1 LEARNING, EDUCATION AND TECHNOLOGY MASTER’S DEGREE PROGRAMME ADMISSIONS FOR STUDIES STARTING IN SEPTEMBER 2015 Please, read carefully this entire document before starting the application process. INSTRUCTIONS HOW TO FILL IN THE ONLINE APPLICATION FORM We advise our applicants to allocate sufficient amount of time for preparing their online application, especially the Motivation letter and Research Intent, which we advise to write beforehand onto a separate document. Motivation letter assignment: Describe briefly (max 3000 characters) your motivation for applying to study in Master’s Degree Programme in Learning, Education and Technology. Your letter should entail the following: Explain why you wish to study in the University of Oulu, reasons why you have chosen this particular programme, how do your previous studies support studying in this programme, how will you finance your studies, how your possible studies at the University of Oulu would improve your future career and/or study objectives, and what are your plans after obtaining a Master’s Degree. Research Intent assignment: Describe your area of interest in the field of learning and educational technology, and state your potential research topic for your Master’s thesis. Write about the purpose and relevance of your potential research and describe your methodological approach. (Max 3000 characters) Once you have the final versions of the Motivation letter and the Research Intent, log into UAF application system. Choose the online application for the Master’s Degree Programme in Learning, Education and Technology. Copy paste your Motivation letter and Research Intent on the online application form. Complete your application. Check that everything is correct before saving the online application. After completing and saving the online application, it needs to be printed, signed and sent together with the necessary attachments to the address: University Admissions Finland, Yliopistonkatu 2, FI- 00170 Helsinki, Finland. Please note that the application documents must be sent to the University Admissions address (not to the University of Oulu). The signed application form and the attachments must be received by 30 January 2015 at 4:00 pm (GMT +2). Detailed admissions procedure is found on the next page. 2 LEARNING, EDUCATION AND TECHNOLOGY MASTER’S DEGREE PROGRAMME SELECTION CRITERIA FOR ACADEMIC YEAR 2015-2016 PROGRAMME DESCRIPTION Learning, Education and Technology (LET) is a full-time two-year international Master’s Degree Programme (120 ECTS credits). After completing the programme, students are awarded a Master of Arts (Education) degree, which enables them to continue their academic studies at the doctoral level. The Master’s Degree Programme in Learning, Education and Technology (LET) educates experts in learning. The core of the education consists of three theoretical viewpoints: self-regulated learning, collaborative learning, and the learning of expertise. Each aspect provides individual and collaborative learning skills, and understanding and developing these abilities are essential in this programme. Expertise includes abilities to use technologies in pedagogically grounded manners in different learning contexts . Students will be awarded an MA (Education) degree with the possibility to continue for doctoral studies. Language of instruction Language of instruction is English. PREREQUISITES FOR LET APPLICANTS Bachelor's degree or equivalent higher education degree - Preference will be given to the applicants with a background in education or in humanities. - Applicants with a background in other academic fields (e.g. information processing sciences, information studies, psychology, economics etc.) are eligible to apply as well. - Applicants with a Bachelor's degree from a Finnish Polytechnic (university of applied sciences) are eligible to apply as well English language proficiency - All teaching will be in English and therefore sufficient English language proficiency is required of all students. - The level of English language will be assessed during the interview in the second stage of the student selection. APPLICATION PERIOD Application period is 15 December 2014 – 30 January 2015 at 4:00 pm (GMT +2). The signed application form and the attachments must be received by 30 January 2015 at 4:00 pm (GMT +2). APPLICATION PROCEDURE The selection process comprises two stages: Stage I: written applications Stage II: interviews → 3 STAGE I: WRITTEN APPLICATIONS 1. A written application includes: a. Completed, printed and signed online application form b. Compulsory attachments (see below) c. Two reference letters (sent in sealed envelopes with the application package by the applicant) 2. The deadline for applications is 30 January 2015 at 4:00 pm (GMT +2). The signed application form and the attachments must be received by 30 January 2015 at 4:00 pm (GMT +2).The electronic online application is available on 15 December 2014 onwards in page: http://www.oulu.fi/degree/education Please follow the instructions given on the online application carefully. After completing the online application, it needs t o be printed, signed and sent together with the necessary attachments to the address: University Admissions Finland, Yliopistonkatu 2, FI-00170 Helsinki, Finland. Please note that the application documents must be sent to the University Admissions address (not to the University of Oulu). 3. Compulsory attachments to the application form: a. A copy of passport's information page or a copy of an official ID card b. Bachelor's degree certificate Please attach an officially certified copy of your Bachelor's degree certificate. Where a language other than Finnish or Swedish is used in the certificate, please include a translation in English (by an authorised translator). - If you have not graduated yet and are applying for conditional admission your official graduation date or alternatively the date of issue of your temporal (provisional) degree certificate must be by 31 July 2015. - Please, read detailed descriptions of the required educational documents at: Degree certificate: www.oulu.fi/degree/applicationdocuments#Degree%20Certificate Temporary (Provisional) Degree Certificate: www.oulu.fi/degree/applicationdocuments#Temporary%20%28Provisional%29%20Degree%20Certificate c. University transcript indicating the grading system of the institution Please attach an academic transcript of your Bachelor's studies. It must be an original transcript from the institution or an officially certified copy. Where a language other than Finnish or Swedish is used in the academic transcript, please include a translation in English (by an authorised translator). d. A copy (copies) of other degrees/studies completed (if relevant) Please attach officially certified copies of other degrees or studies you have finished/you will finish before 31 July 2015. e. A Curriculum Vitae Please attach your CV in English. We recommend using the Europass CV form: http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/en/documents/curriculum-vitae/templates-instructions 4. Two reference letters should be provided. Reference letter form is available at: www.oulu.fi/degree/applicationdocuments Ask your referee for a confidential reference to be returned to you in a signed and sealed envelope. Remember to mark down your application number into the envelope. Please return the unopened reference envelope with your application package to the University Admissions Finland. (Address: University Admissions Finland, Yliopistonkatu 2, FI-00170 Helsinki, Finland.) Please follow the instructions provided by the online application system. All application documents including the reference forms must be received by 30 January 2015 at 4:00 pm (GMT +2). 5. Please note the following regulations a. All copies must be officially certified (legalised), i.e. they must bear the stamp and signature of an official entitled to attest documents: a notary public, a commissioner of oaths or an authorised university official from the university which granted the original certificate. b. The University of Oulu does not attest any documents or photocopies. c. There are some country-specific requirements for certificates and transcripts, please check them at: www.oulu.fi/degree/csdocuments d. Applications and attachments will not be returned. e. Applications sent via email or fax will not be considered. f. Late applications will not be processed. g. Any form of deceit (e.g. plagiarism, fake documents) will result in rejection of the application. h. Students admitted to the University in 2012 or later may be requested to provide an extract from the criminal records for the assessment of their ability to study. Such an extract may be requested only from students whose studies include practical training or other activities involving work with minors. The extract will be requested before the beginning of the practical training or other activity. 6. Technical assistance with the online application If you have technical questions concerning the online Application Form, please contact the University Admissions Finland: - By e-mail: info@universityadmissions.fi - By tel. +358 (0)9 191 23528, Mon-Fri 12am-4pm (GMT+2). Telephone service is available ONLY during the application period. University Admissions office does NOT have visiting hours. 4 STAGE II: INTERVIEW Applicants selected for an interview will be informed latest on Friday 13 March 2015 by email. The interviews will take place from Tuesday to Friday 7-10 April 2015. If unable to attend the interview in person, applicants residing outside Finland will be interviewed via telephone/skype. The telephone/skype interviews will be recorded and recordings may be used at a later stage in cases of uncertain identity. DETAILED SELECTION CRITERIA Stage I: Written applications (max. 18 points) The written applications will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria: 1. The level and the relevance of the applicant's overall study record in the completed Bachelor's degree (0-6 points) 2. The quality of the applicant's Motivation letter * (0-6 points) 3. The quality of the applicant's Research Intent* (0-6 points) * Motivation letter and Research Intent are included in the online application form. A maximum of 45 applicants will be selected to take part in the second stage (interview) on the basis of the above mentioned criteria. The references and the CV do not accumulate points. Their purpose is to provide background information for the interviews. Stage II: Interview (max. 8 points) The final selection is carried on the basis of the interview in English (0-8 points). In order to be selected for the programme, applicants must obtain at least 4 points from the interview. There will be 20 students selected to the Master's programme according to the points from the interview. If two or more appli cants score the same number of points, their order shall be determined: First on the basis of the relevance and the level of their overall study record in the Bachelor's degree Second on the quality of the applicants Motivation letter The purpose of the individual interview in English is to establish the applicant's aptitude for educational work, ability to discuss the content areas of the programme, motivation and the relevance of their research topic. An effort is also made to establish the applicant’s social and language skills in English during the interview. The time reserved for interviewing each applicant is about half an hour. PUBLICATION OF THE RESULTS After stage I the applicants selected for an interview will be informed latest on Friday 13 th of March 2015 by email. The interviews will take place from 7-10 th of April 2015. After stage II the final results of the selection will be published on Tuesday 21st of April 2015. The names of the admitted students (and those admitted to the waiting list) will be posted on the notice boards of the Faculty of Education at the University of Oulu. Those admitted as students and those put on the waiting list will also be notified of the results by e-mail. An applicant is entitled to be given details of how the comparative index was calculated in his/her particular case. The Faculty Office will respond to any inquiries on the results. Any appeals shall be delivered in writing to the Board of Examiners and sent to the Registry Office within 14 days from the publication of the results. Please note that any information given on this document or on admissions website that is erroneous or changed at a later date cannot be accepted as grounds for an appeal. . Application period is 15 December 201 4 – 30 January 201 5 at 4 :00 pm (GMT +2). The signed application form and the attachments must be received by 30 January 201 5 at 4 :00 pm (GMT +2). APPLICATION. The deadline for applications is 30 January 201 5 at 4 :00 pm (GMT +2). The signed application form and the attachments must be received by 30 January 201 5 at 4 :00 pm (GMT +2).The electronic online. Oulu). The signed application form and the attachments must be received by 30 January 201 5 at 4 :00 pm (GMT +2). Detailed admissions procedure is found on the next page. 2 LEARNING,