Changes to the rules on the expiry of studies from 1 August 2025
The University has defined time limits within which you can use your studies for degrees or study modules. The aim is to ensure that your degree and the knowledge it provides are up-to-date when you graduate.
As a rule, courses completed more than ten years ago cannot be used for study modules, and modules completed more than ten years ago cannot be incorporated into degrees.
The validity period of an individual course is counted from the date of completion of the course. After the studies are compiled into a study module, the validity period is counted from the date of completion of the most recent courses included in the module.
Courses and modules are valid until the end of the term in which the expiry date falls: for example, a course taken in the spring term of 2025 can be used as part of a study module until the end of the spring term of 2035. A study module compiled in the spring term of 2025 is valid for a degree until the end of the spring term of 2035, provided that the most recent course in the module is also from the spring term of 2025.
Some exceptions to the general rules have already existed, and the University has recently decided on some new exceptions. The new exceptions will come into force on 1 August 2025 and will apply to all students:
- Native language, Second national language ja Foreign language required to demonstrate language proficiency in the degree.
- An assessed and approved bachelor's thesis, master's thesis, licentiate thesis and doctoral thesis do not expire at all.
- The expiry of doctoral studies is interrupted when the preliminary examination of the doctoral thesis is launched: the studies / study modules included in the doctoral degree must be under ten years old when the preliminary examination is launched. Please note, however, that if the preliminary examination is discontinued, the studies must be less than ten years old also at the time when the preliminary examination is relaunched.
The previous rule that the expiry of a completed basic study module is interrupted by the completion of the related intermediate study module remains in force.
The current rules on the expiry of studies are available in full in the Studies Service Instructions. The new changes to the rules will be updated in the instructions before the beginning of August.
Questions? If you are unsure of how the rules of expiry affect your studies, you can always contact the student services of your home faculty. Please note that during the summer there are exceptions to the opening hours of services and there may also be a delay in the response time to emails.
Photo: Anniina Sjöblom (University of Helsinki)
(This bulletin was first published on June 17, 2025.)