Graduating from the Sibelius Academy
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.
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.
Check the graduation schedule
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
If you are unsure of whether you have completed all of the studies required for your degree, contact the academic affairs staff of your academy or the planning officer of your subject.
Submit your thesis project
The content, scope and completion method of a thesis project, which may also be called a demonstration of proficiency in English, varies by degree programmes and major subjects at the Sibelius Academy.
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 at https://kandipalaute.fi/en. 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
Application deadlines and dates for issuing certificates
Application deadlines and dates for issuing certificates
Spring term and autumn term 2024
| Application deadline | Issuance of degree certificates |
|---|---|
| 31 July 2024 | 31 July 2024 (the certificate will be sent by 31 Aug 2024) |
| 30 August 2024 | 27 September 2024 |
| 27 September 2024 | 25 October 2024 |
| 1 November 2024 | 29 November 2024 |
| 22 November 2024 | 16 December 2024 (graduation ceremony) |
| 31 December 2024 | 31 December 2024 (the certificate will be ready by 31 Jan 2025) |
Spring term 2025
| Application deadline | Issuance of degree certificates |
| 3 January 2025 | 31 January 2025 |
| 31 January 2025 | 28 February 2025 |
| 28 February 2025 | 28 March 2025 |
| 28 March 2025 | 25 April 2025 |
| 2 May 2025 | 30 May 2025 |
| 16 May 2025 31 July 2025 | 13 June 2025 (graduation ceremony) 31 July 2025 (the certificate will be ready by 31 August) |
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.
Read here how to download your degree certificate from Peppi
The graduation ceremony
The Sibelius Academy organises a festive graduation ceremony twice a year in Helsinki: in December and in June. Everyone who has graduated after the previous graduation ceremony is invited to the event. All graduates receive a personal invitation to the event, and participation requires registration in accordance with the instructions provided in the invitation.
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.
Graduation and student financial aid from Kela
Do I receive financial aid for the month of my graduation?
If you receive student financial aid, remember that if you graduate before the 18th of the month, you will not be entitled to receive financial aid that month.
How does graduation affect the financial aid income check?
In the income check, the income that you have received during the entire year (1 January – 31 December) is compared to the annual income limit.
When Kela monitors student incomes, Kela checks the income data in the taxation data and the national incomes register. However, graduation cannot always be taken into account in the preliminary decision. In other words, you may receive a preliminary decision even if you have earned your income or part of your income at some other time than during your time as a student. In this case, it is a good idea to request a review from Kela and state when you were an active student and when you earned the income.
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