Master's Programme in Mathematics and Operations Research

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Planning your studies

The personal study plan describes the study path you intend to follow in order to complete your degree and is the key tool for planning your studies. Your study plan includes all the courses you are planning to take in each academic year and semester. The degree structure of your Master’s programme forms the basis for your study plan but in most cases there are room for individual choices, especially when it comes to elective studies.

Submitting the study plan does not mean it’s permanent. You can update it during your studies.

Sisu instructions main page illustration

The front page of Sisu instructions for students

Applications, instructions and guidelines

How to create a personal study plan (HOPS) on Sisu

Applications, instructions and guidelines

You can have several study plans but only one can be a primary one.
You need to have your study plan approved by the time you apply for master thesis topic at the latest.
When your degree is compiled, your degree certificate will be based on your study plan. Check that your study plan is correct before applying for degree certificate!
Do the timeline! In this way you can check how much studies you are planning to take and you can spread the studies more evenly.

If your approved part of study plan needs to be changed, you need to cancel or give up the previous approval before you can send it to be approved again. Modify the study module and apply for approval again. If you need to change the part that you have requested to be approved, cancel the request, do the required changes and request approval again.

Double degree studies in Mathematics and Operations Research

Students of the Master's Programme in Mathematics and Operations Research, major in Systems and Operations Research and Applied Mathematics are able to participate in a double degree programme together with Grenoble Institute of Engineering, France.

Practical training

The purpose of getting work experience is to develop and deepen the knowledge and skills gained during studies. Having work experience also helps in picturing the job opportunities after graduation, and creating connections to working life. Practical training is not a mandatory part of your degree but very much recommended.

You can get 1–10 ECTS from work experience related to your field of study. The credits can be included in your elective studies.

Getting work experience from abroad is a way of familiarizing oneself with the field of technology in an international environment, getting to know the local culture, and networking within the working community. Working in a country outside Finland will teach you to work in a foreign culture and improve your language skills. Working in a multicultural environment and living abroad prepares you for working life in a way that working in Finland does not.

More information and submitting the application can be found in the MyCourses workspace of SCI.trai - Training. Go to MyCourses https://mycourses.aalto.fi/ and search for the instance of SCI.trai - Training of the current academic year.

Career planning

Graduates from the Master's Programme in Mathematics and Operations Research are in growing demand in many industries and in the public sector. This growth is partly driven by the ability to collect more data about a great variety of phenomena, which together with advances in mathematical methods and greater computational power makes it possible to apply mathematical skills ever more extensively.

All three majors provide an excellent basis for building a career in scientific research. Thus, a large proportion of students continue their studies and obtain a doctoral degree.

Analyst, Business Intelligence Consultant, Consultant, Data Analyst, Data Scientist, Market Research Assistant, Operational Risk Manager, Planning Engineer, Portfolio Analyst, Quantitative Analyst, Reliability Engineering, Resource Planner, Risk Manager

Attido, Capgemini, Digia Plc, Finnish Industry Investment Ltd., Fortum, HSL Helsinki Region Transport, McKinsey & Company, Microsoft, Nordea Bank, OP Financial Group, Pöyry Management Consulting Oy, Reddal, RELEX Solutions, Smartly.io, Suomen Vahinkovakuutus Oy, T-Media Oy, Veikkaus, Verohallinto (Tax Administation), VR Group

The normative duration of studies is three years for a bachelor's degree, and two years for a master’s degree. If you were admitted to a master’s degree, you have four years to complete the degree. If you were admitted to both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, you have a total of seven years to complete both degrees.

The duration of studies is counted from the time the you enrol as present (attending) at the university. Students have a right to certain absences that do not expend their duration of studies. Absence refers to time when the student has enrolled as non-attending.

If you have not completed your degree within this target schedule, but still want to complete it, you may apply for an extension to your right to study.

Before applying for an extension to your right to study, please familiarise yourself with:

Aalto University policy on extension to duration of studies
the general instructions for applying for an extension
the instructions of the School of Science for applying an extension.

Aalto University policy on extension to duration of studies

Student Guide illustration, applications, instructions and guidelines

Application for extension to the right to study

Applying for extension to the right to study in the School of Science

If you have not completed your degree within the maximum duration of study, but wish to do so, you must apply for extension to your right to study. You receive a letter from the school approximately one year before your right to study expires. The letter gives instructions and the deadline for applying. The earliest time you can apply is the beginning of that term when the right to study expires.

Applications are dealt with twice a year. The application must be submitted

by 15.11. if the right to study expires 31.12.
by 15.5. if the right to study expires 31.7.

Please apply for an extension of study right only when you have the possibility and intention to study and finish your degree.

An extension of study right is not granted just in case. You should apply only when you are certain that you cannot finish your studies by the end of your study right (either by 31 July or 31 December).

Fill in an application for extension in Sisu.

Update your primary study plan in Sisu. Request approval for any parts of the study plan that need it.
Make a timetable for completing the missing courses in the Timeline sheet in Sisu. The study plan must be goal-oriented and feasible.
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.