Requirements and regulations
Language of Education
What is language of education?
Information about your language of education is entered in Peppi under Personal Data. Your language of education is either “Finnish”, “Swedish” or “a language other than Finnish or Swedish”. Language of education is not always the same as your mother tongue. More detailed information on some other language as the language of education, e.g. Chinese, may also be given but it is not necessary.
If your language of education is incorrectly marked in Peppi or the entry is missing, please contact the Academic Affairs.
How is the language of education defined?
Your language of education is the language in which you have completed your native language syllabus in comprehensive school and/or upper secondary school. Your language of education is therefore stated on the graduation certificate of a Finnish comprehensive school or upper secondary school. The language of education is not determined based on a basic vocational degree.
If you have attended comprehensive school and upper secondary school in different national languages, you can choose whether your language of education is Finnish or Swedish. You cannot change the choice you have made later during your studies at the university of applied sciences.
The matriculation examination may define your language of education if you have completed it in a language different from your language of education. In this case, the language in which you have completed an approved mother tongue exam in the matriculation examination or got at least magna cum laude approbatur as a grade in Finnish as a second language or Swedish as a second language may also be considered to be your language of education.
International degrees (IB, EB, Reifeprüfung) do not affect your language of education. If you have completed a degree corresponding to an international upper secondary school but a Finnish comprehensive school before that, your language of education is determined based on the graduation certificate of the Finnish comprehensive school.
What effect does language of education have?
Your language of education affects your studies in two ways:
1. Your language of education determines which studies in the other national language are mandatory in your degree:
If your language of education is Finnish, your degree includes Swedish studies as a mandatory second national language. These compulsory Swedish studies are marked in the curriculum, and you will receive an assessment of both oral and written Swedish skills. The evaluations shall be entered in the language clause recorded in the degree certificate.
If your language of education is Swedish, your degree includes a compulsory course in the other national language: YY00DT02 Finnish language and communication 3 cr. This study replaces 3 credits of the obligatory Swedish language studies marked in your curriculum. In this case, contact the head of studies to update your study plan. The Finnish language studies, YY00DT02 Finnish language and communication, are usually carried out via accreditation by the communication teacher. One must agree on completing the studies with the communication teacher. After completing the course, you will receive an assessment of both oral and written Finnish skills. The evaluations shall be entered in the language clause recorded in the degree certificate.
If your language of education is a language other than Finnish or Swedish, your degree does not include compulsory studies in the other national language. In this case, you can apply for an exemption from the competence requirements of the other national language. Instead of studying the other national language, you must study the same number of other studies. The entry for the exemption shall be entered in the language clause of the degree certificate.
2. Your language of education determines the language in which you write your maturity test:
If your language of education is Finnish, you will write your maturity test in Finnish.
If your language of education is Swedish, you will write your maturity test in Swedish.
If your language of education is a language other than Swedish or Finnish, you will write your maturity test in English.
For justified reasons, you can apply for changing the language of the maturity test in Pulmu. The matter is decided by the Director of your unit on a proposal from the Head of Studies.
The annex of the degree certificate contains an entry about your language of education and the language in which you wrote your maturity test.
What do the language clauses in the annex of the degree cerficate mean?
The language clauses in the annex of the degree certificate show that you have acquired the Swedish and Finnish skills that are a requirement for the governmental personnel working in positions for which a university degree is required.
The assessment of the second national language is marked as either satisfactory (grades 1-3) or good (grades 4–5) in the language clause of the degree certificate. The assessment is given separately for oral and written competences.
The language clause of the degree certificate also includes an entry for your language of education and the language of your maturity test. When your language of education is Finnish and the language of your maturity test is Finnish, the entry indicates excellent Finnish language skills. When your language of education is Swedish and your maturity test is Swedish, the entry indicates excellent Swedish language skills.