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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. At the moment, the options for the language of degree in Aalto bachelor's and master's programmes are Finnish, Finnish/Swedish and English. The language of the degree defines the linguistic rights of students within the given programme.

The languages used in teaching at Aalto University

Languages of courses and course implementations

Every course at Aalto has a set language of instruction and a set language (or languages) of study attainment:

• 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 language of study attainment is the language in which students may complete their course work, such as written or oral examinations, presentations, artistic work or other kinds of work that is produced or performed and that is evaluated. The language of study attainment is usually the same as the language of instruction. However, other languages are possible, if so indicated in the curriculum. Please note that not every course is held in every language of study attainment. 

To see the language of instruction for a particular course, see Additional information in  Information sheet for the course. To see the languages of study attainment for a course, see the Basic information part of the Information sheet.

Language of study modules

Study modules, such as majors and minors, have language(s) defined for them. The student may complete the module in a language indicated. Please note that a study module’s alternative studies may include courses that can be completed in some other language. 

To see the language of study attainment for a study module, go to Classification section, or to or go via the Student Guide to your programme's pages to find majors and other study modules for your programme, For academic minors, see the menu option “” in the Student Guide.

In what language may I study and receive academic guidance?

The new language guidelines are being implemented in stages. The curriculum planning for the academic years from 2024 to 2026 will still be done largely according to the previous (2015) guidelines on the languages of instruction and degree.

Finnish or Finnish/Swedish bachelor's and master's programmes: The language of instruction and the language of study attainment is usually Finnish. In the fields of art and technology, Swedish is also used. The language of instruction for a programme’s elective or alternative studies may be Finnish, Swedish or English.

• As a rule, you will complete your study attainments in the language of instruction, however:  
  • In the courses of Aalto schools ARTS, CHEM, ELEC, ENG and SCI, if the language of instruction is Finnish, you have the right to complete your study attainment in Swedish (for example, when answering exam questions). This does not apply to courses for which a parallel implementation is available in Swedish or to courses organised by the School of Business.
  • If the language of instruction is Swedish in a course organised by ARTS, CHEM, ELEC, ENG or SCI, you have the right to complete your study attainment in Finnish (e.g. in answering exam questions). This does not apply to courses for which a parallel implementation is available in Finnish. 
  • If a course whose language of instruction is English also accepts study attainments in Finland’s national languages, that will be indicated in the course description. In these cases, the options for the language of study attainment in ARTS, CHEM, ELEC, ENG and SCI is Finnish and Swedish in addition to English, and in BIZ, Finnish in addition to English.
• Whenever Finnish or Swedish is a language of study attainment, you generally have the right to receive exam questions or other assignments in either language you choose. However, the course may include assignments and related materials that do not have different language versions.
• Bachelor’s theses in the technology and arts fields are usually written in Finnish or Swedish, and in business usually in Finnish.  
  • However, you may request permission to write your bachelor's thesis in English, if you wish.
• 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 the language of study attainment is usually English.

• As a rule, you will complete your study attainments in the language of instruction, however: 
  • If a course 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 in ARTS, CHEM, ELEC, ENG and SCI will include Finnish and Swedish, in addition to English, and in BIZ, Finnish will be included as an option, in addition to English.
• Thesis is 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.