Urhea students: Combining competitive sports and studies

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Effectively planned higher education studies support a career in sports and success in both sports and life at large. The University of Helsinki is a partner of the Metropolitan Sports Academy Urhea.

What is an Urhea student?
Guidance for the Personal Study Plan (PSP) and support for Urhea students

What is an Urhea student?

Urhea students are students of the University of Helsinki who are members of the Urhea academy. The academy promotes high-performance athletes’ study opportunities and professional training. The University of Helsinki and UniSport, the University’s sports service, support this goal. For further information, visit the Urhea website (content in Finnish only).

Urhea students receive the same guidance and supervision as other students. From students, combining studies and sports requires anticipation and active planning. 

Guidance for the Personal Study Plan (PSP) and support for Urhea students

At the University of Helsinki, Urhea students receive the following support for their studies:

PSP guidance:

  • The teacher providing PSP guidance (PSP teacher, teacher tutor or mentor) or teacher group with whom studies are planned and scheduled and the personal study plan is drawn up.
  • Students initiate the planning by exploring the educational offerings in Sisu. Further information on study planning
  • Before guidance, Urhea students must have the upcoming training and competition schedules drawn up, for example, in cooperation with their coaches or sports associations.
  • Planning takes place primarily in the beginning of studies and in connection with updates related to the PSP and competition periods.

Individual courses:

  • In the case of individual courses, Urhea students must, if necessary, discuss well in advance with the teacher whether they can complete the course in another way or later. Course learning outcomes cannot be compromised. Instead, alternative completion methods must be discussed.