Master's Degree Programme in Biology of Environmental Change

Eligibility criteria

To assess an applicant's eligibility for the program, the applicant must submit an application during the admission period. A previous bachelor’s degree in biological or environmental sciences, corresponding to at least 3 years of full-time academic studies from an institution for higher education is required from all Master's degree applicants. The degree must be awarded by an internationally recognized university. We also accept degrees from a recognized university of applied sciences.

The degree should entitle the applicant to apply to Master's studies in the country where the degree has been awarded. In addition,  In case, the applicant has not yet received a Bachelors degree certificate by the admission deadline, he/she is required to submit high-quality scans of his/her latest transcript of records during the application period. If the applicant receives the degree certificate and the final transcript of records during the application period it is recommended to submit them as soon as possible. 

Language requirements

Applicants must either (1) meet the language proficiency criteria (see below), or (2) reach the
minimum required language test results to be considered eligible to the University of Eastern Finland. No exceptions will be made and no waivers regarding the language proficiency requirements are given.

(1) Applicants who hold one of the following do not have to take an English language test

• A language test is not required if the applicant has completed their secondary education in English language in EU/EEA -countries, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand or in Switzerland.
• A language test is not required if the applicant has completed a Bachelor’s, Master’s or higher degree in English language in EU/EEA -countries, or in one of the following countries: Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Cameroon, Canada, Dominica, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South-Africa, Switzerland, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, the United Kingdom, the United States, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

The degree/programme must be taught and assessed entirely in English. If you verify your language skills with your education degree, the language of instruction must be clearly indicated on the educational documents.

Online studies or studies completed on offshore campuses outside the accepted countries/area cannot be used to indicate language skills, even if the degree-awarding institution is in one of the accepted countries.

(2) All other applicants have to take one of the following language tests: 

• TOEFL iBT, overall score 92, min. 22 in writing
• IELTS (academic) overall score 6.5, min. 6.0 in writing
• PTE (academic), overall score 62, min 54 in writing
• C1 Advanced overall score C or 180, with min. 162 in writing
• C2 Proficiency overall score level C1 or 180, with min. 162 in writing
• National Certificate of Language Proficiency YKI-test: level 5 in all different subtests (reading comprehension, writing and speaking). It is possible to combine different examinations.

No other degrees or statements of language proficiency will be accepted.

TOEFL, IELTS and PTE certificates are valid for two years from the day they are issued, i.e. the
language test need to be in effect during the application period, from 8 January 2023 onwards. The language test results must be verifiable from the online verification service of the organiser.

Required enclosures

The required enclosures need to be uploaded electronically to the application by 29 January 2025, at 3 pm (EET) at the latest. UEF does not process application documents that have arrived after the deadline.

The required enclosures:

• Bachelor’s degree certificate
• An official transcript of academic records. The transcript should include the course units, their completion time, grades and credits awarded, an information about the grading scale used at the institution.
• English language certificate
• Copy of passport
• A motivation video* of the applicant in English. ax. duration is 1,5 minutes (90 seconds). In the video, describe the reasons why you are interested in biology and why you are applying to the Master's degree program in Biology of Environmental Change at UEF, and your future educational and/or career plans in the field of biology.

*The video format must be one of the following: x-m4v, x-matroska, x-msvideo, mpeg, ogg, webm, 3gpp, 3gpp2, mp4, MP2T, quicktime, x-ms-wmv, x-ms-vob. Maximum size of the video file is 1 GB.

All enclosures are compulsory for the selection process.

Official translations: If your educational documents are issued in a language other than English, Finnish, or Swedish, you must provide official translations in one of these languages. These translations must be done by the degree-awarding institution or a certified translator. Every page of the official translation should include the translator's stamp and/or signature. The translation must accurately reflect the original documents, and self-translations by applicants are not accepted.

1. Check the application period​

2. Choose your programme​
   The applicant may apply to only one of the three application options offered by the Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences.

3. Check the admission requirements​

4. Gather your documents​
   The application document checklist: 1. High-quality scans of the original degree and graduation certificates in original language 2. High-quality scans of the original transcript of records in original language 3. Proof of English language proficiency 4. High-quality scan of passport photo page + Other programme specific documents (see above section about admission requirements) * Official translations of degree and graduation certificates, if original is not in English, Finnish or Swedish) ​

5. ​Gather your documents​

6. Submit the application​

Selection process

The admission process aims at fair selection of high-quality applicants. Student selection is based on the application documents and an evaluation how the applicant’s skills and competencies, acquired through previous academic studies, align with the requirements of the Master's programme.

Applicants will be ranked according to the selection criteria. The best 10 applicants are accepted to the program and the rest of the applicants are rejected. The programme may accept more applicants by discretion to fulfil the available study places in the programme. Applicants are not placed on the waiting list.

In the case of equal scores, suitability is the most important, followed by success in studies and motivation. The motivation expressed in a short video is one way to assess the background and suitability of the applicant.

The applications will be graded using the following criteria:

1. Suitability and the content of the previous studies: 0-5 p (0=poor, 5=excellent)
2. Applicant's success in the previous studies in general: 0-5 p (0=poor, 5=excellent)
3. Applicant's success in the previous studies of the suitable field of science: 0-5 p (0=poor,
5=excellent)
4. Applicant's own explanations about their motivation to apply for studies: 0-5 p (0=poor,
5=excellent)

If the applicant scores 0-2 p in any of the components 1.,2. or 3., the application will not be
processed further.

Selection results

Results for studies starting in September 2025 will be published on 28.5.2025 at the latest. When the selection decision has been made, the results will be posted immediately to applicants by e- mail.

Admitted students shall inform whether they accept their study place by latest on 10 July 2025 at 3 pm (EEST) electronically via Studyinfo portal or by submitting the confirmation form to hakijapalvelut@uef.fi.

According to One study place per term provision, a student may accept only one study place
leading to a higher education degree in Finland during one academic term. This rule applies to all higher education.

Conditional acceptance

Your admission is conditional if you apply to UEF with a degree that is not finished during the application period. It is required that the applicants deliver officially certified copies of the final degree certificate and the transcript of records to the programme coordinator by 31 July 2025.

All accepted students need to provide officially certified copies, if they cannot authenticate their degree/transcript electronically when applying. The students will be conditionally accepted until they have provided the certified copies of the educational document (degree certificate and transcript of records). Country specific requirements are in use in situations when the applicant cannot provide the documents electronically. The last date when the documents need to be at the university is 30.5.2025. In case the applicants do not deliver the documents by the given deadline, their study right will be cancelled.

Delimitation of granting right to study

You cannot be granted a new right to study resulting in a Master of Science (environmental
science) degree if you already have a valid right to study in the master’s degree programme
resulting in a Master of Science (environmental science or biology) degree at the University of Eastern Finland.

Appeal

If you disagree with the decision you may apply for a rectification of the decision from the Dean of the Faculty by 11 June 2025 at 3 pm (EEST) at the latest. The instructions for making a request for rectification can be found on Admissions results website.

The annual tuition fee for non-EU/EEA students is 10,000 EUR. There are no tuition fees for
students who are citizens of EU/EEA countries or Switzerland. Applicants subject to tuition fees can apply for tuition waivers and scholarships during the university application process by completing the relevant section on the application form. All tuition fees, waivers, and scholarships are outlined and determined by the Academic Rector's decision for the 2025-2026 academic year (diary number 4401/02.04.01/2024). Students granted a tuition waiver, or scholarship must sign and return a student agreement. Additionally, degree students are required to pay the Student Union membership fee and the Kela student healthcare fee.

General information about the tuition waivers and scholarships is available here.