Guide · Finland
How to write a motivation letter for a Finnish university
In Finland, you apply for international Master's programmes once a year, in a short window around New Year, through the national portal Studyinfo. At Aalto University, the motivation letter is a required document: an application without it is rejected.
Finnish universities also care how the letter was written. Aalto's Computer Science programme asks every applicant to declare whether they used AI tools, and discourages using AI to generate the content. Read your programme's rules before you start.
Checked against official sources: October 2026
- 4,000
- characters with spaces, Aalto Chemistry and Materials Science
- €100
- national application fee outside the EU/EEA
- 0–5
- Finnish grades, 1 is the lowest pass
Your first letter is free — no credit card needed.
At a glance
- Length
About one page
Aalto's Computer Science programme recommends one page in 11 pt; Chemistry and Materials Science allows at most 4,000 characters with spaces. Both want the letter in English.
- What to cover
Experience, motivation, career
Aalto's Computer Science programme asks you to reflect on your relevant experience and achievements, your expectations and motivation for the Master's, the study track you would like to follow, and how the degree fits your career plans.
- AI declaration
Declare what you used
At Aalto's Computer Science programme, every applicant must declare their use or non-use of AI tools. AI may be used to brainstorm, to improve the language of text you wrote yourself, to translate it, to check consistency and for formatting; generating or significantly rewriting content is discouraged.
- One letter per programme
Separate letters
Aalto asks for a separate motivation letter for each study option you apply to — in Chemistry and Materials Science together with a CV of at most two pages.
- Dates for 2027
Dec–Jan
Aalto's application period for 2027 is 7 December 2026 – 5 January 2027. The University of Helsinki has one intake a year; for autumn 2027 you apply from 5 to 19 January 2027.
- Fee and grades
€100, 0–5
Since January 2025, applicants from outside the EU/EEA pay a one-time national fee of €100 on Studyinfo, covering all applications for the same term. Finnish grades run from 0 (fail) through 1 (passable) to 5 (excellent).
How to structure it
Opening: why this programme
Your main reason for this programme at this university, tied to a concrete experience. Name the programme — at Aalto, each letter belongs to one study option.
Experience and achievements
Your degree, your grade on its original scale, your thesis and the work or projects that matter here. Aalto evaluates the letter together with your transcript and CV.
Your expectations and track
What you expect from the Master's and, if the programme has study tracks, which one you would like to follow and why.
Your career plans
Where the degree leads you and how it helps you get there, in one or two realistic sentences.
Example: motivation letter for Aalto University
Excerpt from a sample letter for a fictional applicant with a Computer Science degree. Aalto recommends one page for the whole letter. The numbers in the margin match the steps above.
Dear Members of the Admissions Committee,
During my internship as a data analyst at a logistics company, I built Python dashboards that cut the weekly reporting time from six hours to one. When two other teams asked for the same tool, it stopped working: the data no longer fitted on one machine, and I had no idea how to build what came next. That gap is why I am applying for the Master's in Computer Science at Aalto University.
My Bachelor's in Computer Science, completed with a GPA of 3.6 out of 4.0, gave me a solid base in algorithms, databases and statistics. In my thesis, I predicted delivery delays from 50,000 shipment records with gradient boosting. I expect from the Master's what my degree only touched on: systems that process data at scale, and the methods to show that they work.
[…]
Yours sincerely, Alex Weber
Common mistakes
Ignoring the AI rules
No declaration, AI-generated text
Your own text, with the AI use declared honestly
At Aalto's Computer Science programme, a missing AI declaration means rejection — and a letter generated by AI is discouraged. Follow the rules of your programme.
One letter for several programmes
The same letter for Computer Science and Information Networks
Two letters, each written for its programme
Aalto asks for a separate letter for each study option. A shared letter can't explain why you chose each one.
Going over the limit
A 5,200-character letter
3,900 characters, including spaces
4,000 characters means 4,000 characters, spaces included. Count before you upload.
No track, no plan
“I want to deepen my knowledge of computer science.”
“I expect systems that process data at scale — and the methods to show they work.”
Aalto asks which study track you want and how the degree fits your career. A letter without them leaves half the questions open.
Converting your grades yourself
“My GPA of 3.6 corresponds to a Finnish 4.”
“I completed my Bachelor's with a GPA of 3.6 out of 4.0.”
Give your grade on its original scale. The university assesses it itself, and your own conversion may contradict your transcripts.
Missing the winter window
Planning to apply in spring
Letter ready when the window opens on 7 December
Aalto and the University of Helsinki take international Master's applications once a year, in December and January. If you miss the window, you wait a year.
Questions
How long should a motivation letter for Finland be?
About one page — Aalto's Computer Science programme recommends one page in 11 pt, and Chemistry and Materials Science allows up to 4,000 characters with spaces. Your programme's limit always counts.
Can I use AI for my motivation letter in Finland?
Check your programme first. Aalto's Computer Science programme lets you use AI only for brainstorming and for improving, translating or checking text you wrote yourself — and you must declare it. Information Networks strongly discourages generative AI in the letter. Where these rules apply, write the letter yourself and declare honestly what you used.
Where do I apply?
Through Studyinfo, the national portal, during your university's application period. Applicants from outside the EU/EEA pay the €100 fee there once per term.
Do I need recommendation letters?
It depends on the programme. For Aalto's Computer Science programme, at least one original recommendation letter — preferably from a professor or thesis supervisor — adds value to your application.
Sources
Documents checklist
Documents you need to study in Finland