How to apply  

The next deadline will be on 1 February 2011 at 16.15 (GMT +2). We have one intake per year.

For the official information on admissions requirements and applying please see the UTA Admissions pages. These Faculty Admissions pages are an unofficial guide giving inside information to applicants.

General information

The University of Tampere (UTA) is a full university, offering Bachelor, Master, and Doctoral degrees. In the Faculty of Information Sciences, these degrees are offered in Computer Science, Interactive Technology, Information Studies and Interactive Media, Mathematics, and Statistics.

The language of instruction is Finnish, but Master's degree programmes in English are offered in Computer Science and Interactive Technology (see Programmes offered on the left panel).

The Master's degree programmes offered in English are two-year programmes of 120 ECTS credits. The degree awarded is Master of Science (MSc). The degree is recognised both in Europe and the rest of the world, and gives eligibility to Doctoral studies (available at UTA).

We are happy to state that according to Universum Student Survey in 2010, UTA Computer Sciences students are very happy with their studies here. 79 % of those who answered declared themselves either Satisfied or Very satisfied with the UTA teachers/lecturers/tutors. Overall satisfaction, including not only tuition but all other aspects of student life, was very high too with 87 % of UTA students Satisfied or Very satisfied.

According to the same survey, UTA Computer Science students seem to include more female students than the other Finnish IT departments, and we are delighted to have women among the teaching and research staff as well.

Please note that we do not have any Bachelor's programmes in English. All Bachelor's programmes require excellent skills in the Finnish language acquired before starting the studies, and all application material is in Finnish.

UTA Computer Sciences Master programmes do not charge any tuition fees. Master students are required to pay the Student Union membership fee which is about 90 euros annually.

We do not have any scholarship or teaching assistant system for international students at Master level.

Please notice that after the new students have been selected, the Finnish Immigration Service expects all new students from non-EU/EEA countries to apply for a residence permit. The new students must be able to show to the Finnish Immigration Service that they have a scholarship or 6000 euros for the first year of studies (the same sum must be shown again when renewing the permit a year later) to support themselves during the studies. A health insurance, too, is required.

Applying

 The University of Tampere uses University Admissions Finland (UAF), application preprocessing service situated in Helsinki, to preprocess the applications. All the applications and language test scores are to be sent to Helsinki. After preprocessing, University Admissions Finland sends the applications to the University of Tampere, and the selection process will start.

For the applicant, the UAF services are free of charge.

Please notice the following regarding application documents

• There are two elements in the application process: 1. creating a user account and filling an online template on UAF website,  2. printing the pdf file thus created, and sending a signed copy of the pdf file as your Application Form. Printed Application Form with enclosures must reach University Admissions Finland in Helsinki via regular mail or courier by 1 February 2011 at 16.15 (GMT +2). Only paper applications arriving with enclosures by the deadline will be considered as completed applications.
• Scanned or faxed documents are not accepted
• Applicants from previous years must submit new application documents (old language test score sent to UAF is the only exception if the score is still valid)

Each application must include the following as paper documents and enclosures:

- Application Form: created using UAF online template, printed, signed and sent together with application enclosures to UAF in Helsinki.

Please write your UAF number to all your enclosures including the back of your photo

- IELTS score (TOEFL score must arrive from the testing organisation) - see below

- An officially attested copy of the Bachelor's degree diploma in the original language
- If the diploma is not issued in English, Finnish or Swedish, an official translation into one of these languages. Applicants for the Software Development programme: please have the document translated into English (not Finnish or Swedish).

- An officially attested copy of the transcript of records of the Bachelor's degree certificate in the original language
- If the transcipt is not issued in English, Finnish or Swedish, an official translation into one of these languages. Applicants for the Software Development programme: please have the document translated into English (not Finnish or Swedish).

- Copy of the passport's ID page

- One recent passport-size photo (for identification purposes)

In addition, applicants with degrees from countries which give extra documents to graduates must enclose official copies and translations of these documents. For example, applicants with a Chinese degree must include both Certificate of Graduation and Bachelor's degree diploma.

All diploma and transcript copies must be officially attested (certified) by the issuing institution or by notary public. It is not enough to send plain photocopies of the original diploma and transcript. Attested documents must bear the original stamp of the issuing institution or notary public. In Finland, notary public duties are carried out by local magistrates (maistraatti).

Official translation can be 1) made by issuing university or 2) officially certified copy of a translation made by issuing university or 3) translated by an official (sworn) translator or 4) officially certified copy of a translation made by an official translator.

If you have not obtained your BSc diploma before the application deadline, please enclose either a temporary degree diploma or an official statement from your university explaining that you are currently studying there and when you would be graduating. Applicants without a degree diploma in their application enclosures will be accepted conditionally and they have to send an officially certified photocopy and translation of their degree diploma directly to UTA by 29 July 2011.

Do not send original diplomas, etc. which cannot be replaced. Application documents will not be returned. 

Verifying application documents

Language test scores and educational background are verified by UAF.

Accepted students will be required to present the original application documents in the Faculty Office before being allowed to registrate at the University. If it transpires that false information has been provided, the right to study will be revoked. The same procedure will follow if at any point during the studies false information given during the admission process is detected.

Language requirements

Applicants who have taken their Bachelor studies and obtained their Bachelor's degree in English in one of the following countries are exempt from submitting a language test score: Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.  All other applicants must show proof of their English abilities with a language test score.

As new students are selected without entrance exams, a test score is the only objective way to evaluate the applicants' level of English.

Also the test score must arrive at UAF by 1 February, 2011.

The test result must not be older than two years.

The following tests are accepted:

• IELTS (Academic), International English Language Testing System; 6.5 with no individual score below 5.5; IELTS score does not have to be officially attested and may be enclosed with the application documents
• TOEFL, Test of English as a Foreign Language; 90/Internet-based, 575/paper-based; TOEFL score must reach University Admissions Finland directly from the testing organisation within the application deadline. If you have also a paper copy of the test score, we would appreciate if you could enclose a plain copy with your other application documents (but remember to ask ETS to send the official score directly to UAF)

The scores above are minimum scores only - successful applicants usually have higher scores.

If you are making an application to more than one UTA (or other university using UAF) programme, one test score sent to University Admissions Finland is enough.

Old applicants may use the previous language test score sent to UAF if the score is still valid. You can log in to your UAF account and check if UAF has your language test result.

Statement of Purpose

The Statement of Purpose must be included inside the UAF template, not as a separate enclosure.

Describe the reasons why you want to study at the University of Tampere and in the Master's programme that you are applying to. Also indicate your intended source of funding (please notice that the university does not have any scholarships to offer).

Specify your qualifications and the extent of your knowledge in the subjects you have taken in your previous studies and with reference to the programme you apply for. Write about your objectives at the University of Tampere and your plans after the studies.

Provide any further information that you feel may be relevant to your application.

The Statement of Purpose is a maximum of 7000 characters.

Please notice that among the application documents this document plays a very important role. It is difficult to be selected without a good programme-specific Statement of Purpose.  

Curriculum Vitae, CV

The CV must be included inside the UAF template. Please record your full educational and employment history (max. 4000 characters)

Letters of Recommendation

We do not require enclosed letters of recommendation. Please give in the UAF template the names and contact information of the persons who have promised to answer our queries about you.

Listing the content of the previous degree

As we have applicants with quite different backgrounds, we ask you to list in the UAF template how many teaching hours you have studied your major subject and your minor subjects.

Some useful tips

We have collected some useful tips about University Admissions Finland procedures here.