Study at Aalto

Admission to Bachelor's Programme in Design, Bachelor and Master of Arts (3 yrs + 2 yrs)

The application period for Bachelor's Programme in Design is organised 4-18 January 2023 for studies starting in autumn 2023. Applicants are selected to complete the degrees Bachelor and Master of Arts.
students-design-shop-installation

Selection schedule

The admissions to Bachelor's Programme in Design are organised once a year in the spring joint application to higher education.

Selection schedule 2023

14 December 2022

Preliminary assignments are published

4 January 2023 at 8am/8.00 (GMT +2:00)

Application period starts

18 January 2023 at 3pm/15.00 (GMT +2:00)

Application period ends

25 January 2023 at 3pm/15.00 (GMT +2:00)

Deadline for submitting the preliminary assignments (all applicants)

AND

Deadline for submitting documents proving the applicant’s liability to pay tuition fees or exemption from tuition fees 

AND

Deadline for submitting documents proving eligibility (applicants who have graduated before spring 2023 and applicants completing a foreign qualification granting eligibility to higher education studies in spring 2023)

AND

Deadline for delivering official language test results

16 March 2023

Results of preliminary assignments are sent to applicants

Intake assignments are sent to applicants who passed the preliminary assignments

30 March 2023 at 3pm/15.00 (GMT +3:00)

Deadline for submitting the intake assignments

6 April 2023 at 3pm/15.00 (GMT +3:00)

Deadline for submitting documents proving eligibility (e.g. predicted grades or preliminary grades, applicants completing an IB, EB or DIA/RP diploma in spring 2023)

28 April 2023

Invitations to interviews are sent to applicants at the latest

8-12 May 2023

Interviews

2 June 2023

Admission results are published at the latest

9 June 2023

Deadline for completing the degree granting eligibility (Finnish vocational qualifications)

14 July 2023 at 3pm/15.00 (GMT +3:00)

Deadline for submitting the final diploma or certificate of final grades (applicants completing an IB or EB diploma or a foreign qualification granting eligibility to higher education studies in spring 2023)

14 July 2023 at 3pm/15.00 (GMT +3:00) Deadline for accepting the offered study place

1 August 2023 at 3pm/15.00 (GMT +3:00)

Acceptance from the reserve list ends

August–September 2023

Studies begin with the orientation week

Who can apply?

All applicants must fulfill the general eligibility requirements for higher education. You are eligible to apply if you have completed or will complete during spring 2023 one of the following qualifications:

  • Finnish matriculation examination
  • International Baccalaureate diploma (IB), completed in an accredited IB school
    More information (ibo.org)
  • European Baccalaureate examination (EB), completed in an accredited EB school 
    More information (eursc.eu)
  • Deutsches Internationales Abitur diploma (DIA) or Reifeprüfung diploma (RP) in Finland
    More information (dsh.fi)
  • Upper secondary education completed outside Finland, e.g. a high school diploma. The qualification must give eligibility to the corresponding level of higher education in the country in which it was awarded.
  • A Finnish vocational upper secondary qualification, further vocational qualification or specialist vocational qualification as set in the Vocational Education Act (531/2017)
  • Advanced International Certificate of Education -diploma (AICE) in Finland

Additionally eligible to apply are

  • applicants who have been granted the right to study in a university in Finland

  • applicants who have a higher education degree completed in Finland (or an equivalent, at minimum a bachelor level degree completed abroad)

Please note that any high school diploma awarded abroad does not qualify for International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) and any European high school diploma does not qualify for European Baccalaureate Diploma (EB). Both International Baccalaureate and European Baccalaureate are special programmes and only students that have studied at a school that participates in the International Baccalaureate or the European Baccalaureate programmes can be awarded an IB or EB Diploma (see the links above). 

Admission to Bachelor's Programme in Design is based on preliminary assignments, intake assignments and an interview.

Study options and intake

Currently there is one bachelor's degree programme available in English in the field of art and design at Aalto University. The intake quota for Bachelor's Programme in Design is 42 students in 2023.

More information on the programme (aalto.fi)

Programme at Studyinfo (studyinfo.fi)

How to apply?

Admissions to the Bachelor's Programme in Design are organized through the national spring joint application to higher education. The application period is 4 - 18 Jan 2023. You can submit an application only during the application period at the Studyinfo service. 

Application form (studyinfo.fi)

In the joint application to higher education, you can apply to a maximum of six (6) study options with one application form. You do not have to place the study options in order of preference, and you may be offered more than one study place. 

How to apply in joint application to higher education (studyinfo.fi)

Please note that you can only accept one study place leading to a higher education degree in Finland in education that begins in the same academic term (one study place per term provision). This rule applies to all higher education. 

More information on the one study place per term provision (studyinfo.fi)

You can also find all study options available at Aalto University at Studyinfo.fi.

Please note! You can only apply to one study option leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree at Aalto University during spring 2023. If you apply to the English-medium study option Design, you will not be able to apply to the study options available in Finnish/Swedish in the field of art and design at Aalto University in the Joint Application to Finnish/Swedish degree programmes. The selection of study options is binding and cannot be changed after the application period has ended.

Admission process

Admission to Bachelor's Programme in Design consists of several stages. The admission is based on preliminary assignments, intake assignments and an interview. Applicants can be screened out after each stage. 

The maximum total score of 100 points consists of the following:
• preliminary assignments, evaluated pass/fail
• intake assignments
• interview, which may include separate intake assignments

Only applicants who pass the preliminary assignments will be invited to the next stages of the admission process.

The applicants are ranked based on their total score from the intake assignments and the interview.

Required application documents

Required application documents must be uploaded to the online application form by the given deadlines. All applicants must fulfill the general eligibility requirements for higher education by providing the required documents. 

Application documents are uploaded to the online application form in the Studyinfo service, preferably as PDF files. After you have submitted your application, you will receive a confirmation email. You can modify your application and upload documents to your application in the My Studyinfo service. If you cannot log in to the My Studyinfo service, you can modify your application and upload documents to your application via the link included in the confirmation email. You can make changes to the application form only during the application period. After the application period has ended, you can upload and modify your application documents until the document-specific deadlines. You can see the document-specific deadlines on the application form and from the degree-specific instructions below. 

Instructions on how to apply (studyinfo.fi)

 

Language requirements

The language of instruction in Bachelor's Programme in Design is English, so all applicants are required to prove sufficient language skills. Without proving language proficiency, the applicant cannot be accepted to the programme.

Proficiency in English language can be proved with an official language test result or with a grade in the Finnish Matriculation Examination, IB, EB or DIA/RP diploma. Language proficiency cannot be proved with grades received in other national high school diplomas.

No language test is necessary for applicants who have completed their basic education (primary and secondary school), high school or a university degree in English in an EU/EEA country, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Switzerland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States. These applicants need to demonstrate their English language proficiency by submitting a degree certificate. If the education was completed in an EU/EEA country, the language of instruction must be clearly stated in the diploma or other official document issued by the school.

  • If the degree that exempts the applicant from taking an English language test is the same degree that gives the applicant eligibility to apply, and the applicant completes the degree in spring 2023, the deadline for delivering the documents is 25 January 2023.
  • If the degree that exempts the applicant from taking an English language test is some other degree (not granting the applicant eligibility to apply), the degree needs to be completed, and the deadline for delivering the degree certificate is 25 January 2023.

Please note that the deadline for delivering the official language test result to Aalto University is 25 January 2023 at 3pm/15.00 (GMT +2:00).

Proving language proficiency in English

No language tests other than those mentioned below are accepted. If an applicant has taken several language tests, the best official score that is still valid and received by Aalto University by the deadline will be considered in the admission. You cannot combine scores from different test dates (e.g. TOEFL MyBest scores is not accepted).

Tuition fees and scholarships

There is a tuition fee for students who are not citizens of the member states of the European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA), or Switzerland. Tuition fees are charged in programmes taught in English.

Admission results

The admission results are published in the Studyinfo service by 2 June 2023. You can check the results by logging in to the My Studyinfo service. An electronic results letter is also sent to all applicants by email. If you cannot log in to the My Studyinfo service, please wait for the arrival of the results letter.

Accepting your study place offer

If you have been admitted to a study programme, you will receive a notification of this to your email. You must accept the offer of admission by the given deadline, or you will lose your offer. You can accept only one offer of admission per academic term. Accepting an offer of admission is a binding choice, and you cannot cancel or change your choice later. When you accept an offer of admission, all your other admission offers will be cancelled automatically. 

Important information about accepting your study place offer and enrolment can be found at Studyinfo.

Contact information

Contact information and opening hours for Aalto University Admission Services can be found at the Contact information page.

Study option

Design thinking female

Design, Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts (Art and Design)

Design is not linked purely physical objects but digital experiences and abstract concepts as well, enhancing its power to shape the world. Embracing these opportunities, the Bachelor’s Programme in Design prepares students for designing future products, services and systems in a creative and critical manner.

Study options
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