Admission criteria for Circular Economy

Read more about the programme at Master's programme in Circular Economy.

• Bachelor of Science in Technology Tekniikan kandidaatti 
  Completed in a University
• Bachelor's Degree in a field other than Technology  
  Completed in a University 
   

Note: Degree-related points in the academic evaluation only given for degrees in the field of Technology, Natural Sciences, Business Administration or Social Sciences.

Applicants who have completed or are completing a Master's Degree in Environmental Technology (ympäristötekniikan diplomi-insinööri) before starting the LUT studies are not eligible to apply. 

Applicants who have completed a Master's Degree in a University in a field other than Environmental Technology are eligible to apply but only when applying with the Bachelor's Degree. 

Applying with a Master's Degree in a field other than Environmental Technology completed in a University is accepted only if the Master's Degree having been completed before the two-tier degree system when there were no separate Bachelor's Degrees awarded. 

• Bachelor of Engineering Insinööri (AMK)
  Completed in a University of Applied Sciences
• Bachelor's Degree in a field other than Engineering   
  Completed in a University of Applied Sciences
   

Note: Degree-related points in the academic evaluation only given for degrees in the field of Engineering, Business Administration or Social Sciences.

Applicants who have completed or are completing a Master's Degree in Environmental Technology in a university (ympäristötekniikan diplomi-insinööri) before starting the LUT studies are not eligible to apply. 

Applicants who have completed a Master's Degree in a University of Applied Sciences are eligible to apply but only when applying with the Bachelor's Degree. 

Applicants who have completed a Master's Degree in a University of Applied Sciences with no prior Bachelor's Degree while the prior degree having been completed on a higher secondary or secondary level are not eligible to apply. 

• Bachelor of Science in Technology 
  Completed in a University - All countries
   
• Bachelor of Science in Natural Sciences 
  Completed in a University - All countries
   
• Bachelor of Science in Business Administration 
  Completed in a University - All countries
   
• Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences 
  Completed in a University - All countries

Applicants who have completed a Master's Degree in a University are eligible to apply but only when applying with the Bachelor's Degree. 

Applying with a Master's Degree completed in a University is accepted only if the Master's Degree having been completed before the two-tier degree system when there were no separate Bachelor's Degrees awarded. 

Applicants who have completed or are completing a Master's Degree in Environmental Technology in a university in Finland (ympäristötekniikan diplomi-insinööri) before starting the LUT studies are not eligible to apply. 

Applying with a combination of a 2-year Bachelor's + 2-year Master's Degree completed in certain countries is accepted when the combination of these two degrees is equivalent only to a Finnish Bachelor's Degree. 

• Bachelor of Engineering  
  Completed in a University of Applied Sciences - EU/EEA countries and Switzerland

Applicants who have completed a Master's Degree in a University of Applied Sciences are eligible to apply but only when applying with the Bachelor's Degree. 

Applicants who have completed or are completing a Master's Degree in Environmental Technology in a university in Finland (ympäristötekniikan diplomi-insinööri) before starting the LUT studies are not eligible to apply. 

Applicants who have completed a Master's Degree in a University of Applied Sciences with no Bachelor's Degree while the prior degree to the Master's having been completed on a higher secondary or secondary level are not eligible to apply. 

Requirements for the Bachelor's Degree

• An equivalent degree to a corresponding Finnish Bachelor's Degree by the number of academic years and ECTS credits.
• Degree providing you with eligibility to apply to university level Master's studies in the country where the degree was awarded in.

Requirements for the degree-awarding university

The university having awarded you the degree you are applying with must be

• An official and recognized part of the national education system
• Listed on the World Higher Education Database WHED by International Association of Universities

There is no minimum number of ECTS credits for programme-related courses required.

In the academic evaluation however, degree-related points are only given for degrees completed in the field of Technology, Natural Sciences, Business Administration or Social Sciences.

Furthermore, higher degree-related points are given if having completed a degree in one of the mentioned fields of study with a major related to sustainability or environmental issues.

The arithmetic GPA will be first checked and verified by LUT University. In case the original grading scale not being on a scale of 1.00 - 5.00, the arithmetic GPA will be converted by LUT University on this scale during the evaluation process. Finally, the arithmetic GPA with two decimals will be evaluated.

The grading scale must include at least two different grades for passing that together form a clear range of passing grades so that an arithmetic GPA can be calculated.

If the completed courses having been evaluated by using verbal or letter-based grades, these grades will be converted on a numerical scale of 1.00-5.00 by using linear conversion.

The arithmetic GPA evaluated in the LUT selection process is

• an arithmetic average of grades for all the individual courses and for the grade for the Final Thesis included in the degree you have to apply with 
  • that have been completed at the time of applying
  • that are listed on an official Transcript of Records

What is excluded from the arithmetic GPA?

• Courses evaluated with 'pass' or 'fail' 
• Courses evaluated with a grade corresponding to a failed grade
• Courses without a related study unit such as ECTS credit, credit, credit hour etc. 
• Combined modules including only a single grade for all the courses included in the module unless the individual courses having been evaluated separately
• Courses not included in the degree you have to apply with
• Courses not included in the degree you have to apply with that have been credited or compensated unless the degree-awarding university having evaluated them on a numerical, verbal or on a letter-based grading scale

You must prove your proficiency in English with one of the following:

• one of the accepted language tests
• a degree in higher education completed in English in an EU/EEA country or in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Switzerland, United Kingdom or the United States of America
• a degree in higher education completed in Finnish or in Swedish in Finland

More information: How to prove your proficiency in English

Before starting your application process, have a look at the basics on applying at

• Applying to Master's Programmes through Regular Admission
  
  >> Application process

where all the important information regarding to applying in general is given.

When filling in your application form

While filling in your application form, you must indicate the cumulative number of original study units completed for the Bachelor's Degree you are applying with. 

If applying with an unfinished Bachelor's Degree, you must indicate the cumulative number of original study units expected to be completed for being able to graduate. 

If having completed a combination of degrees that together correspond to a Bachelor's Degree, you must indicate the cumulative number of original study units for all the related degrees.

Requirements for the Transcript of Records 

The Transcript of Records for the Bachelor's Degree you are applying with must include the cumulative number of original study units (credits, credit hours etc.).

If the cumulative original study units not included on the Transcript of Records, an official statement on them issued in English by the related university must be uploaded. You may also upload an official brochure for the programme issued by the university instead of the official statement if the cumulative original study units indicated in the brochure. 

What is an unfinished Bachelor's Degree?

• You have not yet graduated = you have not been awarded your Degree Certificate or the Provisional Degree Certificate

Having completed all your studies does not mean that you have graduated unless having been awarded the Degree Certificate or the Provisional Degree Certificate.

If not being able to upload your Degree Certificate or the Provisional Degree Certificate by the supplementary deadline, you must identify your status on the application form as "not yet graduated".

When applying

• Indicate the estimated date of graduation on your Application Form
  • No official statement for the date required from the home university
• Upload your latest Transcript of Records to your Online Application Form
  • plus the official translation (when required)
  • The Transcript of Records must include the name of the degree to be awarded.
    • If not included, an additional statement issued by the awarding university about the name of the degree must be uploaded to your Online Application Form.

If admitted

If admitted, you must be able to

• Graduate by 31 August 2025
• Provide us with the following documents by 31 August 2025 at 15:00 (UTC+3)
  • Scan for your original Degree Certificate
  • Scan for your original Transcript of Records
• Provide us with the following documents by 5 September 2025 at 15:00 (UTC+3)
  • Scans for the official translations in English for both the documents (when applicable)
  • Official translations required, if the original documents are not issued in English, Finnish or Swedish.

The documents must be provided according to the given instructions despite of the country the degree was awarded in.

If not being able to meet with both the requirements by the given deadlines, your right to study in the programme will automatically be cancelled and you will lose your place without a possibility to claim it back.

Only complete applications will be forwarded for academic evaluation done by the Admissions Committee for the programme. 

The Admissions Committee first checks the academic eligibility regarding to previous programme-related studies and minimum arithmetic GPA for the degree the applicant must apply with. The Committee reserves a right to decide whether the degree and the studies completed by the applicant qualify him/her to apply to the programme.

If the application meets with the academic minimum requirements it will be forwarded to academic evaluation which is completed in two different stages.

Stage 1: Educational background

The applicant's educational background will be evaluated according to the elements included in the evaluation and based on the application documents.

Stage 2: Interview

A limited number of applicants will be invited to an interview and the final selection will be completed among the interviewed applicants based on

• Total points for stages 1 and 2

Only a limited number of applicants will be admitted.

Previous studies, max. 10 points
 

10 points for the following degrees
with a major related to sustainability or environmental issues
 

• Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Technology, Natural Sciences, Business Administration or Social Sciences
  Degree completed in a university - All countries.
• Bachelor's or Master's Degree in the field of Engineering
  Degree completed in a University of Applied Sciences - EU/EEA countries and Switzerland.
• Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Business Administration or Social Sciences
  Degrees completed in a Finnish University of Applied Sciences.
  Holders of a Finnish degree diplomi-insinööri, ympäristötekniikka are not eligible to apply.

6 points for the following degrees
 

• Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Technology, Natural Sciences, Business Administration or Social Sciences
  Degree completed in a university - All countries.
• Bachelor's or Master's Degree in the field of Engineering
  Degree completed in a University of Applied Sciences - EU/EEA countries and Switzerland.
• Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Business Administration or Social Sciences
  Degrees completed in a Finnish University of Applied Sciences.
  Holders of a Finnish degree diplomi-insinööri, ympäristötekniikka are not eligible to apply.
   

Even if having completed a Master's Degree, you must apply with your Bachelor's Degree.

You must upload the educational documents for a possible Master's Degree to prove of having completed the required studies.

Academic Success, max. 5 points

Arithmetic GPA for the degree you must apply with:

• 2.50 - 3.49 = 1 point
• 3.50 - 4.49 = 3 points
• 4.50 - 5.00 = 5 points

For further information, please see Arithmetic GPA evaluated in the process under Admission Criteria.

On the second stage of the admissions process, a limited number of applicants are invited to an interview in the order of the highest total points on stage 1.

The following elements will be evaluated:

• Motivation
• Suitability for the programme
• Possibilities for successfully completing your studies in two years
• Language skills in English regarding fluent communication and professional terminology

To possibly get admitted, you must get a minimum of 7/10 points for the interview.

Invitations for the interviews have been emailed for the ones invited.