Eligibility
Eligibility requirements
You are an eligible applicant for Master-level studies if
you have a nationally recognized first cycle degree – typically a Bachelor’s degree – from an accredited institution of higher education (if applicable in the country of the degree) from a nationally accredited degree programme
your degree corresponds to at least 180 ECTS (European credits) or to three years of full-time study
your degree gives eligibility to master-level studies in the country where it was issued
Please see How and when to apply for more details.
If you have not graduated by the end of the application period the possible admission will be conditional until you have presented the University with a finished degree certificate and transcript of records at the latest by 31 July (Finnish degrees) or 15 August 2027 (degrees completed outside Finland) (Information added 21 Oct 2026). If you do not provide the required documentation by the deadline you will lose your study place.
Language requirements
Verified proficiency in the English language is needed. Please see recognized qualifications, required levels, and exemptions.
Relevant fields of previous studies
In addition to general degree requirements, the Master’s Degree Programme in Drug Discovery and Development has programme-specific degree requirements. Previous degree based on which the applicant is seeking admission to the Master's Degree Programme in Drug Discovery and Development should be from a relevant field of study.
Drug Discovery and Development
bioengineering
biochemistry
bioinformatics
biology
biomedical sciences
chemistry
medical sciences
life sciences
pharmacology
pharmacy
The relevance of the degree is evaluated during the admission process by the admission committee.
The applicants should also be familiar with the basics of laboratory practice relevant to the programme, and with pharmacology, anatomy and physiology, histology and cell biology. In case the applicant gets admitted, they may need to conduct 0-18 ECTS supplementary studies in above mentioned areas in the beginning of the studies, depending on the admitted student’s background. This is to give the student the basic understanding on the subject and support the curriculum studies. Teaching staff evaluates the need for supplementary studies based on the student’s proficiency test at the beginning of the studies.
Since this knowledge and skills are crucial for successful completion of Master’s Degree Programme in Drug Discovery and Development degree, it is recommended that the applicant should have good prior knowledge on areas listed as supplementary studies already when applying to MDP in Drug Discovery and Development.
Admission
Admission quota
The yearly quota for the Master’s Degree programme in Drug Discovery and Development is 15 students.
Application evaluation
All eligible applications are evaluated by the admission committee of the Master’s Degree Programme in Drug Discovery and Development based on the scoring criteria listed below. During the admission process, all eligible applications are individually evaluated and scored, after which the best-scoring applicants (approximately of 40 applicants) are interviewed (using Zoom or other conference call software) by the admission committee, and conclusive decisions on selected students are made after the interview.
Applications components needed:
Motivation letter: A motivation letter indicating applicant’s motivation for the Master’s Degree Programme in Drug Discovery and Development is required as a part of the application. The motivation letter must be attached to the application form as pdf. The required format must be used. Please find the required motivation letter enclosure here. The instructions regarding the length of the motivation letter as stated in the motivation letter enclosure template are required to be followed. The applicant must write the motivation letter by themselves in English, and the use of AI or translation software is not allowed. The motivation letter may be checked for plagiarism. If any other format is used or motivation letter is too long, the application is not processed further.
Assessment of laboratory working experience: A separate Webropol e-Test form regarding programme-specific questions about relevant laboratory working experience is required to be filled in the application. A link to the Webropol e-Test will be provided in the application form in Studyinfo-portal. If the applicant has not submitted the Webropol e-Test by the application deadline, the application is not processed further. The Webropol form can only be submitted once.
Scoring based on the application
Compatibility of the background studies 0-4 p. (0 p. = insufficient, 1p = sufficient relevance, 2 p. = good relevance, 3 p. = very good relevance, 4 p. = excellent relevance)
Previous academic success 0-4 p. (0 p. = insufficient, 1 p. = sufficient, 2 p. = good, 3 p. = very good, 4 p. = excellent. (Here it should be noted, that if the applicant has already an MSc degree(s) or higher, or is already studying at the University of Turku, it is not necessarily considered to be beneficial.)
Relevant laboratory working experience 0-4 p. (0 p. = no experience, 1 p. = some experience, 2 p. = good experience, 3 p. = good proficiency, 4 p. = excellent proficiency)
Motivation letter 0-4 p. (0 p. = insufficient, 1 p. = somewhat motivated, 2 p. = sufficient motivation, 3 p = good motivation, 4 p. = excellent motivation)
The total maximum score from the application is 16 points. If the applicant scores 0 p. in any of the components, the application will not be processed further. Applicants with the highest scores are invited to the interview (maximum of 40 applicants). For the interview, the applicant will be given a pre-assignment in the interview invitation email. If the applicant is not invited to the interview, the application is not processed further.
Scoring based on the interview
Interview performance 0-4 p. (0 p. = insufficient, 1 p. = sufficient, 2 p. = good, 3 p. = very good, 4 p. = excellent)
The English skills during the interview 0-4 p. (0 p. = insufficient, 1 p. = sufficient, 2 p. = good, 3 p. = very good, 4 p. = excellent).
Pre-assignment task 0-4 p. (0 p. = insufficient, 1 p. = sufficient, 2 p. = good, 3 p. = very good, 4 p. = excellent)
Motivation shown during the interview 0-4 p. (0 p. = insufficient, 1 p. = sufficient, 2 p. = good, 3 p. = very good, 4 p. = excellent).
The total maximum score from the interview is 16 points.
Note that if the applicant scores 0 p. in any of the components, the application will not be processed further. In case of equal scores, all of the applicants with the same score will be selected.
The admission committee of the MDP in Drug Discovery and Development interviews the best-scoring applicants (approximately 40 applicants). The interviews will take place during week 10/2027. The interviews are organized remotely, and all applicants need to use a video connection.
Detailed instructions for the interview will be sent via e-mail along with the interview invitation. The applicant is responsible for the correctness of their email address filled in the application as well as for checking the junk mail in case the possible invitation email ends up there.
If the applicant cannot be reached for the possible interview with a video connection (or by phone, only used in case the internet connection is lost during the interview), the application will not be processed further.
The applicant will be given a pre-assignment for the interview along with the interview invitation. In the interview, the applicant presents the pre-assignment orally without any visual aids (PowerPoint, posters, sketch boards, etc.).
The studies in Master’s Degree Programme in Drug Discovery and Development give you a deep understanding of up-to-date methods applied to identify and validate new drug targets and to generate lead drug molecules. It also provides knowledge of technological innovations as well as methods of clinical drug research and development phases, clinical trial design, study planning and biostatistics. In addition, you will learn about drug regulatory science and pharmacovigilance.
The studies in Drug Discovery and Development consist of both theoretical and practical courses, including:
Drug discovery and development science Drug regulatory science Clinical trial design and clinical drug development Translational medicine In vitro, ex vivo and in vivo methods in experimental pharmacology Bioinformatics and computer-aided drug design Bioinnovation and bioethics
A significant part of the programme consists of an independent research project that will be presented in the Master’s thesis.
Based on previous studies, students may need to take supplementary studies in the field of pharmacology, anatomy and physiology, histology and cell biology, or laboratory skills in order to reach optimal competence level for the Master’s studies.
The Master’s Degree Programme in Drug Discovery and Development trains students from all around the world in a highly international environment. After completion of the studies, a student masters scientific writing in English and is capable of applying the gained knowledge in working life. The Master’s Degree Programme in Drug Discovery and Development gr