Aalto Doctoral Programme in Business, Economics and Finance

The purpose of the Aalto Doctoral Programme in Business, Economics and Finance is to equip its graduates for successful international careers in the world of higher education and academic research.

The programme provides doctoral students with the knowledge, skills, and capabilities that they need to succeed in demanding, high-level positions in universities, research institutions, think tanks, and other research organizations at regional, national, and supra-national levels.

The graduates of the doctoral programme will demonstrate:

1. competence to carry out independent and original academic research
2. deep and broad discipline-specific knowledge of their field of research
3. mastery of the scientific research methods in their respective fields of research
4. deep understanding of research ethics
5. good project management skills
6. enhanced pedagogical and academic leadership skills, and
7. strong communication and interpersonal skills.

The School of Business Doctoral Degree consists of 60 ECTS credits in courses and the thesis. 

The curriculum of the Doctoral Programme in Business, Economics, and Finance consists of compulsory coursework (60 ETCS credits) and independent research leading to a doctoral dissertation in the student’s chosen field of study. The coursework comprises required and elective courses in basic research training and in the student’s chosen field of study. Specific degree requirements vary with the student’s chosen field of study.

Each doctoral student is assigned at least two dedicated dissertation advisors, who are responsible for guiding and mentoring the student throughout the doctoral dissertation process.

The teaching methods and pedagogical solutions used in the programme are many but are generally based on the philosophy and methods of learner-centered instruction. Learner-centered instruction emphasizes the importance of actively engaging students in the learning process, by encouraging and enabling them to take personal responsibility for setting learning goals, developing and choosing their own strategies for learning, as well as evaluating their own progress and learning outcomes.

Please see more information on language of the thesis and degree here

We encourage and enable all of our doctoral students to present their work and build their networks in the key academic international conferences of their research area. Funding for travel and accommodation is usually provided if the conference participation is part of the student’s confirmed study plan.

We also encourage our students to gain international academic experience during their studies as visiting junior scholars at universities and research institutes abroad and to seek and secure employment abroad after graduation. Recently our graduates have landed excellent jobs as assistant professors in some of the best universities and business schools in the world.

Aalto Doctoral Programme in Business, Economics and Finance is free of tuition fees. Aalto University does not charge fees for enrollment to the University. Doctoral candidates are welcome to join the Aalto University Student Union. The membership of the Student Union is subject to an annual fee.

We consider full-time dedication to doctoral studies vital and therefore have launched a funding programme that covers all new students willing to study full-time on campus.

During the first and second year of studies, full-time doctoral students who make satisfactory progress in their studies and research are guaranteed annual gross income of €28 000 (approximately €25 000 after taxes), based on a combination of 50% employment contract and 50% personal grants. The employment contract provides students with occupational health care, paid annual leave and a pension contribution, a computer, and a communal working space with large screens and adjustable tables.

From the third year onwards, we expect our students to secure their funding from external sources. There are multiple financing sources for doctoral students in Finland.

Information on full-time and part-time studies can be found here

Please note that unfortunately we cannot confirm the eligibility of an individual prospective applicant outside the actual application process. The eligibility is always assessed based on the degree certificates of the applicant and the educational system of the country of the degree awarding institution.

The general eligibility criteria for higher education are defined in section 37 of the Universities Act (558/2009).

A master’s degree (MSc, MBA, MA) or its equivalent.

Eligible applicants for studies leading to an academic licentiate or doctoral degree:

• Relevant master’s degree awarded by a Finnish university or a Finnish university of applied sciences, or a corresponding degree completed abroad
  • have completed a relevant master’s degree awarded by a university;
  • have completed a relevant master’s degree awarded by a university of applied sciences;

  • have completed a relevant study programme abroad which in the awarding country gives eligibility for the corresponding level of higher education, or

  • are otherwise deemed by the university as possessing sufficient knowledge and skills for the studies

• In cases where the applicant has not yet completed a master’s degree,
  i) Expected completion of all course work, including possible thesis: no later than August 31, 2023
  ii) Expected graduation date: no later than November 24, 2023
  • Only studies included in an official transcript of records submitted with the online application form by the deadline (12 January 2023, 12:01) can be taken into consideration in the evaluation. Updated transcripts or any studies completed after the deadline cannot be taken into consideration.
• Students accepted to the programme must present evidence that they have fulfilled the criteria i) and ii) by the dates listed above.

Policy on the recognition of degrees awarded outside Finland:

An eligibility requirement for students holding a degree earned abroad is that the degree grant them eligibility for corresponding studies in the awarding country. As a general rule, the grounds for Aalto’s recognition of degrees earned abroad is that the normative time to attaining them is at least four years, which includes a master’s thesis or the equivalent, and that such studies in the view of the school equip the student with the skills and knowledge needed to pursue doctoral studies at the school. The general policy on the recognition of a European degree as the basis for doctoral degree studies is that it be a higher -education degree combination (3+2 years) earned in accordance with the Bologna Process principles.

Eligibility on the grounds of higher-education degrees with a structure differing from the abovementioned are considered on a case-by -case basis. In such cases, attention will focus particularly on how well the degree has prepared the applicant to pursue doctoral studies 

Policy on the recognition of master’s degrees from Finnish universities of applied sciences:

Applicants with a prior degree earned abroad and corresponding to a relevant Finnish master’s degree from a university of applied sciences are treated equally to those with master’s degree from a Finnish university of applied sciences

Defining the requisite supplementary studies:

Each school defines the principles according to which doctoral students are assigned supplementary studies to ensure they have the prerequisite knowledge and skills for the doctoral studies

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.

If you apply to a Business Law major, you must demonstrate your proficiency in Finnish with an accepted proof of language proficiency, please scroll down for more information.

Applicant to other majors; Accounting, Economics, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Information Systems Science, International Business, Logistics, Management Science, Marketing, Organization and Management or Organizational Communcation, you must demonstrate your proficiency in English. 

Proficiency in English may be demonstrated in one of the following ways:

1. The applicant has earned a degree taught in Finnish, Swedish or English in a higher education institution in Finland;
2. The applicant has earned an English-medium higher education degree in an EU/EEA country, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom or the United States while residing in the respective country;
3. The applicant has received his or her primary and secondary education in English in an EU/EEA country, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom or the United States while residing in the respective country;
4. The applicant has completed the Aalto Executive Education MBA, EMBA or DBA degree; or 
5. Applicants submit their English-language test results in accordance with the information below.

In points 1–3 of the above list, a minimum of one half of the aforementioned degree must be completed in a country and higher education institution that meets the requirements for exempting the student from taking an English test. The language of the degree must be stated unambiguously in the degree certificate or its appendix, or in the transcript of records or other official document issued by the awarding institution. If the degree was completed in more than one language, the appendix must clearly indicate the amount of studies that were completed in English.

In doctoral admissions, acceptable English language tests and their minimum score requirements

are as follows:

● IELTS (Academic): 6.5, and 5.5 for Writing;

● TOEFL:

• iBT (Internet-based Test): 92, and 22 for the Writing section or
• PDT (Paper-Delivered Test) Reading 22, Listening 22, and Writing 24

● C1 Advanced: A, B or C

● C2 Proficiency: A, B, C or Level C1

● Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE A): 62, and 54 for writing;

● Regarding IELTS and TOEFL tests, the following online tests are also accepted: TOEFL iBT® Home Edition and IELTS Indicator (Academic)

Proficiency in Finnish may be demonstrated in one of the following ways:

Higher education degree or studies

You can demonstrate proficiency in Finnish with a higher education degree or studies, if you have completed one of the following:

• an approved maturity essay in Finnish for a degree at a higher education institution in Finland.
• as part of a degree at a higher education institution in Finland, a language test in Finnish or language studies that serve to demonstrate proficiency in oral and written Finnish (as the second national language) with a grade of at least Good.
• an academic thesis (or written final project) written in Finnish
  (at a higher education institution in Finland or abroad)
• a study module of at least 60 ECTS credits (or 35 older credits, i.e. ‘study weeks’) in the Finnish language as an academic subject
  (at a higher education institution in Finland or abroad)

Required documents

If the proof of proficiency in Finnish is the same higher education degree that you apply with in the Doctoral admissions, it is not necessary to upload an additional attachment to the "Language requirements" section of the application form. In this case, the degree documents are uploaded to the section "Application attachments". Tick "Higher education degree taught in Finnish to "Language requirement" on the application form.

If your proof of proficiency in Finnish is some other higher education degree, upload scanned colour copies of the degree certificate and transcript of records in PDF format to the upload attachment section of "Other higher  degree taught in Finnish".

Basic education and upper secondary school education

You can demonstrate Finnish proficiency with basic education or upper secondary school education, if you have one of the following:

• Basic education, an upper secondary school final examination or other examination conferring eligibility for higher education completed in Finnish.
• The certificate awarded for the studies referred to in the Basic Education Act (628/1998) or the Act on General Upper Secondary Education (629/1998; 714/2018), or studies corresponding to them, with a passing grade in Finnish in the subject of "mother tongue and literature" or the "Finnish as a second language and literature" syllabus
• passed an amount of studies equivalent to Finland’s basic education syllabus in the subject of Finnish through the Kulkuri School of Distance Education.

You can demonstrate language proficiency with any of the following studies (without having completed the whole matriculation examination):

• Finland's matriculation examination test of mother tongue and literature in Finnish or the ‘Finnish as a second language and literature’ test with a grade of at least approbatur (A);
• the test for Finnish as the second national language of Finland at the advanced syllabus level, as part of Finland’s matriculation examination, with a grade of at least eximia cum laude approbatur (E);
• the test for Finnish as the second national language of Finland at the intermediate syllabus level, as part of Finland’s matriculation examination, with a grade of at least laudatur (L).

Required document

Upload to the application form:

• Scanned colour copy in PDF format of your school leaving certificate, certificate of graduation or certificate of Finnish matriculation examination that includes the language grade.

International examinations

You can demonstrate your Finnish skills without having completed the whole matriculation examination, if you have one of the following:

International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma with one of the following:

• Language A, A1 or A2 syllabus in Finnish with a grade of at least 2

• Language B syllabus in Finnish with a grade of at least 5

European Baccalaureate (EB) diploma with one of the following:

• Language 1 (L1) or Language 2 (L2) syllabus in Finnish with an approved grade (a grade of at least 4.00, if the exam is completed before 2021, a grade of at least 5.00, if the exam is completed in 2021 or after)
• Language 3 (ONL) (L3, Other National Language) syllabus in Finnish with a grade of at least 8.00

Reifeprüfung (RP) or Deutsche Internationale Abitur (DIA) diploma with one of the following:

• the written test in "Finnish as a mother tongue" with a minimum grade of 4
• the "Finnish as a second language" test at the CEFR level B2 with a minimum grade of 8

Required document

Upload to the application form:

• Scanned colour copy in PDF format of your certificate or diploma that includes the language grade

Language test

You can demonstrate Finnish proficiency with one of the following language tests:

• National Certificate of Language Proficiency (YKI) (Finnish) intermediate-level test at a proficiency level of at least 4 in all subtests (reading comprehension, writing, listening comprehension, and speaking).
  Alternatively, completing at least three of the subtests of an advanced-level test (proficiency levels 5 and 6).
  Subtests from different test sittings may be combined.
• Civil Service Language Proficiency Certificate (Finnish) with a grade of at least Good on the written and oral component.

• A combination of National Certificate of Language Proficiency (YKI) and Civil service language proficiency certificate (VKT), if you have: completed the National Certificate of Language Proficiency (YKI) with proficiency level of at least 4 in the reading comprehension and writing subtests, plus the oral component of the Civil Service Language Proficiency Certificate with a grade of Good; OR
  completed the National Certificate of Language Proficiency (YKI) at a proficiency level of at least 4 in the listening comprehension and speaking subtests, plus the written component of the Civil Service Language Proficiency Certificate (VKT) with a grade of Good.

Required document

If you have received your test report, upload a scanned colour copy in PDF format of your test result to the application form.

For the Finnish language tests, a certified paper copy of the test result is required. The certified paper copy must be submitted by mail to [email protected]
In contrast to the other forms of documentation, National Certificate of Language Proficiency (YKI) and Civil Service Language Proficiency Certificate (VKT) test certificate must be received by 31 August 2023.

All applicants, with the exception of applicants to Business Law (taught in Finnish), are required to take either the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or the Graduate Records Examination (GRE).

GRE test scores are compared to the required GMAT test scores. GRE scores are converted to a GMAT total score with a conversion tool.

You can find the conversion tool for example at: GRE to GMAT.

GMAT and GRE exams are equivalent in doctoral admissions, i.e. neither is considered superior to the other.

Validity period of the test results

GMAT and GRE scores are valid for five years after the test day. For 2023 admissions, the oldest acceptable test day is 12 December 2017.

Aalto University School of Business requires only the Total Score when evaluating applicants for a Doctoral 
Programme in Business, Economics and Finance. Only the Quantitative Section and Verbal Section comprise the Total Score.  
However, we recommend that the Analytical Writing Assessment is completed for the applicants applying to the following majors: 

• Accounting 
• Entrepreneurship 
• International Business 
• Logistics 
• Marketing 
• Organization and Management 
• Organizational Communication 

Please also check section required documents and FAQ.

• Copies of academic degrees earned with supplements and a certified transcript of courses taken (with English translations);
  • Scanned color copy of the original degree certificate*. Name the file according to format: Degree-certificate-lastname-firstname.
  • *This document requirement does not apply to applicants with an incomplete degree. Their degree must be completed by 31 August 2023. If your degree is incomplete at the application phase, leave the upload attachment section for degree certificate blank.'
  • Scanned colour copy of the original official transcript of study records.Name the file according to format: Transcript-lastname-firstname.
  • If your degree certificate and the official transcript of records are not in Finnish, Swedish or English, scanned colour copies of authorised translations. The instructions for authorised translations are below (see "Translations"). Name the file according to format: Translation-transcript-lastname.
  • If you have any other higher education degrees you wish to be taken into consideration in admissions, scanned colour copies of degree certificate and official transcript of records. If documents are not in Finnish, Swedish or English, scanned colour copies of authorised translations are required as well.

• GMAT: The official test report must be sent directly by the test administrator to the Aalto University School of Business. The reports are sent by the test administrators electronically. At the test, applicants choose the higher education institution to which they want their test scores sent. Test scores need to be sent with the Aalto University School of Business GMAT program code, C1N-9F-85.

  If you have taken the test earlier but not sent the results to Aalto, ask the test administrator to send your official results with the School of Business program code.

  See the homepage of GMAT (www.mba.com) for more information.
   

• GRE: The accepted exams are the GRE General Test and GRE Revised General Test. The GRE Subject Test is not acceptable. The official test report must be sent directly by the test administrator to the Aalto University. The test results are received electronically from the test administrators. The GRE test reporting code for Aalto University is 7364.

  If you took the test earlier but the test scores were not sent, ask the test administrator to send an Additional Score Report to Aalto University.

  When converting the score, only the Verbal Reasoning Score and Quantitative Reasoning Score of the GRE test are taken into consideration. See the homepage of GRE (www.ets.org/gre) for more information.

• Please Note! Aalto University accepts also GMAT™ Online exam and GRE® General Test at home.

A student copy of a language test report from a test taken within the past 2 years and no later than January 12, 2023. If the applicant’s score can be found in the test owner’s database before the closing of the application time, no student copy is required. Please note that it is not possible to be admitted conditionally pending the completion of a language test; the test must be taken before the closing of the application period;

Submitting the test results:

• IELTS:
  • Send your electronic test report to Aalto University in the test administrator's service.
    •  When booking the test, you can choose Aalto University as the Recognising Organisation to make your score available to Aalto University. The department is "Admission Services".
    • If you have already taken the test, contact your test centre and request the test administrator to send your electronic test report to Aalto University. See the instructions for sending IELTS results to nominated organisations (electronically) on the test administrator website.
• TOEFL:
  • Request your official score report to be sent from the test administrator to Aalto University reporting code 7364 (Score Report Recipient).
  • A department code is not required (or you can choose any department). Aalto University will receive all results sent with the reporting code 7364.
• Pearson test:
  • Log in to your PTE account and send your results to Aalto University in the test administrator’s service.
• Cambridge:
  • Log into the language test administrator's service and share your test results to Aalto University.
• Finnish proficiency

  • If you have received your test report, upload a scanned colour copy in PDF format of your test result to the application form.

    For the Finnish language tests, a certified paper copy of the test result is required. The certified paper copy must be submitted by mail to [email protected]

Please feel free to use template of your own, there is no standardized form requirement

A statement of purpose in English of 1000 words or less describing your motivation for PhD studies and your career objectives;

One selected academic work: either a copy of your master’s thesis, or another independent research output that you consider best representative of your work (in English or another language agreed with the School of Business admissions);

Two (2) letters of recommendation, which the referee must send directly to [email protected].

Please note that referee can be from academia or from industry and that there is no template for the letter. It is applicants responsibility to contact the referees and instruct them to send the letters directly to [email protected].

Copy of a valid passport or an official government-issued identification card with photo and information on citizenship. Upload a copy only of the personal information page of the passport (not all pages). Name the file according to format: Passport-lastname-firstname.

Application (including its attachments in PDF form) are submitted through the electronic application system. The application will be closed on 12 January 2023 12.01 pm (UTC+2).

Read the information regarding eligibility to apply, application process as well as required documents carefully before filling out an application.

Link to the application
The link is open from Monday 12 December 2022 9 am (UTC+2) until Thursday12 January 2023 12.01 pm (UTC+2)

Make sure that you have access to the email address which you use to apply until the application results have been published.

You can follow the processing of your application in the application system. The application system is used throughout the whole application process. Also the final admission results are published via the application system.

Doctoral education services reviews your application and the required documents for the general eligibility requirements, i.e. check the authenticity of the documents, make sure that the application contains all the requisite documents and that the applicant fulfils the admission requirements. Incomplete or ineligible applications can will be rejected at this stage and professors will not process them. Applicants should check the Monitoring application process page in the application system to get information about the process.

Applicants meeting the general eligibility criteria for doctoral studies are evaluated and ranked according to the evaluation criteria decided in advance for the programme. Applications will be evaluated by academic departments based on previous academic performance, research potential, motivation, performance in standardized tests and references. The academic assessment of the eligible applications is carried out based on the application documents and in the phase two of the application also based on interviews.

The applicants are compared to each other and the best applicants are admitted. Since the number of study places is restricted, not all eligible applicants can be offered admission. Study options are not obligated to fill all available study places. 

Doctoral candidates may be admitted to such research field represented at the university where the university can offer the candidates sufficient supervision and support in the field of their thesis topic. The right to pursue a degree is granted to a specific school.

Based on the assessment of the academic evaluators, the Doctoral Programme Committee makes a proposal of admission or rejection to the Dean of the School Business. The Dean makes the formal decision on admission or rejection.

For further information, please contact the faculty of your desired major.

Schedule for publishing results will be confirmed later.

Applicants will receive the admission decision via admission system.

The right of appeal means that the applicant has the possibility to request for rectification, if she/he believes that there has been an error in the decision-making process. In the appeal the applicant should specify the error. The right of appeal is not intended as means for receiving feedback or asking for further information about the application process. The admission decisions are based on the information the applicant has delivered to Aalto University by the given deadline. The letter of appeal is directed to the Dean of the School Business

The letter of appeal must be submitted to the Registry of Aalto University within 14 days after the publication of the decisions:

Aalto University
Registry
P.O. Box 11000
FI-00076 Aalto
Finland

or by by e-mail: [email protected]

Visiting address Otakaari 1 B, Espoo.

Appeals will be processed as soon as possible after the appeal period has ended, but please take into account delays caused by the holiday season.

Successful applicants must inform the university about accepting the offered study place or the offer is cancelled. You will need to accept the offer in the application system and enroll to the first academic year at the same time. The acceptance is binding and cannot be changed. Detailed instructions will be sent to accepted applicants with the admission letter.

The study right of an accepted applicant is valid from on 1 August 2023. In practice studies start in September 2022.

From 1 August 2016 onwards applicants who have been given an offer of admission may accept only one student place leading to a higher education degree in Finland during one academic term (Universities Act 558/2009). Higher education degrees include bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees awarded by universities as well as degrees from universities of applied sciences.

An admitted applicant has to accept (or reject) the offered study place within 10 days of the date of the admission letter and enroll as an attending doctoral student. It is possible to enroll as a non-attending student in your first year of study only on grounds referred to in the Universities Act (Yliopistolaki 558/2009, Section 39), such as:

• military service referred to in the Conscription Act (Asevelvollisuuslaki 1438/2007), the Non-Military Service Act (Siviilipalveluslaki 1446/2007) or the Act on Voluntary Military Service for Women (Laki naisten vapaaehtoisesta asepalveluksesta 194/1995). Military service in other countries than Finland is not an acceptable reason for enrolment as a non-attending student;
• maternity, paternity or parental leave; or
• inability to start studies due to personal illness or injury.

We organize the application process once a year.

Anyone who is interested in doctoral studies at the Aalto University School of Business participates in the same application process. You may have financing of your own, another doctoral degree, you may be a citizen in Finland, Scandinavia or some other country. If you have already some scientific qualifications like relevant  publications, they can be considered in the admission process.

A link to the application with instructions will be added to this website closer to the admission period. The form is electronic. The applicant scans and saves all appendices to the form, except  referees' recommendation letters. 

Two. Referee should send the recommendation directly to the office of the Doctoral Programme via email.  However, if you completed your master's degree at Aalto University School of Business and your pro gradu supervisor is a member of the School's faculty, recommendation letters many not be necessary but it is best to ask about this from the department.

The funding arrangements are made when the admission process is over and we will contact the admitted students about the procedure.

A GMAT or GRE General Test is a necessary part of your application and we require the test from all, except Business Law applicants. The School of Business receives the official test results direct from the test organizer’s database, so please order your scores to be sent online to the school of business

In the last application procedure we received 193 applications and out of them, 28 were admitted. The rate varies from year to year so the previous years’ rates may not be relevant this time.

“Selected academic work” which figures on the list of appendices should be chosen by the applicant. It can be a master’s thesis, if you graduated recently or have not graduated yet, or a research report or publication or some other piece of scientific work which you consider relevant in the application process.

You will start your doctoral studies at the beginning of September.  

The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) and Graduate Records Examinations (GRE) are standardised tests that are administered in English and used internationally as one of the evaluation criteria for student admissions particularly in the field of business. The tests measure analytic and linguistic skills as well as quantitative reasoning skills.

Aalto University does not organise GMAT or GRE test. In questions concerning the tests, please contact the test organisers.

Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT)

The GMAT consists of four sections:

• Analytical Writing Assessment (one essay theme), 30 minutes
• Integrated Reasoning (12 questions), 30 minutes
• Quantitative (37 multiple-choice questions), 75 minutes
• Verbal (41 multiple-choice questions), 75 minutes

Aalto University considers only the Total Score when evaluating applicants for a doctoral programme in business and economics. Only the Quantitative Section and Verbal Section comprise the Total Score. The Analytical Writing Assessment and Integrated Reasoning sections do not affect the Total Score and they are not considered in the admissions. Applicants may opt to not do the Analytical Writing Assessment and Integrated Reasoning sections at all, if they wish.

For more information on the test, visit the test administrator’s website: www.mba.com

Graduate Record Examinations (GRE)

The accepted exams are the GRE General Test and GRE Revised General Test. The GRE Subject Test is not accepted.

Structure of the GRE test:

• Verbal Reasoning: measures ability to analyse and draw conclusions from discourse; reason from incomplete data; identify author's assumptions and/or perspective; understand multiple levels of meaning, such as literal, figurative and author's intent, select important points; distinguish major from minor or relevant points; summarise text; understand the structure of a text, understand the meanings of words, sentences and entire texts; understand relationships among words and among concepts.
• Quantitative Reasoning: measures ability to understand quantitative information, interpret and analyse quantitative information, solve problems using mathematical models, apply basic mathematical skills and elementary mathematical concepts of arithmetic, algebra, geometry and data interpretation, includes real-life scenarios.
• Analytical Writing: measures ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and effectively, support ideas with relevant reasons and examples, examine claims and accompanying evidence, sustain a well-focused, coherent discussion, control the elements of standard written English.

The GRE score is converted into a GMAT Total Score based on the GRE Comparison Tool for Business Schools provided by ETS (Educational Testing Service). When converting the score, the Verbal Reasoning Score and Quantitative Reasoning Score of the GRE test are taken into consideration. The Analytical Writing section has no bearing on admissions process.

For more information on the test, see www.ets.org/gre.

You can take both tests in any of hundreds of test centres around the world. Find a test centre closest to you on the test administrator’s website.

You should carefully familiarise yourself with the test structure and contents before the test. The test organisations provide prepping software on their websites. Prep books are also available.

• For tips on how to prepare for the GMAT and free GMAT prep software, go to www.mba.com.
• The GRE website has a ‘Prepare for the Test’ section and on that page, you can download the Powerprep Software, which you can use to practise for the test.

Booking a test time and taking the test early enough is the applicant’s responsibility. Aalto University does not organize the test and cannot respond to any questions on sending the test scores.

GMAT or GRE test result is obligatory for all applicants, except applicants to Business Law to the School of Business Doctoral programme. 

Applications without GMAT or GRE test score are rejected (except Business Law applications).

The best official score that is still valid and received by Aalto University will be considered in the admission. You cannot combine scores attained on different test dates. The date of completion of the GRE/GMAT test is marked on the electronic application form.

The documents must be in Finnish, Swedish or English. If the original degree certificate or transcript of records was written in some other language, an official translation of the document must be submitted.

The translation is official if it has been done by the higher education institution that awarded the degree or by a certified translator (authorized translator). The translations must have the certified translator’s stamp and signature.

In Finland, the Finnish National Agency for Education (www.oph.fi/en) maintains a register of authorized translators who are based in Finland.

Admission criteria and process applies to all applicants, including all Aalto graduates. Aalto graduates are also required to take either GMAT or GRE unless they apply to Business Law.