Guidelines for maturity tests

Published 2.12.2022 | Updated 17.4.2024

Maturity test

Before your bachelor’s or master’s thesis project can be approved, you must complete a written maturity test in the language of your school education.   

The maturity test is completed to demonstrate a command of the topic area of the thesis project as well as excellent proficiency in the language used for school education. In the Finnish context, this language is either Finnish or Swedish depending on what language the student has used in first-language studies at a general upper secondary school. You may alternatively use English or another language (by decision of the head of your degree programme) if it is possible to check the maturity test in that particular language. 

If you have demonstrated your language proficiency in Finnish or Swedish for a bachelor’s degree, you do not have to demonstrate it in the maturity test for a master’s degree.  

If you have been educated in some other language than Finnish or Swedish, you write the maturity test in the same language that you used for your thesis project.  

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

Maturity test at the Theatre Academy

Maturity test for a bachelor’s degree

Students take the bachelor’s maturity test in writing to demonstrate proficiency in their first language as well as command of their thesis project topic.  

Language of the maturity test for a bachelor’s degree

If your first language is not Finnish or Swedish, the head of the degree programme will decide which language you can use for your thesis project and maturity test. In these cases, the academy recommends you use English as the language for your thesis project and maturity test, but other languages can also be considered.  

Taking the maturity test

You must take the maturity test before your thesis project can be approved. The supervisor of your thesis project or the professor of your degree programme will write the question(s) for the maturity test, and your assignment is to answer the question(s) without consulting your thesis project or other material related to the subject. The exam time is four hours, but it can be extended for people with dyslexia.  

The writer of the maturity test questions will examine the content of your answers in the maturity test and check that you demonstrate an excellent level of skill in Finnish or Swedish. The maturity test is assessed on a pass/fail basis. Both the content and the language of the maturity test are checked. The Theatre Academy may ask an external language revisor to revise the language. The completed maturity test will be retained by the degree programme for six months.  

Maturity test for a master’s degree

The maturity test for the master’s degree is assessed after you have submitted your thesis project for examination. In the maturity test, you are expected to demonstrate your familiarity with the topic of your thesis project and command of your first language. In all master’s degree programmes, an abstract of the master’s thesis project serves as the maturity test. 

Language of the maturity test for a master’s degree

You do not have to demonstrate your language proficiency for the second time if  

• your language of school education was Finnish or Swedish 
• you have completed a bachelor’s degree in Finland and taken a maturity test to demonstrate your language proficiency in accordance with the Government Decree on University Degrees as part of that degree 

In this case, the maturity test (i.e. the thesis project abstract) is assessed only in terms of your knowledge of the subject.  

If you have completed your school education in Finnish or Swedish but you have not demonstrated your language proficiency as part of a bachelor’s degree in accordance with the Government Decree on University Degrees (e.g. if you have earned a degree in another country or if you have been admitted to a master’s degree programme on the basis of your studies, artistic activities and job experience and have not completed a degree at a Finnish higher education institution), your maturity test will be assessed also by a language revisor. This also applies to students in English-language master’s degree programmes; if you write your thesis project in English, you must write the abstract both in English and in Finnish or Swedish.  

If the language of your school education was neither Finnish or Swedish and you study in an English-speaking master’s degree programme, you write your maturity test (the abstract) in English. 

Taking the maturity test

You must complete the maturity test (abstract) before your thesis project is approved by the Teaching Council. The content of the abstract is assessed by the professor of your degree or master’s programme or by the supervising teacher.  

The language of the maturity test is checked only if you have not demonstrated your language proficiency in accordance with the Government Decree on University Degrees for a prior degree. The Theatre Academy may ask an external language revisor to revise the language.  

The maturity test is assessed on a pass/fail basis, and the completion is recorded in the student register after your professor’s approval.  

Maturity test at the Sibelius Academy

Different degree programmes and major subjects have determined different completion methods for bachelor’s and master’s maturity tests. 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. Some maturity tests are completed on general exam dates or on specific maturity test dates. 

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

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.