É«É«À²

At Aalto University, Finnish and English are languages of instruction and degree in the field of business, and Finnish, Swedish and English are languages of instruction and degree in the fields of art and technology. The language of degree in bachelor’s and master’s programmes may be Finnish, Finnish/Swedish or English, or the programme may be multilingual. The language of degree defines the linguistic rights of the students within the given programme.

The languages used in teaching at Aalto University

Languages of courses and course implementations

At Aalto University, every course has a defined set of languages that students may use as a language of study attainment (see definition below) in some implementation(s) of the course. Every course implementation defines which of the language(s) of study attainments, language of instruction and supplementary language of instruction (if any) it will in fact use. Please note, therefore, that all the languages of study attainment indicated in the general description of a course are not necessarily allowable in every implementation of the course. Also note that the language of study attainments may be different than the language of instruction. 

• The language of instruction is the language in which the course is taught, for example, when teachers lecture or give instructions to practice groups.
• The supplementary language of instruction is an additional language used for teaching alongside the language of instruction. The teacher may use it to provide teaching and guidance using an additional language side-by-side with the primary language of instruction, including, for example, through real-time machine translation of lectures.
• The language of study attainment is the language in which students may complete the individual ‘study attainments’ that make up the coursework, such as written or oral examinations, presentations, artistic work or other kinds of student work that is evaluated. The language of study attainment is usually, but not always, the same as the language of instruction. If other languages of study attainment are possible, they are indicated in the curriculum. 

Example: The possible languages of study attainment for a course are listed as Finnish, Swedish and England. Two different implementations of the course are given during the academic year. In one of the implementations, the language of instruction is English and the languages of study attainment are English, Finnish and Swedish. In the other implementation, the language of instruction is Finnish and study attainment languages are Finnish and Swedish. In the former, the teaching is conducted in English and the students may do their coursework in any of the three languages of study attainment. In the latter, the teaching is conducted in Finnish and the students must use either Finnish or Swedish in their coursework. In neither implementation is the teaching conducted in Swedish. 

For any course implementation, you will find the language of instruction in the ‘Further information’ section of the syllabus, and more detailed language information in the course description. Please remember that different implementations of a course may have different languages of instruction and study attainment. 

Language of study modules

You can find the languages of the study modules in your programme from the Student Guide, from the curriculum and from Sisu. Study modules, such as majors and minors, also have defined language(s) of study attainment. You can complete most of the study module in the indicated language. Please note that a study module’s optional studies may include courses that are to be completed in a different language. 

To view the language information for a minor, look in the Student Guide under â€˜Minor subjects’. There you can also search for minor subjects based on the language information.

In what language may I study and receive academic guidance?

Finnish or Finnish/Swedish bachelor’s and master’s programmes: The language of instruction and the language of study attainments in these programmes is usually Finnish. In the fields of art and technology, Swedish is also used.

• In general, you will complete your study attainments in the language of instruction. However, please note:  
  • In the course implementations of ARTS, CHEM, ELEC, ENG and SCI, if the language of instruction is Finnish, you have the right to complete study attainments in Swedish (for example, when answering exam questions). This does not apply to course implementations for which a parallel implementation is available in Swedish or to course implementations offered by the School of Business.
  • Conversely, in the course implementations of ARTS, CHEM, ELEC, ENG and SCI, if the language of instruction is Swedish, you have the right to complete study attainments in Finnish (for example, when answering exam questions). This does not apply to courses for which a parallel implementation is available in Finnish. 
  • If a course implementation whose language of instruction is English also accepts study attainments in Finland’s national languages, that will be indicated in the course description. In such cases, the options for the language of study attainment are, in BIZ, English in addition to Finnish, and in ARTS, CHEM, ELEC, ENG and SCI, English in addition to Finnish and Swedish.
• As a general rule, whenever Finnish or Swedish is a language of study attainment, you have the right to receive exam questions and coursework or other assignments in either language you choose. However, a course implementation may include assignments and related material that do not have different language versions.
• Theses in the arts and technology fields are usually written in Finnish or Swedish, and in business usually in Finnish. 
  • However, you may request permission to write your thesis in English.
• Thesis advising is performed in the language of the thesis unless you agree with your thesis advisor on using another language.
• Depending on your choice, you may complete a minor and elective studies in Finnish, Swedish or English.

English bachelor's and master's programmes: The language of instruction and study attainments is usually English.

• In general, you will complete your study attainments in the language of instruction. However, please note: 
  • If a course implementation whose language of instruction is English also accepts study attainments in Finland’s national languages, that will be indicated in the course description. In such cases, the options for the language of study attainment are, in BIZ, English in addition to Finnish, and in ARTS, CHEM, ELEC, ENG and SCI, English in addition to Finnish and Swedish.
• Theses are usually written in English.
• Thesis advising is performed in the language of the thesis unless you agree with your thesis advisor on using another language.
• Depending on your choice, you may complete a minor and elective studies in Finnish, Swedish or English.
   

Multilingual bachelor’s and master’s programmes: The languages of the study options for a programme affect which languages of instruction and study attainment will be used in the programme. 

• In bachelor’s programmes, the language of instruction and study attainment in the core studies is Finnish if the study option was in Finnish or in Finnish and Swedish. In the fields of art and technology, Swedish is also used. 
  • At present, the Bachelor’s Programme in Business Studies is the only multilingual bachelor’s programme. The study option for applications to it is in Finnish. 
• In bachelor’s programmes, the language of instruction and study attainment in the core studies is English if the study option is in English.
  • At present, Aalto does not offer any such bachelor’s programmes. 
• Majors in multilingual programmes are offered in Finnish and English. With regard É«É«À²â€™s areas of educational responsibility, students must be offered an appropriate amount of majors that can be completed in Finnish and the teaching must be mainly in Finnish. In the fields of technology and the arts, Swedish may also be used in addition to Finnish.
• In multilingual programmes without a structure for a major, the compulsory studies are organised mainly in Finnish and English, and a sufficient amount of the programme’s optional studies must be available mainly in Finnish, but also with a sufficient amount in English. In the fields of technology and the arts, Swedish may also be used in addition to Finnish.
  • ‘Sufficient amount’ means that students will have a real possibility to complete at least half of the programme’s studies of their choice in Finnish/Swedish or in English and that they will also receive teaching in the language of their choice.
• You may write your thesis in Finnish or in English; in the fields of technology and the arts, you have the option to write it in Swedish.
• Thesis advising is performed in the language of the thesis, unless you agree with your thesis advisor on using another language.
• Depending on your choice, you may complete a minor and elective studies in Finnish, Swedish or English.