Diploma Programmes in Sustainable Energy Transition and Forestry in a Changing Environment

The Diploma programs at Karelia University of Applied Sciences are designed to complement and enhance the skills and qualifications that students have already obtained in their previous studies or to provide additional training related to their professional experience in their home countries.

The programs are conducted onsite, during one academic year, and comprise 60 ECTS credits.

Application Process for Diploma programmes

Tuition fees
How to apply
Student selection
Results, appeals
Accepting the study place
Information for new student s
Starting your studies

The Energy Environmental Engineering Transition courses form part of the INVEST Specialization Studies at Karelia University of Applied Sciences. The study structure includes 30 ECTS credits for the Autumn semester and 30 ECTS credits for on-site studies in the Spring semester.

The courses include:

Applied Research for Energy Transition
Business Models for Community Energy
Life Cycle Analysis
Energy Policy and Advocacy
Facilitating Community Energy Transition
Innovative Regional Development
Environmental and Social Infrastructures
Responsible Use of Natural Resources
Finnish language studies
Elective Studies

Watch the short video to learn more

The Forestry courses fall under the INVEST Specialization Studies at Karelia University of Applied Sciences. The study structure includes 30 ECTS credits for the Autumn semester and 30 ECTS credits for on-site studies in the Spring semester.

The courses include:

Carbon Forestry
Diverse Uses of Forestry
Forestry in a Changing Society
Forestry in Europe
Future Forest Management
Innovative Regional Development
Environmental and Social Infrastructures
Responsible Use of Natural Resources
Finnish language studies
Elective Studies

Watch the short video to learn more

To be accepted as a Diploma programme student, you need to fulfil the eligibility criteria, i.e. minimum requirements. These vary between the two Diploma programmes and include your previous and/or ongoing studies.

After your eligibility has been checked, your application will proceed to the admission criteria, also known as selection criteria. In the admission criteria, we will check that you have sufficient English language skills, study skills, good academic background and that you are motivated to complete your studies.

The applicant will either

be a Bachelor level student who has completed at least two years of studies by the end of the application period, or
be a Master level or Doctoral level student in a relevant field, or
have graduated from Bachelor, College, Master or Doctoral level studies in a relevant field.

The relevant fields of study for the Sustainable Energy Transition programme include:

Energy and environmental technology
Business management,
Business and entrepreneurship,
Agribusiness management,
Agricultural economics
Agrotechnology
Environmental Sciences,
International Development Management
Other fields of study may be considered based on the field of study and contents of the degree

The relevant fields of study for the Forestry in a Changing Environment programme include:

Forestry
Other fields of study may be considered based on the field of study and contents of the degree

Submit your online application during the application period 10 January – 22 January 2025 at 23:59 Finnish time (Eastern European Time). The application process is done through Webropol. There are no application fees for the diploma programmes.

To be accepted as a student, you do not necessarily need to use agents so you can also apply independently. If you would like to apply without an agent, contact us at [email protected] for the application link.

Read more about the application process and using the educational agents below.

Education agents are organisations that provide support to our applicants. They help applicants choose universities and programmes, submit applications, apply for residence permits, and receive other services. Using the 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 favour 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’ cooperation with educational agents here.

Our agent partners for the Diploma programmes:

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 need to write a motivation letter in the application. You should write the motivation letter without the use of AI. In the motivation letter, you write for example, why you want to participate, what you plan to gain from the programme, and how you plan to use the knowledge and skills gained from the programme in your future studies and/or career. The motivation letter can be max. 600 characters.

Once you have submitted the application, you will receive a confirmation email. If you do not receive the email within 15 minutes, please check your spam box. If you still do not find it, you may have written your email address incorrectly. In this case, please submit another application. Make sure your email account is not full. Always use the same email account when communicating with the Separate Admissions office.

After submitting the application form, the next step is to reserve an interview time. The instructions for reserving the time will be provided in the confirmation email. If you need to reschedule your interview time, you can do so via the link sent to you through the reservation system.

The interview time is 30 minutes and it will take place in Zoom. You will need to have a webcam on your device for the interview and you will also need to show your official ID. The interviews will be recorded and saved until the end of the appeal of the student selection period.

You should attend the interview by yourself only and not have other people assisting you in the interview.

The admission process in Finland is strongly based on equality among all prospective students. The selection process in the Diploma programme is as follows:

Checking the eligibility criteria (the applicant must meet the minimum requirements)
Ranking the students based on the admission interviews

Admission (selection) criteria

English language proficiency (English proficiency certificate and/or interview)
Adequate learning skills (assessed in the interview)
Good educational achievements (assessed from your application attachments)
Motivation (assessed from your application and interview)

The admission interviews will form the basis of the selection criteria. The interviewed applicants will be assessed and ranked based on the interview. The applicants must receive at least 50% of the points in the interview. The applicants with the 15 highest scores (at minimum 50% in the interview) per programme will be selected. The decisions will be made by the Head of Education.