Where can I find courses?

If you wish to explore currently available courses, begin with the following websites:

• Courses – If you wish to search for interesting courses from the studies offered by the University as a whole 
  • You can search for courses with specific terms or refine the search results, for example, by date, target group or language of teaching. You can access course pages by clicking on the course title in the search results. Course pages provide detailed information on courses and include a link to their Moodle areas, if any.
• Courses offered by degree programme – If you wish to explore the courses offered by a specific degree programme or study track
• Optional studies – If you wish to know what optional studies are offered by, for example, other degree programmes
• Open university studies – If you wish to explore open university studies
• Language Centre studies – If you wish to explore the studies offered by the Language Centre
• Swedish-language studies – If you wish to study in Swedish
• Courses available to exchange students - if you wish to explore the courses available to exchange students

For basic information on each course as well as the content added by the teacher, please see the course pages in the Studies Service section “Courses”. You can view the information without logging in or registering, but some of the content added by teachers to the course pages may be available to course participants only. The course pages also give you access to information on the degree requirements the courses meet. Before registering, please always check the information on the course pages because teachers may update the pages after they have been published. 

When you know which course you wish to complete, add it to your study plan and register for it in Sisu. Information on registration is available at How do I register for my courses and exams?

You can find the course pages through the search available at Courses or from Sisu. After registration, you can find the link to the course page in the Studies Service calendar (requires login).

Teaching programmes are published in two parts: preliminary versions in March and the actual programmes usually in June.

Preliminary teaching programmes

• Published in March
• The preliminary teaching programmes of degree programmes are published on this page. To access them, select your degree programme from the menu at the top, and the teaching programme will appear at the bottom. If you are an exchange student, please also see the instructions in the section I wish to search for courses available to exchange students.
• The Language Centre’s preliminary teaching programmes are published on the Language Centre’s website.
• Open university courses can be found in the preliminary teaching programmes of degree programmes and the Language Centre. 
• Preliminary teaching programmes contain the following information:
  • The courses you can complete in the upcoming academic year and the teaching periods in which they are offered
  • The course implementation and completion methods (you can find more information on the page How are studies completed?)
  • The course languages
  • The courses included in open university education and the courses available to degree students free of charge or subject to regular rates
  • The courses open to exchange students

Actual teaching programmes

• The actual teaching programmes for the autumn and spring terms are published in Sisu and on the Courses section of the Studies Service. Usually they are published by the end of June.
• Summer courses are published in Sisu and on Courses, usually in early March. Information on open university courses can also be found on the helsinki.fi website at Open university: Summer studies. 
• Before registering, please check the information on the course pages. Teachers may update the pages after teaching programmes have been published. You can find links to the course pages in Sisu and on Courses and, after you have registered, in the Studies Service calendar.
• Actual teaching programmes contain the following information:
  • Detailed information on course implementation and completion methods (you can find more information on the page How are studies completed?)
  • Course timetables and venues
  • Course teachers
  • Registration details
  • Any other details

You can find information on open university studies on the Open University website. It includes information on:

• courses offered during the academic year in specific degree programmes and on specific topics
• preliminary information on upcoming studies
• information on registration and course fees

In the Courses section of the Studies Service, you can view open university courses by selecting ‘Courses open for all’ in the target group menu. As a rule, information on courses offered in the next academic year will be available from the end of June (summer courses from the end of March).

In addition, open university courses are included in the teaching programmes of degree programmes and the Language Centre. For information, please see the section above. You can also find open higher education courses of the University of Helsinki and other Finnish higher education institutions on the new Opin.fi service.

If you are an exchange student, finding and choosing courses suitable for your learning agreement, and knowing which courses you can take can be tricky. To help you find your way, we've put together a separate page on courses for exchange students. Visit the page to learn how and where to find courses suitable for exchange students.

The preliminary teaching programme is available only in Finnish/Swedish, you can view it by changing the page language to Finnish/Swedish. After changing the language, you also need to select the correct degree programme (Finnish: kotimaisten kielten ja kirjallisuuksien kandiohjelma or Swedish: Kandidatprogrammet i Finskugriska och Nordiska språk) from the menu at the top of the page. Please note that changes may occur. Actual teaching programmes will be published, as a rule, by the end of June in Sisu and on the Courses website.

The teaching language is in most cases Finnish or Swedish.

Incoming exchange students who are studying Finnish at a university abroad:

• Please choose courses from the Finnish Language and Culture, Finnish Language, Finnish Literature or Finno-Ugrian Languages and Cultures course list. Note, however, that many courses require at least a B2 level in Finnish. If you are unsure of your level or it is B1, please take part in the placement test so that we may recommend suitable courses for you. You may also attend any lectures above your language skill level and get study credits by writing an essay (see the codes FINN-301 and FINN-302, more info sari.paivarinne_at_helsinki.fi).

Incoming exchange students who are studying Scandinavian languages at a university abroad:

• Please choose courses from the Scandinavian languages course list. Please note, that for Scandinavian languages, you need at least a level of B2 in Scandinavian languages. Exceptions are:
• KOK-P101 where only a B1 level is required
• KOK-N101 and KOK-N102 where a C1 level is required
• KOK-N2XX courses require a C1 level
• NOR-SXX courses require a C1 or C2 level.
• You can also study Scandinavian Literature. Please, choose courses from the Scandinavian Literature course list. Please note, that for studies in Scandinavian Literature, you need at least a level of B2 in Scandinavian languages.

Finnish Language: all courses are in Finnish (see the page in Finnish)

Finnish Language and Culture: all courses are in Finnish (see the page in Finnish)

Finnish Literature: all courses are in Finnish (or Swedish) (see the page in Finnish or Swedish)

Romani and Roma Culture: all courses are in Romani or in Finnish (see the page in Finnish)

Scandinavian languages: most of the courses are in Swedish, some in Norwegian or Danish (see the page in Swedish)

• NB. If you have at least a level of B2 from Swedish language, you can choose any course in Swedish except seminars.

Scandinavian Literature: most of the courses are in Swedish, some in Norwegian, Danish (see the page in Swedish) or English

• NB. If you have at least a level of B2 from Swedish language, you can choose any course in Swedish except seminars.

Finno-Ugrian Languages and Cultures: some of the teaching may be in Hungarian or Estonian. The language of instruction is indicated in the preliminary syllabus.

Incoming exchange student: When choosing courses please pay attention to

• Teaching period (autumn term = periods 1 and 2, spring term = periods 3 and 4)
• Teaching language
• Suitability for exchange students

You may also complement your course selection with courses in English available for all incoming exchange students at the Faculty or Arts on this page.

Prelimary teaching programmes 2025-2026

Please check the teaching language(s) of each course from the PDF file.

• Finnish for international students