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: https://www.facebook.com/masterediss
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edissprogramme
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3zoN5eksh2v4B1gdQfL3bw

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

The EDISS online application form is available on the Studyinfo.fi portal Note that the form can only be filled in during the application period.

The place of residence should be verified on the basis of the provision of the documents listed on the PRADO website. The place of residence can be verified for example by:

• a residence certificate issued in accordance with the candidate's municipality normal registration rules
• a certificate from the candidate's place of work, study or training issued by the employer or institution in question

In absence of such documents, alternatives such as renting contracts, phone and electricity bills can be provided.

The submitted document used to prove the place of residence must have been issued within the 12 months prior to the submission deadline of applying and it must include the current address of the applicant.

Please note that you have to provide an official English translation of the document that you use for verifying the place of residence, in case the information is not in English on the document.

You could also upload a recent certificate indicating your place of residence from your place of work, study or training issued by your employer or institution.

The language test results for the TOEFL iBT and IELTS Academic are valid for two years from the date of completion. When applying for EDISS, the test results must be valid 14 days after the application period. 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 listed on the website.

An exchange period is not enough to demonstrate your language skills. You must have completed your whole Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree 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 a written statement in the application form as well as your current transcript of records. The statement should include the following information:

• list of 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. At the application stage, stamped statements from your university officials are not required.

You must, however, send the officially certified copies of your degree certificate and final transcript of records (+ their translations) as soon as you graduate by email (according to the country specific requirements, if applicable). The documents must arrive to the EDISS programme office by the latest on July 30th at 15:00 Finnish time.

• Email address: ediss@abo.fi
• Subject of the email: use the format: application ID lastname missing certificates

If you graduate in September, 2021, then you are unfortunately not eligible to apply for the first intake of EDISS (starting in August 2021). The academic year starts in August and you have to graduate before that, i.e. we need to get the proof that you graduated before the end of July, 2021.

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.

A diploma supplement, if applicable, gives additional information on your degree and is included in your degree certificate. When you provide your degree certificate, remember to  scan all the document pages containing any text, serial numbers, stamps, etc, including the diploma supplement, if applicable.

Remember to check both the general requirements for the enclosures and the country-specific requirements and to follow the country-specific requirements first and foremost, before the general requirements. The country-specific requirements determine how the required documents must be provided. For the first intake (academic years 2021-2023), the enclosures can be updated until the 22^nd January 2021 at 15:00 (Finnish time) and they should follow the country-specific requirements. Note that some country-specific requirements concern admitted students only, e.g. if the awarding institution has to send the transcript of records by mail to the EDISS admission office. In this case, the documents must arrive to the EDISS programme office by the latest of July 30th, 2021.

Students admitted on condition, i.e. students that have not yet graduated, are required to submit the actual degree certificate and transcript (+ their translations) by email the latest on the July 30th, at 15:00 (Finnish time).

All admitted students must present hard copies of their degree certificates when arriving in Turku, Finland, in August 2021.

We accept only academic recommendation letters. The recommendation letters must contain a signature, and preferably  an official university letter head and a university stamp. In the application form you must also provide the contact information for the persons that recommend you. The evaluation scale for this criterion is 0-5 points.

As a part of the admission requirements, in the online application form you will be required to answer questions regarding your motivation and previous experiences that are relevant for the EDISS programme. The answers need to follow a given length (the max. number of characters is indicated in the form). In addition, you are required to provide a video where you answer the following question: "What is your main motivation to apply for the EDISS programme and why should you be chosen to the programme?" The length of the video answer is 2 min +/- 30 seconds. The video is the only attachment that should not follow the requirement of a pdf format. We accept the most common video formats such as mp4, mpeg, ogg, mov.

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.

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.

For this 2021 student intake, the expected number of available Erasmus Mundus scholarship is 2 scholarships for programme country students and 13 scholarships for partner country students. Explanation on what countries are considered programme countries and what are considered partner countries is given here on the top of the page. In addition, EDISS offers 7 additional scholarships for students from targeted partner countries. These targeted countries are given in the table.