Language Centre's language certificates

The Language Centre provides certificates of language proficiency to students who are registered as attending the University of Helsinki and who apply to international exchange programmes or for traineeships and are required to produce a certificate by their exchange university or international employer. Exceptions to this are students doing their major in the Bachelor’s/Master’s programme in Languages, who obtain the certificate from the teachers of their degree programme.

Language skills are assessed and certificates granted by the teacher of the language in question. Language certificates are provided in languages that are taught in the Language Centre.

A copy of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) can be enclosed with the language certificate.

NB! Owing to the limited scope of testing and more restricted content, a certificate of language proficiency cannot substitute for compulsory language studies.

The Language Centre does not provide language certificates for job or grant applications. The University’s official transcript of studies – or, after graduation, the diploma – can be used for these purposes.

Language skills are assessed and certificates granted by your Language Centre teacher in Arabic.

In order to guarantee that you get your certificate in time,

• make sure that you contact the teacher no later than two weeks before the application deadline to make an appointment (NB! Certificates will only be issued to students who have participated the Language Centre courses in Arabic)
• if you have any certificate/evidence related to your language skills, please take them with you
• reserve approx. 30 minutes for a possible testing session.

The delivery time for the certificate is at least two weeks.

If you need a language certificate as part of your application to an exchange programme or exchange university, you may ask a Language Centre English teacher to test you. In some cases, you need to contact the responsible teacher for your faculty. Responsible teachers for faculties are Language Centre's English teachers who coordinate the teaching and testing of English in the different faculties and know of the courses offered at the faculties they are in charge of. See more specific instructions below.

NB! Due to the limited and specific nature of the test given, the language certificate provided for the purpose of academic exchange programmes cannot be used to claim exemption from the compulsory language requirements of the university degree.

Students who need a B2 certificate

• If you have fulfilled the language requirements in English as your foreign language by taking an English course or the Exemption test and if it is enough to have a certificate that states your skills are at level B2, contact your former teacher. 
• Tell your former teacher when the course or Exemption test you took with them was completed, which university you are going to and when.
• If the teacher is no longer at the Language Centre, contact the responsible teacher for your faculty. Tell them the same information as above.

Students who need a certificate higher than B2

• If you have fulfilled the language requirements in English as your foreign language by taking an English course or the Exemption test and if it is NOT enough to have a certificate that states your skills are at level B2, contact your former teacher. 
• Tell your former teacher when the course or Exemption test you took with them was completed, which university you are going to and when.
• If the teacher is no longer at the Language Centre, contact the responsible teacher for your faculty. Tell them the same information as above.
• Teacher will need to reassess you to be able to fill in a certificate above level B2. Assessment consists of, at least, submission of a piece of writing and an interview. The teacher will inform you of their requirements.

Students who have not fulfilled their language requirements in English

• if you have NOT fulfilled the language requirements in English as your foreign language by taking an English course or the Exemption test, contact the responsible teacher for your faculty. 
• Tell the responsible teacher for your faculty which university you are going to and when. Also inform them if you need a certificate higher than a B2. Assessment consists of, at least, submission of a piece of writing and an interview. The teacher will inform you of their requirements.

In order to guarantee that you get your certificate in time,

• make sure that you contact the teacher writing the certificate no later than two weeks before the application deadline
• write your email in English

When contacting a teacher students should indicate:

1. their student number
2. their faculty
3. if they have taken a course or Exemption test, when they took it, and the code for that course/test
4. any deadlines they have

NB! The Language Centre is not responsible for TOEFL, IELTS or Cambridge Certificate testing.

Language skills are assessed and certificates granted by your Language Centre teacher in Spanish.

If you have not been in Language Centre Spanish courses (or your teacher doesn't grant language certificates), please contact Spanish teacher Jacqueline Chávez Turro.

In order to guarantee that you get your certificate in time,

• make sure that you contact the teacher no later than two weeks before the application deadline to make an appointment
• if you have any certificate/evidence related to your language skills, please take them with you
• reserve approx. 30 minutes for a possible testing session

The delivery time for the certificate is at least two weeks.

This instruction is available only in Finnish and in Swedish.

Tutkintoon sisältyvät toisen kotimaisen kielen, ruotsin tai suomen kirjallisen ja suullisen taidon opinnot vastaavat julkisyhteisöjen henkilöstöltä vaadittavaa kielitaitoa. Muuta virallista kielitodistusta ei tarvita. Jos olet suorittanut nämä opinnot Helsingin yliopiston kielikeskuksessa ja tarvitset kielitaitotodistusta ennen tutkinnon valmistumista, voit osoittaa kielitaitosi yliopiston virallisella opintosuoritusotteella. Mikäli suoritusta ei vielä ole, ota yhteys finskan opettajatuutoriin suorittaaksesi korvaavan kokeen.

Ulkoministeriön ja Euroopan komission Blue Book-ohjelman harjoittelupaikkoja varten ei tarvita erillistä kielitodistusta, vaan ote yliopiston opintosuoritusrekisteristä on riittävä osoitus kotimaisten kielten taidosta.

Language skills are assessed and certificates granted by your Language Centre teacher in Italian.

If you have not been in Language Centre Italian courses (or your teacher doesn't grant language certificates), please contact Italian teacher Giuseppe Feroldi.

In order to guarantee that you get your certificate in time,

• make sure that you contact the teacher no later than two weeks before the application deadline to make an appointment
• if you have any certificate/evidence related to your language skills, please take them with you
• reserve approx. 30 minutes for a possible testing session

The delivery time for the certificate is at least two weeks.

Language skills are assessed and certificates granted by your Language Centre teacher in Japanese.

In order to guarantee that you get your certificate in time,

• make sure that you contact the teacher no later than two weeks before the application deadline to make an appointment (NB! Certificates will only be issued to students who have participated the Language Centre courses in Japanese)
• if you have any certificate/evidence related to your language skills, please take them with you
• reserve approx. 30 minutes for a possible testing session.

The delivery time for the certificate is at least two weeks.

Language skills are assessed and certificates granted by your Language Centre teacher in Chinese.

In order to guarantee that you get your certificate in time,

• make sure that you contact the teacher no later than two weeks before the application deadline to make an appointment (NB! Certificates will only be issued to students who have participated the Language Centre courses in Chinese)
• if you have any certificate/evidence related to your language skills, please take them with you
• reserve approx. 30 minutes for a possible testing session.

The delivery time for the certificate is at least two weeks.

Language skills are assessed and certificates granted by your Language Centre teacher in Portuguese.

In order to guarantee that you get your certificate in time,

• make sure that you contact the teacher no later than two weeks before the application deadline to make an appointment (NB! Certificates will only be issued to students who have participated the Language Centre courses in Portuguese)
• if you have any certificate/evidence related to your language skills, please take them with you
• reserve approx. 30 minutes for a possible testing session.

The delivery time for the certificate is at least two weeks.

Language skills are assessed and certificates granted by your Language Centre teacher in French.

If you have not been in Language Centre French courses (or your teacher doesn't grant language certificates), please contact the following French teachers:

• Frédéric Nozais

In order to guarantee that you get your certificate in time,

• make sure that you contact the teacher no later than two weeks before the application deadline to make an appointment
• if you have any certificate/evidence related to your language skills, please take them with you
• reserve approx. 30-45 minutes for a possible testing session.

The delivery time for the certificate is at least two weeks.

This instruction is available only in Finnish and in Swedish.

Tutkintoon sisältyvät toisen kotimaisen kielen, ruotsin tai suomen kirjallisen ja suullisen taidon opinnot vastaavat julkisyhteisöjen henkilöstöltä vaadittavaa kielitaitoa. Muuta virallista kielitodistusta ei tarvita. Jos olet suorittanut nämä opinnot Helsingin yliopiston kielikeskuksessa ja tarvitset kielitaitotodistusta ennen tutkinnon valmistumista, voit osoittaa kielitaitosi yliopiston virallisella opintosuoritusotteella. Mikäli suoritusta ei vielä ole, ota yhteys tiedekuntasi vastuuopettajaan suorittaaksesi tasokokeen.

Ulkoministeriön ja Euroopan komission Blue Book-ohjelman harjoittelupaikkoja varten ei tarvita erillistä kielitodistusta, vaan ote yliopiston opintosuoritusrekisteristä on riittävä osoitus kotimaisten kielten taidosta.

Language skills are assessed and certificates granted by your Language Centre teacher in German.

If you have not been in Language Centre German courses (or your teacher doesn't grant language certificates), please contact German teacher Tia Patenge.

In order to guarantee that you get your certificate in time,

• make sure that you contact the teacher no later than two weeks before the application deadline to make an appointment
• if you have any certificate/evidence related to your language skills, please take them with you
• reserve approx. 30 minutes for a possible testing session.

The delivery time for the certificate is at least two weeks.

Language skills are assessed and certificates granted by your Language Centre teacher in Danish.

In order to guarantee that you get your certificate in time,

• make sure that you contact the teacher no later than two weeks before the application deadline to make an appointment (NB! Certificates will only be issued to students who have participated the Language Centre courses in Danish)
• if you have any certificate/evidence related to your language skills, please take them with you
• reserve approx. 30 minutes for a possible testing session.

The delivery time for the certificate is at least two weeks.

In order to guarantee that you get your certificate in time,

• make sure that you contact Heidi Mäkäläinen by email no later than two weeks before the application deadline to make an appointment
• you'll get the language certificate primarily from the teacher that has taught you. However, teachers who have no reception hour, are not giving certificates
• if you have any certificate/evidence related to your language skills, please take them with you
• reserve approx. 30 minutes for a possible testing session.

The delivery time for the certificate is at least two weeks.

Language skills are assessed and certificates granted by your Language Centre teacher in Estonian.

In order to guarantee that you get your certificate in time,

• make sure that you contact the teacher no later than two weeks before the application deadline to make an appointment (NB! Certificates will only be issued to students who have participated the Language Centre courses in Estonian)
• if you have any certificate/evidence related to your language skills, please take them with you
• reserve approx. 30 minutes for a possible testing session.

The delivery time for the certificate is at least two weeks.