Dean’s incentive scholarship (SCI)
Since academic year 2016–2017, the School of Science has awarded dean’s incentive scholarships of 500 euros for good academic progress. The scholarship is awarded upon application to students who meet the conditions below.
Please note that the criteria and amounts of the scholarship have been updated. The changes apply to studies in the academic year 2025–2026 and onwards.
The dean awards the incentive scholarship to those students who have completed at least 60 credits during the academic year (1 August – 31 July) and have applied for the scholarship. The required 60 credits need to be mainly included in the bachelor’s or master’s degree.
In addition, getting the scholarship requires completing the degree within the normative duration of studies according to the following criteria.
Students completing both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees
- A student needs to graduate with a Bachelor's degree on their third year of attending. If the student completes 60 credits during their third year of study, but they do not graduate with a Bachelor’s degree, they are not entitled to the incentive scholarship.
- A student is entitled to the scholarship, if they graduate within the timeframe (three years) with a Bachelor’s degree, even if they completed less than 60 credits during their third year of attending.
- A student needs to complete 60 credits during their fourth year of attending. However, they cannot be awarded the incentive scholarship on their fourth year, if the Bachelor’s degree is still incomplete.
- A student needs to graduate with a Master’s degree on their fifth year of study. A student is entitled to the scholarship, if they graduate with a Master’s degree, even if they completed less than 60 credits during the academic year.
- The credits being earned need to be mainly included in the degree which is being completed first.
Students completing only a Master’s degree
- A student needs to graduate with a Master’s degree on their second year of study.
- A student is entitled to the scholarship, if they graduate within the timeframe (two years) with a Master’s degree, even if they completed less than 60 credits during their second year of attending.
Further information
For the purposes of the incentive scholarship, studies completed in one academic year means studies that have been completed and marked into the Aalto University student register for the period from 1 August to 31 July. This includes credits earned during that academic year in some other Finnish or foreign higher education institution, provided they have been transferred into the Aalto University student register. Any raised grades must also be entered into the student register by the end of the academic year in order to be counted towards the total credits earned.
A study year is defined by adding up all terms the student has enrolled as attending in the programme. Being absent for half a year cannot be taken into account when awarding the scholarship.
Example. Right to study for both BSc and MSc degrees, started on 1.8.2020:
| Academic year | Autumn term | Spring term | The year of study and criteria for the scholarship |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020–2021 | attending | attending | First year of study, 60 cr during the academic year |
| 2021–2022 | attending | attending | Second year of study, 60 cr during the academic year |
| 2022–2023 | non-attending | attending | Third year of study, graduating with a BSc degree during the academic year |
| 2023–2024 | attending | attending | Fourth year of study, a completed BSc degree and 60cr during the academic year |
| 2024–2025 | attending | attending | Fifth year of study, graduating with a MSc degree during the academic year |
Further conditions
- The student must have a primary right to study in the School of Science on 31 July of the academic year in question (excluding students who have graduated with a BSc or MSc degree from the School of Science during the academic year). Students with a right to study entering into force the next day, 1 August, are not eligible for the scholarship.
- If the student has another valid right to study for another degree at Aalto University, the student must have completed at least 45 credits in accordance with the study plan of the School of Science.
- Students pursuing double degrees are eligible to apply for the scholarship, if during the academic year they have earned 60 credits for studies included in the programme curriculum (either at the partner university or at Aalto) and these credits have been recorded in Aalto University student register.
- The dean’s incentive scholarship can be obtained from only one Aalto school at a time. Tuition-fee-paying students who have been granted the EUR 1500 incentive scholarship are not eligible for the dean’s incentive scholarship.
- The dean has decided to lower the minimum number of credits required of students who have informed the university of having a learning difficulty or dyslexia, which has slowed the progress of their studies. In such cases, the student is required to earn at least 55 credits during the academic year.
The total number of credits earned is checked on 31 August; any changes made to the register after that date will not be considered. An exception are students who are completing a double degree or who have completed exchange studies abroad, but who have not received the documents from the partner university in time. Their credits must be marked into the student register by 30 September. However, graduation must occur within the target time according to the above conditions.
The application period for the dean’s incentive scholarship is in October. Application instructions are sent by Aalto email to students who are eligible for the scholarship, based on the credits in their Aalto student register. Those who have graduated as Master of Science in Technology during the academic year will receive application instructions to their secondary email address. The application period is also published on university communication channels.
The application period for autumn 2025 is from 3 October 2025 to 31 October 2025. If you meet the criteria for the scholarship but have not received the application instructions to your email, please contact studentservices@aalto.fi during the application period.
The scholarship is only awarded upon application, and applications submitted after the application period will not be considered. The decision on granting the scholarships is made by the dean.
Further information: studentservices(a)aalto.fi.
The Dean of the School of Science has made a new decision regarding the conditions and payments of the incentive scholarship. With the decision dated 9 May 2025, the criteria and amounts of the dean's incentive scholarship are revised as follows:
- If a student completes 60 credits in the bachelor's programme during the first year of study, the scholarship amount will be 250 euros.
- If a student completes 60 credits in the bachelor's programme during the second year of study, the scholarship amount will be 250 euros.
- For the master's programme, no incentive scholarships will be paid for fourth-year studies (when both bachelor's and master's degrees are pursued) or for first-year studies (when only the master's degree is pursued) in the future.
- A scholarship of 500 euros will continue to be paid for completing the degree within the target time. Practically, this means completing the bachelor's degree in three years and the master's degree in either five years (when both bachelor's and master's degrees are pursued) or two years (when only the master's degree is pursued).
This decision applies to the criteria concerning studies for the academic year 2025–2026 and onwards, until the dean decides to discontinue or change the incentive scholarship criteria.
