Swedish and Finnish in the Bachelor in Business programme

Students who have completed their previous school education outside of Finland or in another language than Finnish/Swedish

You will study a minimum of 15 ECTS of either Swedish or Finnish. You may also take additional credits in the other language, but you must complete at least 15 ECTS in either Swedish or Finnish. For students who commenced their studies before 1.8.2025, the minimum requirement is 12 ECTS in either Swedish or Finnish.

If you choose to study Swedish, you will complete 15 ECTS from the following courses starting from your first year:

• 5663 Swedish as a Foreign Language 1 - Svenska som främmande språk 1 (2-5 ECTS)
• 5664 Swedish as a Foreign Language 2 - Svenska som främmande språk 2 (2-5 ECTS)
• 5665 Swedish as a Foreign Language 3 - Svenska som främmande språk 3 (2-5 ECTS)

If you don't know any Swedish yet, you should start with the basic course in Swedish. If you already know some Swedish and are unsure which courses would be suitable for you, please contact the study counsellors at studycounsellor-hki@hanken.fi or Swedish teacher Katja Peltola (katja.peltola@hanken.fi) to discuss your options.

Students who have completed their previous school education in Finnish or Swedish in Finland

If you have received your previous school education in Swedish or Finnish in Finland (diploma from lower secondary and/or upper secondary education), you must fulfil the requirements for language proficiency in Finnish and Swedish in accordance with the Act on the Knowledge of Languages Required of Personnel in Public Bodies (424/2003). The following requirements must be fulfilled in conjunction with your degree at Hanken: excellent skills in the language of your previous school education, and at least satisfactory skills in the other national language.

You will study a minimum of 5 ECTS each of Swedish and Finnish as part of your bachelor's degree. Depending on your level, you may be required to study more than 5 ECTS in one or both languages, in order to reach the level required by the Act on the Knowledge of Languages Required of Personnel in Public Bodies (424/2003).

If you have completed your previous school education in Finnish in Finland, you will participate in a mandatory Swedish language test during the Orientation Days. This test will determine your Swedish starting level, and indicate which courses you should take in order to reach the required level.

If you have completed your school education in Finnish in Finland and speak Swedish on at least CEFR level B2, you will take the following course during your second year, and thereby fulfil the proficiency requirements in Swedish:

• 5662 Business Communication in Swedish as Second Language (5 ECTS)

If you have completed your school education in Finnish in Finland, we also recommend that you complete the course 5668 Swedish Grammar I (2-3 ECTS) before taking the above-mentioned course.

If you have completed your school education in Finnish in Finland and speak Swedish on at least CEFR level A2.2, you will take the following course in your first year and thereby fulfil the proficiency requirements in Swedish:

• 5674 Swedish for Language Proficiency in Finland 5 ECTS

If you have completed your school education in Finnish in Finland but do not yet speak Swedish on CEFR level A2.2 or above, you will first take some of the following courses until you reach a level where you are able to complete 5674 Swedish for Language Proficiency in Finland:

• 5663 Swedish as a Foreign Language 1 - Svenska som främmande språk 1 (2-5 ECTS)
• 5664 Swedish as a Foreign Language 2 - Svenska som främmande språk 2 (2-5 ECTS)
• 5665 Swedish as a Foreign Language 3 - Svenska som främmande språk 3 (2-5 ECTS)

Once you have reached at least level CEFR A2.2, you must then complete either 5674 Swedish for Language Proficiency in Finland (5 ECTS) OR 5662 Business Communication in Swedish as Second Language (5 ECTS) in order to fulfil the proficiency requirements in Swedish in accordance with the Act on the Knowledge of Languages Required of Personnel in Public Bodies (424/2003).

If you have completed your school education in Swedish in Finland, you will take the following Swedish course in your second year:

• 5661 Business Communication in Swedish as Mother Tongue (5 ECTS)

In order to fulfil the proficiency requirements in Swedish, you must also complete a maturity test in Swedish in conjunction with your bachelor's thesis. The maturity test will be submitted for language evaluation.

Students who have completed their previous school education outside of Finland or in another language than Finnish/Swedish

You will study a minimum of 15 ECTS of either Finnish or Swedish. You may also take additional credits in the other language, but you must complete at least 15 ECTS in either Swedish or Finnish. For students who commenced their studies before 1.8.2025, the minimum requirement is 12 ECTS in either Swedish or Finnish.

If you choose to study Finnish, you will take at least 15 ECTS from the following courses starting from your first year:

• 5756 Finnish 1 (5 ECTS)
• 5757 Finnish 2 (5 ECTS)
• 5758 Finnish 3 (5 ECTS)
• 5759 Finnish 4 (5 ECTS)

If you don't know any Finnish yet, you should start with Finnish 1. If you already know some Finnish and are unsure which courses would be suitable for you, please contact the study counsellors at studycounsellor-hki@hanken.fi or Finnish teacher Johanna Haapala (johanna.haapala@hanken.fi) to discuss your options.

Students who have completed their previous school education in Finnish or Swedish in Finland

If you have received your previous school education in Swedish or Finnish in Finland (diploma from lower secondary and/or upper secondary education), you will study a minimum of 5 ECTS each of Swedish and Finnish as part of your bachelor's degree. Depending on your level, you may be required to study more than 5 ECTS in one or both languages, in order to reach the level required by the Act on the Knowledge of Languages Required of Personnel in Public Bodies (424/2003).

If you have completed your school education in Finnish in Finland, you will take the following course during your second year:

• 5762 Oral and Written Business Communication, Finnish as Native Language (5 ECTS)

In order to fulfil the proficiency requirements in Finnish, you must also complete a maturity test in Finnish in conjunction with your bachelor's thesis. The maturity test will be submitted for language evaluation.

If you have completed your school education in Swedish in Finland, and have received a grade of E or L in A-Finnish in the Finnish Matriculation Examination (or equivalent), you will take the following course during your second year:

• 5761 Oral and Written Business Communication C in Finnish (5 ECTS)

If you have completed your school education in Swedish in Finland, and have received a grade of C or above in A-Finnish or M or above in B-Finnish in the Finnish Matriculation Examination (or equivalent), you will take the following course during your second year:

• 5760 Oral and Written Business Communication B in Finnish (5 ECTS)

If you do not fulfil the above-mentioned criteria, you must first take the preparatory course 5764 Finnish Grammar (3 ECTS) before you can complete the mandatory Finnish courses. You should take this course during your first year, so that you are able to continue with the mandatory Finnish courses in your second year.

If you have completed your previous school education in the Åland Islands or in Swedish in Finland but your Finnish skills are at a lower level than CEFR level B1.2:

If you have not studied any Finnish previously, or your previous studies have been at a level below CEFR B1.2 (for example if you've completed your previous school education in the Åland Islands), you may be entitled to an exemption from the mandatory course in Finnish. If this applies to you, please contact Finnish teacher Marit Nilsson-Väre (marit.nilsson-vare@hanken.fi) to discuss your options. 

In order to apply for the exemption, please fill out the following form. Please note that you still need to complete a total of at least 18 ECTS of language studies. If you are granted an exemption from the Finnish courses, you need to select 5 ECTS of other language courses instead.