Congratulations on being accepted as a student to the University of Vaasa!
You will receive an admission letter via mail from the university within a couple of weeks of being notified of the opening. The letter contains important information about accepting the offered study place, registering as a student at the University and beginning the studies in autumn semester. Please read the information in the letter carefully and take the necessary actions.
Accepting the Offered Study Place
You have to confirm that you will accept the opening by returning the Confirmation Form sent to you in the admission letter by Tuesday 31 July 2012 at 16.15 local, Finnish time at the latest. Please note that the confirmation is binding.
Please make sure that your Confirmation Form reaches the University of Vaasa by the required date and time (postmark of the last day is NOT accepted, the form must be received by the university by the deadline). If the Confirmation Form has not arrived in the University of Vaasa by the deadline, you will forfeit your right to enrol in the programme. Please send the form to the university by mail or fax. You’ll find the address and fax number in the Confirmation Form.
Please note: the international Master’s programmes offered by the University of Vaasa are not included in the one-place-per-student provision. The new Universities Act came into force on 1 January 2010 and affects the regulation concerning the acceptance of study place. One-place-per-student provision (Act 558/2009) concerns only joint applications to universities and polytechnics. Separate admissions to higher education institutions are not included in this provision, i.e. the provision is not applied to the international Master’s programmes of the University of Vaasa either.
Registration
New students must register as students at the University personally by 31 August 2012 at 16.15 at the very latest. If you fail to register at the University by the deadline, your study right for the programme will be cancelled.
Please also note that you have to start your studies in the programme in the beginning of September 2012 and register as attending at least for the autumn semester 2012. You cannot register as non-attending for the first semester, and you cannot postpone the beginning of your studies to the next semester or academic year.
Registration is done in registration sessions organised during the arrival days and orientation days. More information about the date and times of registration sessions will be updated on this page later in the summer.
The new Master's degree students should attend one of the registration sessions. The registration takes approximately 1 hour.
All information given by the applicant in the application form will be compared with the applicant’s original documents upon registration to verify their authenticity. The original documents must be submitted upon registration at the University of Vaasa. The presence of counterfeit, fraudulent or altered documents will lead to a refusal and the student’s right to study at the University of Vaasa will be terminated.
Studies
The academic year is divided into teaching periods at the University of Vaasa. The autumn semester is divided into two periods and the spring semester into three periods. Teaching takes place during the periods and exams are arranged during the last week of each period and on weekends.
The important dates (tuition, arrival, orientation) for the academic year 2012–2013 are as follows:
- Autumn semester 2012: 3 September 2012 - 20 December 2012 (periods I & II)
- Spring semester 2013: 7 January 2013 - 1 June 2013 (periods III, IV & V)
- Arrival days: 23–24 August 2012
- Orientation days: 27–28 August 2012
Arrival
The recommended arrival days for new international students in autumn semester 2012 are 23–24 August 2012. We strongly recommend students to arrive in Vaasa during these arrival days.
The University has a pick-up service for incoming international students that operates only during the official arrival days. The pick-up service is run by the international tutors (fellow students who will contact you via email in the beginning of August at the latest). Therefore it is very important that you let your tutor know your exact arrival date and time once they contact you via email. Transportation is available from the Vaasa airport, railway station or bus station. If possible, please make sure that your flight etc arrives in Vaasa at a reasonable time.
Each international student will have an international tutor (a fellow student) in Vaasa who will help you in practical matters after arrival (finding your way around the city and campus, meeting other students etc.). Tutors also organise events and activities for international students together with the Student Union and the International Office. Your tutor will contact you via email in August at the latest. It is important that you stay in touch with your tutor and inform him/her the exact time of your arrival in Vaasa.
Orientation Days
Orientation Days for new students are arranged on 27–28 August 2012. It is very important that all new students take part in the orientation. The orientation includes important information about organising your studies, University in general, living in Finland etc. You also have an excellent opportunity to meet the other international students and ask any questions you may have about the studies or practicalities.
More information about the Orientation Days will be updated on this page later in the summer.
Informative Meetings for New Students
The programmes will organise informative meetings for new degree students. It is highly recommended that new students attend the meeting of their own programme.
The timing of the informative meetings in autumn semester 2012 will be updated on this page later in the summer.
| Master's Degree Programme in International Business |
| Time: |
| Place: |
| Master's Degree Programme in Finance |
| Time: |
| Place: |
|
Master's Degree Programme in Intercultural Studies in Communication and Administration |
| Time: |
| Place: |
| Master's Programme in Telecommunication Engineering |
| Time: |
| Place: |
| Master's Programme in Industrial Management |
| Time: |
| Place: |
Information about the recommended courses and study path, timetables, and personal study plan will be given in the meetings. The new students also have a chance to meet the other students and teaching staff of the programme in the meeting.
Accommodation
Housing situation is fairly good in Vaasa at the moment. You have an opportunity to apply for accommodation from VOAS (The Vaasa Student Housing Foundation). VOAS is a private company offering apartments for students and not part of the University of Vaasa.
Electronic application form for accommodation is available at VOAS website. Please apply for an apartment as soon as possible. VOAS receives lots of new applications each semester and it will be difficult to find an apartment if you apply for it late in the summer.
Please also note that each person must have their own tenancy agreement in order to stay in VOAS apartments. The apartment or room cannot be shared with anyone unless an agreement has been made with VOAS.
We advise you to arrive in Vaasa on 23-24 August 2012. Please take the recommended arrival days into account when applying for an apartment and informing VOAS about the beginning of the possible tenancy.
If you arrive in Vaasa before your rental agreement begins, please be prepared to stay in a hotel for the first days. If you arrive during a weekend, you may also need to stay in a hotel because VOAS office is not open on weekends.
If you make a rental agreement with VOAS and inform your tutor about it, your tutor will pick up the key to your apartment before your arrival. You may then go directly to your apartment after you have arrived in Vaasa. Please note, however, that tutors are available only during the official arrival days. If you arrive before or after the recommended days, please check from your tutor if you should make other plans for receiving the keys to your apartment.
There are quite a lot of apartments available in the private market as well. The rents vary a lot, though. A list of some companies offering apartments for rent in Vaasa is available at the City of Vaasa webpages. The list is in Finnish, but it contains the contact information of companies and you may enquire about their options e.g. via email.
There are also portals online in which you can look for apartments. One of the portals available online is vuokraovi.com. If you type in 'Vaasa' to the Location box, it will show you all the apartments available in Vaasa at the moment. Also, the student union of the University of Vaasa provides an online market place in which people post about apartments available for rent. You may also post your own topic to the market place if you are looking for a place to rent.
Please apply for an apartment as soon as possible. Lots of new students apply for an apartment each summer and it may be difficult to find an apartment for you if you apply for it too late in the summer.
You’ll find more information about accommodation and VOAS in the letter sent to you by the university.
Living Expenses
The cost of living in Finland is on average comparable to the rest of Western Europe. Students are expected to pay all of their expenses during your stay in Finland themselves, because the University of Vaasa unfortunately cannot offer any financial aid for international students.
It is absolutely necessary to have at least 500 euros per month at your disposal to cover your living expenses. In addition, the requirement by the immigration officials for granting a residence permit for international students coming from outside the EU/EEA area is that the students must have at minimum 500 euros (net) per month or 6,000 euros (net) per year at their disposal for support.
Please also note that it is relatively hard to find a job during the studies, and thus working in Finland is not an option when it comes to financing your studies.
Residence Permit
Every foreign person staying for more than three months in Finland needs to have a residence permit or register their stay in Finland at the Register Office or Police Station. Please visit section Permits for more information about the permits.
If you are a citizen of non-EU/EEA country, please apply for a residence permit as soon as possible. Processing of the application may take up to 3 months during the summer. The application is submitted online and applicants must also submit the documents and their identification to the nearest embassy / consulate of Finland in their home country.
Information about the residence permits is available at the Finnish Immigration Service website.
Health Care and Insurance
All international students coming to Finland must be covered by a valid health insurance. Students are self responsible for the insurances for their health related matters and their personal belongings. It is recommended that the insurance covers at least the costs resulting from illness or an accident (doctor and hospital charges, including medical treatment and hospitalisation, medication etc). It is also highly recommended to obtain insurance for personal belongings and third party liability.
EU/EEA Citizens
Citizens of EU and EEA countries are covered by the National Health Insurance plan administered by KELA (Social Insurance Institution). It means that anyone carrying a European Health Insurance Card is entitled to receive all medically necessary care while in another EU/EEA country or in Switzerland. Therefore it is recommended that you obtain a European Health Insurance Card before your arrival in Vaasa.
The treatment is provided subject to the legislation and regulations of each country. The citizens of EU and EEA countries will receive the medical care to which a resident of that country would be entitled. The procedure for getting the treatment and any co-payments charged will also be the same as those that apply to local residents.
Note, however, that should you seek treatment from a doctor or hospital not covered by the local system, you will have to pay all necessary costs yourself. Therefore we strongly recommend that students coming from EU / EEA countries take also a private insurance because private health care is not covered by KELA and the services are very expensive in Finland.
Non-EU/EEA Citizens
For students coming from outside the EU/EEA countries, it is obligatory to take out a private health insurance which is valid for the entire period of stay in Finland or for the period of validity of the residence permit at minimum, or extensible to cover the period in question.
Insurance must be arranged in your home country before applying for a residence permit and arriving in Finland. Insurance certificate is required when applying for a residence permit.
For more information on insurance requirements for non-EU/EEA citizens, please visit the website of Finnish Immigration Service or contact the nearest embassy / consulate of Finland.
See you soon!
Lots of information about living and studying in Finland, the University, and practical matters is also available at the university website under the Studies section. You'll be able to navigate the information with the menu at the bottom or on the left-hand side of the page. The detailed programme structures and course descriptions are also available at the same section under the section Master's Degree Programmes.
Once again congratulations! We are looking forward to meeting you in Vaasa next autumn.
