Universities in Finland are one of the best in the world, it is 100% possible to study in one of these colleges as long as you qualify. Before looking at how you can study in Finland as an international student, it is beneficial to provide you with more information on the country you are aspiring to study.
Finland is a Northern European country whose capital is Helsinki, its official languages are Swedish (spoken by about 87.9% of the population) and Finnish (spoken by about 5.2% of the population. The country shares borders with Sweden, Russia, and Norway while it shares maritime borders with Estonia and country borders with the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Bothnia, and the Gulf of Finland.
The country is a republic and a parliamentary democracy, it became a member of the European Union in the year 1995 and celebrated its 105 years anniversary in 2022 with about 6.5 million population. Finland is also the most densely forested country in Europe, its currency is the Euro.
The landscape here is mostly flat, although the Scandinavian Mountains stretch into the northwestern part of the country having about 187,888 lakes, earning it the ‘land of a thousand lakes’ title. One very profound Finnish act is taking a Sauna which is simply steaming in a room that is superheated and then jumping into an icy lake— yes, that is super fun a thing to do.
Saunas are usually built with woods gotten from birch trees. There are currently more than 1 million saunas as most homes have them and companies equally provide them for their employees. The Finns are also the global capital for heavy music with almost more than 50 metal bands per 100,000 people.
Courses You Can Study In Finland
As said earlier, Finland’s tertiary education is well-known and recognized worldwide world-leading offering more than 500 English-taught bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in. Their universities equally offer English-taught doctoral degree options with about 30% of the school population from other countries. The following are courses you can offer in alphabetical order;
- Agriculture & Forestry
- Applied Sciences & Professions
- Arts, Design & Architecture
- Business & Management
- Computer Science & IT
- Education & Training
- Engineering & Technology
- Environmental Studies & Earth Sciences
- Hospitality, Leisure & Sports
- Humanities
- Journalism & Media
- Law5
- Medicine & Health
- Natural Sciences & Mathematics
- Social Sciences
Required documents For Admission Application
The tertiary academic institution in Finland has been split into two categories; Regular Universities which are basically for scientific research programs and Universities of applied science (UAS) where professional courses are been offered. Therefore, the documents required for admission in both categories vary.
UAS Requirements For Undergraduate and MSC Programs:
- Copies of completed or soon-to-be completed qualifications documents
- Official translations of all documents
- Original diplomas and original official translations
- Employment certificates
- Applications for special arrangements for entrance examinations
On the other hand, regular universities make provision for a comprehensive list of required documents once you start your online application.
Types of Degree To Apply For
- M.Sc. Master of Science
- M.A. Master of Arts
- M.B.A. Master of Business Administration
- LL.M. Master of Laws
- M.Phil. Master of Philosophy
- M.Litt. Master of Letters
- M.Res. Master of Research
- M.Ed. Master of Education
- M.Eng. Master of Engineering
- Postgraduate Diploma
- Postgraduate Certificate
- Pre-Master
Finland Universities
- UNIVERSITY OF LAPLAND
- UNIVERSITY OF JYVÄSKYLÄ
- AALTO UNIVERSITY
- HANKEN SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS
- LAPPEENRANTA-LAHTI UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
- SEINÄJOKI UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
- CENTRIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
- ARCADIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
- DIACONIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
- KAJAANI UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
- TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
- SATAKUNTA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
- HAAGA-HELIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
- HÄME UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
- ÅBO AKADEMI UNIVERSITY
- SATAKUNTA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
- UNIVERSITY OF OULU
- KARELIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
- LAB UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
- METROPOLIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
- HUMAK UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
- NOVIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
- UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN FINLAND
- SAVONIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
- TAMPERE UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
- SOUTH-EASTERN FINLAND UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
- VAASA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
- UNIVERSITY OF VAASA
- UNIVERSITY OF TURKU
- CENTRIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
Language Requirements
It was mentioned in the early stage of their article that the two official languages in Finland are Finnish and Swedish so, as an international student, if you cannot speak any of the two, yous should at least be fluent in English because you will be learning in English language if you don’t understand the other two languages.
However, if you have taken on a foreign language, you will be required to submit it as proof of language proficiency. If you don’t, that notwithstanding, you can equally try out these recommend these tests, cos they are universally recognized in Finland:
- PTE Academic
- IELTS Academic
- TOEFL iBT
- Duolingo (some universities accept Duolingo as well)
Note that Finland has its own National Certificate of Language Proficiency which you can take on just in case other English tests take too long or are too expensive.
Application Deadlines
The applications are usually open twice in a year which is during autumn and during spring.
The following Spring application deadlines:
- End of January: Application period 1 (for Master’s degrees in English)
- Start of February: Required certificates must be submitted
- Mid-March: Application period 2 (for Master’s degrees in Finnish or Swedish)
- Mid-April: Required certificates must be submitted
- End of June: Student selection results will be published
- Mid-July: Deadline for the acceptance of a study place
- Start of July – end of August: Supplementary application round
- September: Studies start
On the other hand, the following are Autumn applications deadlines:
- September: Application period ends
- End of September: Required certificates must be submitted
- November: Student selection results will be published
- Start of December: Deadline for the acceptance of a study place
- Mid-December: Acceptance from the wait-list ends
- End of November – mid-December: Additional applications
- January: Studies start
Finally, you should bear in mind that you do can also school and graduate from any Finnish university of your choice through an online program, which means it can be done while at your country. check out the university on your choice via their website and see if they offer online programs.
Trust, this was helpful.