, making the processing faster.
• Keeping your Finnish residence permit valid gives you flexibility when choosing the location of your Master’s thesis. Returning to Finland might be one option. Please note that the thesis would still be supervised and evaluated by your exit university.

University documents required for residence permit application and how to get them (see full list of required documents & instructions at https://migri.fi/en/application-for-an-extended-permit-on-the-basis-of-studies):

Please make a notification of move at the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV, formerly called Local registration office, or maistraatti in Finnish), or at post office (Posti) when you move inside Finland and when you leave Finland.

Update any changes in your contact information (address, phone number) in the student register. You can do this in My profile of student information system Sisu (sisu.aalto.fi).

The name of your exit university is entered in the student register and it will appear on your certificate of enrolment, transcript of records, and eventually your degree certificate. If you have changed your exit university since you were admitted to EIT Digital Master School, please notify ictinnovation(at)aalto.fi so that we can check that there is a correct exit university in our study register. 

Remember that your aalto email will remain our primary channel to communicate with you. Keep your account valid: update your password when requested. Remember to auto-forward emails, if you do not read your aalto email regularly. You will also need your aalto crendentials when you start your Master's thesis or apply for graduation, for example.