Software and Service Engineering is the backbone of modern society and economy. Software is needed in almost every industry, in every business, and for every function – from healthcare and information technology to R&D industry or governmental organisations. The Master’s Programme in Computer, Communication and Information Sciences – Software and Service Engineering equips students with some of the most sought after skills in today’s job market, across a wide range of industries.
Upon graduating from the major, graduates will have:
The tuition fee for this programme is 17 000 euros per academic year. Citizens of European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland do not pay tuition fees. Citizens of other countries must pay tuition fees.
Aalto University offers a small number of scholarships in the form of tuition fee waivers to fee-paying students. Scholarships can be awarded to the highest-achieving applicants based on the programme's evaluation criteria. Applicants are ranked according to the criteria outlined on the programme's webpage.
More information on tuition fees and scholarships at Aalto University is available at the Scholarships and Tuition Fees webpage.
Master's Programme in Computer, Communication and Information Sciences and major Software and Service Engineering comprises a total of 120 ECTS credits. The two-year programme consists of:
Our curricula are designed for full-time students. While master's students often work part-time during academic terms or full-time in the summer, full-time work during academic terms is discouraged. Part-time work requires careful planning and extra effort, as not most courses are available online or every year.
While there may be courses that are available online, as a general guideline, studies at Aalto University School of Science require on-campus attendance.
The compulsory major courses taking place in the first year provide students with the main models, methods, and tools needed in software development and product and service design. Due to the small number of compulsory courses, students are free to select a set of courses to support their specific interests. A few course examples picked from the programme’s extensive curriculum are:
The major Software and Service Engineering programme embraces a student-centric approach to teaching. Although the major comprises two study tracks, students have the freedom to compose their own individual study plan based on their interests and aspirations. One-on-one tutoring sessions help students in compiling their personal study plan.
Students may choose to specialise in one of the two subfields listed below, or they can opt for a cross-disciplinary path that gives them a broad palette of skills. The two recommended subfields are:
Software Engineering
Software is what runs economies and organisations. In the Software Engineering track, students learn the processes, methods and techniques used in professional software development. Subjects covered include requirements engineering, design, implementation and testing, and deployment. Students can also participate in courses on project management, organisational development, and IPR.
Service Design and Engineering
Understanding customer and user needs is essential in digital service design. The core contents of the Service Design and Engineering (SDE) track include the conceptual and methodological basis for working with customers, users, and other stakeholders throughout digital service development. The user-centred and software-engineering methods support these joint design and evaluation activities.
Teaching methods
The teaching methods emphasise an industry-centric and interactive approach. Many of the individual assignments and group exercises introduce students to real-world problems which facilitates their development into critical and independent thinkers capable of applying knowledge from multiple disciplines. The questions that professionals in software and service engineering deal with often have important connections to human and societal well-being.
Since software engineering and service design are very collaborative fields, active peer learning is a defining characteristic of the programme. Group assignments embrace co-creation that can aim for innovative solutions in the field. Students develop their interpersonal skills, which prepares them for future work where teamwork, active listening and efficient communication are key.
Other learning methods include lectures by professors and visiting specialists, taking part in seminars, reading scientific articles, writing essays and deepening knowledge through personally tailored exercises. The aim is to provide students with a profound theoretical foundation but also prepare them to tackle practical day-to-day problems of contemporary society. The professor network includes internationally acclaimed and published specialists and researchers who are highly dedicated to their mission of educating future top professionals and co-creating an enjoyable learning environment together with the students.
More information on the programme content and curriculum can be found in the Student guide. There may be some changes to the courses for the academic years 2026–2028 — the new curricula will be published in April 2026, when they will also be visible in the Student guide.
The study environment in the Master’s Programme in Computer, Communication and Information Sciences and major Software and Service Engineering is strongly international, and studies are conducted in multicultural groups. The School of Science offers diverse possibilities for student exchange all over the world. Exchange studies can be included in the degree as, for example, an international minor. Other possibilities for developing one’s global competence include taking a summer course abroad or conducting practical training abroad. Students can apply for grants to support their traineeship abroad.
Ranked among the top universities for Computer Science & Information Systems by QS World University Ranking, Aalto University brings together a highly international and competent group of students and academic staff. As software engineering is one of the most in-demand skills in the world, graduates can take their skills and knowledge to nearly any country in the world.
Overall, Aalto University is international by nature, welcoming thousands of degree and exchange students from abroad every year. These students join the diverse Aalto community not only through their studies, but also through multiple free time events, celebrations and extracurricular activities around the campus. Active tutoring programs and support services work hard to help international students integrate to the Nordic culture and feel at home in Finland.
The degree programme provides eligibility for scientific postgraduate studies in Finland. The skills learned in the programme create an excellent basis for doctoral studies at Aalto University, another Finnish university or top international universities. Doctoral graduates from Aalto University continue to researcher or other academic career or high-level business positions, among other things. Read more about applying for doctoral studies at Aalto University:/en/doctoral-education/how-to-apply-for-doctoral-studies
Software is the ultimate source of capacity, innovation, competitiveness, quality, and agility of companies. As nearly every business is a software business, the field is incredibly broad and graduates have an exceptionally wide range of career paths in front of them.
Typical job titles of recent graduates include:
Some examples of the companies our recently graduated alumni work for are Accenture, CGI, Cisco, Digia Plc, Eficode, F-Secure Corporation, Futurice, Gofore Oy, Huawei Technologies, IBM, Innofactor, KONE Corporation, Microsoft, Next Games, Nokia, Nordea, OP Financial Group, Reaktor, RELEX Solutions, Remedy Entertainment, Smartly.io, Tieto, Unity Technologies, VR Group, Wärtsilä.
Aalto University has well-established career services to support students’ employment in Finland and abroad. Thanks to the flexible curriculum, many Aalto students work already during their studies and guarantee themselves entry positions before graduation. There is also a very active entrepreneurship community at Aalto, working as a springboard for founding a company.
Graduates from the School of Science at Aalto University have very good employment prospects in positions corresponding to their education. On this page, you can find information about employment and career development five years after graduation.
The studies in the programme are closely related to the world-class research conducted at the Department of Computer Science.
A strong technical foundation comes by default when studying the major – however, students are encouraged to experiment and extend their skills in other domains, too. Some decide to delve into the business aspects of software and digitalisation and take complementing courses at the School of Business. Other students may want to go towards very hardcore technical subjects. For them, there are a number of courses available that equip them with deep skills in software architecture and design, testing, and modelling.
Overall, Aalto University is well-known for bridging disciplines of business, arts, technology and science. The lively campus and freedom of choosing elective courses across the University bring students from different fields under one roof. This spontaneous multidisciplinarity environment sparks new ideas, gathers enthusiasts around them and gives birth to friendships, networks, and every so often, startups.
Software and Service Engineering applicants meeting the general eligibility criteria for master's studies are evaluated according to the below Evaluation criteria. The evaluation process is described under Evaluation process. In addition to the obligatory application documents, this study option asks the applicants to submit also the documents listed under Requested documents.
The applications to Software and Service Engineering - Computer, Communication and Information Sciences (CCIS) are evaluated based on the following criteria:
| What is evaluated? | Grades of the previous degree(s) and pace of studies |
| What we look for in an applicant? |
The CCIS programme is looking for applicants with excellent academic performance in their previous studies. In study options where the number and quality of applications is high, this means that the applicant has achieved consistently excellent grades throughout the degree studies (very high weighted average grade or GPA). The applicant’s prior 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. All the applicant’s previous university studies, including incomplete degrees and non‐degree studies, will be taken into consideration when evaluating academic performance. Applicants from Finnish universities of applied sciences (AMK) International applicants |
| Method of demonstrating competence | Transcript(s) of records, degree certificate(s) |
| What is evaluated? | Content and scope of previous studies |
| What we look for in an applicant? |
Applicants are expected to have a high-quality Bachelor’s degree in computer science, software engineering, communications engineering, or electrical engineering. Excellent candidates with degrees in other fields including but not limited to information systems, engineering, natural sciences, mathematics or physics will be considered if they have sufficient studies in the required areas. The required university-level studies for Software and Service Engineering are:
Studies in at least some of the following subjects are 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 |
| Method of demonstrating competence | Transcript(s) of records, course descriptions |
| What is evaluated? | Recognition and quality of the applicant's previous institution |
| What we look for in an applicant? | 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. |
| Method of demonstrating competence | International and national rankings of higher education institutions |
| What is evaluated? | Applicant’s suitability to the study option, motivation, commitment to the studies, and written communication skills |
| What we look for in an applicant? |
The applicant should be motivated to study the chosen subject and committed to full‐time studies with a plan to complete the Master’s degree in two years. We are looking for applicants who can express clearly the reasons for applying to the study option and describe why they would be excellent candidates for the study option. Studies in the Master’s programme should provide genuinely new knowledge for the applicant. If the applicant already has a Master’s or a higher degree or is studying towards one, the motivation letter should clearly indicate why another one is necessary. In most cases, non-degree studies are recommended instead. |
| Method of demonstrating competence | Application as a whole including motivation letter |
| What is evaluated? | Work experience, other qualifications and achievements |
| What we look for in an applicant? |
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 addition, participation in scientific research leading to publications, entrepreneurship, and special achievements such as success in competitions (e.g. Junction Hackathon) may add value to the application. |
| Method of demonstrating competence | Curriculum vitae (CV), recommendation letters, proofs of employment, publications, other certificates, GRE or GMAT results (if available). |
This is the master version of the programme-specific evaluation criteria and its Finnish and Swedish versions are its translations.
During the evaluation of eligible applications, Software and Service Engineering applications are first evaluated based on the following criteria:
Only the applications which fulfil the requirements for these criteria will be evaluated against the full set of evaluation criteria. It is not possible to compensate for these criteria with other criteria. This means, for example, that motivation for Master level studies in this subject does not compensate for low grades or that relevant work experience does not compensate for higher education studies in the required subjects.
After the evaluation of the remaining criteria below, the best applicants will be selected based on the joint evaluation of all five criteria.
The admission process is very competitive and only the best applicants are selected yearly. Not all applicants fulfilling the requirements can be admitted.
Applications missing any of the required study-option specific documents i.e. motivation letter, curriculum vitae (CV) are rejected, and not evaluated against any of the evaluation criteria.
In addition to obligatory application documents, the applicants to Software and Service Engineering are requested to provide the following programme-specific documents:
*) The lack of this document will cause rejection.
In addition, these additional documents add value to your application:
Curious about life at Aalto University? Our student ambassadors are here to share their firsthand experiences and insights on student life, academics, and campus culture. Join us for interactive sessions, casual chats over coffee, and engaging discussions with current students and alumni.
Nikolai Denissov jumped out of his comfort zone, moved to Finland to study software engineering, and now he wants to stay for good
Master student of Software and Service Engineering, Emmi Kranz wants to approach technology from a human perspective
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Learning Services at Aalto University School of Science
For enquiries regarding the programme-specific application documents or studies in the programme, please contact Learning Services of Aalto University School of Science
masters-sci@aalto.fi
Admission Services
For enquiries regarding the application process, obligatory application documents or English language proficiency, please contact Admission Services
admissions@aalto.fi
