Image: Yle

As of this coming autumn, all studies in graduate degree programmes at the Aalto University School of Business will be in English.

By law, the languages of instruction and the language in which qualifications can be granted by universities and colleges are the two national languages, Finnish or Swedish.

The Ministry of Education and Culture has started discussions with Aalto University on the issue.

According to Aalto University Vice President Martti Raevaara, in the view of the School of Business, Bachelor degree studies in Finnish are enough to fulfill the legal language requirement.

"The language of international research and education is English. We want more international students in our Masters programmes, so we established the policy that in the main instruction in Masters programmes will be in English," Raevaara told Yle.

The decision is part of an overall strategy of internationalization.

"We want Finnish students to go on exchanges abroad and foreign students are wanted in our Masters programmes. In addition, promising researchers are being lured to Aalto. Internationalization is intended to lead to a leap in quality," Raevaara added.

More foreign instructors

Of the instructors hired by the university under its new tenure track programme, one-third are non-Finns.

"We've drawn a line at how much Finnish can be used by students in course work in the Masters programmes. Foreign professors will teach in English and maybe instruction can be interpreted and translated," noted Vice President Martti Raevaara. "I don't believe that there is any university where one can study for a Masters degree solely in Finnish. Even traditionally some exam literature is in languages other than Finnish, as well."

According to Raevaara, students have been positive about the change. Doing a degree in English is looked upon as a plus in the job market.

Students will be allowed to write the required Masters thesis in Finnish. However, since this will require that the the thesis supervisor is a Finnish-speaker, opportunities will be limited. Not many applications to use Finnish are expected.

English is already, in practice, the main language for academic work by graduate students at Aalto University. For example, in technical fields, less than one doctoral thesis out of one hundred is written in Finnish.