Faculty of Social Sciences

Studying in English

The University of Helsinki is a bilingual institution, with instruction and student services offered in both Finnish and Swedish (6.5% of students are Swedish speaking). However, the main language of instruction at the University of Helsinki is Finnish.

At the Faculty of Social Sciences, it is possible to complete the degrees offered for international students in English. However, non-Finnish speaking students may have to complete some of the study units as written examinations based on required reading listed in study guide.

The amount of offered lecture courses in English varies with the department and with the year. An up-to-date listing of the courses is available here.

If the required reading for a particular course is in Finnish, it is possible to contact teachers in order to choose alternate books in English.

Although a working knowledge of English and also other European languages is quite common among Finns, acquiring a basic knowledge of Finnish (or Swedish) is essential for everyday life and contact with people.

International Master's Degree Programmes

The official language of the International Master's Degree Programmes of the Faculty (e.g. ERI, MES, REMS, MGC, PPHIL) is English. However, it is possible to include courses taken in other languages (e.g. during international exchange or exchange at another university in Finland) in the degree. The amount of courses in other languages than English cannot exceed 25% of the number of total credits of the programme, i.e. students are required to complete at least 90 credits out of the 120 credits in English.

Please note that in case of Faculty examinations, it is not enough that the books are in English but the students ought to answer the questions in English as well. It is the students' responsibility to require the questions in English.

It is a general policy of the Faculty that if the course is held in English, the questions of the final exam as well as the students' answers ought to be in English as well unless otherwise agreed.