Apply to the master’s programme in Arts Management, Society and Creative Entrepreneurship
Admissions guide for the 2-year Arts Management, Society and Creative Entrepreneurship programme.
The Master’s degree programme in Arts Management, Society and Creative Entrepreneurship leading to the Master of Arts degree (MA) is 2 years in duration, 120 credits in total.
The next application period is scheduled for January 2024.
Who can apply?
A person with the background education required for the degree programme in question and sufficient language skills may apply for studies.
The Sibelius Academy may, at its discretion, also accept a temporary certificate issued by the educational institution if it indicates that the applicant has completed all studies required for the degree and will receive the degree certificate later.
Sibelius Academy will check every applicant’s eligibility before the entrance examination.
Students are admitted to the Sibelius Academy based on their performance in the entrance examination. Certificate-based admissions or quotas for first-time applicants are not in place.
Master’s degree (2 years)
A person who has completed at least one of the following is eligible to apply:
- an applicable lower university degree
- an applicable university of applied sciences degree
- an applicable foreign degree that provides eligibility for corresponding higher education studies in the awarding country.
For the Arts Management, Society and Creative Entrepreneurship programme, a qualification in any field is applicable. Besides relevant background education applicants are required to have some working experience, preferably in the field of arts management, or related fields. The work experience could include internships and voluntary work.
You cannot apply for a master’s degree programme if you have not completed at least a lower university degree.
The Sibelius Academy may require that a person admitted to study towards a master’s degree complete complementary studies of a scope equivalent to a maximum of one year of studies in addition to the minimum number of ECTS credits required by the degree programme in order for them to attain the skills required in the training. In principle, complementary studies must be completed in the first year of study, and they must be included in the student’s personal study plan. The applicant is informed of the complementary studies required of them in connection with the admission decision. Such complementary studies must be mentioned in the programme’s admissions proposal.
Exceptions to eligibility
The student admission for bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes applies to applicants who do not have a valid right to study at Uniarts Helsinki at the beginning of the applied right to study, with the exception of persons who have the vice rector’s permission to complete two degrees simultaneously. A degree student registered at Uniarts Helsinki may apply for a change of right to study within the Sibelius Academy or between academies. There are separate instructions for applying for a change of the right to study and for applying for a permission to complete two degrees simultaneously. More information on the rule of one study right can be found here.
Language requirements
The language of tuition in the Arts Management, Society and Creative Entrepreneurship programme is English. You must demonstrate your language proficiency in English by the given deadline.
Entrance examinations
You can be invited to the entrance examinations if:
- you have submitted an electronic application form and the required attachments at Studyinfo portal, and
- the Dean of the Sibelius Academy deems you eligible based on the submitted documents.
The implementation of the entrance examinations for each programme is described in the programme’s admission criteria. The entrance examination schedules of separate programmes may overlap. If the applicant has applied for multiple programmes, they must choose which examinations they attend in case of overlaps.
A programme’s entrance examination may consist of several stages and contain multiple sub-tests. If the applicant does not participate in all of the examination’s compulsory sub-tests, they cannot be admitted as a student.
The Sibelius Academy will send applicants instructions for participation in entrance examinations in the entrance examination invitation. The exact times for individual entrance examinations are confirmed at the latest in the morning of the entrance examination day. Individual examination times cannot be changed except for compelling reasons not attributable to the applicant. Such reasons include the matriculation examination (or a corresponding event) and an accident or sudden illness (a medical certificate is required). In such cases, the examination time can only be rescheduled within the limits of the Entrance Examination Board’s working timetables.
The entrance examination is a closed event attended by the applicant, the Entrance Examination Board and the agreed assistants (for example, an accompanist, a training choir, a board assistant or the applicant’s assistant). Entrance examinations may not be recorded.
If you wish to cancel your participation in the entrance examination, notify the Sibelius Academy Admissions Office by email as soon as possible.
Individual arrangements in the entrance examination
If you require individual arrangements in the entrance examination because of a sensory or physical disability or other corresponding reason, more information on individual arrangements can be found here.
Arts Management, Society and Creative Entrepreneurship entrance examinations
In Arts Management, Society and Creative Entrepreneurship programme, there are two separate selection groups for applicants:
- General selection group for all applicants
- Open University selection group (for those who have completed studies in Uniarts Helsinki’s Open University)
Both selection groups have unique admissions criteria and therefore, they are not comparable. On the application form you must select in which selection group you apply. You can select only one group.
General selection group for all applicants
First stage: Advance assignments
The first stage of the examination consists of the following three advance assignments. Submit them to the Sibelius Academy via Studyinfo portal no later than 26 January 2022 at 3pm EET (Finnish time):
- Motivation essay
The motivation essay must be written in English and consist of max. 1,000 words. The essay should feature the following content:
- Your work or other practical experience in arts management or related fields. Also write about your most essential learning experiences through work experience in the field.
- In your opinion, what are the most interesting aspects and themes in arts management.
- Reasons why you are interested in this programme and its curriculum.
- Your vision of the future of the arts management field and the role you are planning to play in it.
- Your experience, interests, and ideas in the academic research of arts management (if any)
- Your experience and skills in writing academic English (if any)
You may title your essay as you wish.
- CV in English with specific details of arts management related work experience and studies (max. two pages)
- Reflective academic essay based on a provided research article
Choose (only) one of the articles linked below and write a brief reflective essay (max. 1.500 words, Word or PDF document) based on it. The essay will be discussed further with the applicants who are invited to the second stage.
Articles:
- Kangas, Anita & Sokka, Sakarias (2015): Cultural access and activation: Civic participation in local sustainable communities (Link: https://jyx.jyu.fi/bitstream/handle/123456789/52918/kangassokka.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y).
- Eleonora Belfiore (2018): Whose cultural value? Representation, power and creative industries, International Journal of Cultural Policy, DOI: 10.1080/10286632.2018.1495713 (link: https://doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2018.1495713).
- Gehman, Joel & Soublière, Jean-François (2017): Cultural entrepreneurship from making culture to cultural making (link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14479338.2016.1268521).
Write your name on all advance assignments.
If you fail to submit all advance assignments or if you have not provided the assignments in the required format, you will not be invited to the second stage of the examination.
The Entrance Examination Board will select a part of the applicants to the second stage of the entrance examination based on their advance assignments. Invitations to the second stage will be sent by email.
Second stage
The second stage of the examination consists of an interview.
Interview
The interview will be arranged via a remote connection, and it will last up to 30 minutes.
The essay written in the first stage by the applicant will be discussed during the interview.
The interview will be conducted in English.
Open University selection group
Applicants, who have completed 20 credits of arts management studies in Uniarts Helsinki’s Open University, are able to apply in the Open University selection group. For more information about this application path, please see: https://www.uniarts.fi/en/campaigns/open-university-path-to-the-masters-programme-in-arts-management/.
First stage: Advance assignments
The first stage of the examination consists of the following three advance assignments. Submit them to the Sibelius Academy via Studyinfo portal no later than 26 January 2022 at 3pm EET (Finnish time):
- CV in English (max. two pages)
- Motivation letter
The motivation letter must be written in English and consist of max. 1,000 words.
In the Motivation letter you should reflect your Open University studies and what you learned from them. Also describe why you wish to complete a whole degree in arts management.
- Certificate of your completed Open University studies
Submit a certificate of completed Open University path studies. Only partially completed path studies are not accepted.
All eligible applicants in the Open University selection group are invited to take part in the second stage of the entrance examination. However, if you fail to deliver the abovementioned documents by the given deadline, you will not receive an invitation to the second stage of the examination.
Second stage
The second stage of the examination consists of an interview.
Interview
The interview will be arranged via remote connection, and it will last up to 30 minutes.
The interview will be conducted in English.
Entrance examination assessment
General selection group
In the first stage, the quality of the content of your CV and motivation essay will be assessed.
In the Reflective academic essay, the Entrance Examination Board will assess the quality of the content and the structure of your essay (introduction and conclusion), developing arguments, relevance, critical/analytical thinking and writing style.
In the interview, the Entrance Examination Board will assess your communication skills, suitability and motivation for studies and the understanding of the arts management field.
For educability, the Entrance Examination Board will assess your ability to complete your degree studies in the normative duration for the completion of a degree in accordance with the Universities Act (2 years in the case of Arts Management, Society and Creative Entrepreneurship).
Scoring of the entrance examination (general selection group)
Your entrance examination and its subparts will be graded on a scale of 1-5.
The components of the entrance examination are weighted as follows:
- Advance assignments (Motivation essay, CV, and Reflective academic essay) 50 %
- Interview 50 %
Open University selection group
In the motivation letter, the Entrance Examination Board will assess the content and structure of your writing (relevance, critical/analytical thinking). Your writing skills will also be assessed.
In the interview, the Entrance Examination Board will assess clarity and quality of your answers, your communication skills, suitability and motivation for studies, and also understanding of the arts management field.
For educability, the Entrance Examination Board will assess your ability to complete your degree studies in the normative duration for the completion of a degree in accordance with the Universities Act (2 years in the case of Arts Management, Society and Creative Entrepreneurship).
Scoring of the entrance examination (Open University selection group)
Your entrance examination and its components will be graded on a scale of 1-5.
The components of the entrance examination are weighted as follows:
- CV and motivation letter 60 %
- Interview 40 %
Admissions results
The boards rank the applicants of each programme based on their entrance examination score. The final decision on students admitted to the programmes and those placed on the waiting list is made by the dean of the Sibelius Academy.
A study place is offered to highest scoring applicants who meet the selection criteria. Applicants ranked behind the admitted students may be placed on a waiting list in the order of their score. The waiting lists are either programme-specific or group-specific if there are several groups in a single programme. A study place will become vacant and can be offered to an applicant on a waiting list only if one of the applicants admitted to the same degree programme (or group) chooses not to accept the study place, or if someone who has been conditionally admitted fails to submit the necessary documents by the end of the deadline.
If there are no applicants who meet the admissions criteria, some programmes may choose not to admit new students. If a specific degree programme does not admit any new students, applicants to that programme cannot be placed on a waiting list.
Announcement of results
Admission results, including the names of the applicants who have given the permission to have their names published online, will be published on the Uniarts Helsinki website. In addition, each applicant can view their situation in the Studyinfo portal. Admitted applicants and those placed on the waiting list are informed of the results by email.
Feedback
Applicants may request feedback on their entrance examination performance. The feedback provides the applicant with information on how the evaluation criteria stated in the admission criteria were applied in the assessment of their entrance examination. Instructions for requesting feedback will be published on the Uniarts Helsinki website in connection with the publication of the admission decision.
Rectification procedure
If you believe that the Sibelius Academy has acted contrary to its admission criteria, you can request for rectification to the student admission decision from the Sibelius Academy in writing within 14 days of the publication of the admission results.
The rectification procedure is not intended as a means for receiving feedback, asking for further information about the admission or requesting unjustified re-evaluation. Instructions for submitting a request for rectification will be published on the Uniarts Helsinki website in connection with the publication of the admission decision.
More information about the rectification process can be found here.
Accepting the offered study place and starting your studies
An offer of admission can be accepted either via the Studyinfo system or by filling in the confirmation form attached to the letter of acceptance and by delivering it to the admissions office. You must accept your study place by the given deadline. If the confirmation arrives late, it will not be considered.
Accepting an offer of admission is a binding choice, which cannot be changed or cancelled later on.
You must also register as attending at the Sibelius Academy before the academic year begins – more information will be sent to you along with your acceptance letter.
First-year studies begin in mid-August with an orientation period that is compulsory for all new students.
Questions or comments?
You can contact us via e-mail at siba.admissions@uniarts.fi.
If you have any questions, please check first if your question has been already answered on our frequently asked questions page. This page will be updated constantly. Please check it regularly to see if new questions have been answered. Please note that in principle we do not explain the entrance examination assignments. The instructions are in the admissions guide.
If you have any questions regarding student life at the Sibelius Academy or in Helsinki, you can contact our Student Ambassadors at siba.student.ambassadors@uniarts.fi.
The Sibelius Academy Admissions Chat
What is it like to study at the Sibelius Academy and live in Helsinki? How do you apply to the Sibelius Academy? To find out answers to these questions please watch the recording of our 2022 Admissions Chat event that was organized on 24 November 2022 from Youtube by following the link below.