The first phase written exam of the International UAS Exam, the joint entrance exam of Finnish UAS, was organized today, 9 February 2022. 12 054 participants took the exam and the participation rate was 72,4%.
The International UAS Examis used for the first time this spring. It is used to select students to UAS study programmes leading to a degree and conducted in English. In joint application procedure, 16,641 applicants applied for a programme using the joint entrance exam.
Most applicants taking the International UAS Exam are from outside Finland, mostly from non-EU/non-EEA countries. The online entrance exam enabled the applicants to take the exam in a location of their choice, instead of having to travel to Finland. The entrance exam was successfully executed in the entrance exam system. The exam was executed with the same digital entrance exam system that is used in, among others, the UAS entrance exam.
In previous years, students to UAS study programmes conducted in English have been selected by using several different entrance exams. Now, the UAS have developed their student selection in collaboration and the result, the joint entrance exam, greatly facilitates and simplifies the application process. Most UAS study programmes open for application use the joint entrance exam. The applicant can now take a single exam to apply for different programmes and study fields.
–“Universities of applied sciences have started to develop, in extensive cooperation with stakeholders of the entire UAS sector, student selection procedures of study programmes conducted in English into a more student-friendly direction. A good example of this is the successful execution of the first phase written exam of the International UAS Exam”, Marko Borovadkin, Project Manager of UAS Student Selection Consortium describes.
The International UAS Exam consists of two phases. The eligible applicants that have passed the first phase exam are invited to a group interview organized on 2–16 March 2022. The second phase group interview is also a joint exam for all study fields and the applicant participates in only one group interview. In some study programmes of social and health care fields, also the applicant’s oral language skills in Finnish and/or Swedish are assessed.
In the spring first application round, the universities of applied sciences have a little more than 3,000 study places in programmes leading to a UAS degree open for application. For programmes leading to a Master’s degree, there are almost 1,000 study places available for application.
The selection results will be released on Friday, June 3, at the latest. In the spring first application round, applicants may be selected to several study programmes, depending on their entrance exam success. However, approved applicants may only accept one study place leading to a higher education degree, among study programmes that start in the same semester.