Faculty of Arts

The Faculty of Arts is the oldest and largest unit of teaching and research in the field of humanities in Finland. In addition it has the most comprehensive range of disciplines and the largest number of international contacts. The Faculty offers over 70 subjects in the fields of philosophy, history, classical, domestic and modern languages and cultures, art studies. Interdisciplinary programmes are organised in women's studies and several area studies. An extensive variety of courses in the Finnish language is included in the curriculum. The Faculty has almost 100 partners within SOCRATES almost as many within NORDPLUS, as well as many other bilateral agreements with universities abroad.








Today the number of students in the Faculty totals about 8000, including around 500 international degree students. The number of exchange students arriving annually is over 150. The Faculty is headed by Dean Kulonen, who is a professor among the total of 250 teachers, about 50 of them international lecturers. Several dozen international scholars and teachers visit the faculty annually.

Studying at the Faculty of Arts
The official teaching languages are Finnish and Swedish. Courses in modern philology are also taught in the respective languages. An increasing number of English language programmes are especially designed for exchange students. Moreover, the Renvall Institute's area programmes can be studied at least partly in German, Swedish and other Nordic languages, Russian and Spanish.

Studying at a university in Finland differs from studying at a university in many other countries, because the studies in Finland are not so tightly set within a field of study. Studying at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Helsinki is, traditionally, relatively free. In many fields of study the students can build up their degree depending on where their interests lay. This means that they can also choose minor subjects freely. However, the major studies as well as the minor studies must be carried out under certain rules, in order to receive grades for the studies in the degree certificate.

A Bachelors degree requires completed secondory education, equivalent to that offered in the Finnish system.

Most courses are taught in Finnish. Many are taught bilingually in Finnish and Swedish. Some courses are offered in English for international students. If you are looking to do a complete degree at the Faculty of Arts, it is advised that you will require sufficient knowledge of the Finnish language.

The university offers Finnish language courses.

The faculty awards:
Bachelor and Master's Degrees of Art.

A bachelor degree is necessary in order to continue on to complete a masters degree and potential PhDs.

The University of Helsinki - the leading university in Finland

The University of Helsinki is Finland’s oldest, biggest and most diverse institution of higher education conducting research and providing education based on it. The University of Helsinki consists of 11 faculties, representing all academic disciplines with the exception of technology and business, and it operates on four campuses.

The University community comprises 38,000 degree students, two-thirds of whom are women. The annual intake of new students is close to 4000; only one-fifth of the applicants pass the demanding entrance exams. The University currently has 1,200 international degree students and annually more than 700 exchange students come to study here.

Eleven faculties include - theology, law, medicine, humanities, natural sciences, behavioural sciences, social sciences, agriculture and forestry, veterinary medicine, bioscience and pharmacology - are all top of their league even in international comparison.

The strengths of the University of Helsinki are internationally acclaimed scientific research and the teaching based on it. One of the special characteristics of the University of Helsinki is that it is a bilingual institution: Swedish-language teaching provides improved opportunities for Finnish-speaking students, too, and enhances Nordic co-operation.

Using many indicators, the University of Helsinki is the most internationally oriented of Finland's universities, and it is a member of the League of European Research Universities, LERU. University of Helsinki encourages multidisciplinary studies across faculty and university boundaries. In autumn 2005, the University adopted a new two-cycle degree system, with the exception of medicine. Former credits (opintoviikko) are now ECTS credits (opintopiste).

Studying at the university is an enjoyable and exciting journey during which young people can develop themselves in many ways, both in terms of knowledge and of life skills. University of Helsinki degrees have a strong reputation. The employment prospects of our alumni are good, and the critical scientific thinking they have adopted will provide them with a solid foundation for lifelong learning that is crucial in today’s world.

international bilingual pharmacy medicine law social science masters programmes theology arts agriculture