Degree structure

The degree structure in Finland has some differences with Australia but primarily in terms of nomenclature rather a substantive difference. Most important to understand is that in Finland  a Master’s degree is an undergraduate degree. It takes five years to complete and it is best understood in Australian terms as something akin to the our honours system whereby a three year bachelors degree has an extra year added on for students who meet the criteria to do “honours”. In Finland it is two years and confers a Master’s degree.
The closest to a postgraduate Master’s degree equivalent in Finland is the Licentiate, which has a duration of two years. As in Australia there is then a doctoral degree available, though the term of study is four years not three as it is here. This means the overall system is a little different in its degrees and their worth, since someone may have spent five years doing a Master’s degree and then two years doing a Licentiate. This makes seven years of study overall without a doctorate, whereas in Australia it is possible do four years of an undergraduate degree, start a Master’s, then convert it to a PhD and emerge with a full doctorate after seven years.

It is permissible for Finnish students with a Master’s degree to begin a Doctorate immediately, thus achieving PhD status within nine years. If you have a high honours degree and wish to go straight into a doctoral programme you should approach the particular institution at which you wish to study regarding your eligibility.
In cases of both the Licentiate and Doctorate preparation and research of a comprehensive thesis are compulsory parts of both programmes. It is usually the case that a doctoral thesis will be published and must be defended in a public debtate.
Note that Masters’ degree programmes at polytechnics accord much directly with the Master’s degree system you will be familiar with in Australia.

Polytechnics

The Ministry of Education operates 29 polytechnics: local authorities operate 7; municipal education consortia run 11 while the private sector runs 11. There is also the Aland University of Applied Sciences in the self-governing Province of Aland and a Police College subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior. The polytechnic degrees last between 3.5 and 4 years full time and mostly require 210-240 credits. The entry requirement is generally a certificate from a higher secondary school or a matriculation certificate, a vocational qualification or corresponding foreign qualification. There are 130, 000 students studying at the polytechnics and they give out over 20, 000 polytechnic degrees and 200 polytechnic Master’s degrees annually.

The number of polytechnic Master’s programmes is expected to grow in the next few years. Polytechnic Master’s programmes have a requirement of a Bachelor’s level polytechnic degree and at least three years of work experience. The polytechnic Master’s goes for 1.5-2 years with a 60-90 credits requirement and is the equivalent of a university Master’s degree on the labour market. The polytechnics are more practice-based and prioritise close interaction with business, industry and services.

Study in English

There are over 400 different study programmes offered in the English language. However not all of these are postgraduate courses. However there are 170 courses offered at the Masters or equivalent to Masters level, with over 150 of these offered through the universities. In early 2008 there were 23 offers of doctoral programmes available. You should make specific inquiries concerning submitting your thesis in English at your chose institution.

To research what courses might be available you should go to the Finnish Centre for International Mobility Study Programmes Database

Despite this growing trend in offering English language courses note that you should expect there may be some requirement for you to learn some Swedish or Finnish during your studies.

The following universities all have large international student contingents and offer some, and even many, postgraduate courses in English. (student numbers apply to 2002)

Åbo Akademi (7,500 students of whom 500 international)

University of Helsinki (37,244 students of whom 1,926 international)

University of Joensuu (6,897 students of whom 411 international)

University of Jyväskylä (14,359 students of whom 426 international)

University of Oulu (14,500 students including over 1,700 PhDs)