Admission criteria for Digital Social Science

Read more about the programme at Master's programme in Digital Social Science.

⚠️ You can only apply with a completed bachelor’s degree. The degree must be awarded before you submit your application.

If your bachelor’s degree is still in progress and you have not yet graduated, you are not eligible to apply. Applications submitted with an unfinished degree will not be evaluated.
 

✅ Bachelor in Social Sciences
Completed at a university

The following are considered as studies in the field of social sciences: 

• demography, area and development studies, economic and social history, education, computational linguistics, politics and international studies, psychology, science and technology studies, social anthropology, social policy, social work, social statistics, methods and computing, socio-legal studies, sociology, or equivalent

✅ Bachelor of Science in Economics and Business Administration
Completed at a university

✅ Bachelor in Liberal Arts
Completed at a university
 

✅ Bachelor's degree equivalent to the field of Social Sciences
Completed at a university of applied sciences (UAS)
 

✅ Bachelor of Business Administration
Completed at a university of applied sciences (UAS)

You must apply with your bachelor's degree

• You must apply based on your bachelor’s degree, even if you have already completed a master’s degree.
• A master’s degree can be accepted as the basis for application only if it was completed before the introduction of the two-tier degree system, when separate bachelor’s degrees were not awarded.
• A missing bachelor’s degree cannot be compensated with a combination of a master’s-level UAS degree and a prior secondary or lower-level qualification.
   

Master’s degrees that make you ineligible

• Master in Social Sciences 
  Completed or expected to be completed at a Finnish university before starting your studies at LUT University
   

Master’s degrees that do not affect your eligibility

• Master in Social Sciences
  Completed at a university outside Finland
• Master’s degree in a field other than Social Sciences 
  Completed at a university worldwide
• Master’s degree in any field 
  Completed at a university of applied sciences (UAS)

Final decision on eligibility

The programme’s admissions committee reserves the right to assess whether an applicant’s prior degree and completed studies meet the eligibility requirements.

⚠️ You can only apply with a completed bachelor’s degree. The degree must be awarded before you submit your application.

If your bachelor’s degree is still in progress and you have not yet graduated, you are not eligible to apply. Applications submitted with an unfinished degree will not be evaluated.

✅ Bachelor in Social Sciences
Completed at a university worldwide

The following are considered as studies in the field of social sciences: 

• demography, area and development studies, economic and social history, education, computational linguistics, politics and international studies, psychology, science and technology studies, social anthropology, social policy, social work, social statistics, methods and computing, socio-legal studies, sociology, or equivalent

✅ Bachelor of Science in Economics and Business Administration
Completed at a university worldwide

✅ Bachelor in Liberal Arts
Completed at a university worldwide
 

✅ Bachelor's degree equivalent to the field of Social Sciences
Completed at a university of applied sciences (UAS) in EU/EEA countries or Switzerland
 

✅ Bachelor of Business Administration
Completed at a university of applied sciences (UAS) in EU/EEA countries or Switzerland

You must apply with your bachelor's degree

• You must apply based on your bachelor’s degree, even if you have already completed a master’s degree.
• A master’s degree can be accepted as the basis for application only if it was completed before the introduction of the two-tier degree system, when separate bachelor’s degrees were not awarded.
• A missing bachelor’s degree cannot be compensated with a combination of a master’s-level UAS degree and a prior secondary or lower-level qualification.
    

Master’s degrees that make you ineligible

• Master in Social Sciences 
  Completed or expected to be completed at a Finnish university before starting your studies at LUT University
   

Master’s degrees that do not affect your eligibility

• Master in Social Sciences
  Completed at a university outside Finland
• Master’s degree in a field other than Social Sciences 
  Completed at a university worldwide
• Master’s degree in any field 
  Completed at a university of applied sciences (UAS)

General requirements for a bachelor’s degree

• The degree must be comparable to a corresponding Finnish bachelor’s degree in terms of duration (academic years) and ECTS credits.
• The degree must qualify the applicant to apply for master’s-level studies in the country where the degree was awarded. 

Requirements for the degree-awarding institution

• The institution must be recognised by the national education system of the country where it operates.
• The institution must be listed in the World Higher Education Database (WHED) of the International Association of Universities.
   

Final decision on eligibility

The programme’s admissions committee reserves the right to assess whether an applicant’s prior degree and completed studies meet the eligibility requirements.

To be eligible to apply to the programme, you must have completed:

• at least 70 ECTS credits of studies in the fields of social sciences or business administration, for example: 
  • demography, area and development studies, economic and social history, education, computational linguistics, politics and international studies, psychology, science and technology studies, social anthropology, social policy, social work, social statistics, methods and computing, socio-legal studies, sociology, or equivalent
     
• The required 70 ECTS credits of programme-specific studies must include at least 20 ECTS credits of methodological studies.
  • Methodological studies must include both qualitative and quantitative methods.
  • A bachelor’s thesis is not considered part of methodological studies.

📌 The required studies must be completed before submitting the application.

✅ The admissions committee evaluates them during the academic assessment.

How to present your studies

• List your studies on the application form in ECTS credits.
• If the original study units on your transcript of records are not in ECTS credits, you must convert them according to the formulas provided by LUT University. 
• You must follow the instructions in the section of “Listing and converting studies to ECTS credits“.

List the studies in ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) credits on the application form. 

📌 You must follow the instructions below. 

📌 Your transcript must show original study units per course. If missing, see "Study units and grades on the transcript of records" in the Documents section.

⚠️ Do not use your own conversion formulas or estimate ECTS credits based on course workload - only the conversion methods defined below are accepted.

Option 1. The transcript shows your courses in ECTS credits

Your list of programme-related courses must include: 

• English course title (from your English transcript)
• number of ECTS credits per course
• total number of ECTS credits for the listed courses
   

Option 2. The transcript shows your courses in study units other than ECTS credits (e.g. credits, credit units, credit hours, etc.)  

You must convert the original study units to ECTS credits using the following formula(s). If your bachelor’s degree is a combination of two degrees (e.g. 2-year bachelor + 2-year master), calculate the conversion using the bachelor-level formula.

• Bachelor-level studies: 
  • Divide 180 ECTS credits by the total number of study units required for the completed bachelor’s degree. 
    At LUT University, a bachelor’s degree corresponds to 180 ECTS credits.
    
    Example: 180/162=1,11
     
• Master-level studies:
  • Always use the fixed conversion factor of 1,5.

Your list of programme-related courses must include:

• English course title (from your English transcript)
• original study units per course
• conversion factor used
• number of ECTS credits per course
• total number of original study units for the listed courses
• total number of ECTS credits for the listed courses

Example of bachelor-level studies:

• Course Aaa 3 study units * 1,11= 3,33 ECTS cr
• Course Bbb 6 study units * 1,11 = 6,66 ECTS cr
• etc.
• Total 68 study units * 1,11 = 74,80 ECTS cr

Example of master-level studies:

• Course Ccc 3 study units * 1,5 = 4,5 ECTS cr
• Course Ddd 6 study units * 1,5 = 9 ECTS cr
• etc.
• Total 15 study units * 1,5 = 22,5 ECTS cr

To be eligible to apply to the programme, the arithmetic GPA of the degree you are applying with must be:

• at least 3.00 on a scale of 1.00–5.00

What is included in the arithmetic GPA?

The arithmetic GPA is calculated based on:

• grades for all individual courses
• the final thesis grade

These must:

• be part of the degree you are applying with
• be completed by the time of application
• be listed on an official transcript of records
   

What is excluded from the arithmetic GPA?

The following are not included:

• courses graded as pass/fail
• courses with a failing grade
• courses without credits (e.g. ECTS credits or equivalent)
• combined modules with a single overall grade, unless individual course grades are available
• courses not included in the degree used for application
• transferred or compensated courses not originally graded, unless the awarding institution has assigned them a numerical, verbal, or letter grade
   

Linear conversion (if applicable)

The arithmetic GPA will be verified by LUT University.

• How to prove your English proficiency

⚠️ You can only apply with a completed bachelor’s degree. The degree must be awarded before you submit your application.

If your bachelor’s degree is still in progress and you have not yet graduated, you are not eligible to apply. Applications submitted with an unfinished degree will not be evaluated.

In addition to the national One Study Right Rule, LUT University also restricts the re-granting of the right to study in the same master’s programme.

An applicant cannot be granted the right to study in the same programme again if:

• they have already graduated from the programme
• they have already used their allotted study time for the programme

However, an applicant may be readmitted to the same programme if they have voluntarily relinquished their previous right to study.

📌Upload a scanned copy of the original for each document on your application form. 

Bachelor's Degree Certificate  

• + official translation, if the original is not in Finnish, Swedish or English

📌 If you have not yet graduated, there is no need to upload a certificate of ongoing studies. 

Bachelor's Transcript of Records 

• + official translation, if the original is not in Finnish, Swedish or English
   

Passport or ID card 

• International passport or ID card showing your nationality
   

Residence permit granted in Finland (when applicable)

• Finnish residence permit card 
   

If your Bachelor's degree is a combination of two different degrees

• Upload one combined scan or document including both original Transcripts of Records. 
• Upload one combined scan or document including both original Degree Certificate
• + official translations, if the originals are not in Finnish, Swedish or English

The following elements must be included on the Transcript of Records for the Bachelor’s degree used for application, as they are essential for the academic evaluation:

What to do if study units are missing from your transcript of records

📌 If one or both of these required elements are missing, you must upload an additional official statement from the university in English explaining the missing information. 

You may also provide the original study units for each course by uploading an official programme brochure, if this information is included in the brochure.

If you have completed a combination of degrees that together correspond to a Bachelor’s degree, all Transcripts of Records must include these required elements.

All additional documents must be combined and uploaded to the same section as the Transcript of Records.

⚠️ Missing required information will result in your application being considered incomplete. 

Once the application has been verified as complete, with all required documents accepted and the English proficiency confirmed, it will be forwarded for academic evaluation.

Applications are evaluated in two admission groups based on the country where the applicant’s Bachelor’s degree was completed:

1. Bachelor’s degree completed in Finland
2. Bachelor’s degree completed outside Finland

Applications will be processed as long as places remain available in the programme.

Once all places have been filled, no further applications will be accepted, even if the rolling admission period is still open.

The admissions committee begins the evaluation by assessing whether the applicant meets the minimum academic requirements.

Applicants must meet the following criteria:

• eligible degree and field of study
• minimum arithmetic GPA
• required background studies

Applicants who meet these requirements will be admitted to the programme. There is no interview.

Applicants who have an eligible degree and field of study but meet only one of the requirements of the minimum arithmetic GPA or required background studies will be invited to an interview, which forms the second stage of the evaluation process.

• Applicants who do not meet either of the above-mentioned requirements, will not be invited to an interview and cannot be admitted.

Interview assesses:

• the applicant’s personal motivation in relation to the intended learning outcomes of the programme
  Maximum 1 point
• the applicant’s previous educational background and the knowledge and skills it provides to achieve the intended learning outcomes of the programme
  Maximum 1 point
• the applicant’s work experience relevant to the field of the programme and the skills it provides to achieve the intended learning outcomes
  Maximum 1 point

Applicants who meet all academic requirements are admitted to the programme, provided that places remain available in the programme.

Applicants who have an eligible degree and field of study but meet only one of the requirements of the minimum arithmetic GPA or required background studies:

• The evaluation includes an interview.
• The applicant is admitted to the programme if they receive at least 2 out of 3 points in the interview, provided that places remain available in the programme.

Once all places have been filled, no further applications will be accepted, even if the rolling admission period is still open.