General instructions related to graduation

You can apply for a degree from your faculty once you have completed all studies required for the degree and they have been recorded in the study register. A student applying for a degree must be enrolled at the university as a present student while applying for the degree.

If necessary, the persons responsible for study guidance of the faculty and the departments or schools will help you check the completed and missing study attainments. However, the student him/herself is obligated to check that he or she has completed all studies required for the degree in question in accordance with the degree structure and curriculum when applying for a degree certificate.

The right to pursue a degree terminates when the degree for which the right has been granted has been completed. A student, who has completed a Master’s degree in the University of Eastern Finland or a Bachelor’s degree with no right to complete a Master’s degree or doctoral degree, has the right to complement their studies free of charge during the academic year on which the degree was completed and the following two academic years by enrolling as a student (continued right to study). For more information on continued study right, visit Student Handbook.

The University of Eastern Finland introduces digital degree certificates as of 1 August 2022. The digital degree certificate includes a cover sheet in Finnish and in English, a transcript of the academic record in Finnish and in English, as well as a Diploma Supplement in English.

Lost or Destroyed Degree Certificates

Graduated on or after 1 August 2022 (digital degree certificates)
The student can request a new digital degree certificate from the university Registry Office free of charge.
If their UEF user account is still valid, the student can download the digital degree certificate from Peppi.

Graduated before 1 August 2022 (paper degree certificates)
If a degree certificate has been lost or destroyed, the university will provide a copy to replace it. A certified copy of the degree certificate can be requested from the Registry Office. The email address of the Registry Office: kirjaamo@uef.fi. Additional information and the price list are available at: Registry office | University of Eastern Finland (uef.fi)
If an alumnus has not received their original degree certificate at all, the university will ask them for a written account of its disappearance as well as an assurance that they will return one of the original degree certificates should the lost one be discovered later on.

Legalization of Degree Certificate Documents

If you need the legalization of your UEF degree certificate documents please contact during certificate process the person preparing your certificate at UEF. Your electronic certificate will be printed out for paper form (in colours) and the certifying UEF stamps will be added in each page of the academic documents.

Legalization can take place by two different routes depending on whether the country of the awarding institution is a signatory to the Hague Convention of 1961 or not.

1) Documents supplied by countries that have ratified the Hague Convention are legalized by the issuance of an Apostille Certificate (stamp or paper certificate).
2) Documents issued by other countries are legalized in two steps: first by the foreign ministry of the issuing country, then by a competent Finnish Embassy or Finnish Consulate of that country.

Comprehensive instructions for apostille and legalization you may find:
Apostille: https://dvv.fi/en/apostille-en
Legalization: https://um.fi/legalisation-of-documents-for-use-abroad

Faculties’ Guidelines and Instructions for graduation

Please make sure to check your Study Community for possible additional instructions.

The application form will be available in E-services scroll down for option ‘applying for diplomas’ (UEF account is required).