Admissions criteria - Marketing, PhD Programme, Vaasa

Eligibility for doctoral studies also requires sufficient language skills. Applicants who fulfill one of the following criteria in either English or in Swedish are exempted from the language test requirement:

Eligibility for doctoral studies requires sufficient language skills in either Swedish or English. In English you can demonstrate your language proficiency in the ways below, either through educational background or a language test.

No other than the tests below are accepted:

• TOEFL IBT test (also TOEFL iBT® Home Edition)Opens in new window  with a minimum score of 92 (internet-based test)
• IELTS Academic (also IELTS Online, IELTS UKVI (Academic) or IELTS Indicator) with a minimum score of 6.5
• Cambridge  C1 AdvancedOpens in new window  with Grade C
• Cambridge C2 Proficiency (previous name CPE) with a minimum result of C1 (or C if taken when the test was called CPE)
• PTE Academic (also PTE Academic UKVI och PTE Academic Online) with a minimum 62
• The Finnish National Certificate of Language Proficiency YKI test in EnglishOpens in new window  with level 5 proficiency in all sections of the Advanced level YKI test. Results from separate test dates can be combined.

• GMAT™ Exam (10th Edition) (also GMAT Online)  with at least an overall score of 550 (all test sections must be completed)
• GMAT™ Exam (Focus Edition) with at least an overall score of 515 (all test sections must be completed)
• GRE General TestOpens in new window  (also GRE General Test at home) with at least a 150 in the Verbal Reasoning section and 3.5 in the Analytic Writing section (all test sections must be completed)

• Bachelor's, Master's, Licentiate's or PhD degree with tuition in English* obtained in specific countries and obtained at a education institution that is a recognized part of the official national education system in the country in question.
• • Degrees from the following countries are accepted: a country part of the EU/EEA, Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Dominica, Eritrea, Eswatini, South Africa, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Great Britain, Jamaica, Cameroon, Canada, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Zambia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Switzerland, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, New Zealand, USA or Zimbabwe.
• Secondary education (final diploma) with tuition in English obtained in specific countries and which grants access to higher education in the country in question.
• • Degrees from the following countries are accepted: a country part of the EU/EEA, Switzerland, USA, Canada, Great Britain, Australia or New Zealand.
• The following way to demonstrate proficiency in English based on a university degree is only possible for applicants applying to doctoral studies in English. In addition to the above-mentioned ways of proving English language proficiency, applicants applying to doctoral studies in English only can also prove said language proficiency if they:
• • have acquired English skills that enable them to follow developments in their field and to work in an international environment in accordance with subsection 6.2 in the Government Decree on University Degrees (794/2004) in their Finnish Bachelor's or Master's degree.

*Note! In order to fulfill the language requirement, at least 50 % of the degree must have had English as the language of tuition and at least 50 % of the degree must have been obtained while the student physically has been studying in one of the listed countries if the degree has been completed in several countries or at several campuses.
 
The language of instruction and to which extent the degree has been completed in English must be clearly stated in the official educational documents (degree certificate, transcript of records, diploma supplement or other official certificate issued by the institution).

This page applies to application to the PhD programme in English. Applicants applying to studies in English must prove their aptitude to be eligible to apply. Check below to which Admission Group you belong to determine which requirements apply to you.

Admission Group 1: Master's degree obtained in Finland, the EU/EEA or at a Hanken Partner University

Applicants applying to studies in English with a qualifying degree obtained in an EU/EEA country or a Hanken Partner University must fulfill the following requirements: 

• The GPA in the qualifying degree must be at least a 3.0 (Finnish Grading Scale) or Grade B (US Grading Scale). 
• • You can check if your GPA meets the requirement by using the WES World Education Systems online grading scale conversion tool. 
  • You need to calculate and report your GPA in the online application using the grading scale referred to in your Diploma Supplement.
  • If the applicant does not submit an official certificate where the GPA is clearly stated, Hanken will verify that the GPA calculated by the applicant is correct. Hanken reserves the right to decide whether the applicant fulfills the GPA requirement or not. 
• If you have not yet graduated at the time of applying, you must calculate the GPA for the qualifying degree for the courses which are included in the transcript of records submitted in the application and, if possible, submit an official certificate where the GPA in question is clearly stated. 
• • You must fulfil the GPA requirement both when applying and when graduating.
• If the GPA in your qualifying degree does not meet the set requirements, you must take a GMAT/GRE test and obtain the minimum test score requirements as listed below under Group 2.

The United Kingdom belongs to group 2, regardless of when you have completed your degree in the country in question.

Admissions Group 2: Master's degree obtained outside of the EU/EEA 

If you do not hold a degree obtained within the EU/EEA or at a Hanken Partner University, or if your GPA is too low, you can apply based on a GMAT/GRE test score. Applicants who belong to Group 2 must score one the test results:

• GMAT™ Exam (10th Edition) or GMAT™ Online exam with a minimum overall test score of 600,
• GMAT™ Exam (Focus Edition) with a minimum overall score of 555, or
• GRE™ Exam or GRE® General Test at home with a minimum score of 158 in the Quantitative reasoning section.