Pedagogical studies arranged in English (STEP Programme)

The Subject Teacher Education Programme (STEP) are the Pedagogical Studies for Teachers arranged in English. The Programme helps the future teacher to develop into a professional in the planning, implementation, evaluation, and development of teaching.
What are the STEP Studies?

Study Objectives

The qualification requirements for teaching personnel in Finland are stipulated in Decrees No. 986/1998 and 865/2005. Subject teachers in comprehensive schools (= peruskoulu in Finnish, grades 3-9) and upper secondary schools (= lukio in Finnish, grades 10-12) must have completed, among other things, the Pedagogical Studies for Teachers as defined in the Decree.

The Subject Teacher Education Programme (STEP) is the Pedagogical Studies for Teachers arranged in English complying with the Decree requirements. It is arranged every year by the Faculty of Educational Sciences. The programme helps the future teacher to develop into a professional in the planning, implementation, evaluation, and development of teaching.

Please read more about the content and structure of the Programme.

The extent of the Programme is 60 credits which corresponds to 60 ECTS credits in the European system. It corresponds to the full-time work load of a whole academic year. The academic year runs from 1 August to 31 July but the compulsory attendance is required from the last week of August until the end of May.

Even if the Programme can be completed n one academic year the non-degree students are automatically given a study right for two years.

There are no tuition fees connected to the Programme.

The STEP Programme is open to those

  • who have already completed an appropriate Master’s level degree at a Finnish university or abroad (= non-degree applicants), and who have already completed sufficient studies at least in one of the teaching subjects covered by the Programme
  • who are degree students at certain Faculties at the University of Helsinki (= degree applicants) and who have to the right to take sufficient studies in one of the teaching subjects covered by the STEP Programme.
Information session on how to apply to STEP

The Faculty of Educational Sciences and the Admission Services arrange an information session on the studies and application process to the STEP Programme through Zoom platform when the 2025 application period starts. The link and timetable will be published here in due time.

 

Required documents

There are three documents required from the non-degree applicants who are not degree students the University of Helsinki.

1)

Master degree certificate. If your degree is taken outside Finland, you must have your degree recognised by the National Agency for Education. More information on the recognition of foreign degrees can be found trough this link.

2)

You have provide by the end of the application period the so called Equivalency Certificate (= opetettavan aineen vastaavuustodistus in Finnish). It is a certificate that shows that you have taken sufficient and right kind of studies in the school subject(s) you are going to teach.

Please notice that it may take several weeks to obtain such a certificate from a Finnish University or from the National Agency for Education, so please act early!

Read more about the certificate here.

3)

You have to show sufficient knowledge of English.  Please see the various options below.

4)

Background information form. Please save, fill in and enclose it with your application form. Please attach a mandatory photograph for helping the interviewers match the face and documents after the interview. The information provided in it  is not part of the selection criteria. You can download the Background information form on the Admission Services webside. The purpose of the form is to act as supportive material during the interview.

Possible ways to show sufficient language proficiency

Minimum requirement:

  • Overall score 6.5, with a minimum score of 6.0 in the writing section.

Please note that the University of Helsinki only accepts IELTS Academic test scores. Tests taken at the general level are not accepted.

The IELTS Indicator test is also accepted.

Minimum requirement:

  • TOEFL iBT (Internet-based) 92, a minimum score of 22 in the writing section
  • TOEFL rPDT (revised Paper-delivered Test) a minimum score of 20 in the reading section, a minimum score of 20 in the listening section, a minimum score of 22 in the writing section

The Home Edition and Paper Edition of TOEFL iBT are also accepted.

Minimum requirement:

  • for C1 Advanced (formerly CAE): Pass levels A, B or C
  • for C2 Proficiency (formerly CPE): Pass levels A, B, C or level C1 certificate

Minimum requirement:

  • Overall score 62, with a minimum score of 54 in each communicative skills section (listening, reading, speaking and writing).

Minimum requirement:

  • Skills level 5 in the reading comprehension, writing, and speaking subtests.

You can prove your language skills with upper-secondary education conducted in English in the following countries:

  • Nordic Countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden)
  • Australia
  • Canada
  • Ireland
  • New Zealand
  • United Kingdom
  • United States of America

You can prove your language skills with the International Baccalaureate® (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) or the International Baccalaureate® (IB) Career-related Programme (CP), if your programme has been completed in English.

If your IB examination has been completed in a language other than English, you can prove your language skills with the the following grades:

  • English as the A1 language with a minimum grade of 2.
  • English as the A2 language with a minimum grade of 5.
  • English as A language (literature/language and literature/literature and performance) a minimum grade of 2.

You can prove your language skills with the European Baccalaureate. The following grades are accepted as proof of language skills:

  • European Baccalaureate with English as the L1 language with an approved grade
    • minimum grade of 4 if the examination was taken before 2021
    • minimum grade of 5 if the examination was taken in 2021.
  • European Baccalaureate with English as the L2 language with a minimum grade of 7.

You can prove your language skills with a university degree (Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctoral degree, or polytechnic/university of applied science degree) completed in English in one of the following countries:

  • EU/EEA countries or Switzerland
  • Australia
  • Canada
  • New Zealand
  • United Kingdom
  • United States of America

 

In addition in the following countries:

The degree/programme must be taught and assessed entirely in English. The language of instruction must be clearly indicated on the educational documents.

  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Bahamas
  • Barbados
  • Belize
  • Botswana
  • Cameroon
  • Dominica
  • Eritrea
  • Eswatini
  • Ethiopia
  • Gambia
  • Ghana
  • Grenada
  • Guyana
  • Hong Kong
  • India
  • Jamaica
  • Kenya
  • Lesotho
  • Liberia
  • Malawi
  • Namibia
  • Nigeria
  • Philippines
  • Rwanda
  • Saint Kitts and Nevis
  • Saint Lucia
  • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  • Sierra Leone
  • Singapore
  • South Africa
  • Tanzania
  • Trinidad and Tobago
  • Uganda
  • Zambia
  • Zimbabwe

You can prove your language skills with a degree completed in a Finnish university or university of applied sciences if you have demonstrated foreign language proficiency in the English language in accordance with the Government Decree on University Degrees (794/2004) or University of Applied Sciences Degrees (1129/2014).

You can prove your language skills with a degree completed at a Finnish university with English as the major subject.

You can prove your language skills with an Equivalency Certificate in English which you have already received or will receive during your studies.

Instructions for application attachments

You may attach the required documents electronically in your application on the Studyinfo.fi pages. Alternatively, you can submit the required documents in paper, please see the options below. These documents may be unofficial copies of the documents.

However, if you are offered a study place, you may be asked to send officially certified copies of the used documents and authorised translations. Please find more information on the legalisation and authorised translations below.

All the admitted students (after the admission letter has been sent, not as a part of the application) may be asked to send original or official, legalised copies of the documents used the application process.

Please see below for instructions for submitting paper (hard copy) attachments.

A document copy can be certified as follows:

  • The educational institution (or an organisation such as the Finnish Matriculation Examination Board or the IB organisation) certifies the copy (see further information below).
  • Finnish notary public certifies the copy.
  • The copy is legalised.

Only the above are accepted as certified copies. For example, the following are not considered certified copies:

  • A regular photocopy of an original stamped document
  • A scanned copy or photo of a stamped document
  • A copy attested by two people
  • A copy certified by a notary public outside Finland, unless the copy has also been legalised.

Please note the following in connection with certification:

  • A certified copy must be submitted to Admission Services as a paper (hard) copy, unless otherwise instructed.
  • A certified copy must always be a copy of the original document.
  • All pages included in the original document must be included in the certified copy. If the copy contains several pages, each page must be stamped and signed by the certifying institution or individual, unless the pages are bound together in such a way (e.g., by a seal) that individual pages cannot be detached from each other. If the pages are separate or can be detached from each other (e.g., they have been stapled together with a regular stapler), each page must be stamped and signed by the certifying institution or individual.

Copy certified by the awarding institution

The following criteria must be met for a document copy awarded by an educational institution to be considered certified:

  • The copy must bear the official stamp of the educational institution.
    • Official stamps usually display the educational institution’s name and logo.
    • A stamp which only contains the phrase ‘certified copy’ (or ‘jäljennöksen oikeaksi todistaa’) is not an official stamp.
  • The copy must contain the signature of a representative of the institution, their name in capital letters as well as their title.

Please note that an educational institution cannot certify a degree certificate awarded by another organisation (e.g., the Finnish Matriculation Examination Board or the IB organisation) or another educational institution.

A translation is considered an authorised translation only if it was done by an authorised translator or the educational institution that awarded the document.

An authorised translation must include the translator’s stamp and signature. In addition, every page of a translation with multiple pages must bear the translator’s stamp or signature.

Translation by an authorised translator

You can get an authorised translation of any document from an authorised translator. In Finland, authorised translators include those who pursuant to Act on Authorised Translators (1231/2007) have the right to work as such. A register (in Finnish and Swedish) maintained by the Finnish National Agency for Education can also be used to acquire information on authorised translators in Finland. If you are not in Finland, you can also obtain an authorised translation from an authorised translator living in your country of residence.

A translation made by the educational institution that originally awarded the document

We accept translations made by the educational institution that originally awarded the document. If the educational institution awards the document directly in Finnish, Swedish or English, no separate translation is required.

If you cannot obtain officially certified copies of your academic documents from the awarding institution, you may submit legalised copies of your academic documents.

Legalisation can take place by two different routes depending on whether the country of the awarding institution is a signatory to the Hague Convention of 1961 or not. Documents supplied by countries that have ratified the Hague Convention are legalised by the issuance of an Apostille Certificate (stamp or paper certificate). Documents issued by other countries are legalised in two steps: first by the foreign ministry of the issuing country, then by a competent Finnish Embassy or Finnish Consulate of that country.

Apos­tille

The Apostille Certificate (stamp or paper certificate) is necessary if the document has been issued by the authorities of a country that has ratified the Hague Convention of 1961. Information on the Hague Convention as well as an English language list of its member states can be found here:

The website also provides information about the authorities issuing Apostille Certificates in various countries.

Please make sure that the Apostille certificate is firmly and clearly attached to all the documents it is certifying as being official.

Leg­al­isa­tion

If the country issuing a document is not a signatory of the Hague Convention, a document is legalised by the foreign ministry of the issuing country, after which a competent Finnish Embassy or Finnish Consulate of that country legalises the document, certifying the competence of that foreign ministry official to issue such legalisation.

Submitting documents

You are always responsible for the arrival of documents at Admission Services by the set deadline. This is also the case if you do not deliver the documents yourself.

The easiest and most secure way to submit the required documents is to attach them electronically in your application via Studyinfo.fi. The documents do not have to be officially certified.

However, the applicants have also the right to submit the documents in paper but it is not recommended. The paper documents must be sent by post or courier, or dropped off in the designated letterbox

If sending documents by regular post, please use the following address:

Hakijapalvelut

PL 24

00014 HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO

FINLAND

Do not send documents intended for Admission Services by post to any other address than the one above.

If sending documents by courier (UPS, DHL, FedEx, etc.), please use the following address:

Helsingin yliopisto

Hakijapalvelut

Unioninkatu 40

00170 HELSINKI

FINLAND

Do not send documents intended for Admission Services by courier to any other address than the one above.

If a courier service requests a phone number, please provide the following: +358 2941 911.

You can drop off your attachments in the letterbox located at Unioninkatu 40, on the corner of Unioninkatu and Yrjö-Koskisen katu streets in Helsinki. Attachments can be dropped off in the letterbox at any time, but please note that the attachments must be dropped off in the letterbox before 15.00 local Helsinki time to be considered as having arrived during the same day. If you drop off attachments in the letterbox after 15.00, the attachments are considered to have arrived on the following weekday.

NB! Do not give documents intended for Admission Services to porters or drop them off in any other letterbox than the one designated for this purpose.