Introduction
Business and technology studies prepare you for an international career
The technology industry needs young professionals with an intercultural mindset and an in-depth understanding of the latest technologies. We at Tampere University welcome engineers and engineering graduates from all over the world to study in our MSc Programme in Business and Technology (B&T) in an intercultural, business-oriented learning environment.
B&T focuses on business development in international sales and sourcing networks. Companies operate in global networks; both managers and business development professionals need to understand how these networks work and how they can be managed.
In B&T you will develop a thorough understanding of the business processes characteristic of global business-to-business markets and the ability to apply business development practices in international networks. As a special feature, our B&T programme emphasises problem-based learning in projects with the local industry. Our programme combines theory and practice providing students with skills and competences appreciated in the industry; in terms of graduate employment rates, B&T is one of the leading international MSc programmes in Europe. An engineering background complemented with B&T is, therefore, an excellent starting point for a career in management.
As B&T is targeted at young engineers and engineering graduates, we place a special focus on technology-intensive products and services. This pedagogical approach ensures that students are able to take full advantage of their engineering background when repositioning themselves in the management field.
Information about studies
Type: Master's degree
Degree earned: Master of Science (Technology)
Planned duration: 2 years
Extent of studies: 120 ECTS
City: Tampere
Campus: Hervanta Campus
Tuition fee for non-EU/EEA citizens: 12000 €
Study objectives
The technology industry needs young professionals with an intercultural mindset and an understanding of the potential offered by the latest technologies. The Master's Degree Programme in Business and Technology (B&T) welcomes engineers and engineering graduates from all over the world to study management in an intercultural and business-oriented learning environment.
B&T focuses on business development in international sales and sourcing networks. Companies operate in global networks: both managers and business development professionals need to understand how these networks function and can be managed. Our B&T students develop a thorough understanding of the business processes characteristic of global business-to-business markets and the ability to apply business development practices in international networks. The major offered is International Sales and Sourcing, with special emphasis on business development in technology-intensive industries.
As a special feature, the B&T emphasises problem-based learning in projects conducted in collaboration with local industry. This combination of theory and practice is in great demand in the industry; in terms of graduate employment rates, B&T is one of the leading international MSc programmes in Europe.
Business development in sales and sourcing often requires managers to understand not only the potential of but also the limitations embedded in these technologies. An engineering background is therefore an excellent starting point for a career in sales or sourcing. Furthermore, since B&T is targeted for young engineers and engineering graduates, technology-intensive products and services are emphasised in the programme. This pedagogical approach ensures that students are able to take full advantage of their engineering background when repositioning themselves in the management field.
Complementary courses as a part of the major provide students with options to deepen their competencies in subjects based on their personal and career interests.
More about the language of instruction
The official language of the programme is English, meaning that all the courses, exams and student services are arranged in English. Consequently, proficiency in both written and spoken English is an absolute prerequisite. Students are required to submit an approved certificate of their language proficiency when applying for admission. In addition, students are required to complete a course in the Finnish language. The course provides them with an introduction to everyday Finnish and Finnish culture.
Study contents
Studies in B&T are organised into a pedagogically coherent three-semester package. The programme starts with an introductory course to management studies and eventually culminates in advanced courses simulating decision-making situations in real-life business. Students who hold a BSc in Industrial Engineering and Management will study a technologically oriented minor. After the three semesters, students write their master's thesis in close collaboration with a company, mostly in a paid position.
Our experienced teachers use a broad range of teaching methods, such as lectures, class discussions, case studies, written assignments and problem-based learning with companies. As is characteristic of Finnish education, we encourage active interaction between students and faculty members. The feedback we receive from our students highlights the commitment and encouragement of our teachers, the international and friendly atmosphere, and modern facilities.
Tuition fees
The tuition fee of the programme is 12000 euros per academic year for non-EU/EEA students with a scholarship system for fee-paying students.
Structure of studies
The Master’s programme (120 ECTS) may be completed in two years of full-time study.
All students with a degree from a Finnish university of applied sciences (AMK) required to complete a complementary study package which generally includes courses in mathematics, physics and/or chemistry depending on the student's background.
Career opportunities
This programme is aimed at students who have a BSc degree in engineering or technology. The engineering degree combined with our two-year management programme is a powerful combination with interesting career prospects in business development.
Our graduates have career opportunities, for example, in the following fields:
Business Development
Sales Management
Technology Sourcing
Supply Chain Management
Business Intelligence Systems
Market Analytics
Product Management
Key Account Management
Consulting
A solid theoretical knowledge combined with some practical experience is always valued in the corporate world. However, the most important assets for today's leaders, namely the willingness to grasp new opportunities fearlessly and the capability to acquire new competencies efficiently, are also practised in this programme.
Co-operation with other parties
In addition to studies in one’s own degree programme, students may take full advantage of the teaching offered by the Tampere higher education community ranging from technical to vocational studies in various fields.
Eligibility criteria
Eligibility criteria in the Master's degree programmes consist of two parts: Tampere University's general eligibility criteria, and programme-specific eligibility criteria, which specify and/or add information to the general criteria. You must meet both to be considered eligible. Applicants who do not meet both the general eligibility and the programme-specific eligibility criteria will not be selected as students in Tampere University.
General eligibility
To be eligible to apply to a Master’s degree programme at Tampere University, you must have:
Bachelor’s degree - nationally recognized first cycle degree
which corresponds to at least 180 ECTS (European credits) or to three years of full-time study
from a relevant field for the Master’s degree programme that you’re applying to
from a recognised institution of higher education
The Bachelor’s degree completed in a university outside Finland must provide eligibility for university-level master’s degree studies in the country in which it was awarded.
AND a good command of the English language for academic purposes.
Applicants in their final year of the Bachelor’s degree are eligible to apply if the degree will be completed by 31 July 2021. In this case, they would be accepted conditionally. Please see special instructions for applicants in the final year of the Bachelor's degree.
Admission to studies leading directly to a master's degree will be based on the applicant’s bachelor's degree conferred by a university or a university of applied sciences. Depending on programme-specific admission requirements, the programme may take into account skills previously acquired by applicants when considering applications.
A previously completed master’s degree will not make applicants ineligible for admission. However, applicants who are applying for admission to pursue a second master’s degree will only be admitted for particularly weighty reasons.
Programme specific eligibility criteria
Each Master's degree programme can define more detailed eligibility criteria including, for example, more specific requirements of the applicant's previous education. These criteria will be decided and published yearly for the following application round.
The previous degree should be from a field closely related to the Master's programme you are applying to. In the Master’s programme in Industrial Engineering and Management - Business and Technology, the previous degree has to be in one of the following (or highly related) fields: Technology or engineering
For applicants who have completed their degree in a University of Applied Sciences (AMK) or a University in Finland the required minimum GPA is the same as in the admission to the Master’s degree programmes offered in Finnish.
Minimum GPA for bachelor's degree completed in a Finnish University of Applied Sciences (AMK)
Minimum GPA for bachelor's degrees completed in a Finnish university (yliopisto)
4,0/5
3,7/5
An admission score will be calculated for all applicants who meet the minimum requirements. When counting the unrounded GPA weighted by ECTS only the courses (incl. thesis) with numeric grade value are taken into account.
If you have not yet graduated from your current institution, you may receive a conditional offer of admission. The offer will be withdrawn if your final GPA falls below the minimum requirements.
Language skill requirements
When applying to a Master’s programme at Tampere University, you must submit evidence of your good command of the English language for academic purposes. You have two options of demonstrating your English language proficiency: language tests or previous studies.
In both cases, you must submit a document as proof of language skills.
English language tests and the minimum result requirements:
Test name
Minimum test result for Bachelor's programmes at Tampere University
TOEFL iBT/TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition
92 overall with no section below 20
IELTS (academic) /IELTS Indicator
6.5 overall with no section below 5.5
PTE (academic)
62 overall with no section in Communicative Skills below 42
C1 Advanced*
C
C2 Proficiency*
C1
Finnish National Certificate of Language Proficiency (English)
Proficiency level 5
*The previous CAE and CPE have been renamed as C1 Advanced and C2 Proficiency
Previous studies
It is possible to be exempted from submitting a language test score if you have completed particular studies listed by Tampere University that demonstrate your good command of English for academic purposes. Only studies that fulfil the criteria will be accepted so if you apply without a valid language test result, carefully examine the exemptions listed by Tampere University and how to submit documents.
Intake
20 students are admitted to the programme.
Admission procedure
Students are selected to the programme from those applicants who submit a complete application (application and sufficient application documents by the deadline) and fulfil the official eligibility criteria.
The student selection is made by an admissions committee based on the academic qualifications and merits shown in the application documents. Please note that not all applicants fulfilling the requirements can be admitted.
Students admitted to a Master’s degree programme may be required to complement their earlier degree with complementary studies. The complementary studies will be decided at the faculty case by case (maximum 60 ECTS credits).
Scoring
The number of eligible applicants annually exceeds the number of students that can be accepted. The student selection is made by an admissions committee based on the academic qualifications and merits shown in the application documents.
In the selection process, the following judgmental requirements are evaluated as a composite:
High enough academic performance in Bachelor degree studies.
The applicants must show strong motivation to study the key topics of the programme and interest to work in an interdisciplinary area.
Having completed the MOOC course “Introduction to Sustainable Digital Life” will be considered as an advantage. The course opens 15th October 2020 and the applicant must complete the MOOC course by latest 28th February 2021 (23:59 p.m. GMT+2). All assignments must be submitted by this date to be considered. It is not possible to submit any documents after the deadline as the course closes on this day.
How to apply
Admissions step-by-step
Check the general eligibility and programme-specific eligibility criteria of the programme/s you wish to apply. You are allowed to apply to three programmes at the same time.
Read through the instructions on how to apply and start preparing your application documents as early as possible!
Take a language test if required, please see the language requirements.
When the application period opens, fill in the online application at Studyinfo.fi during the application period and upload the required enclosures to the application. The application period is 9 December 2020 at 8.00 GMT+2 - 13 January 2021 at 15.00 GMT+2.
Upload all required enclosures and send the educational documents by post to Tampere University Admissions Office within two weeks, by 27 January 2021 at 15.00 GMT+2. The documents must reach the University by the given deadline and they must be delivered according to the country-specific requirements, if applicable.
Remember to apply for a scholarship, if applicable.
Wait for the admission results to be announced at the end of March 2021.
If you are offered a study place, remember to accept it by the given deadline. Pay the tuition fee if required.
Start preparing for your arrival in Finland well in advance.
Register as a student and join the Tampere University community when the studies start in August 2021!
Online application form
The online application form will be available only during the application period only at Studyinfo.fi. The application period starts on 9 December 2020 at 8 am (GMT+2) and ends on 13 January 2021 at 3 pm (GMT+2).
Enclosures
You will need to upload copies of all required documents as enclosures on the application form. In addition to the general application enclosures, some programmes have listed additional programme-specific enclosures that are needed when applying to these programmes.
You will need to upload all required enclosures on your application form online at Studyinfo.fi. In addition to uploading, you must submit officially certified copies of your educational documents to Tampere University Admissions Office by post. Applicants whose degrees have been awarded in certain countries need to pay special attention to the documentation and documents from these countries must be submitted in a particular way. These country-specific requirements must always be followed first and foremost, prior to the regular requirements.
Applicants must post the educational documents to Tampere University Admissions Office so that they arrive by 27 January 2021 at 15.00 GMT+2. You can find the list of the required general application enclosures and further instructions on the Application documents webpage.
There are no programme-specific enclosures when applying to this programme.
However, there are programme-specific questions on the application form and you will be asked to provide:
Contact information for two academic/professional persons who can provide recommendations for you. Please give the name, organisation, position and contact information including an e-mail address that if needed, we may contact them.
Skype contact information. Please note that only a selection of applicants may be interviewed.
Admission results and appeals
Admissions results will be announced at the end of March 2021. All applicants will be informed about the admissions results.
