Applying for an extension of study time

If the study time for your degree is about to end and you require additional time for completing your degree, you may apply for an extension to the duration of studies, or notify Student Services of a statutory reason for your absence. From 1 January 2025, a fee of 50 € will be charged for processing applications for extension to the duration of studies.

The completion time of studies is restricted for Master's degree students who have started their studies on 1 August 2005 or thereafter. A student can apply for an extension to the duration of studies. The student can be granted an extension to the duration of studies based on an application that includes a goal-oriented, feasible personal study plan and a statement of reasons for the extension.

According to the Government Decree (199/2024, section 4), from 1 January 2025 a fee of 50 € will be charged for processing applications for extension to the duration of studies.

Schedule in spring 2025

If your duration of studies is about to end on 31 July 2025, apply for study right extension in Sisu.
Apply for an extension based on statutory or other reasons by 16 April 2025. The statement of reasons and other attachments must also be delivered by 16 April 2025.
The decisions will be made by 31 May 2025 and students will be informed of the decision immediately after the decision has been made.
Registration for the academic autumn term 2025 must be completed by 31 July 2025. Please notice that it is not possible to register until you have been granted an extension to the duration of studies.

You can apply for an extension after 16 April 2025, even after the expiry of your study right. In this case, however, you should be prepared to pay a re-registration fee of 50 €.

Applying for extension to the maximum duration of studies

If you need additional time for completing the degree, it is applied in the following way:

If you have active study right and you have registered for attendance or non-attendance, the study right extensions are requested in Sisu. You can find the instructions here.

If your study time has already ended, please activate your user account to log in to Sisu to request an extension. If for any reason you are unable to request a study right extension in Sisu, you can apply for an extension using Application for extension of the study time -form.

The completed form and attachments are submitted to the Head of Student and Academic Affairs of the faculty in question.

Attachments to the application

If needed, provide any sensitive information or attachments via secure-mail.jyu.fi to your faculty's Head of Student and Academic Affairs.

Attachments can be for example:

Supervisor’s report on the progress of the thesis
The time that can be spent on studies and the possibility to attend instruction
The reasons for the delay in studies
A report on the use of potential earlier extensions and the reasons for delay, if needed
If life situation or other similar grounds are used as reasons for delay in studies, they must be detailed and proved with the necessary certificates. Medical certificates and other possible confidential documents must be submitted in paper format to the faculty’s head of student and academic affairs.
A receipt for the processing fee must be attached to the application in Vasara. You will receive the instructions for this in your email after you have sent
the application in Sisu.

When using online or word application, please add also:

Studies to be completed and the terms during which they will be completed
An updated and scheduled plan for the studies to be completed along with a supervisor's report on the progress of the thesis.

Principles for handling applications for extension to the duration of studies

A student can be granted an extension to the duration of studies based on an application that includes a goal-oriented, feasible personal study plan and a statement of reasons for the extension. When considering whether to grant the extension, the University takes into account the student’s possibility to graduate within a reasonable time, potential earlier extensions, and the student’s life situation.

A student who has completed no or only very little degree studies at the University cannot be granted an extension without significantly weighty grounds related to his or her life situation and without an account of how the studies will be completed. For example, employment or studies for another degree are not valid reasons. Significant positions of trust, distinguished scientific or artistic activities, and world-class sports may be grounds for slow progress in studies.

If a student’s progress in studies is not sufficient, the student’s own or a relative’s illness as well as another difficult life situation can be accepted as grounds for extension. The grounds must be proven with certified documents.

The extension includes a certain number of terms. As a rule, the maximum length of an extension is two terms; only in exceptional cases can it be four terms. If finishing the studies according to the study plan would take longer than this, the student must submit a new application for the missing terms.

Extension decisions are made by the dean of the student’s faculty. The decision is sent to the applicant by post or email.

In granting the first extension to the duration of studies, the student’s personal study plan for completing the targeted degree is reviewed. A student can be granted an extension if they, upon the expiry of the normative duration of studies, have completed a minimum of two thirds of the studies required for the degree. However, there is some flexibility regarding the maximum amount of uncompleted studies. The more credits the student is missing from the degree, the better grounds they must have in the application for extension. In evaluating the feasibility of the graduation plan, the student’s recent progress in studies is also significant. Good progress pace preceding the expiry of the normative duration of studies is regarded as an advantage to the student even when more than one third of the degree has not been completed on applying for the first extension.

If the granted extension proves to be insufficient, the student’s progress in compliance with the study plan during the previous extensions is taken into account when granting new extensions. A new extension cannot be granted if the student's progress significantly deviates from the original study plan schedule, and the student has not presented grounds related to their life situation justifying the slower progress.

If your right to study is about to expire, and you have a certificate of a statutory reason for absence (maternity, paternity or parental leave; conscription or voluntary military service), you do not need to apply for an extension. The duration of studies does not decrease during terms for which you can provide a statutory reason for absence. Please report the statutory absence to the Student Service Desk.

Faculty instructions

Please note that you should apply for an extension only if your study time is ending and you have the chance to progress your studies during the following semesters. Otherwise, you can also apply for an extension later, even after your study time has ended. The extension is intended for completing the mandatory studies missing from your degree.

Study time extension applications in the IT faculty are handled by the Head of Student and Academic Affairs Elisa Perälä, and the decision on the extension is made by the Vice Dean of Education, Lauri Kettunen. The attachments for extension applications should preferably be sent to Mrs. Perälä preferably by email.
Before applying for an extension, it is always recommended to contact student counseling. Indicate on the extension application with whom you have discussed your studies.
If your thesis is in progress, please write on your extension application who your thesis supervisor is and when you last had contact. The processing of the extension application is expedited if you attach a statement from your supervisor about the stage of your thesis.
If you have been granted an extension previously and are planning to apply for a new extension, check the details of the previous extension decision, including the required attachments or other actions. Completing studies that advance your degree is considered a factor in favor of a new extension.
You may be contacted regarding your extension application. Therefore, make sure that you have a functioning email address in Sisu. You can also add another email address to Sisu through the OMA service.
If the submission of your extension application is delayed beyond the university’s specified deadlines for spring and autumn, be prepared to pay a re-enrollment fee (50 € beginning of 2025) if the decision on the extension is made after your study time has ended.
If your study time has ended and you want to activate your study right, contact student counseling before submitting the extension application in Sisu.
After graduation, you can study for free for two years in the courses offered by the university and the open university after activating your alumni study right.

Refusal and appeal

A negative decision must be provided in writing. It must state the reasons for refusal, and it needs to include the instructions for appealing. A student who is not satisfied with the decision can appeal in writing to the Appeal Committee of the University of Jyväskylä within 14 days of receiving notice of the decision. The request for rectification is sent to the following address:

Appeal Committee / Registry Office and Archive
PO Box 35
FI-40014 University of Jyväskylä

A decision given by the Appeal Committee on the request for rectification can be appealed against to the Hämeenlinna Administrative Court within 30 days of receiving notice of the decision. A decision issued by the Administrative Court may not be appealed against (Universities Act, Section 84.3).

Archiving of the decisions

Decisions by faculties on granting extensions are saved in the archives of the faculties.

Further information

Please contact to the Head of Student and Academic Affairs of the faculty in question. You can find the contact information by searching for “Head of Student and Academic Affairs” in the university staff search.

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Applying for an extension of study time

Table of contents

Schedule in spring 2025

Applying for extension to the maximum duration of studies

Attachments to the application

Principles for handling applications for extension to the duration of studies

Applying for the first extension to the duration of studies

Applying for a new extension to the duration of studies

Extending the duration of studies based on statutory reason

Faculty instructions

Faculty of Information Techology

Refusal and appeal

Archiving of the decisions

Further information