Studies are part of your career. At the University of Helsinki, all degrees include career planning. The Career Services at the University of Helsinki, in cooperation with degree programmes, supports the growth of your expert identity as part of your studies and with separate services.

From the start of your studies until one year after the completion of your degree, the Career Services supports your career path.

Career Services  

• gives career counselling and job seeking support, 
• arranges info sessions, workshops and events, 
• provides suitable job and traineeship offers for students,
• shares university’s subsidy for traineeships and  
• facilitates group mentoring programmes.

Upon graduating, students are prepared for a wide range of career options, for instance:

• Academic research and teaching
• Other research tasks in the universities, research institutes and centres
• Work as expert in administration both internationally (e.g., UN, EU) and nationally (ministries, research administration), and in provincial and local administration.
• Work as expert in private sector and in the media.
• Work as expert in international and national organisations.
• Teaching in secondary school and high school, and other institutes of higher education

In addition, the degree makes the student eligible to apply for postgraduate studies in different areas of biology at the University of Helsinki or other universities in Finland and abroad.

For Finnish and Swedish speaking students who have been accepted to subject teacher studies during their bachelor's degree, the programme also provides an opportunity to study towards a biology teacher qualification.

Although it is easy for international students to get by with English in the Helsinki region, learning Finnish will significantly improve your career options after graduation.

The University of Helsinki offers free Finnish language courses for enrolled international degree students. The beginners and intermediate level courses are not only a way to learn the language, but you also learn more about Finnish culture and get to network with other international students across the fields.

As a graduate of the Master's Programme in Eco­logy and Evol­u­tion­ary Bio­logy, you can apply for a doctoral programme at the University of Helsinki or other universities. Further studies include 40 credits of coursework and a PhD dissertation.

A majority of graduating students in ecology and evolutionary biology continue their studies in the Doctoral Programme in Wildlife Biology Research (LUOVA).

Suitable doctoral programmes at the University of Helsinki include:

After graduation, the world is wide open and full of possibilities. How can you venture forward to make the career path you want? What kind of work would you like to do? What kind of life should you lead? The Helsinki alumni community is there to support you as you transition from the University to the world of work.

All previous University of Helsinki degree and exchange students, as well as staff, are our alumni. As a member of the University of Helsinki alumni network, Finland’s largest network of experts, you get valuable support, knowledge and contacts for your working life.