You will first need to fulfil our general eligibility requirements. Only eligible applications proceed to the academic evaluation where the student selection criteria is applied.
To be considered eligible for SECCLO, you will need to fulfil these general eligibility requirements:
Please see further details below.
Applicants should hold a Bachelor degree* awarded by a university or a higher education institution.
*) Applicants in their final year of studies are eligible to apply provided that they will graduate by 31 July 2022. If the applicant is not able to graduate on time or fails to deliver a degree certificate by the given deadline, their conditional acceptance to the programme will be cancelled.
Our language of instruction is English, and the applicants are expected to have an excellent command of it. The accepted language tests and their minimum score requirements are listed below.
| Minimum total score |
Minimum writing score | |
| IELTS (Academic)* | 6.5 | 6.0 |
| TOEFL iBT (Internet-based Test)* |
92 | 22 |
| TOEFL PDT (Paper-delivered Test) |
Reading 22, Listening 22 | 24 |
| C1 Advanced (former Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English, CAE) |
A, B, or C | – |
| C2 Proficiency (former Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English, CPE) |
A, B, C or C1 | – |
| Pearson Test of English (PTE Academic) |
62 | 54 |
*) Also IELTS Indicator (Academic) and TOEFL iBT® Home Edition are accepted in the 2022 admission.
The minimum requirements are very strict. If your scores do not fulfil the minimum score requirements, your application will not be processed further. You cannot combine scores from different test dates (e.g. TOEFL MyBest scores is not accepted).
IELTS, TOEFL and PTE results are valid for two years starting from the test date. Thus, test results from the tests taken on or after 24 November 2019 are acceptable in the 2021 second application round.
Only the language tests mentioned above are accepted. For further information on language test result deadlines and submitting your test scores for verification, see How to apply -> Step 4.
The language test requirement is waived for the following groups:
All other applicants are expected to present a valid English language test result, without exceptions.
Admission to the SECCLO programme is granted on a competitive basis, and the applicants are assessed based on their previous academic record. The selection is document based. The final evaluation of the eligible applications and the ranking of qualified students is made based on the following criteria:
1. Relevance of previous studies
Successful applicants are expected to have a high-quality Bachelor’s degree in computer science or information technology or mathematics. Excellent candidates with degrees in other fields will be considered if they have sufficient studies in the required subject areas (see below).
Required background consists of sufficient studies in:
Knowledge of one or more of the following areas is considered an advantage:
The contents of the applicant’s previous degree(s) are evaluated based on the courses on the official transcript of records. Relevant work experience, professional certificates and online courses can also be taken into account in the evaluation, but they do not in general compensate for the absence of university-level studies covering the theoretical foundations of the required subjects.
2. Academic performance
The applicant’s academic performance will be evaluated based on the grade point average (GPA) and grades in key courses. The time spent on the previous studies will also be considered.
The programme is looking for applicants with excellent academic performance in their previous studies. This means that the applicant has achieved consistently excellent grades throughout the degree studies (very high weighted average grade or GPA).
During the evaluation process, the relevance of previous studies and academic performance are assessed first. Only the applications that meet the requirements for these criteria will be evaluated further.
3. Recognition and quality of institution
We expect applicants to have completed their previous degree in a high-quality university and programme. The recognition of the applicant’s home university also affects the interpretation of the grades when evaluating the academic performance.
4. Motivation and commitment to SECCLO studies
The applicant should tell us about their expectations for the SECCLO programme, career aspirations, relevant experience, and achievements. They should be motivated to study in any of the programme universities and committed to full‐time studies with a plan to complete the Master’s degree in two years. We are looking for applicants who are able to express clearly their reasons for applying to SECCLO and describe why they would be excellent candidates for the programme.
Studies in the SECCLO programme should provide genuinely new knowledge for the applicant. If the applicant already has a Master’s degree, the motivation letter should clearly indicate why another Master’s degree is necessary.
5. Other relevant achievements
Beyond their academic record, applicants may have other experience, knowledge and qualifications that prepare them for the Master’s studies and distinguish them among their peers. We particularly value relevant work experience in the area of the programme, participation in scientific research leading to publications, entrepreneurship, and special achievements such as success in competitions.
6. English language proficiency
A good English language test result adds value to the application.
All six consortium universities participate in the evaluation of applications and in the joint selection meeting. The allocation of scholarships is based on the same criteria as the student selection decisions, i.e., the best selected students will be offered scholarships. The scholarship decisions are given together with the selection decisions.
The right of appeal means that the applicant has the possibility to request for rectification if they believe that there has been an error in the decision-making process. The appeal should be submitted to the SECCLO Consortium within 14 days after the publication of the selection results. All appeals against the selection decisions are processed by Aalto University. Applicants cannot appeal on the scholarship decision.
