Study at Aalto

Applying to master’s programmes

The admissions to the two-year master’s programmes at Aalto University are organised once a year.
The application period for studies beginning in the autumn of 2024 runs from 30 November 2023 to 2 January 2024.
Aalto University students on campus. Photo by Aleksi Poutanen.

Master's admissions timeline

The application period for master’s programmes runs once a year.
The application period for studies beginning in the autumn of 2024 runs from 30 November 2023 to 2 January 2024 (3 pm, GMT +2).

30 November 2023 at 9.00
(9 am, GMT +2)
Application period starts and online application form opens
2 January 2024 at 15.00
(3 pm, GMT +2)
Application period ends and online application form closes
9 January 2024 at 15.00 
(3 pm, GMT +2)
Deadline for application documents to be uploaded to application form
January-March 2024 Eligible applications undergo evaluation by study option staff
5 April 2024 Admissions results are published
25 April 2024 at 15.00
(3 pm, GMT +3)
Deadline for accepting the offer of admission (study place)
16 May 2024 at 15.00
(3 pm, GMT +3)
Deadline for officially certified study certificates, for applicants admitted 5–7 April
12 June 2024 Admitting applicants off the waiting list ends
31 July 2024 Deadline to graduate for applicants who applied with an incomplete degree
15 August 2024 at 15.00
(3 pm, GMT +3)

Deadline for a certified copy of the degree certificate to arrive at Admission Services, for applicants conditionally admitted with an incomplete degree

Deadline for the results of the National Language Proficiency Certificate test to arrive at Admission Services, for study options in Finnish/Swedish

Deadline for officially certified study certificates, for applicants admitted from 8 April to 12 June

August–September 2024 Studies begin with the orientation week

Study options

Aalto University provides education in three fields of study: art and design, business and economics, and technology and engineering.

The master’s degrees granted are

  • in the field of art and design: Master of Arts (Art and Design),
  • in the field of business and economics: Master of Science (Economics and Business Administration),
  • in the field of technology and engineering: Master of Science (Technology), Master of Science (Architecture) or Master of Science (Landscape Architecture).

You can find all Aalto University study options on the Study options page. You can filter your search results by field of education, level of degree and language of instruction.

On the study option's page, you will find detailed information on the studies, language of instruction and admissions criteria for the study option.

You may apply to a maximum of two study options.

Who can apply? Eligibility in Master's admissions

Applications must fulfil general eligibility criteria before they are evaluated in the study options.

The general eligibility criteria are fulfilled if the application includes
- a degree granting eligibility to apply;
- an accepted proof of language proficiency and
- all the required application documents by the deadline.

The study options will evaluate complete applications that fulfil the general eligibility criteria according to their study-option-specific admissions criteria.

How to apply?

The application period for studies beginning in the autumn of 2024 runs from 30 November 2023 to 2 January 2024 (at 15.00, GMT +2).

You may apply to a maximum of two study options.
You can have only one application form, do not fill in several forms. You can apply to one or two study options with your application form.

The application consists of
- an electronic application form,
- a set of required application documents and
- possible study-option-specific application documents.

Read the instructions for required application documents carefully.

Fill in the online application form in the Studyinfo.fi system during the application period. You can edit your application form within the application period. Application period ends on 2 January 2024 (at 15.00, GMT +2).

You must upload all application documents to your application form before 9 January 2024 at 15.00 (GMT +2). This deadline also applies to official English language test scores and GMAT or GRE test scores. The deadline cannot be extended. Documents submitted after the deadline will not be considered in any circumstances; the final deadline is the same for all applicants. Incomplete applications will be rejected.

Admission Services reviews your application and the required documents for the general eligibility requirements. Only eligible applications proceed to the study options for evaluation.

Application and the required application documents

The application consists of the electronic application form, the obligatory application documents and study-option-specific application documents. Study-option-specific documents are listed on the webpage of the study option.

You can fill in the application form only during the application period, from 30 November 2023 at 9.00 to 2 January 2024 at 15.00 (GMT +2).
Read the application instructions and the study-option-specific evaluation criteria carefully before filling in the application form.

The deadline for the application documents is 9 January 2024 at 15.00 (GMT +2).
You must upload all documents to your online application form before the deadline. Documents received after the deadline are not considered.
If an obligatory application document is not submitted as required by the deadline, the application will be rejected as incomplete.

Upload all the documents as early as possible. Do not leave uploading the documents to the last day!

Carefully scan the original documents and save the files in colour PDF format.
Scan the documents in the correct orientation so that a horizontal document is displayed horizontally, and a vertical document is displayed vertically. Name the files as instructed (e.g. Transcript-lastname-firstname).

Upload each document separately to the correct attachment section on your application form.
It is the applicant’s responsibility to upload the right documents to the correct sections.

1. Obligatory documents

  1. Scanned colour copy of the original Bachelor’s degree certificate* (in PDF format).
    Name the file according to format: Degree-certificate-lastname-firstname.
    *This document requirement does not apply to applicants with an incomplete degree.
    If your degree is unfinished at the application phase, leave the upload attachment section for degree certificate blank. The degree must be completed by 31 July 2024.
  2. Scanned colour copy of the original official transcript of study records of the Bachelor's degree (in PDF format).
    Name the file according to format: Transcript-lastname-firstname.
  3. If your degree certificate and the official transcript of records are not in English, Finnish or Swedish scanned colour copies of authorised translations (in PDF format).
    The instructions for official translations are below (see "Instructions for documents" and "Translations").
    Name the file according to format: Translation-transcript-lastname.
  4. If you have, in addition to a Bachelor's degree, another higher education degree you wish to be taken into consideration in the admissions, scanned colour copies of degree certificate and official transcript of records.
    If the documents are not in English, Finnish or Swedish scanned colour copies of authorised translations are required.
    Upload the documents in PDF format to "Other Higher Education Degree" section of the application form.
  5. Copy of a valid passport or an official government-issued identification card with photo and information on citizenship (in PDF format).
    Upload a copy of the personal information page of the passport only (not all pages).
    Name the file according to format: Passport-lastname-firstname. 
    Further instructions on passport or ID card are below in "Instructions for documents".
  6. Proof of language proficiency in the language of instruction of your study option.
    See the accepted language tests, other accepted methods of demonstrating language skills and document instructions at Language requirements in Master's admissions.
    Language test scores must be submitted to Aalto University as instructed on the webpage.
  7. Portfolio. All study options in the field of art and design, architecture and landscape architecture (except for the study option: 'Game Design and Development') require an electronic portfolio in PDF-format.
    Maximum file size in the application form is 1 GB. Smaller file sizes (under 100 MB) are recommended.
    Name the file according to format: Portfolio-lastname-firstname. 
    If your portfolio contains password protected video links, include the password(s) in your portfolio.  Check the webpage of your study option for instructions on the portfolio. Additional instructions cannot be given.
    If you apply to two study options that require a portfolio, upload your portfolio separately for both study options (in the section "Study-option-specific documents" on the application form).
  8. GMAT or GRE test (business and economics).
    GMAT or GRE scores for applicants to School of Business study options in admission group 2.
    The official score report must be sent to Aalto University electronically from the test administrator. See the instructions for submitting the scores at: GMAT and GRE test.
  9. If you are exempted from the tuition fee based on your residence permit, submit copies of both the front and back sides of your residence permit card in Finland.
    See the residence permit types that exempt from tuition fees at Scholarships and Tuition Fees page. The fee-exempting residence permit must be valid at the beginning of the academic year i.e., 1 August 2024. Name the file according to format: Residence-permit-lastname-firstname.

2. Study-option-specific documents

  • The study options usually require study-option-specific documents, e.g. motivation letter, CV, certificates of employment or references. The study-option-specific documents are specified on the webpage of the study option.
  • Do not submit any extra documents. If your study option does not require references, for instance - do not submit them. Extra documents are not taken into account in evaluation and they slow down the processing of your application.
  • Upload each document separately to your online application form in colour PDF format. Upload the documents to the correct section. There are two upload sections: one for your first study option and another for your possible second study option.
  • If you only apply to one study option, do not upload any documents to the second study option field.
  • In addition to the obligatory documents, evaluators can only see the documents uploaded to the section corresponding their study option (first or second) so carefully upload the correct study-option-specific documents for each study option. It is the applicant’s responsibility to upload the right documents to the correct sections.
  • Name the file(s) according to format: Name of document-lastname-firstname (e.g. CV-lastname-firstname).
  • Maximum file size in the application form is 1 GB. Smaller file sizes (under 100 MB) are recommended.
  • While failure to submit study-option-specific documents (except portfolio) does not affect the applicant’s general eligibility, it affects the evaluation done by the study option and may cause rejection.
  • Any questions regarding study-option-specific documents should be addressed to the study options. However, as a rule, all instructions for the study-option-specific documents are given on the study option webpage and additional instructions are not given. Interpretation of the given instructions is at the applicants’ discretion. For contact details, seethe webpage of the study option.

Instructions for documents

Tuition fees

In Finland, tuition fees are collected from students who are citizens of countries other than those of the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland. Tuition fees apply to degree programmes taught in English.

Contact details

The best way to contact Aalto University Admission Services is by email ([email protected]) or by telephone during the telephone service hours (+358 2944 29290). See the opening hours of the telephone service at Admission Services Contact information page.
If your email concerns a specific study option, mention the study option in your message.

If you have questions about the evaluation criteria or studies, please contact the study option in question directly. The contact information for study options can be found at the bottom of their webpages.

Other useful information

Language requirements in Master's admissions

The language of instruction at Aalto University is Finnish, Swedish or English.

In order to be eligible to apply, applicants are required to be proficient in the language of instruction of the study option, and demonstrate their proficiency by passing a language test, when necessary. The language test scores must meet the minimum requirements set by Aalto University.

Aalto University students on campus. Photo by Aleksi Poutanen

Certified hard copy documents after admission results

Applicants admitted in the Master's admissions must submit certified hard copy documents after the admission results have been published.

Students on Aalto University campus. Photo by A Toivonen.

GMAT and GRE exams

Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or Graduate Records Examination (GRE) is required for School of Business study options.

Aalto University School of Business students

Scholarships and Tuition Fees

Bachelor's and Master's programmes have a tuition fee for non-EU/EEA citizens. Prospective students subject to tuition fees can apply for Aalto University Scholarship.

Aalto students. Photo by Aino Huovio.

Admission statistics

Student admission statistics are published after each year's admissions.

Students on Aalto University campus. Photo by Petri Anttila.

Study options

Find your programme. Choose the study field, degree level and the language of instruction, and explore all the options.

  • Published:
  • Updated: