How to apply to Pedagogical studies in English (STEP)
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. The subject teachers in comprehensive (= 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) are 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.

The STEP Programme is available to those

  • who have already completed a suitable Master’s level degree at a Finnish university or abroad, and have had sufficent studies in at least one teaching subject covered by the Programme (=non-degree applicants); or
  • who are degree students at certain Faculties at the University of Helsinki (=degree applicants).

 

Please read more about the contect and structure of the 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 on 14 February 2023 at 3 p.m.-5 p.m. (15.00 - 17.00 o'clock,Finnish time).

Link to the Zoom area:

https://helsinki.zoom.us/j/61815226792

 

The slides used the information session:

1) Faculty of Educational Sciences

2) Admission Services.

 
Qualification requirements

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

The Subject Teacher Education Programme (STEP) are 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.

The extent of the Programme is 60 credits which equals to 60 ECTS credits in the European system. It corresponds to the full-time work load of a whole academic year. The academic year starts 1 August 2023 and lasts till 31 July 2024 but the compulsory attendance is required from the last week of August till the end of May.

Even if studies can be taken in 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 available to those

  • who have already completed a suitable Master’s level degree at a Finnish university or abroad (= non-degree applicants); and
  • who have completed  or will complete sufficient studies in the teaching subject(s); or
  • who are degree students at certain Faculties at the University of Helsinki (= degree applicants).

IMPORTANT!

If you are going to apply to the STEP Programme as a non-degree student, 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 University, so please act early!

Read more about the certificate here.

The 2023 application round information and the application form are now available in Studyinfo.fi
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

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.
After admission to step studies

If you are offered a study place in the STEP Programme on 16 June 2023, here is what you have to do before you can start your studies in 2023. Read and follow the instructions carefully.

Accepting the offered study place

Accept the student place offered to you in the STEP Programme on 30 June 2023 at 3 p.m.at the latest or you will lose the offered place. Let us also know if you do not wish to accept the offered student place.

If you a degree student at the University of Helsinki (taking a Bachelor degree) you do not have to accept the study place. Your study right will automatically be added to you in the SISU system.

If you have a Finnish personal identity code, accept the offer of admission using the MyStudyinfo service. If you do not have access to the required methods of identification to use the MyStudyinfo service, contact Admissions Services immediately.

Showing original documents

in the 2023 student selection process the admitted students might be asked to show the original documents used in the application process.

Instructions on how to activate a new account

If you a new non-degree student, in order to use the IT services available at the University of Helsinki, you must first activate your user account. This can be done after your registration is completed in the Student Registration System SISU. You should be able to active your account the firs week of August at the latest.

This is the information and support page of the IT Department on activiting your account.

Starting your studies

The  STEP pages help you further and give more detailed information on your studies.

Registering as a non-attending student

You can register for non-attendance for the 2023 - 2024 academic year only if your non-attendance is based on a statutory reason. If the statutory reason for absence falls only on one of the semester (e.g., your military service or maternal leave starts in January), you may register as non-attending for the entire academic year, if you so wish.

You may change the registration as an attending student for the spring term to registration as a non-attending student during the spring term registration period.

Pursuant to the Universities Act, a first-year student may register as a non-attending student for the academic year only for the reasons listed below and must present one of the documents described below to demonstrate that the non-attendance is based on a statutory reason:

  1. You are performing a service based on the Conscription Act (1438/2007), Non-Military Service Act (1446/2007) or Act on Women's Voluntary Military Service (194/1995).
    • Call-up orders
  2.  You are on maternal, paternal or family leave.
    • Kela’s certificate on the parental leave period or, if you do not yet have the certificate, a medical certificate of pregnancy
    • Corresponding certificates on statutory family leave provided by authorities in other countries
  3. You are incapable of starting your studies due to an illness or disability.
    • A sickness allowance decision or, if you do not have one, a medical certificate which indicates both what the illness or disability is and that it prevents you from starting your studies on 1 August 2023.
    • Obstacles caused by practical arrangements required by an illness or an injury: an example of sufficient documentation is a statement from a student housing association stating that the student is queuing for an apartment required by their disability. A student’s own statement is not considered sufficient.

Documents providing evidence on the reason for non-attendance must be submitted in Finnish, Swedish or English.

In cases above, please contact the admissions@helsinki.fi before 1 August 2023 or after that date, siltavuori-student@helsinki.fi