Software is critical in almost every industry, every business, and every function – from healthcare and information technology to the R&D industry and public sector organisations. The demand, complexity and impact of software are constantly increasing, and today, large-scale software systems form the backbone of society and the economy.
In the major Software Engineering, you will build strong technical skills in software engineering while learning how to apply business skills critical for the design, development and implementation of large-scale software systems.
Software engineering is at a turning point. Rapid advancements in AI are shifting the needs of the software industry away from pure technical skills and highlighting the role of software engineering as a key management and strategic discipline. This major will train you to meet these fundamental changes through a focus on system and service design, software engineering processes, quality assurance, and decision-making under uncertainty.
This major is a good fit for students with a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a similar field, who already have a basic understanding of software engineering and experience in programming.
Upon graduating from the major, you will have:
Software is increasingly driving large-scale societal systems, with wide-reaching implications for its impact on sustainability, security and societal wellbeing. This major will help you understand these implications and guide responsible decisions as a software engineer.
This major will equip you with some of the most in-demand technical and business skills in today’s job market. You will graduate prepared to build and manage software systems across innovative startups, large-scale businesses and societal institutions.
In the Software Engineering major, the language of instruction is English.
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.
The Master's Programme in Computer, Communication and Information Sciences – Software Engineering comprises a total of 120 ECTS credits over two years of study:
For your major studies, you can choose to take either a long (60 ECTS) or compact (40 ECTS) major. The long major is for students who want to specialise fully in software engineering and become industry experts or pursue doctoral studies. The compact major teaches the key elements of software engineering to give you a strong foundation for a career in the industry, while giving you more time to broaden your skills through your minor studies.
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 most courses aren’t available online or every year.
While there may be courses available online, as a general guideline, studies at Aalto University School of Science require on-campus attendance.
The major in Software Engineering doesn’t include formal specialisations. The core major courses you will take in the first year will provide you with the main models, methods, and tools needed in software development as well as product and service design.
You can then begin to direct your own studies based on your interests. The optional courses in this major are divided into four groups based on their subject matter, and you can choose freely from among them to shape your professional profile towards technical software engineering, user-centred design and platform development, AI/machine learning, or business.
A few course examples picked from the extensive curriculum are:
Key courses in the major build towards the software project, where you will apply what you’ve learned to a practical problem in software engineering.
Teaching methods
Software engineers deal with problems that have a real impact on humans and society. The major in Software Engineering delivers a strong theoretical foundation while preparing you to tackle the practical challenges facing the software engineering field.
The day-to-day teaching is project-based and built around real-world problem solving – not just getting the right answer. You’ll progress from learning core theory and concepts to applying those concepts, working on small projects, and finally undertaking a large, realistic software project where you’ll bring all your skills together.
Other learning methods include lectures by professors and visiting specialists, taking part in seminars, reading scientific articles, writing essays and deepening your knowledge through personally tailored exercises.
More information on the major content and curriculum can be found in the Student Guide.
According to the QS World University Ranking, Aalto University is among the world’s leading institutions in Computer Science and Information Systems. The Software Engineering major brings together a highly international and accomplished community of students, teachers and researchers. As software engineering is currently one of the most sought-after skills in the world, graduates can pursue careers almost anywhere.
The School of Science also offers many possibilities for student exchange at one of Aalto’s prestigious partner universities. Exchange studies can be included in the degree as, for example, an international minor. You can also take a summer course or conduct your practical training abroad.
Overall, Aalto University is international by nature, welcoming thousands of degree and exchange students from abroad every year. You’ll be part of this diverse student community not just through your studies, but also through events and activities around campus. Active tutoring programs and support services work hard to help international students integrate into Nordic culture and feel at home in Finland.
The skills learned in this programme are an excellent basis for doctoral studies at Aalto University, another Finnish university, or top international universities.
At Aalto, doctoral students from the CCIS programme work on complex, real-world challenges in software engineering. Many graduates become researchers or pursue other academic careers. Others use their doctoral degree to develop deep expertise in preparation for a high-level role in software engineering.
Read more about applying for doctoral studies at Aalto University.
Software is the ultimate source of capacity, innovation, competitiveness, quality, and agility of companies. Nearly every business relies on software, so the field is incredibly broad, and you’ll have an exceptionally wide range of career paths available to you.
This major Software Engineering will prepare you to contribute meaningfully to the design, development and direction of digital systems that affect society at scale.
Typical job titles of recent graduates include:
Technical Development: Software Engineer, Software Developer, Application Developer, Full Stack Developer, Backend Developer, Frontend Developer, Mobile Developer, QA Engineer, Test Automation Engineer.
Architecture, Design & Infrastructure: Software Architect, Solutions Architect, DevOps Engineer, Systems Designer, Service Designer, UX Manager, Usability Specialist, Requirements Specialist.
Leadership, Product & Process: Business Development Manager, Operations Lead, Technical Project Manager, Scrum Master, Product Owner, Software Development Manager, Product Manager, Test Lead.
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, Solita, Tieto, Unity Technologies, VR Group, Wärtsilä.
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.
The key areas of investigation for our research groups include software processes and organisations, the human-centric aspects of software engineering, artificial intelligence in software engineering, and software innovation. If you’re interested in getting involved, some students earn positions as research assistants or contribute to ongoing research through their master’s thesis.
You’re encouraged to build on your strong technical foundation by taking courses outside the major. For example, you might decide to explore the business aspects of software and digitalisation by taking courses at the School of Business. On the other hand, you may decide to focus on highly technical subjects – if so, there are a number of courses available to equip you with deep skills in software architecture and design, testing, and modelling.
You’ll also work closely with companies and public sector organisations throughout your studies. Guest lectures are a regular part of the programme, putting you in frequent contact with industry leaders. Many students conduct their thesis research in collaboration with an outside company, public sector organisation, or nonprofit, giving you the opportunity to work on real-world problems and connect your studies to the software engineering field.
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 Documents required by the study option.
This is the master version of the programme-specific evaluation criteria and its Finnish and Swedish versions are its translations.
| 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). |
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.
This study option (master’s programme) requires two sets of documents from their applicants:
The lack of this document will cause rejection.
The lack of this document will cause rejection.
In addition, these additional documents add value to your application:
Curious about life at Aalto University? Chat with Aalto students on Unibuddy and join them for virtual Coffee sessions on Fridays!
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
sci.admissions@aalto.fi
Admission Services
For enquiries regarding the application process, obligatory application documents or English language proficiency, please contact Admission Services
admissions@aalto.fi
