Master's Degree Programme in Public Health

You should hold at least a Bachelor 's or equivalent degree in an applicable field to be eligible to apply. Applicable fields include public health, medicine, dentistry and nutrition. Pharmacy, psychology, nursing, midwifery, veterinary medicine, environmental sciences, applied engineering when it links to health, as well as applicable social sciences may also be considered eligible fields.  A Bachelor's degree corresponds to at least three years fulltime academic studies (equivalent to 180 ECTS credit units in the Finnish university system) and the degree should have been obtained at an internationally recognized and accredited science university or equivalent higher education institution. This does not include Bachelor's degrees from Universities of applied sciences or Polytechnics (such as Finnish amk-degrees). You can apply if you are due to complete your Bachelor's degree by July 2024.

Language requirements

You must demonstrate excellent skills of English language. English language proficiency can be proven with official Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), International English Language Testing Service (IELTS), CAE/CPE (Cambridge Advanced/Proficiency Examination) Pearson Test of English (PTE) test score report or National Certificate of Language Proficiency (YKI) -test:

· IELTS (Academic): overall 6.5 (min. 6.0 in writing)

· TOEFL iBT: 92 (min. 22 in writing) **

· PTE (Pearson Test of English, academic): 62 and 54 in writing

· Cambridge English Qualification:

C1 Advanced (Certificate of Advanced English) overall score of 180 with min 162 in writing

C2 Proficiency (Certificate of Proficiency in English) overall score of 180 with min 162 in writing

• National Certificate of Language Proficiency (YKI) -test: level 5 in the reading comprehension, writing and speaking subtests; website https://www.oph.fi/en/national-certificates-language-proficiency-yki

**TOEFL code of the University of Eastern Finland is 9779.

Online studies or studies completed on offshore campuses outside the accepted countries cannot be used to indicate language skills, even if the degree-awarding institution is located in one of the accepted countries. You can only indicate the language skills with an incomplete degree if you are applying for the studies with the same degree.

The language test certificates are valid for two years from the day they are issued and they have to be valid during the application period. If the result of the language test is below the required minimum, the application will not be considered for the admission. No other means for proving language proficiency than the ones listed in the admission requirements will be accepted. No waivers to the language proficiency requirements are given.

You will be exempt from submitting the official language proficiency test if:

• Passed English exam in Matriculation Examination in Finland
   
• Previous education or higher education has been completed in English in EU/EEA -countries, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand or in Switzerland.
   
• Bachelor's, Master's or Doctoral degree was conducted in English language in our cooperation universities University of Ghana or KNUST (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology) in Ghana.

* EU countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. EEA countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

Letter of motivation

Letter of Motivation (ca. 600 words written in English) stating why you are interested in public health and what are your future research ideas.

Curriculum Vitae

Curriculum Vitae (CV) stating how your previous education and experience supports the Master's studies.

Research experience and publications

In this document, you will describe your involvement and role in research projects (max. 500 words) and list all your research.

The 2024 application period is open from 3 January 2024 to 17 January 2024. The application is completed and submitted online. The online application is only open during the application period. The application process begins by entering your basic information at the studyinfo.fi portal. Application documents must be submitted by the given deadline.

UEF verifies the applicants' language skills according to the programme specific requirements and processes their educational certificates. This includes verifying the authenticity of the educational documents as well as credential evaluation. Applicants will receive an email notification after the documents have been processed by UEF.

To learn more about the application process and the required documents, please visit studyinfo.fi. Please also note possible country-specific document requirements.

Application checklist

The application should consist of the following:

• Official scanned copies of degree and graduation certificates in their original language
• Official translations of degree and graduation certificates
• Official certified transcript of records in their original language
• Official translations of transcript of records
• Proof of English language proficiency
• Letter of motivation
• Curriculum vitae
• Research experience and publications
• Copy of the identification page of your passport or national ID

All documents must be original. All translations must be officially certified and accompanied by copies of the original documents. Incomplete applications will not be processed, nor will applications received by email or fax. Applications will not be considered unless the documents requested are received in English or Finnish. The official English language test report must be valid during the application period.

In addition to the standard document requirements, there are specific requirements in place for educational documents from certain countries. Please check if there are any country-specific requirements for the country where your degree was awarded and then follow the instructions. The country-specific requirements must be followed first and foremost, before any regular requirements for attesting documents.

Selection results will be published on 12 April 2024 at the latest. The applicants must accept the offered study place by 11 July 2024. The results will be sent to the applicants only by email.

Students who are not citizens of an EU/EEA member state (list of countries below) are liable to pay the tuition fee of 8000 euros per academic year. For details about exemptions please visit Studyinfo.

University of Eastern Finland offers scholarships for non-EU/EEA students. Non EU/EEA students in Public Health programme are all granted a scholarship in the form of a partial tuition fee waiver. The scholarship covers 50 percent of the tuition fee (4000 euros). The University of Eastern Finland will also grant an Early Bird tuition fee deduction of 500 € to students who accept the study place and pay the tuition fees by 3 May 2024.

Scholarships are awarded for two academic years with the stipulation that the student must have completed 55 ECTS credits per academic year. The Academic Rector may award a discretionary scholarship for the second academic year to those students who sought but were not successful in receiving a scholarship for their first year. The prerequisite number of study credits relating to the progress of students in their first academic year is also applied to discretionary scholarships.

There is no separate application for scholarship. All applicants need to complete the Student Application Form. Those applicants who are applying for a scholarship need to additionally complete the Application for Scholarship, which can be found at the end of the Student Application Form. The decision about the scholarship is made in conjunction with student admission, and the student is notified of the outcome in the letter of acceptance. This scholarship does not cover living costs. Students are expected to cover all living expenses (app. 800 euros per month) and other study related costs from their own financial resources.

In the academic year 2024-2025, we grant an extra Finland scholarship (Suomi-stipendi) for the two best applicants who are required to pay the tuition fee and who have been chosen for the studies based on their success in the admission process (applicants with the highest points). The Finland scholarship consists of a full (100 %) tuition waiver and 5 000 € for living expenses. The scholarship only applies to the first year of Master’s studies, and the tuition waiver for the second year is 50 %.

Other mandatory fee: Membership of the Student Union. Further information is available on the website of the Student Union.

• EU countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
• EEA countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
• Switzerland (non EU/EEA).