Application Documents

Application documents include:

1. A copy of your valid passport

2. Curriculum vitae 

3. Statement of purpose

4. Research proposal

5. Academic text

6. Copies of degree certificates, transcripts of records and diploma supplements

7. GPA and GMAT/GRE tests

8. Proof of language skills (English or Swedish)

9. Major specific enclosures

1. A copy of your valid passport

2. Curriculum vitae

• must be written in English and should be 1-2 pages. The format is free.
• The main purpose of the CV is providing a timeline as support in the academic evaluation but is a mandatory application enclosure for all applicants.
• Note that all application documents are public information, so please do not include sensitive information such as information on health conditions, religious and political affiliation, union membership, relationship status, assets etc. 

3. Statement of purpose

All applicants need to complete the set statement of purpose. Once answered, please, save it as in PDF, and upload it to your application. Hanken does not accept any other motivational letters or statements of purpose.

statement_of_purpose.docx Opens in new window

4. Research proposal

Every applicant should submit a (short) Research Proposal or at least a description of the intended field of research. For more information, please see Advice on Setting up a Research Proposal

5. Academic text

• You should be the sole author to the text (or at least it should be clear which part you have written)
• The text should be written in English or in Swedish (max 7000 words)
• The text can be a previously written text, for example a part of your Master's thesis, or work done in connection with a completed course
• It is important that you are satisfied with the quality of the text
• The content of the text does not need to be connected with the major you are applying for

6. Copies of degree certificates, transcript of records and diploma supplements

Non Finnish degrees:

• Please submit electronic copies of your official Bachelor's and Master's degree certificates, transcripts of records, and diploma supplements (or other official certificates of the qualifying degree in question).

• For any university level courses/achievements that are not included in your university level Master's and Bachelor's degrees and which you want to be considered in the evaluation of your application, you need to include electronic copies of the official transcripts of records.

Finnish degrees:

• If you have graduated, please send us the specific link to your degree certificates in the online application Oma Opintopolku/Koski (share your personal verification link in your application), or
• If your Finnish university does not provide such links, please upload electronic copies of your official Bachelor's and Master's degree certificates, transcripts of records, and diploma supplements (or other official certificates of the qualifying degree in question)

NB! It is the responsibility of the applicant to make sure the documentation is available to him/her by the closing date of the application round.

Please also note that should you be successfully admitted to the Hanken PhD Programme, you will need to send us officially certified copies of all documentation by the set deadline provided in the offer letter.

Provisional documentation to enclose:

Should you graduate after the application deadline, but before the last working day in July, you can still apply for admission by enclosing provisional documentation according to the deadline decided for the current admissions round. Please see the instructions for enclosing provisional documentation:

Instructions for Enclosing Provisional Documentation

If your educational documents are issued in a language other than English, Finnish or Swedish, official translations of them to one of these languages are required. 

An official translation must be one of the following:

1. Issued by the awarding institution
2. An officially certified copy of a translation issued by the awarding institution
3. Translated by an official translator (original document)
4. An officially certified copy of a translation made by an official translator

Each page of an official translation must bear the translator’s stamp and/or signature. Official translations must be exact translations of the original documents. Translations done by the applicant him- or herself are not accepted.

7. GPA and GMAT/GRE tests

All applicants are required to fulfil Hanken's qualitative requirement which consists of either the GMAT or GRE test or a sufficient GPA depending on which group you belong to:

Group A

• Applicants applying with a qualifying a degree obtained in an EU/EEA country, Switzerland or who have a degree from one of Hanken's partner Universities.

Applicants who belong to Group A need to meet the following requirements:

• GPA is a minimum B on a US grading scale (3.0 out of 5.0 Finnish scale)

You can check if your GPA meets the requirements with the WES World Education Systems online grading scale conversion tool Opens in new window . If there is no conversion table for your country, Hanken will convert your GPA on a case-to-case basis.

If the GPA in the qualifying degree does not meet the set requirements, you need take either the GMAT or GRE admission test and obtain a minimum test score as listed below under Group B.

• All applicants who belong to Group A are required to calculate their GPA (on the grading scales used in their degree) for the studies included in the qualifying degree and state the calculated GPA in the application form.
• Applicants also need to submit an official certificate where the GPA in question is clearly stated if such a certificate can be issued by the degree awarding institution. The certificate can be either the degree certificate, transcript of records or a separate official certificate issued by the degree awarding institution.
• If the applicant does not submit an official certificate where the GPA is clearly stated with their application, Hanken will verify that the GPA calculated by the applicant is correct. Hanken reserves the right to decide whether the applicant fulfils the GPA requirement or not.
• Applicants who have not yet graduated at the time of applying, are required to calculate the GPA for the qualifying degree for the courses which are included in the transcript of records submitted with the application and, if possible, submit an official certificate where the GPA in question is clearly stated. Note that when applying and submitting your application, your GPA needs to fulfil the requirement even if you have not graduated yet.

 Group B

• Applicants who are applying based on a degree obtained in a country outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland

Applicants who belong to Group B need to meet the following requirement:

• GMAT: a minimum overall test score of 600 in GMAT™ Exam Opens in new window  or GMAT™ Online exam Opens in new window  OR
• GRE: a minimum score of 158 in the quantitative part in GRE™ Exam Opens in new window  or GRE® General Test at home Opens in new window

Exempted from this rule are applicants who have completed the qualifying degree at one of Hanken's partner universities Opens in new window  and whose GPA meets the GPA requirement of at least Grade B (US grading scale). For more information, please see above (Group A).

NOTE: The UK belongs to Group B, regardless of when you completed your degree.

• The last date to take the GMAT or GRE test is the closing date of the application round.​ Hence, the actual test result may reach Hanken after the application deadline.

To have the test result sent directly to Hanken, please indicate the following codes when you make the request:

GMAT NRC-QZ-38
GRE 8433

 8. Proof of language skills (English or Swedish)

Please see the Language Requirements for types of certificates to submit or test results required.

 In order to be considered for admission, the certificate / score report needs to be official, valid, and fulfil the language requirements (including minimum scores). NB! The certificate for exemption from the language test requirement also needs be uploaded with the degree documents. 

9. Major specific enclosures

In addition to the above-mentioned mandatory documents for all applicants, please also see possible Major Specific Requirements and include the necessary documentation accordingly.