How to apply to School of Professional Teacher Education

Eligibility requirements in short

  • in most cases a relevant university or polytechnic degree and a minimum of three years of work experience in a field corresponding to the degree
  • in the field of social services and health either a relevant master's degree and a three years of work experience or a relevant polytechnic degree and a five years of work experience corresponding to the degree.

Recognition of a non-Finnish degree

In Finland, the teacher’s profession is a regulated profession. The eligibility requirements for the different kinds of teaching posts are stated in a decree on the eligibility requirements for personnel in the teaching profession (986/1998). Holders of foreign qualifications seeking to work as teachers or applying for teacher education in Finland need to apply for a decision of recognition from The National Agency of Education. You can find further information from the website of the Finnish National Agency of Education (EDUFI).

You have to attach a copy of the decision on the recognition of your degree made by the Finnish National Board of Education to your application in following cases:

  • You have completed the degree on which your eligibility is based outside the Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland).
  • You have completed your tertiary level degree outside Finland in another Nordic country and
    • the degree belongs to the field of social services and health, and/or
    • based on the degree, you are seeking qualification as a so-called general subject teacher, and/or
    • the degree is less than three years in scope, and/or
    • you are not a citizen of any of the Nordic countries.

EDUFI is responsible for decisions regarding the eligibility conferred by foreign qualifications for positions which in Finland require specific education or a university/University of Applied Sciences degree of a certain level. A certain level of education is required e.g. for teaching positions.Without a copy of the decision, your application will not be considered.

The average period for processing an application is 3 to 4 months from the date on which the applicant has submitted all the documents required for issuing the decision.
If your application for recognition is pending, you can contact your first-choice Professional Teacher Education institution to find out if it is possible to receive an extension of the deadline for submitting the decision.


Admission criteria 2024

The student selection procedure is based on a national admission point scoring system. The criteria which is taken into consideration in the admission point scoring system in 2024 is:

  • other completed degrees in addition to the degree with which you will apply (max. 2 degrees)
  • basic studies in educational sciences (completed according to the requirements of a Finnish university or UAS)
  • further education completed since 1 January 2015
  • teaching experience from official educational institutions
  • teaching experience from vocational education since 1 January 2022 

» Here you can download admission criteria 2024 in short (pdf). 

Full admission criteria and list of required documents for professional teacher education 2024 are available in Studyinfo. 

In the student selection process to Professional Teacher Education, the fields of education follow the national classification of education 2016 by Statistics Finland where applicable. The national classification of education 2016 is based on UNESCO’s International Standard Classification of Education 2011 (ISCED 2011). Classification of field of education and specific teaching ares can be found in Studyinfo.

Please read the information about the application process carefully through before applying.

Application period 2024

  • Online applications 3–18 January 2024 by 3 p.m. (EET) in Studyinfo
  • Deadline for the attachments supporting the online application 25 January 2024 by 3 p.m. (EET)
  • Recognitions by 18 March 2024
  • Student selection results on 27 March 2024
  • Deadline for study place confirmations 8 April 2024 by 3 p.m. (EET)


» Here you can find applicant statistics (2014–2022) 

If the student possesses a deviating degree

The minimum requirements for successful application can be forfeited only if the applicant is currently working as a vocational teacher and has a minimum of five years of practical work experience in a field corresponding in content to the teaching position. The employer (school) has to provide a written statement to justify why the applicant is qualified to work as a teacher without complying with the decree 986/1996. The requirement for an applicable Master’s level university degree or applicable degree from a University of Applied Sciences cannot be disregarded in cases where the applicant is applying with a degree or qualification from the field of Social services and health.

A person who does not comply with the decree 986/1996 can still be selected to the teacher education programme. It is to be noted, however, that completing the pedagogical studies will not make the student qualified for other teaching positions.