Eligibility
Selection methods
Eligibility requirements
You can apply to the Master’s Programme in Food Sciences if you meet the following criteria:
You have completed a first-cycle (bachelor’s) degree at a higher education institution in Finland or abroad, or will do so by the deadline.
You have sufficient skills in Finnish, Swedish or English.
You have completed a sufficient amount of studies applicable to the master’s programme.
Admission
If you do not meet these criteria, you cannot apply through this application procedure.
1. You have completed a higher education degree providing eligibility for master’s studies
To apply in master's admissions, you must have completed, or will complete by the deadline, a higher education degree that provides eligibility for master's studies.
If the degree providing eligibility has been completed in Finland, the deadline is 31 July 2027.
If the degree providing eligibility has been completed outside Finland, the deadline is 31 August 2027.
You can apply even if your degree will not be completed during the application period. However, you must have completed a sufficient amount of studies applicable to the master’s programme by the application deadline. Studies completed after the application deadline will not be taken into account in the assessment of your application.
2. Sufficient skills in Finnish, Swedish or English
You must demonstrate sufficient skills in Finnish, Swedish or English at the application stage. For the methods of demonstrating your language skills, please see the University website.
3. Applicable studies
You can be admitted to the Master's Programme in Food Sciences if you have completed or will complete by the application deadline:
A sufficient amount of studies applicable to the field of the Master’s Programme in Food Sciences; the content and level of the studies must be applicable and appropriate to the master's programme, providing sufficient knowledge and skills for master’s studies.
If you currently hold a second-cycle degree in the same field, i.e., the field of this master’s programme, or in a neighbouring field of study, your application will be considered only on compelling grounds and if the content of the prospective degree differs sufficiently from your previous degree.
If you are currently pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in the University of Helsinki, your application will not be considered in this application procedure if you apply to a master’s programme to which you already have been granted a study right (direct master’s programme option) or to a master's programme to which you can get a study right via the separate registration process. Read more about the programme options already available to you from the Instructions for Students. For more information about your programme options in the faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, contact the Viikki Student Services.
The applicability and sufficient scope of studies will be assessed after you submit your application. The University of Helsinki does not make preliminary assessments of the applicability of studies.
Selecting the language of the degree
In the Master’s Programme in Food Sciences, you can select Finnish, Swedish or English as the language of your degree. You will select the language on the application form. This selection is binding, and you must demonstrate your skills in the selected language.
In multilingual master’s programmes, teaching is provided mostly in English, but you can answer examination questions, complete any written coursework and write your master’s thesis in the language of your degree.
The Master’s Programme in Food Sciences can admit 30 new students, of whom
16 students can be admitted to complete a degree in English and
14 students to complete a degree in Finnish or Swedish.
If one of these two language quotas is not met, i.e., some of the places included in either quota remain available, the remaining places can be offered to those who applied within the other language group. The places are offered to applicants in a ranking order based on their score.
The Master's Programme in Food Sciences at the University of Helsinki trains experts who can shape what people eat in the future. You explore the entire food production chain — from raw materials and processing technologies to consumer safety and sustainability — and build hands-on laboratory and research skills alongside a deep scientific understanding of food composition, quality and legislation.