Faculty of Social Sciences

Faculty Examinations

N.B. These web pages are not updated any more. The new web site on courses in English can be found at http://www.helsinki.fi/socialsciences/studying/guide/index.html

Faculty examinations (in Finnish: tiedekuntatentti) are a unique feature of the Finnish study system. It is possible to complete almost any study module or course by taking a written examination on specific dates throughout the year. The examination is based on designated reading, a lecture course taken previously, or both. The required reading for each study module can be found in the Study Guide. Information on how to prepare for the faculty examination can be found here.

To take a faculty examination, you have to register beforehand.

At the beginning of the examination session, students will receive an envelope containing a question sheet. Answers are then placed into the same envelope, which is forwarded to the examiner.

Examination Dates and Places

Faculty examination dates for 2009-2010

Faculty examinations 2009-2010 are mainly held at the Porthania building (Yliopistonkatu 3). More exact and weekly updated information about the distribution of the lecturehalls can be found on the Current Affairs -page or in Finnish on the page Tiedekuntatentin salijako .

Registration for Faculty Examinations

Registration for faculty examinations must be done in WebOodi 10 days before the examination.

Short instructions for using WebOodi

Some departments have restricted the units that can be taken in the examinations!

Economics
Social Psychology
Statistics. Please see Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Some other departments may have restrictions too, so please verify the information at the department or see their webpage.

The registration for the examination is under student's own responsibility. There will be no copying of the questions at the examination situation for the students without their own examination envelope.

Check that your registration is ok. Student's own registrations can be seen in WebOodi in section "own studies" and there "registrations".

Cancelling Registration

It is possible to cancel registration in WebOodi within registration period. Cancellations are not accepted if they are made after this period of time.

Restrictions on taking Faculty Examinations

If the student's particular exam has failed twice in two consecutive examinations, s/he can not attend to the next examination in the same subject. The same regulation applies to those who renounce the examination or who are absent from the examination without a proper reason.

If it is seen, that the student is deceiting in the examination situation, his examination will be suspended. Examination will fail. Same goes to the seminar works, thesis works and other assigments, if those are done with the help of plagiarism or intentional misuse of sources.

Announcement of Results

Results of the examination will be published on the noticeboard of the department in question. Names / student numbers of the students who have passed the examination will appear on the results sheet.

There will also be instructions for the students who have failed the examination on how to get information about the result of their examination. If these instructions are missing, the student should contact the examiner.

The results are usually available within thirty days of the examination, at the latest. The departments are responsible for registration of the results.

Students can order an unofficial transcript in WebOodi. They can obtain one official transcript per semester from the Student Services of the University located at the university main building (Fabianinkatu 33). If there are omissions in the transcript, students should contact the department in question and ask for the missing credits to be registered.

Good to Know about Faculty Examinations

Faculty examinations start at 9.00 a.m. Students who arrive after 9.30 a.m. will not be allowed to enter the examination hall. Students can leave the examination at 9.30 a.m. at the earliest.

The student can have only writing material at the seat (no bags etc.). It is not allowed to have dictionaries or programmable calculators in the examination. Cellular phones have to be switched off.

At the beginning of the examination, students will receive an envelope containing the questions.

Examination questions have to be returned inside the envelope to the examiner. Student has to proof his/her identity when returning the envelope.

If the student has a injury or condition where special arrangements are needed in the examination, s/he has to contact the examiner or the Study Office of the Faculty.

It should be pointed out that possible prerequisites mentioned in the Study Guide have to be taken into consideration. If a degree-student fails to obey this rule, the examination may not be graded.

Exchange-students should take a look at these prerequisites as well, since if the student does not have the background studies mentioned in the prerequisites, it is almost impossible to pass the examination.

All required reading for faculty examinations is available at the Undergraduate Library of the University. It is also available for reading room use at the Social Science Library located at Unioninkatu 35.

Students of the International Master's Degree Programmes should take into account that they are required to complete at least 90 credits out of the 120 credits in English. 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 lecture 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.

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