Development, Education and International Cooperation, Master of Social Sciences or Master of Arts (Education) (2 yrs), autumn 2026

Admissions procedure

Online application, required attachments, interview, and assignment

The application process is divided into two parts: 1) submitting the application and all required attachments, and 2) participating in an online interview and completing a written assignment (if applicable).

Please note that if you use generative artificial intelligence (AI) to aid your application, you must indicate which model (e.g., ChatGPT) you have used and in what way through proper citations. Citations are not required if you use AI solely for ideation, proofreading, stylisation or similar purposes.

Please also note that AI-generated motivation letters and research-interest papers tend to be quite general, and they are very similar to each other in structure and content. To get the highest scores in assessment, specificity, realistic scope, and personal style are required.

Phase 1: Application and required attachments

First, you must submit your application on Studyinfo along with the necessary attachments by the given deadlines. If your application is deemed eligible, it will be evaluated according to the criteria listed below. Ineligible applications will not be processed further after they have been found not to meet the eligibility criteria/documentary requirements.

An applicant must score a minimum of two points for their research interests to have the suitability of their previous degree and motivation letter evaluated. Otherwise, the rest of the application will not be evaluated.

In evaluation of the description of the research interest the criteria include:

1) clarity and realistic focus of the title and articulation of the research interests;
2) quality of the argumentation for theoretical and/or practical significance of the area of interest in relation to the objectives of the programme;
3) quality of problematisation embedded in existing literature using appropriate references; and
4) specificity of the idea concerning research methods and skills that will need to be developed to conduct the study in the future.

The maximum length of the document is 1,000 words, excluding the list of references, and the evaluation will be based on what is said under the first 1,000 words. A list of references is required at the end of the research interest paper.

In evaluation of the suitability of previous degrees, higher points (4–5) will be given for a degree in social, political, and educational sciences depending on their relevance to the programme objectives. Fewer (1–3) points will be given for degrees in fields such as humanities (for example languages), other behavioural sciences (for example psychology), tourism and marketing, or equivalent) depending on their relevance to the programme objectives. Degrees in natural sciences, engineering, or equivalent, without any social science or educational sciences content demonstrated in the transcript of records, will score 0 points.

In evaluation of the motivation (based on the motivation letter) the criteria include: 1) specificity of description of the reasons for applying to this particular programme in relation to applicant’s previous experiences and future prospects; and 2) specificity of explication of the connection between applicant’s motivation and the content and competencies the programme provides.

Applicants need to receive at least 8 points in Phase 1 to be considered for Phase 2.

Phase 2: Interview and assignment

After Phase 1, 50 highest-scoring applicants are invited to an online interview. An academic article and assigned questions to be discussed during the interview will be attached to the interview invitation. If two or more applicants have equal points from Phase 1, the order will be determined as follows: 1) Description of research interest, 2) Motivation, 3) Suitability of the previous degree. If there is still no difference, the order will be raffled.

You are responsible for providing yourself with the space, time, and equipment to enableparticipation in the online interview. More detailed instructions will be sent with the interview invitation.

The interview and the assignment will be evaluated according to the following criteria.

Knowledge of the field of study is evaluated based on the following criteria: 1) understanding of the field and its central concept of development; 2) articulation of how the field connects with previous studies and experiences of the applicant; and 3) understanding of the career opportunities in the field.

Interest and motivation are evaluated based on the following criteria: 1) articulation of the motivation to study in the programme; 2) familiarity with and interest in the contents of the programme; and 3) articulation of applicant’s own future prospects after accomplishment of the degree.

Communication and interaction are evaluated by the fluency of spoken English and clarity of argumentation demonstrated in the interview.

Assignment is evaluated based on the part of the interview that discusses the assigned article and the related questions attached to the interview invitation.  The assignment is evaluated based on the following criteria: 1) demonstrated understanding of the contents of the assigned article; 2) quality of independent and critical reflection of the contents of assigned article.

Applicants need to receive at least 10 points in Phase 2 to be considered for admission to the programme.

Final selection

Your scores from Phases 1 and 2 are added together to form your final admission score. Applicants will be ranked according to their admission scores, and the highest-scoring applicants, in accordance with the number of available study seats, will be admitted. If two or more applicants are tied for the last study place, all of them will be accepted. The faculty may also, at their discretion, admit more applicants than there are study places to ensure there will be enough students to start their studies in the programme. There are no arrangements for clearing, i.e., unaccepted study seats will not be reallocated.

All applicants will be notified of the results via email by the date given on the University’s website. If your application was rejected, you will be informed of the policy and the deadline for requesting rectification of the admission decision.