Studying in Finland Guide

Degrees in Finland
1. Bachelor Degree (Admission period Dec-Feb)
2. Master Degree (Admission period Jan-April)
3. Doctoral studies

Requirements for Bachelor Program

1. At least 12 years of education (HSC equivalent).
2. In most cases, students must have good working knowledge of Finnish or Swedish .
3. For admission in English-taught universities, applicants should have IELTS band score of 5.5 to 6.0
or TOEFLCBT score 173 to 213 or TOEFL iBT score 61 to 80.
4. CAE/CPE (University of Cambridge Advanced Examination/Proficiency Examination) pass grades A, B
or C.
5. Bachelor's Degree: Takes 3 to 4 years of full time study

Requirements for Master and PhD Program

1. At least 16 or 18 years of education.

2. In most cases, students must have good working knowledge of Finnish or Swedish.
3. For admission in English-taught universities, applicants should have IELTS band score of 5.5 to 6.0 or
TOEFL CBT score 173 to 213 or TOEFL iBT score 61 to 80.
4. CAE/CPE (University of Cambridge Advanced Examination/Proficiency Examination) pass grades A, B
or C.
5. PhD is taught in English.
6. Master's Degree: Approx. 2 years of full time study
7. PhD Degree: Takes approx. 4 years of full time study

**Expenses in Finland per month

(a) Normally there are no tuition fees in Finland
(b) Living & Other Expenses
Student has to pay for food, housing, clothes, social life & accidental cost approx. 250 euros per month.
But it can cut down to 150 Euros per month including everything, if you share with other friends.

**Details of Living Expenses (a practical case)

1- House Rent
220 euro (divided among two) so 110 euro
2-Food
50 euro
3-Mobile
30 euros...average...
Bus fare is not required as everything you can reach by walking. Or you can make monthly bus card on
discount, which costs 28 Euros.
No electricity bill,
No gas bill,
and NOTHING ELSE
Health Service
1. Health services for university students are provided by the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS).
2. Student health service cost is 25 to 75 Euros per academic year.

Working in Finland
1. University students are allowed to work for up to 20 hours per week without a work permit.
2. If you do not know Finnish, Norwegian, Russian or Swedish it can be very difficult to find ODD jobs.
3. Students can find odd jobs and spend one semester collecting money and then joining again their
masters. As duration to complete master degree is 04 years.

Part Time Job

ODD jobs are hard to find, but some people still do it ( cleaning [ 800 euro per month ]) , paper delivery [
400 euro per month max ] , restaurants [ 600 euro per month ] ). But usually students coming into master
program get their funded thesis quite early from which they can easily manage 1800 euro per month, or
some of them get IT job from which they are earning around 1200 euro. Also some of them are doing
internships (paid). Electrical and Electronics guys usually get paid thesis. Driving license of Pakistan can
be used to get Finnish driving license.

Applying to University
1. Check with the departments to see if there is a closing date for your application.
2. You should write directly to the Institution's Admission Office for detailed application information and
forms.
3. Some universities have an on-line application facility, and you find information about it from the
university websites.
4. Admissions office will inform you about the documentation, translation, and visa requirements.
5. You should start at least one year in advance to compile the necessary information and documentation.
6. The decision of the institution is usually announced within approximately six to eight months of the
application deadline.

Supporting Documents Required

1. Official English version of all educational documents including marks sheets.
2. Your school/college leaving certificate.
3. English version of your all educational documents including mark sheet.
4. The test score of a language test you have taken
5. Motivation letter or Statement of Purpose
6. Passport photo
7. Copy of your passport
8. Reference letter from two teachers.
9. Please note that all copies must be attested by HEC

Tips for Master Students regarding applications for Masters

(a) For Tampere, motivation letters should be good
b) For Aalto, recommendation letters, good letters from professors or employers who have
google able name. At least two from professors

VISA Procedure
Student Visa of Finland
Required Documents

Visa form along with one recent passport size photograph.

Valid passport, which must be valid for at least three months beyond the VISA expiry date.
Students are required to attach two copies of the Letter of Acceptance from the University / Institute.
Original copies of certificates pertaining to educational / professional qualifications.
Original Certificate of proficiency in English IELTS/TOEFL etc.
Applicants must demonstrate the ability to cover their living costs and expenses (approx. Euros 6720,-)
in Finland out of their own funds or through scholarship.
Visa Fee in PKR is payable in cash or by demand draft in favour of ' Embassy of Finland, Islamabad
Only those visa applications that are submitted personally by applicants shall be accepted. Visa
Processing TIME is usually 2 Months.

*** You do not need to show bank statement to any authority after your arrival in Finland. It is always
needed at the time of issuing of visa or renewal of visa otherwise nobody will ask you about your bank
statement.

Applying for Polytechnics or in Bachelors

For Polytechnic or Bachelors, you will need at least 12 years of education. Mostly IELTS is not compulsory
in getting admission in Bachelors but its good to have this certificate of IELTS. Normally there is always
an admission test conducted by polytechnic before any admission. In Pakistan, Finnish embassy in
Islamabad conduct this entry test on behalf of institute OR University can also directly send u test and ask
to solve it & resend it to university. Most of the programs at bachelors level are in finnish language but
there are also some in English. Now u just need to know the websites of polytechnics.You may visit
http://finland.cimo.fi
or Finnish education ministry website
http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/ammattikorkeakoulutus/?lang=en

Once you are graduate or post graduate you find jobs easily
I have not yet seen a single Pakistani who have not got job after completing his masters in IT. Mostly get
their job or they find various other means to live here, like going for PhD etc. Finnish authorities do not
ask u leave you Finland ultimately in fact they give you some time to find any job over here if u r
interested(told by my senior).

Websites of Finnish Universities

www.aalto.fi/ (aalto)
www.tut.fi (tampere)
www.lut.fi (lapeenranta)
www.utu.fi (turku)
www.uwasa.fi (vasa)
www.oulu.fi (oulu)
www.abo.fi (Abo/turku)
Some more portals
http://finland.cimo.fi
http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Koulutus/yliopistokoulutus/?lang=en

Research Centres (for PhD) in Finland

For Research Centres:1 - www.tucs.fi (Turku)
Research at TUCS is organized into research laboratories and centres. There are currently 17 research
laboratories and two centres within TUCS.
2 - Aalto University of Technology Research Centres
http://www.aalto.fi/en/research/

3 - Tampere University of Technology Research Centres

http://www.tut.fi/public/index.cfm?MainSel=1604&Sel=1604&Show=1500&Siteid=32
http://www.cs.tut.fi/tos/english/contact.shtml
4 - Lapeenranta University of Technology Research Center
http://www.lut.fi/en/research/index.html

Some Merits & Demerits of various Finnish Universities like AUT,TUT,UTU & LUT etc
(a)-Tampere University of Technology:1-Tampere Largest industrial city and 2nd most populated city of Finland.

2-Lot of companies headquarters are in Tampere

3-TUT ranked No.1 in Finland among universities of Technology.
4-Education is very tough and for some students tough education means good and high standard
education.
5- Easy to get jobs.
6-Few pakistanies and disperse community.
7-Good chances for regular IT jobs.
(b)-Helsinki University of Technology or Aalto University of Technology
1-Capital of Finland.
2-In Pakistan people know this name of Helsinki.
3- Ranked No.2 in universities of technology.
4- Lot of Pakistanis in Town and AAT.
5- Lot of job opportunities of both regular programming & odd jobs.
6- Largest city.
7- Good Alumni Network.
8- Just a bit expensive as compare to other cities.
9- You get the skilled work visa of 18 months for Australia to search for work if you have degree from this
university. http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/476.aspx
(c)-University of TURKU:1- Third Largest City.
2- First Capital and oldest city of Finland.
3- Ranked No.2 after university of Helsinki (Remember it is not a university of Technology).
4- Good community of Pakistanis.
5-Good job opportunities, both odd & regular as it is a coastal area..
6-Lot of Research in DVB-H & DVB-Funding by European consortium.
7-Center of Excellence in Bio-Informatics in all over Europe.
8- Not expensive as compare to Aalto.
(d)-Lappeenranta University of Technology:1-Good Emerging University
2-Small City.
3-Less job opportunities, both odd and regular.
4-Courses can be transfer in AUT.

Fully Funded Masters IDBM Program for Business people

The International Design Business Management (IDBM) Program is a joint teaching and research
platform of the Aalto Universitys schools of business, design and technology. The aim of the IDBM
Program is to develop world-class expertise in global design business management through
multidisciplinary research and learning. The program aims to train skilled professionals for key roles in
the global design business by emphasizing the importance of design as a competitive factor, linked with
state-of-the-art technology and business models. IDBM is offered as a masters and minor program.
http://idbm.aalto.fi/
Best Regards
Waqar Baig
Scholarship Network