Graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts
You can apply for a degree certificate using the electronic form once your thesis has been approved and you have completed the maturity test and all required studies for your degree.
Graduation and registration for the academic year
You must be registered as attending or non-attending during the academic term when your degree is conferred. You may register for non-attendance and still graduate only if you have completed all the studies required for your degree during the previous academic term.
If you have submitted your thesis project for approval on the last day of the previous academic year at the latest and you have completed all other studies required for your degree (incl. the maturity essay), you may register for non-attendance and graduate as a non-attending student if you so choose. You do not have to register as an attending student to have your thesis project graded and approved. If you are liable to pay the annual tuition fee, you will not be charged a tuition fee during the academic term when you graduate.
If you have registered for the academic term following the term of your graduation and do not have another right to complete a degree at Uniarts Helsinki, your registration will be cancelled by your home academy’s academic affairs personnel. You have right to get a refund of the student union membership fee that you have paid in accordance with the Student Union’s decisions.
Make sure you have completed all studies required for your degree
Your personal study plan (PSP) presents the schedule that you plan to follow when completing studies for your degree before your intended date for graduation. When you are closing in on your graduation, find out the graduation dates of your academy and the deadline for applying for a degree certificate. All studies that you need to include in your degree must be completed by the date when you submit your degree certificate application.
Before you anticipate graduating, check that you have completed all studies included in your PSP. You can monitor your academic progress in the PSP saved in the Peppi for Students system or from your list of completed studies (My studies-> Completed studies). You can also monitor your credits in the Tuudo system (Studies-> Completed studies).
If you want someone else to check the status of your studies, you can contact the planning officer of your department, degree programme or subject area.
Submit your thesis project
Check the guidelines for submitting thesis projects at the Academy of Fine Arts below.
Apply for a degree certificate
You can apply for a degree certificate when:
- your thesis project has been approved
- you have taken the maturity test
- you have completed all studies required for your degree
Graduation dates in the Academy of Fine Arts during the study year 2024–2025
From January 2024 onwards, separate graduation dates have been introduced at the Academy of Fine Arts. Graduation dates can be seen in the tables below. The tables also show when you need to submit your diploma application at the latest if you want to graduate on a certain date.
For example: If you wish to graduate by the autumn 2024 graduation ceremony, you must complete the diploma application no later than 29 November 2024.
Autumn term 2024
| Application deadline | Issuance of degree certificates |
|---|---|
| 6 September 2024 | 20 September 2024 |
| 25 October 2024 | 8 November 2024 |
| 29 November 2024 | 13 December 2024 (graduation ceremony) |
| 31 December 2024 | 31 December 2024 (degree certificate available for download 31 January 2025) |
Spring term 2025
| Application deadline | Issuance of degree certificates |
|---|---|
| 7 February 2025 | 28 February 2025 |
| 4 April 2025 | 25 April 2025 |
| 23 May 2025 | 6 June 2025 (graduation ceremony) |
| 31 July 2025 | 31 July 2025 (degree certificate available for download 29 August 2025) |
Apply for the degree certificate with an online form
Bachelor’s Degree Certificate
When applying for a bachelor’s degree certificate, first answer the national Finnish Bachelor’s Graduate Survey. After answering, you will be directed to the bachelor’s degree certificate application. If you are not able to answer the survey, please contact kandipalaute@uniarts.fi.
Answering the Bachelor’s Graduate Survey takes 15 to 20 minutes. The results of the survey will be used to develop the education at the university. The Bachelor’s Graduate Survey is a part of the universities’ funding model: The results and response rate affect the amount of total funding the university receives, so the responses are valuable in this way, too. The University of the Arts cannot connect given answers to individual students.
Master’s and Doctoral Degree Certificate
Download your electronic degree certificate
The official degree certificate is electronic. The diploma can be downloaded from Peppi on the day of graduation. It is no longer possible to get a degree certificate in paper form.
You will receive your degree certificate and transcript of records either in Finnish or Swedish and English.
Each student is also given an English-language Diploma Supplement as an appendix to their degree certificate to be used in international contexts. The Diploma Supplement describes the content and level of your degree. It also includes information about the Finnish education system.
Graduation ceremony
The Academy of Fine Arts’ graduation ceremony celebrates students who have graduated during the semester. The publication is held twice a academic year: in June and December.
Graduates who have completed their degree during the 2024 autumn term will be celebrated in a graduation ceremony on 13 December 2024. You will be able to register for the graduation ceremony by filling the degree certificate application or by informing the Academic Affairs Office (kuva.opintotoimisto@uniarts.fi) about your participation. More information about the event will be sent at a later date.
Student loan compensation and student loan tax deduction
If you have begun studying for your first university degree on or after 1 August 2014 and you complete your degree within the target time, you may be eligible for a student loan compensation. The student loan compensation means that Kela pays back part of your student loan.
If you have begun studying for your first university degree before 1 August 2014 and you complete your degree within the target time, you may be eligible for a student loan tax deduction. As you make repayments on your loan to the bank, your taxes are reduced by the amount of the student loan tax deduction.
Things to remember when graduating
Uniarts user ID is valid two months after graduation.
The student account/student card on Tuudo is valid until your graduation day.
Your right to access facilities will expire according to the following schedules:
- If you graduate during the spring term (1 January – 31 July), your access rights will expire on 30 September.
- If you graduate during the autumn term (1 August – 31 December), your access rights will expire on 28 February.
After graduation, remember to
- save important messages and files from your uniarts email and the university’s network drive
- empty your personal items from Uniarts Helsinki’s facilities (lockers, cabinets etc.)
- return your key tag to staff at the campus info desk