Degree programmes

Finnish higher education institutions provide over 340 degree programmes at Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctor’s level. All these programmes lead to an official Finnish higher education degree.

Degree education in English is available in various fields of study.

Finnish universities have moved to the degree structure of a three years Bachelor's degree (worth 180 ECTS credits), and two years Master's degree (worth 120 ECTS credits).

Post-Master's level degree at universities are Licentiate (worth 60 ECTS credits) and Doctor’s (worth 240 ECTS credits) degrees. The Doctoral degree normally requires at least four years of full-time study.

The polytechnics (universities of applied sciences, UAS) also have a two-tier degree system with a Bachelor’s degree (worth 210-270 ECTS credits) lasting from 3.5 to 4.5 years. Polytechnic Master’s degrees (worth 60-90 ECTS credits) last from 1 to 1.5 years, and are targeted at people with a Bachelor's Degree and at least 3 years of post graduation work experience.

Finnish higher education institutions use the ECTS system (European Credit Transfer System) in measuring a student’s workload. In this system one full-time academic year is equivalent to 60 higher education credits.

Finnish HEIs issue a Diploma Supplement, a document jointly designed by the EU, the Council of Europe and UNESCO to provide information about the studies completed by the student, the status of the degree and the qualification provided by the degree for further studies and for jobs.