Master's Degree Programme in Global Innovation Management

General Requirement

You are an eligible applicant for Master’s-level studies if

• you have a nationally recognized first cycle degree – normally a Bachelor’s degree – from an accredited institution of higher education,
• your degree corresponds to at least 180 ECTS (European credits) or to three years of full-time study, and
• your degree is in a relevant field for the Master’s degree programme that you’re applying to. Please check the section on programme-specific admission requirements for detailed degree requirements.

Language Requirements

Applicants must have excellent English language skills and a certificate that proves those skills. You can indicate your language skills by taking one of the internationally recognized English language tests. 

Applicants must reach the minimum required test results to be considered eligible to study in the University of Turku. No exceptions will be made. Read more about the language requirements here.

Study right

Please note that it is not possible to have more than one Bachelor’s or Master’s study right at the same Faculty. Therefore, when accepting an offered study place, the student will lose any previous BSc. or MSc. study right at the Turku School of Economics.

Before you start preparing your application, always read the full admission requirements on the application portal Studyinfo.fi

_{^{Academic Requirements}}

All applications are pre-screened and short-listed based on the eligibility of the applicants. To be short-listed applicants must fulfill all of the following requirements:

1. Degree Requirements

a) Bachelor of Science degree or higher in Business Administration, Engineering, Biochemistry, Food Chemistry, Molecular Biotechnology or In Vitro Diagnostics. NB! Applicants with a Finnish Master of Science degree in Economics and Business Administration (kauppatieteiden maisteri) are not eligible.

b) Bachelor of Business Administration or Bachelor of Engineering degree or higher from a University of Applied Sciences in Finland or a corresponding degree from a foreign higher education institution that meets the Finnish criteria.

You are eligible to the Master’s Degree Programmes if you have or are going to graduate by 11 August 2025. If the required degree is not completed by the application deadline, applicants should enclose a statement from their home university stating the expected date of graduation.

Only studies completed by the application deadline will be taken into account in the admission process.

2. Previous Studies in Business Sciences

Previous higher education studies must include a minimum of 60 ECTS credits in Business Science studies and a minimum of 10 ECTS credits of studies in International Business.

List of business science studies:

• Accounting and Finance
• Marketing
• International Business
• Management and Organisation
• Operations and Supply Chain Management or
• Entrepreneurship.

The list is based on the subjects taught at Turku School of Economics, University of Turku. Due to the differences in the subject names, studies in other subjects might be accepted as well.

Note that in our University studies in Business Law, Economics, Economic Geography, Information Systems Science or Quantitative Methods in Management are not recognized as business science studies. In addition, internships cannot be included in the credits.

3. Minimum Grade

The grade of the applicant’s major studies must be 4 or better for students graded on a grading scale of 1 to 5. If the applicant’s certificate does not indicate the grade for their major studies, the grade will be calculated from all courses indicated in the transcript of records. 

The eligible applicants will be graded on pre-determined points based on the following criteria:

1. Bachelor’s thesis

Grade awarded for the Bachelor’s thesis:

Grade 3 = 10 points

Grade 4 = 30 points

Grade 5 = 50 points

2. Previous studies in Business Sciences

Previous studies in Business Sciences: 1 ECTS credit = 1 point. The points are scaled to a maximum of 50 points. Scaling means that the applicant with the highest number of previous studies in Business Sciences will get 50 points and other applicants’ points are determined in relation to this.

3. International Business Studies

Previous studies in international business: 1 ECTS credit = 1 point, scaled to a maximum of 50 points.

4. Grade of major studies

The grade of the applicant’s major studies, on a grading scale of 1–5. If the applicant’s certificate does not indicate the grade for studies in their major, the grade will be calculated from all courses indicated in the transcript of records.

Grade 4 = 30 points

Grade 5 = 50 points

5. Technology-related studies

If the applicant has at least 25 ECTS credits in technology-related studies: +50 points

The extent of the programme is 120 ECTS credits and the degree is designed to be completed in two years. In addition to major and minor studies, students must take language studies and need to complete methodology courses. Students should note that this is a full-time programme and most courses have compulsory attendance.

In addition to courses focusing on international business, entrepreneurship and innovation management, students can take elective courses.

See the list of courses in the study guide.

The University of Turku fosters students' professional growth and global perspective by promoting internships and student exchanges. Every degree student can take advantage of these opportunities – all internships come with a guaranteed subsidy, and every exchange programme includes a grant.

Does this page answer your questions about the programme's content and academic matters? If not, contact gim@utu.fi.

The program is offered by Turku School of Economics at the University of Turku (TSE). TSE has earned AACSB Accreditation (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), the highest standard of excellence in business education worldwide. We have been accredited since 2019 and are committed to continually improve the quality of education we offer.

The studies include a comprehensive choice of economic sciences, other business and finance-related subjects and foreign languages. You will be part of a solid scientific community – set in a modern and demanding study environment – in which you can develop your skills and competence.

The expertise of TSE in international business combined with Finnish global competitiveness in technological innovation provides unique conditions that make this Programme an unparalleled experience, enabling students to think in new and constructive ways.

Turku School of Economics employs a variety of teaching methods that are carefully combined to give students the opportunity to learn effectively. In addition to interactive lectures, case studies, problem-solving exercises and e-learning models complement traditional learning methods.

This combination allows for the integration of theoretical insights into the real-life aspects of business. The graduates of the Master’s Degree Programme in Global Innovation Management acquire knowledge, accumulate experience and develop important personal skills.

The Programme offers lectures and seminars with class sizes varying between 10 and 30 students on average. On most courses, you will gain experience of intercultural communication by engaging in team-sized collaborative learning groups. Graduates from the Programme have a very strong foundation in research and inquiry. They are trained to utilise scientific methods to solve real world problems. They can actively apply their expertise to new situations and generate new knowledge.

At its best, a Master’s thesis is a productive and advanced study in the problematics of a specific subject. The process involves a set number of compulsory seminar group meetings, since a fundamental part of the learning process is the oral presentation of one’s own work and the ability to discuss the works of others.

Upon completion of the Master’s thesis, you:

• are able to apply the research methods on your area of specialisation in an independent research work that follows good scientific practice,
• are able to choose and formulate a research problem and develop a research plan for conducting your study,
• can describe and analyse previous research connected to the research problem and select an appropriate research method for the study,
• can apply the selected research method to collect data and to critically analyse and report the research results, and
• can identify the most significant research findings and communicate them both in writing and orally.

Examples of Master’s thesis topics

• Scouring uncharted waters – managing outbound open innovation in maritime industry
• Interactions of decision mechanisms in an entrepreneurial firm’s journey to become a major player in its industry
• The role of diaspora networks in opportunity exploitation by ethnic entrepreneurs in Finland
• Motivating employee engagement in in-house crowdsourcing. Case: Large government-owned company

The Global Innovation Management (GIM) Programme consists of courses in which teaching is performed with pride but where learning is the ultimate focus.

This means that the classes you attend during GIM might differ a little from your previous experience of studying and lectures.

In GIM, the focus is on your transformation and learning. To achieve this, the academic staff designs courses in different ways so that students take responsibility for their own learning and development.

Much of the studying is done within collaborative learning groups, which have been shown to produce superior learning outcomes. Furthermore, they are beneficial in a holistic personal development process, which includes intra- and interpersonal skills in a very international setting.

Committing to a Programme like GIM involves more than just following a curriculum. We also have an elaborate tutoring programme, which gives every student three tutors and advisors:

• a student tutor who will introduce you to the social, cultural and practical every-day life in Finland,
• an academic advisor, who is designated to support you in your studies, research, and life planning, and
• an education coordinator who will develop a personal study plan with you on a one-to-one basis.

These efforts are made in order to safeguard your overall learning experience.

Educational and research collaboration is conducted with the Indo-Finn Diagnostic Research Center.

GIM is designed to transform your thinking so that you will be able to contribute to the international success of various types of organisations.

The programme has a strong international business component. It is designed to teach you to understand the complex interactions and big picture of an ever more globally interdependent world. This capability enables graduates to become valuable actors in areas like general management, the management of small and medium-sized enterprises and similar organisational roles.

The innovation management that is part of the Programme provides a deep and broad understanding of the nature of innovations, their development and commercialisation. Our focus – in terms of innovation management – ranges from macro-systems (i.e. national innovation systems) to business concept innovations, to more traditional innovation management tasks in R&D, product, service and process innovation management. This more specialised focus complements the acquired general skills set.

Entrepreneurship studies, the third fundamental emphasis of GIM, involves working on cognitive and behavioural abilities. These have been found to positively correlate with the development and commercialisation of successful innovations.

In summary, the design of Global Innovation Management opens up a number of possible career opportunities in various organisational settings and roles.

Possible job titles include:

• category manager – external supply operations,
• branch manager,
• senior manager,
• marketing coordinator,
• managing director, and
• development manager.

The Master of Science degree opens up the possibility to apply for doctoral studies. Quite a few former Master’s students continue to pursue the Doctor of Science degree after completing the Programme.

GIM graduates are eligible to apply for a position in the University of Turku Graduate School, UTUGS. The graduate school consists of 16 doctoral programmes, which cover all disciplines and doctoral candidates of the University.

Together with the doctoral programmes, the Graduate School provides systematic and high quality doctoral training. UTUGS aims to train highly qualified experts with the skills required for both professional career in research and other positions of expertise.