Guidelines for maturity tests

Published 2.12.2022 | Updated 27.8.2024

What is a maturity test

The maturity test is a study attainment required by the Decree on University Degrees (Section 16 of the Decree on University Degrees).

With the maturity test, you demonstrate a command of the topic area of the thesis project as well as proficiency in the language used for school education in Finland. This can be Finnish or Swedish. The language of school education refers to the language in which you have completed your pre-higher education studies in the mother tongue of upper secondary school or comprehensive school.

When a student who has been educated in Finland has demonstrated proficiency in Finnish or Swedish for a bachelor’s degree, they do not have to demonstrate it in the maturity test for a master’s degree. 

As a rule, the language of the maturity test of a student who has received school education in a language other than Finnish or Swedish in Finland, is the same as the language of the thesis. The right to use a language other than the language of the thesis in the maturity test is decided by the Dean.

Theses included in the degrees or their components or the maturity essay cannot be replaced by studies completed elsewhere.

How the language of school education affects the bachelor’s studies

The language that you have used to complete your school education affects the language and communication studies that are mandatory for your degree, the language of your maturity test and the language clause included in your degree certificate.

Maturity test at the Theatre Academy

Read about the maturity test in the bachelor’s thesis instructions

Read about the maturity test in the Master’s thesis instructions  

Maturity test at the Sibelius Academy

You can find the maturity test descriptions and completion instructions in the Study Guide by clicking the course description in the degree structure of your degree programme/major subject.

Maturity test at the Academy of Fine Arts

Bachelor’s maturity test

The Bachelor of Fine Arts degree requires the completion of a bachelor’s maturity test, which the student can take on one of the academy’s maturity test days in connection with the submission of their bachelor’s thesis project. You can find the maturity test days in the Study Guide. With the test, you demonstrate your familiarity with the topic of your bachelor’s thesis project. The maturity test is also a language test, which is reviewed by a language revisor. Students whose first language is Finnish or Swedish demonstrate the command of their first language with the test. 
 
Students whose first language is Finnish or Swedish take test in the same language used for their school education. If your first language is Finnish or Swedish and you take the maturity test in either of these languages, you are deemed to have demonstrated command of the language at a level required of civil servants. If you have received your school education abroad or in a language other than Finnish or Swedish, you can take the test in English. 
 
Registration for the maturity test is done in Peppi no later than a week prior to the examination date. The question for the test is formulated by your supervising lecturer. 
 
The maturity test is taken remotely. On the day of the exam, you will receive the test question in a word file at 12 (noon) by email. You must write your answer in the same file starting on the second page and then return the file as a PDF to your planning officer within four hours from the time when you received the question. 
 
The recommended length is 1-2 pages by using e.g. Times New Roman as the font, 12 as the font size and 1.5 as the line spacing.

It is a good idea to revise some grammar rules before taking the bachelor’s maturity test. If you suffer from dyslexia or a similar disorder, you are advised to acquire a medical certificate and to submit it to the language revisor. The language revisor will take these circumstances into consideration in their review. 

Master’s maturity test

The maturity test is a part of the master’s degree and reflects the student’s expertise in the field of the thesis project. As stated in the thesis project guidelines, the abstract of the thesis project serves as the maturity test for the master’s degree. 

Master’s students write about a one-page (about 1,800 characters) abstract of their thesis project, which also functions as the maturity test for their degree. The abstract is a brief summary of the essential contents of the thesis project, and it must include a short account of both the artistic and the written components of the thesis project. The abstract should provide a concise description of the most important parts of the thesis project to someone unfamiliar with the project.

The title of the abstract should be “Abstract”. The abstract is not the introduction section of your thesis project, but if you wish, you can write a separate introduction to your thesis project, and the title of this introduction can be chosen more freely. Add the abstract to the beginning of your written thesis component and submit it for pre-examination together with the written component. 

 If you have not demonstrated your language proficiency in Finnish or Swedish by taking the bachelor’s maturity test, your maturity test for the master’s degree serves as a language test. In this case, you must write the abstract in the language required for the maturity test.