The admissions procedure in a nutshell

Admission to Finnish higher education is organised by the educational institutions themselves. That is, each university and polytechnic in Finland independently selects its own students.

In brief, the admission procedure from start to finish consists of:

• selecting the programme(s) you wish to apply to
• submitting your application, with the required certificates and documents, before the application deadline
• taking an entrance examination, if required
• after this, the higher education institutions make the final student selection from among the eligible candidates
• the admitted students can then start arranging their arrival to Finland.

How and when to apply

Please see the ‘admissions system’ and ‘application times’ sections for information on how and when you can apply. If you want to find information on what programmes are on offer, see the ‘study programmes database’ section.

If you already know which university/UAS you'll be applying to, you can also turn to the Admissions Office of the institution for advice.