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Admissions criteria - Strategic Business Development, Master of Science (Economics and Business Administration) (2 years)


Eligibility criteria

Students are eligible for admission to the two-year Master’s Programme if they have completed a Bachelor’s degree or a Master's degree in an appropriate field. The programme is open both for international and Finnish applicants. In addition to the degree, the applicants must meet the language requirements and country-specific requirements.

Applicants who have not yet graduated can apply to the programme and be conditionally accepted as long as they graduate by the 10 July 2025. If you have not graduated by the time you apply to the programme, you are required to submit an officially certified copy of your latest transcript of records. The anticipated graduation date should be clearly stated on the application (for example a document from the institution indicating the expected time of graduation). You can be conditionally accepted, and you will need to graduate with required grades by the deadline. Evidence of the completed degree needs to be presented to the University by the 10 July 2025 at 15:00 (UTC+3). In addition, if the country-specific requirements apply to you, you must submit your most recent transcript of records according to these requirements by the deadline. If the applicant does not meet these requirements by the deadline, the study place will be cancelled.


Description of admissions criteria

To be considered for admission to the Master's Programme in Strategic Business Development, the applicant must fulfil the following criteria:

1. Scope of the degree

  • A recognized 3- or 4-year bachelor’s degree at a higher education institution (HEI) which is considered equivalent to a Finnish bachelor’s degree. There are guidelines available for those who have completed their degree outside the EU: Entry guidance for international qualifications.

2. Suitability of the background education

  • A bachelor’s degree in business administration in the field of accounting, auditing, banking, brand management, business administration, business analytics, business law, consumer behavior, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability, cross-cultural management, digital marketing, economics, entrepreneurship, finance, human resource management, industrial management (business degree), innovation and product development, international business, international marketing, management, marketing, operations management, organizational behavior, organizational leadership, project management, sales management, strategic management or supply chain management.
  • If the applicant does not have one of these degrees, the background education is considered suitable if the degree includes min. 20 % academic business studies, or at least 35 ECTS (or equivalent) of academic business studies have been completed outside of the degree. The academic business studies must consist of courses in one or several of the following fields: accounting and finance, HR management, strategic management, international business, entrepreneurship and marketing.

3. Applicant’s overall cumulative grade point average (CGPA) in previous degree, including the thesis or final report if applicable, must be at least 3,00/5 (ECTS grading).

4. English language proficiency

Only courses that have been obtained and are visible on the transcript of records submitted with the application will be considered when evaluating the applicant’s educational background.

University of Vaasa does not evaluate the relevance of the applicant’s educational background in advance. The evaluation is only done during the processing of the applications with the application and enclosures at hand.

University of Vaasa reserves the right to decide whether a degree and/or higher education institution (HEI) meet our requirements or not.


Admissions procedure

Joint Admission to International Master's Programmes

Applications that satisfy the eligibility and suitability criteria will be put through a subsequent evaluation process that will determine which applicants will be admitted.

The applicants are ranked according to the cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of the degree, including the thesis or final report (if applicable).

If multiple applicants have achieved the same CGPA, and not all of these applicants can be selected, the applicants will be ranked according to the prior studies at bachelor level or higher in the core areas of the programme.

The admission results are published by 28 May 2025 at the latest. If accepted, the applicant must accept the study place after receiving the offer and pay possible tuition fee by the given deadline. In addition, if country-specific requirements apply to the applicant's degree(s), the applicant must submit the educational documents according to country-specific requirements. The documents must arrive to the University of Vaasa at the latest by the given deadline. The offer is conditional until the tuition fee has been paid and the documents submitted according to the country-specific requirements.

Note that applicant may confirm only one offer of admission to a study programme leading to a higher education degree in Finland in education that begins in the same academic term (please see Studyinfo for more information).


More information about the application process

Read about the application process and submitting your documents on the website of the University.

If you are required to pay tuition fees, please check the scholarships that are offered by the University of Vaasa.


Attachments

Certificates

Application documents, International Master's Programmes

The required application documents are:

  • Officially certified copy of Degree certificate(s) if graduated
  • Officially certified copy of Transcript(s) of records (an explanation of the grading system used is mandatory if it is not clearly stated in the Transcript)
  • Proof of language proficiency (language requirements)
  • Copy of passport's information page / official ID card
  • Copy of your residence permit card to Finland if you are not EU/EEA/Switzerland citizen and you are applying for the exemption from tuition fees based on your residence permit.

Submit your documents electronically

All required documents can be submitted electronically to the University of Vaasa, by uploading them to the application. As admission is based on the documents you submit along with your application, it is very important that you prepare your application with care and submit all the required documents. You can find more information about submitting your documents in joint admission on our website.

Country-specific requirements

Country-specific requirements may require specific documents to be sent directly to the University of Vaasa for example by the awarding institution. The country-specific requirements must be followed first and foremost. If accepted, and country-specific requirements apply to your degree(s), your acceptance will be conditional until you meet the requirements. If you have not graduated yet, you must meet the country-specific requirements with your most recent transcript of records. If you do not meet these requirements by the given deadline, the conditional acceptance will be cancelled.

Translate the educational documents into English, Finnish or Swedish

The required educational documents (degree certificate, transcript of records) must be submitted in Finnish, Swedish or English. All translations of the required documents are to be made by an official translator and must bear the signature and stamp of the translator. An officially certified copy of the document in the original language must be submitted together with the translation.


Attachment is uploaded on the application form

Must be submitted by

Jan. 29, 2025 at 03:00 PM UTC+2