Post-graduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship and Startups

Post-Graduate Diploma (PGD) is a master-level education programme, designed to enable a transparent and straightforward recruitment process of international talents and their further relocation to Xamk campus towns to join the full-time studies on-site. Our PGD programmes consist of 60 ECTS of professional courses, which are meant to prepare the students for multi-faceted working environment in Finland and to ensure their competitiveness in the employment market.

Students who successfully accomplish our PGD programme and who meet the eligibility requirements of the related Master’s degree, can get their acquired 60 ECTS transferred directly to the Master’s program at Xamk. This setup provides the participants with an opportunity to graduate with a Master’s degree from Xamk after submitting their final thesis and thus does not extend the study time unlike similar setups in other HEIs worldwide.

Students accepted to a PGD and who meet the eligibility requirements for further Master’s degree programme enrollment are granted a conditional acceptance letter to one of our Master’s degrees. An unconditional letter of acceptance to Master’s degree programme will be handed out after the successful graduation from the PGD and fulfillment of the admission requirements for the relevant Master’s program. The detailed requirements for enrolling in a Master’s programme are explained above in the main section of the web-page.

No, however, the students who successfully accomplish the studies can apply to continue their studies in the Master’s Programme. Please, note that since the Post-graduate Diploma Programme does not lead to a degree itself, some of the degree students’ benefits do not apply here, e.g. Kela supported lunch discount, YTHS medical on-campus services, international mobility opportunities etc. However, those will be available once you transfer to degree studies upon completion of this programme.

You can apply to the programme by yourself or via an educational agent. You will find the detailed requirements and application information from this site.

The next application period for the Post-graduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship and Startups is now open. Please fill in the application form here.

After being accepted to the programme, Xamk’s Education Export team will send you the guidelines on how to complete the payment. Please remember to only trust email addresses that end with xamk.fi.

We will send an acceptance letter to all accepted students. We recommend to start the visa application process as soon as your study place has been confirmed, because the process can take a long time to be completed.

We will also organise an online orientation session, where you will get all the necessary information to start preparing for your arrival to Finland.

In addition to that, you will receive a thorough info package with plenty of advice and guidance to make your relocation as smooth as possible. There are also informational videos that you can watch prior to your arrival.

We strongly recommend to arrive to Finland only a few weeks before the programme starts. This will give you plenty of time to settle to Kouvola and find your way around the town before your studies start.

In case you arrive with your family, please read our guide very thoroughly and make the necessary preparations for their arrival as well.

No, there is no scholarship scheme in Post-graduate Diploma Programmes.

Although we will ensure the students are provided with support to complete all the courses, there is still a chance some students may struggle with certain courses. In case if some courses are not completed, students will still receive ECTS for the completed courses, and they will remain valid in their personal study register.