tutkinto

Tutkinto is a Finnish term referring to a formal qualification awarded by a higher education institution after completing a prescribed program of study and meeting the required assessments. In common usage it translates to “degree.” It can be awarded by universities and by universities of applied sciences (ammattikorkeakoulut).

At the university level, main degrees are kandidaatin tutkinto (Bachelor’s degree) and maisterin tutkinto (Master’s degree). The typical study load is measured in ECTS credits; a Bachelor’s degree usually requires 180 ECTS, a Master’s degree 120 ECTS, making a total of 300 ECTS for a combined bachelor’s and master’s. Doctoral degrees (doctor of philosophy or other fields) are also awarded as tutkinto and require original research presented in a dissertation.

Universities of applied sciences award more applied bachelor’s degrees (AMK-tutkinto) and, in some fields, master’s degrees; the titles align with the Bologna process. A degree is usually accompanied by a degree certificate (tutkintotodistus) and an academic transcript outlining completed courses and credits. The final exam or thesis (tutkielma or opinnäytetyö) is often mandatory for the degree.

Obtaining a tutkinto confers recognized qualifications for employment, further study, and international mobility; Finnish degrees are designed to meet European Higher Education Area standards and use the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS).

Note that in everyday languageora, tutkinto can also refer to the process of examination or the act of being examined, though the primary meaning is the degree itself.