Learn how to become a member of our university community! Here you find every information you may need to start your application—from eligibility and deadlines to step‑by‑step instructions for admission. Choose the programme and the application that fits you best and begin your journey with us.
You can apply to us by filling in an application online at www.studyinfo.fi. There are application periods to Karelia UAS several times in a year. The joint application to degree programmes conducted in English in universities in Finland is organized in January.
Karelia UAS also organizes separate applications and rolling admissions frequently.
Joint Application Periods
Autumn 2026
The application period starts on the 31 August 2026 and ends on 10 September 2026.
- International Business, Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Tradenomi (AMK)
- Industrial Management, Bachelor of Engineering (Industrial Management), Insinööri (AMK)
Student admission criteria and student selection criteria is available at Studyinfo.
Spring 2026
The application period started on 7 January 2026 and ended on 21 January 2026.
- International Business, Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Tradenomi (AMK)
- Industrial Management, Bachelor of Engineering (Industrial Management), Insinööri (AMK)
- Information and Communication Technology, Bachelor of Engineering (Information and Communication Technology), Insinööri (AMK)
- Sustainability Management, Master of Engineering (Sustainability Management), Insinööri (ylempi AMK)
Student admission criteria and student selection criteria is available at Studyinfo.
Joint Application Process
You can choose up to 6 study programmes to your application form. There is no order of preference in the application form in the first Joint application in January. You can be accepted to several degree programmes, but you can accept only one offer of admission per academic term. Please, note that you can not change your application after the application period has ended.
See general information about the joint application to higher education and instructions on how to apply.
Application fee for non EU/EEA citizens as of 1 January 2025. Read more about it here.
Check the eligibility and admission criteria from Studyinfo of each programme you intend to apply to. Admission criteria may vary between the degree programmes.
Bachelor’s degrees
Karelia uses the general eligibility criteria for bachelor’s degrees in universities of applied sciences in Finland.
To be selected by International UAS Exam (Degree programmes in International Business or Industrial Management) or by Online Course to Information and Communication Technology, applicants have to prove their English language skills.
Read more about the language requirements >>
Read more about the student selection process and eligibility criteria >>
Master’s degree
Eligibility to apply to a UAS Master’s degree programme is conferred by an appropriate UAS Bachelor’s degree or another appropriate higher education degree, and at least a minimum of two years (24 months) of subsequent work experience after graduation in a relevant field.
Submit the online application during the application period, on 7 – 21 January at 3 p.m. Finnish time at Studyinfo.fi.
Click the name of the programme to add it to your application form:
- Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Industrial Management
- Bachelor’s Degree Programme in International Business
- Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Information and Communication Technology
- Master’s Degree programme inSustainability Management
Starting from 1 Jan 2025, applicants from outside the EU, EEA or Switzerland are required to pay an application fee in order to apply to higher education studies. The application fee is 100 euros. Please, find more information: Application fee
Regarding the Finnish Student Residence Permit, the Finnish HEIs do not charge any fees from the applicants and the fee should be paid to the Finnish Immigration Service. More information can be found on the Finnish Immigration Service website.
You will receive a confirmation email once you have submitted the application. Please, make sure your email account is not full and check also your junk mail. Always use the same email account when communicating with Admission Services.
If you are in a refugee or in a refugee-like situation and unable to submit documentary evidence of your qualification, Karelia UAS may invite you to sit an entrance examination. You must have an official decision attesting to your refugee status (a decision on asylum or a residence permit granted on the basis of a need for protection). Read more about the required certificates.
In order to be accepted as a student, you do not necessarily need to use agents but you can also apply independently by using the online information available on our websites. Read more about the using the educational agents below.
Submit the online application during the application period, on 31 August – 10 September 2026 at 3 p.m. Finnish time at Studyinfo.fi.
Click the name of the programme to add it to your application form:
- Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Industrial Management
- Bachelor’s Degree Programme in International Business
Starting from 1 Jan 2025, applicants from outside the EU, EEA or Switzerland are required to pay an application fee in order to apply to higher education studies. The application fee is 100 euros. Please, find more information: Application fee
Regarding the Finnish Student Residence Permit, the Finnish HEIs do not charge any fees from the applicants and the fee should be paid to the Finnish Immigration Service. More information can be found on the Finnish Immigration Service website.
You will receive a confirmation email once you have submitted the application. Please, make sure your email account is not full and check also your junk mail. Always use the same email account when communicating with Admission Services.
If you are in a refugee or in a refugee-like situation and unable to submit documentary evidence of your qualification, Karelia UAS may invite you to sit an entrance examination. You must have an official decision attesting to your refugee status (a decision on asylum or a residence permit granted on the basis of a need for protection). Read more about the required certificates.
In order to be accepted as a student, you do not necessarily need to use agents but you can also apply independently by using the online information available on our websites. Read more about the using the educational agents below.
Education agents are organisations that provide support to our applicants. They help the applicants to choose universities and programmes, submit applications, apply for residence permits, and other services. Using services of an education agent is voluntary and the applicant can choose to use or not to use the services provided by education agents. The admission process in Finland is strongly based on equality among all prospective students. The use of education agents will never favor prospective students in terms of eligibility criteria, student selection processes or immigration processes. Agents cannot guarantee admission. Education agents are expected to act ethically and in the best interests of prospective students and HEIs. Read more about Karelia UAS’ co-operation with educational agents here.
Autumn Joint Application 2026: Upload the requested attachments to your application form by 10 September 2026 at 3 p.m. Finnish time (UTC/GMT +3)
Spring Joint Application 2026: If you are accepted as a student and completed any of the following education in spring 2025 you need to submit the documents required by 9 July 2026 by 3 p.m. Finnish time (UTC/GMT +3)
See further information about the required attachments.
If you have special needs that should be considered when arranging the entrance examination, please fill in the Application form for individual arrangements. In the application you need to describe the needs and enclose necessary medical documents. The application and it’s attachments need to be sent to Karelia UAS’s Admission Services by:
- Autumn Joint Application 2026: 10 September 2025 at 3 p.m. Finnish time.
- Spring Joint Application 2026: 28 January 2026 at 3 p.m. Finnish time.
See the instructions on how to send confidential email to Admission Services.
You will be contacted by email when
- further information is needed
- you are invited to entrance examination
- a study place is offered to you.
After filling in the application form, next step is to participate either to International UAS Exam or the Online Course. Certificate-based student selection is also used in some bachelor’s programmes. Read more about different student selection methods.
Autumn Joint Application 2026: Results of first joint admission will be published by 19 November 2026 at MyStudyinfo.
Spring Joint Application 2026: Results of first joint admission will be published by 2 July 2026 at MyStudyinfo.
You may follow your admission status at MyStudyinfo. You will receive an email notification when a study place is offered to you.
Autumn Joint Application 2026: Confirm the offered study place, pay the tuition fee (if applicable), register yourself as a present or absent student for the academic year 2026 – 2027 by 26 November 2026.
Spring Joint Application 2026: Confirm the offered study place, pay the tuition fee (if applicable), register yourself as a present or absent student for the academic year 2026 – 2027 by 9 July 2026.
Read more at Accepting the study place.
At Karelia UAS the tuition fee for non-EU/EEA students are:
– International Business and Industrial Management 9 000 € / study year.
– Information and Communication Technology 10 000 € / study year.
– Sustainability Management 10 500 € /study year.
There are some exemptions from tuition fees, for instance to students with long-term EU residence permit in Finland. Read more about the tuition fee and scholarship system.
Karelia UAS uses following student selection methods:
International Business:
Will be published later.
Industrial Management:
Will be published later.
Please find further information about the student selection methods below. In case of any questions, please contact Admission Services ([email protected]).
International Business:
International UAS Exam
Certificate-based selection: Finnish matriculation examination
Industrial Management:
International UAS Exam
Certificate-based selection: Finnish matriculation examination and vocational upper secondary qualification
Information and Communication Technology:
International UAS Exam
Certificate-based selection: Finnish matriculation examination and vocational upper secondary qualification
Sustainability Management:
Pre-assignment and interview
International UAS Exam
International UAS Exam is conducted fully online. Applicants are required to enclose a proof of their language skills to the application form. Proof of the language skills is compulsory for receiving the invitation to International UAS Exam. Pre-identification is required before the exam. Read more about the entrance examination here.
Applicants, who don´t have the required English language certificate can apply with SAT test result (not available in Autumn’s Joint application).
Certificate-based selection
Karelia UAS’ uses certificate-based student selection with following degrees:
1. Finnish Matriculation Examination and International Baccalaureate Degrees (International Baccalaureate IB, European Baccalaureate EB, Reifeprüfung- (RP) / Deutsche Internationale Abitur (DIA) degree)
2. Finnish Vocational Upper Secondary degree (completed after 1 August 2015, information available in Finnish)
Fill in the application form, upload educational documents, if requested and wait for the results! Results of certificate-based student selection will be published by 17 October 2025. You do not need to participate in the International UAS Exam.
Read more about the Certificate-based student selection here
If you have completed some other international baccalaureate degree than mentioned above, the student selection method will be International UAS Exam for Degree Programmes in International Business and Industrial Management.
Autumn Joint Application 2026: The results of the admission are announced by 19 November 2026 at the latest on My Studyinfo and by email from Studyinfo. Students on a waiting list will be accepted as study places are released until 10 December 2026. Study place is released for example when an accepted student gets accepted to a study programme higher on his/hers order of preference list or the student decides not to accept the offered study place.
Spring Joint Application 2026: Results of first joint admission will be published by 2 July 2026, at latest, at MyStudyinfo and by email from Studyinfo. Waiting list is not on use.
In the Joint Application to Higher Education you can be offered several study places. You can accept only one study place leading to a higher educational degree in Finland in a education that beginning in a same academic term.
Studies beginning in January 2026: Accept the study place by 27 November 2025 by 3:00 p.m.
Studies beginning in August 2026: Accept the study place by 9 July 2026 by 3:00 p.m
Finnish time electronically at My Studyinfo. If you are granted admission from reserve list, follow the deadlines shown on My Studyinfo service. You can only accept one study place per term. Accepting a study place is a biding decision and it can not be changed later.
See the instructions on how to accept a study place.
You can confirm the study place electronically either with the link that is sent to your email from Studyinfo or in the MyStudyinfo -service. Applicants who accept a study place will not be considered as first-time applicants in future admissions to higher education.
After you have accepted the study place, you need to register as a student for the first study year. The deadline is the same as for the acceptance of the study place.
Students need to register as on-campus students and present the original education documents used in the application process need to be verified by the given schedule. Student selection is conditional until the documents are checked.
Studies beginning in January 2025:
Registration and original education documents presented by 16 February 2026.
Studies beginning in August 2026:
Registration and original education documents presented by 30 September 2026.
We have gathered important information to support your start of studies at Karelia UAS to Information for new students webpage. Read it through carefully – don’t hesitate to contact us for further information!
The Bachelor degree studies beginning on January 2026
Studies begin with an orientation to studies, get-together events to meet students and staff, an individual interview with a counsellor and with a tutoring teacher. Read more about the start of the studies at Information for new students webpage.
Original educational certificates used as a basis for applying will be verified in the beginning studies, by 16 February 2026 at the latest. Therefore, you need take your original certificates with you at your first day at university. Students enrolling absent, need to verify their original certificates at the beginning their studies. The student admission is conditional until the copies of the certificates and the original certificates have been verified.
The Bachelor degree studies beginning on August 2026
Studies begin with an orientation to studies, get-together events to meet students and staff, an individual interview with a counsellor and with a tutoring teacher. Read more about the start of the studies at Information for new students webpage.
Original educational certificates used as a basis for applying will be verified in the beginning studies, by 30 September 2026 at the latest. Therefore, you need take your original certificates with you at your first day at university. Students enrolling absent, need to verify their original certificates at the beginning their studies. The student admission is conditional until the copies of the certificates and the original certificates have been verified.
Place: Wärtsilä Campus, Karjalankatu 3, 80200 Joensuu, Finland
Karelia UAS organizes Pre-arrival and Resident permit info -webinars for the new students. Webinars are targeted to new degree students who are going to start their studies at Karelia UAS.
Pre-arrival webinars
Student will receive information for example of following topics: accommodation in Joensuu, living in Finland, orientation activities, Student Union POKA’s services etc.
Pre-arrival webinar will be held on 11 June 2025.
Pre-arrival webinars for studies starting in January 2025: to be announced in August
Webinars are organized online and the invitation with the meeting link will be sent by email.
Residence permit info – how to apply for a residence permit to Finland?
Student will receive information on how to apply for the residence permit to Finland and instructions on how to submit the residence permit application at EnterFinland. Residence permits are applied from the Finnish Immigration Services.
Residence permit info -webinar’s schedule will be published later.
Webinars are organized online and the invitation with the meeting link will be sent by email.
Separate Applications and Pathway Study Opportunities
Contact Admission Services
Admission Services assist you in all matters related to applying to Karelia UAS. You can find information for applicants from our website Apply to Karelia. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you want to know more about
- study options at Karelia
- application process (Joint applications, Transfer applications, Open UAS applications etc.) or
- eligibility, tuition fees.
You can reach us by email or by phone: admissions(@)karelia.fi or +358 50 361 1871, +358 50 560 9845. Please make an appointment in advance if you want to meet in person.
Postal address: Tikkarinne 9, E-building, 80200 Joensuu, Finland