General upper secondary school

General upper secondary school provides all-round education aiming at the matriculation examination. General upper secondary school prepares you for a university of applied sciences or a university.

After comprehensive school, you can also apply to a vocational institute. More information on vocational institutes is available on the InfoFinland page Vocational education and training.

General upper secondary school studies are more theoretical in nature than vocational education. Subjects studied in general upper secondary school include Finnish and Swedish, other languages, mathematics, natural sciences and social studies.

Some general upper secondary schools are specialised. They are focused on music, physical education or natural sciences, for example. Specialised general upper secondary schools are very popular. It may be difficult to get admitted into one.

Young people and adults can study in general upper secondary schools. Young people study in full-time general upper secondary schools (päivälukio) or distance general upper secondary schools (etälukio) while adults often study in general upper secondary schools for adults (aikuislukio).

Apply for general upper secondary school via the upper secondary level joint application process (yhteishaku). If you would like to attend a general upper secondary school for adults, contact the school directly. Read more on the InfoFinland page Applying for education and training.

General upper secondary school studies usually last three years. General upper secondary school can also be completed in two or four years.

General upper secondary schools provide plenty to choose from in terms of studies. In addition to obligatory courses, you can select a variety of courses that suit your preferences. In general upper secondary school, you can affect the content and progress of your studies.

General upper secondary schools do not have tuition fees. In other words, the education is free. The school will give you the school books or electronic learning materials. They will also lend you a laptop computer.

If you have a demanding hobby or you fall ill for an extended period of time, for example, you can complete general upper secondary school by means of distance studies. Ask for more information on distance studies from your general upper secondary school.

General upper secondary school studies are aimed at the matriculation examination (ylioppilastutkinto). The matriculation examination comprises exams on various different subjects. You will graduate after you have successfully completed the upper secondary school syllabus and passed the matriculation examination.

The matriculation examination always includes either

• an exam in Finnish or Swedish as a second language and literature if your native language is something other than Finnish, Swedish or Sami, or
• an exam in mother tongue and literature if your mother tongue is Finnish, Swedish or Sami.

In addition, you must complete exams in at least four other subjects from at least three different groups of subjects (see list below). If you want, you can also take more exams.

You can take exams in subjects such as

• second national language (Finnish or Swedish),
• foreign language (English, German, Russian, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Latin or Sami),
• mathematics (advanced or basic syllabus), and
• humanities and sciences (history, social studies, religion, ethics, psychology, philosophy, health science, physics, chemistry, biology or geography).

Matriculation exams are held in the spring and autumn. If you want, you can take some of the exams in the autumn and some in the spring. The total number of consecutive exam times used to complete the entire examination must not exceed three. If you want, you can try raising your grades later.

General upper secondary schools for adults are mainly intended for persons over 18 years of age.

In general upper secondary schools for adults, studying is flexible. You can complete the entire matriculation examination or simply study a single subject. You can study at your own pace. The classes are normally held in the evening.

Many general upper secondary schools for adults provide Finnish language courses for immigrants. Ask the schools about the courses directly.

TUVA is preparatory education for programmes leading to an upper secondary qualification.

TUVA education may suit you if

• you are an adult, but have not yet completed upper secondary education
• you need preparatory education before continuing to secondary vocational education or general upper secondary education
• you want to improve your Finnish- or Swedish-language skills before continuing to an upper secondary qualification

During your TUVA education, you can raise your basic education grades to improve your chances of entering upper secondary education. In addition to that, you can complete general upper secondary education and vocational education studies.

TUVA education lasts 38 weeks. You can also complete just part of the curriculum. You can then apply for a study place suitable for you such as in general upper secondary or vocational education.

TUVA education is organised by vocational institutes, general upper secondary schools and comprehensive schools.

You can apply for TUVA education in the joint application process in the spring, or through the continuous application process all year round. Read more in the Opintopolku.fi service.