The next joint application period for bachelor’s degree programmes conducted in English will be arranged between 3 January and 17 January 2024. For applicants who will be accepted in this application round, the studies are set to begin in August 2024. 

In 2024, Centria UAS will be a part of the Joint application of Higher Education, Spring 2024. The application process takes place at Studyinfo.fi. 

The application process is free of charge for all applicants. Applicants can be admitted if they submit a valid application, attach required documents, meet eligibility requirements and successfully pass the entrance exam. 

Eligibility criteria

For this specific application round, the following education will give applicants eligibility to apply for Bachelor´s programmes: 

• the studies required for graduating from the Finnish upper secondary school or a Matriculation Ex-amination; 

• an International Baccalaureate (IB) degree; 

• a European Baccalaureate (EB) Diploma; 

• a Reifeprüfung (RP) or Deutsche Internationale Abitur (DIA) degree; 

• a Finnish vocational upper secondary qualification covering 120 credits or 180 competence points or a corresponding earlier Finnish vocational degree covering at least 80 credits; 

• a Finnish post-secondary or higher vocational level diploma; 

• a Finnish vocational upper secondary qualification or a further or specialist vocational qualification as a competence-based qualification, or a comparable previous qualification; 

• a foreign qualification that provides eligibility for higher education studies in the country in question; 

• Bachelor’s degree or Master’s degree. 

Centria University of Applied Sciences uses discretionary admission, which means that the applicant could be considered eligible even if he/she did not meet the general admission criteria. Discretion may come into question in the following situation: 

• The applicant’s (who are not a citizen of an EU/EEA country) final certificate will not be available by the end of the application period, and therefore a photocopy of it cannot be sent by a set date. The applicant can further proceed in the application process if he or she can provide an official temporary certificate or statement of results which is given by the organization awarding degrees (for example in Nigeria or Ghana an official statement of results sent to Centria directly from WAEC or NECO or in Kenya statement of results sent directly from the KNEC). 

• If the applicant is a refugee or in a refugee-like situation and formerly obtained qualifications cannot be proven through documentary evidence, Centria can excuse the applicant and he or she can proceed in the application process. In this case, an applicant must prove the refugee status by a decision made by a competent authority and send a copy of the decision (a decision on asylum or a residence permit granted by a need for protection) to the Admissions office by 24 January 2024 at 3 pm Finnish time (UTC +2). 

Please notice, that eligibilities are going to be checked only after the entrance examinations and therefore it is possible for an applicant to take part in the online entrance exam even if she/he is not eligible to apply for higher education at Centria UAS. However, only eligible applicants can be accepted as new students. 

Filling the application

Applicants start the application process by filling an online application form during the application period at Studyinfo.fi. There is no need for using education agents since the application is publicly available to everyone via Internet as well as the admission process follows predefined admissions criteria which an agent cannot influence. When filling the application form, applicants are advised to double-check if the given postal address is up to date and the given email address is functional. 

A functional email address is particularly important in order to be able to be contacted later on with decisions and further guidelines. The email address provided in the application form will be taken as the official channel of communication and will not be changed later in the process. Once the application has successfully been registered, including required attachments, applicants receive an application number. If an application number is received, applicants do not have to contact Centria´s Admissions office to confirm that the application has arrived. 

The deadline for filling in the application and submitting it is 17 January 2024 at 3 pm Finnish time (UTC +2). After submitting the application, applicants are still able to make changes in the application or attach additional documents to it. The deadline for making changes and submitting attachments is 24 January 2024 at 3 pm Finnish time. 

Selection criteria 

Applicants can be admitted to Centria UAS if they submit a valid application, attach required documents, meet eligibility requirements, and successfully pass the entrance exam. 

International UAS Exam is a joint digital entrance exam of Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS), used for selecting students to study programmes leading to a degree and conducted in English. More information about the exam can be found here. NB. Changes may occur. 

Admission results

The results of the International UAS Exam for the January 2024 applicants will be published by 31 May 2024 at the latest. All accepted applicants will be informed about their admission by e-mail. It is essential to apply with a valid email address so the results will reach the applicants. After being admitted, in order to be able to start their studies, applicants still have to accept the study place by logging into Studyinfo.fi and accepting the offered study place. The deadline for accepting the offered study place is 11 July 2024, 3 pm Finnish time. If applicants have problems using the Internet and accessing the Studyinfo.fi, a pdf form can be provided by the Admissions office. By accepting the study place (and paying the tuition fee if required), applicants also register themselves as a present for the first academic year. If applicants wish to register as absent, they have to check the Enrolment section of Centria’s website to see if they are eligible to apply for such status and consult it further with the Admissions office. 

Claims for adjustment

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Tuition fee payment

Tuition fee concerns only citizens of non-EU/EEA countries. Applicants can find information about the tuition fee payment sum, payment details, and payment deadlines in the acceptance letter. 

Newly accepted students have a right to get an early bird discount, which means a discount of 1500€ of the first year’s tuition fee under the condition that the reduced tuition fee is paid within two weeks after receiving an acceptance letter. Detailed instructions considering the early bird discount will be sent with the acceptance letter. 

More information on the tuition fees and who is obligated to pay them, the scholarships, and other discounts can be found here. 

Residence permit

Once a tuition fee is paid, we advise students to immediately start the residence permit process. The precondition for obtaining a residence permit is a letter of acceptance from the university, a tuition fee payment confirmation, a valid health insurance coverage with a reliable and solvent company or institution, as well as proof of sufficient funds in order to be able to self-support a student life in Finland. Further information can be found on the website of the Finnish Immigration Service.