FAQ

Students in the EDISS programme will get a double degree from two universities. The possible university combinations are

• Åbo Akademi University (Finland) + Mälardalen University (Sweden)
• Åbo Akademi University (Finland) + University of the Balearic Islands (Spain)
• Åbo Akademi University (Finland) + University of l’Aquila (Italy)

Students start to write their thesis during the second academic year and their main supervisor will be from the second-year university.

EDISS programme graduates have the qualifications to continue doctoral studies in world-renowned universities. All EDISS partner universities have their own doctoral schools offering the possibility to get a PhD on topics introduced in the EDISS curriculum.

The EDISS programme provides insurance for students taking part in the two-year programme.

The EDISS programme has its own social media channels:

• Facebook: masterediss
• Instagram: @edissprogramme
• YouTube: Master EDISS
• LinkedIn: EDISS Master's programme 

EDISS publishes relevant information (e.g. about student life in Finland, Sweden, Italy and Spain) in the EDISS blog. In addition, information on EDISS can be found in other relevant websites, such as the websites of the participating universities.

The online application form will be available on the Studyinfo.fi portal when the application period for the second EDISS intake starts. Note that the form can only be filled in during the application period.

The document that is used to demonstrate the place of residence of the applicant must

• be issued within the 12 months prior to the submission deadline of applying,
• include the current address of the applicant,
• include the name of the applicant
• and be in English or officially translated in English.

Documents that fulfill all these above-mentioned requirements are accepted as proof of place of residence.

Examples of documents that can be used if they fulfill all the above-mentioned requirements:

• A residence certificate issued in accordance with the candidate's municipality's normal registration rules
• A certificate from the candidate's place of work, study or training institution issued by the employer in question.
• A certificate issued by the police office in your city
• Passport
• Driver's license
• A renting contract
• A phone/electricity bill

Applicants can also decide to use the EDISS certificate of residence template for getting this information.

If your passport is issued more than 12 months prior the submission deadline of applying, it will not be accepted as proof of your place of residence. Please upload another document in the online application form that fulfills the requirements. You can for instance use the EDISS certificate of residence template, or upload a certificate from your place of study, work or training institution issued by the employer in question.

The language test results for the TOEFL iBT and IELTS Academic are usually valid for two years from the date of completion (you can check this with the test organizer). When applying for EDISS, the test results must be valid at least 14 days after the application period ends. If your test score has expired or will expire during the application period or during the 14 days after the application period, you will have to take the test again.

Yes, you will need to provide a valid English-language test score with your application since Pakistan is not one of the countries that fulfills the exception criteria.

An exchange period is not enough to demonstrate your language skills. You must have completed your whole Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree or secondary school education in English and received a diploma for it in one of the listed countries to be waived the language skills requirement.

If you have not graduated by the time of the application period, we ask you to submit an official statement (with a signature and preferably an official university letter head/stamp) from your higher education institution where the following information is stated:

• the course units that are yet to be finished
• your expected graduation date
• any other relevant information concerning your application

This statement replaces your degree certificate during the application process.
You will also need to upload your transcript of records in the online application form at the application stage.

Please note that if you are admitted to the programme, your admission will be conditional until you have provided the EDISS programme office your final official academic documents (+their translations). The deadline for providing the final documents is always the last Friday in July at 3:00 pm (Helsinki time).

The academic year at Åbo Akademi University always starts 1 August. All admitted students must have graduated prior the start of the academic year in order to be eligible to start their studies in the EDISS programme. The academic documents (degree certificate, transcript) stating the graduation date must have arrived to the EDISS programme office by the latest on the last Friday in July at 15:00 (Helsinki time), i.e. before the start of the new academic year. Thus, if you graduate in September 2024, you are unfortunately not eligible to apply for the second EDISS intake (2024-2026).

An official translation (in English) must be one of the following:

• issued by the awarding institution
• an officially certified copy of a translation issued by the awarding institution
• translated by an official translator
• an officially certified copy of a translation made by an official translator

Each page of an official translation must bear the translator's stamp and/or signature. Official translations must be exact translations of the original documents. An applicant's own translations are not accepted.

Before submitting your application, remember to read both the general requirements for the enclosures as well as the country-specific requirements (if applicable).

Applicants for the EDISS programme can already at the application stage upload attested documents according to the country-specific requirements to the online application form (recommended). However, please note that some country-specific requirements only concern admitted students, i.e. applicants should not ask their universities to send any documents to the EDISS programme office by regular mail at the application stage.

Please read both the general admission requirements and the country-specific requirements. If the country where you have received your academic degree from is not listed on the page for country-specific requirements, you have no country-specific requirements to follow.

The EDISS programme only accepts academic recommendation letters. The recommendation letters must contain a signature, and preferably  an official university letter head and a university stamp. Applicants should submit the recommendation letters themselves in the online application form. Applicants are also asked  in the online application form to provide the contact information of the professors/lecturers that recommend them.

The admission requirements are listed on the EDISS website. Applicants will need to submit a motivation video instead of a letter of motivation. The online application form will also have a few open questions on your motivation. The maximum number of characters for these answers is indicated in the application form.

Students that are citizens of partner countries and have not carried out their main activity (studies, training or work) for more than a total of 12 months over the last five years in any programme country are considered as partner country applicants. The five-year reference period for this 12- months rule is calculated backwards as from the submission deadline (defined by the Consortia) of applying for an EMJMD student scholarship. Students that are citizens of partner countries and who have carried out their main activities for more than a total of 12 months over the last five years in any programme country are considered as programme country students. This means, that if you have stayed in the UK for 12 months and 2 days for work, study or training purpose, you will be considered as a programme country applicant. You will still be able to apply for an Erasmus Mundus Scholarship, but as a programme country applicant.

For more information on the scholarships is available on the website.

Students of all nationalities can apply for the scholarships. The number of expected scholarships as well as an explanation on which countries are considered programme/partner countries is listed on the EDISS website.  In addition to the expected number of Erasmus Mundus scholarships, EDISS offers 7 additional scholarships for students from targeted partner countries. These targeted countries are given in the table.