Master's Degree Structure and Learning Goals

Here you can find information about the master's degree structure

You can include more than 120 credits in your Master's Degree. If you have completed extra courses that you don't wish to include in your degree, you can note this on the transcript of records that you attach to the degree application.

The master's degree can include a maximum of 60 transferred credits. The transferred credits can be degree studies at another university, studies within a higher polyctechnic degree or language studies at a polytechnic (university of applied sciences). You cannot, however, transfer credits from the degree/degrees based on which you have been admitted to Hanken.

Based on Hanken's mission and degree regulations learning goals have been formulated that describe the knowledge you as a student can obtain with our education. Thereafter, measurable learning objectives have been developed so that we can see how well you achieve the learning goals. There are separate learning goals for the Bachelor’s Programme, Master’s Programme, Hanken Executive MBA Programme and the Hanken PhD Programme.

Each programme has four learning goals that are based on the following general knowledge and competence areas:

  1. Knowledge in economic sciences and/or the subject area in question.
  2. Academic skills (analytical thinking, methodology, information literacy).
  3. Communication skills (linguistic and communication competence, leadership and other skills).
  4. Skills for working responsibly and in an international environment.

Below you can find the learning goals Opens in new window  for our Master's Programme:

More information about Hanken’s Assurance of Learning (AoL) process and the assessment rubrics can be found here.

A Master of Science degree must comprise at least 60 credits advanced level studies in the major subject, including a master's thesis (30 credits), research seminar course and research methods course/s. The mandatory advanced level courses are listed in the study plans.

The programme specific studies are courses that the major subject or the Master's Degree Programme has decided that should be included in the study plan. The advanced and programme specific courses comprise at least 90 credits. The programme specific studies can be further advanced level courses in the major subject or courses in supporting subjects. The programme specific studies are listed in the study plans.

Within the advanced level studies in your major subject you will write a Master's Thesis of 30 credits. After you have completed your thesis you shall write a maturity test in English, which is an exam written at Hanken about your thesis subject to show that you are well acquainted with your thesis subject. If you have completed your secondary education in Finland you may in some cases also need to write another maturity test in Finnish or Swedish. Read more under Maturity test.

The Master's Thesis is graded by the Academic council based on the statement of two evaluators.

A minimum of 5 credits of language studies must be included in the Master's Degree. They can be in any language and at any level completed at Hanken or at another university or Polytechnic. You can also combine studies in several languages to a total of at least 5 credits.

Some Master's Degree Programmes may recommend specific language studies (see the study plan for the programme).

Do I need to fulfil the requirements of language proficiency of Personnel in Public Bodies?

Students who have received their previous school education in Finland (diploma from comprehensive school and/or upper secondary education), in Swedish or Finnish, must fulfil the requirements for language proficiency in Finnish and Swedish of the Act on the Knowledge of Languages Required of Personnel in Public Bodies (424/2003). The language requirements need be fulfilled at the time of applying for the degree certificate.

You do not have to fulfil these requirements in your degree at Hanken if:

  • you have in a previous degree in Finland written a maturity test in the language of your previous education and fulfilled the requirements for language proficiency in the other national language of the Act on the Knowledge of Languages Required of Personnel in Public Bodies (424/2003). (You can check this in your degree certificate.)

    NB: If you are a student within a Master's Programme with instruction in Swedish and have completed your previous education in Finnish, you need to write a maturity test in Swedish at Hanken when submitting your master’s thesis if you haven’t previously fulfilled good skills in Swedish in a degree in Finland. 

  • you have received your previous education (comprehensive school and upper secondary education) abroad.

How do I fulfil the language requirements in my degree at Hanken?

Students within a Master's Programme with instruction in English and previous education Finnish:

  • Write a maturity test in Finnish (with language review) when submitting your master’s thesis.
  • Fulfil at least satisfactory skills in Swedish through one of the following four ways:
  1. Course 5656 Swedish for Language Proficiency in Finland - Svenska på arbetet, 5 credits
    Pre-requisites: CEFR A2.2, shown by a test in Swedish or by completing course 5623-3B Swedish as a foreign language 3B.
    Target level: CEFR B1 
  2. EXAM: Language test in Swedish (560) 

    a. A written part of the test (560-S) is completed in EXAM. The written part consists of two parts: an e-mail or other short text (ca 50-70 words) about communication in working life and a written assignment (ca 200 words) on a subject within your own field of study. 

    b. An oral part of the test (560-M) is completed by an oral exam and gives the student a certificate for approved language skills on level B1 in Swedish.  

    Please contact Swedish teacher Charlotta Sundström if you wish to fulfill your Swedish language requirement by completing the test in EXAM. 
    We hope that you use Swedish when contacting Hanken’s Swedish teachers.
     

  3. A language test completed in Swedish at another university. The transfer of the test is approved by the head of the subject of Swedish at Hanken.
  4. A language test for the State Administration that applies to good or satisfactory written skills in Swedish, supplemented with an oral test where the student must demonstrate knowledge of the terminology within their own area of expertise. 

    Test of level in Swedish 
    The test of level in Swedish gives a picture of whether your knowledge of Swedish corresponds to CEFR, A2.2 i.e. the level required for taking the course 5656 Swedish for Language Proficiency in Finland - Svenska på arbetet. The test is completed during the orientation days, but it is also possible to take it later. You need a Hanken user ID to be able to take the test.

    If the student does not fulfil the pre-requisites required for course 5656 (CEFR A2.2) they can start by taking courses in Swedish as a foreign language on lower levels:
    5623-1A, 1B, 1C-E
    5623-1A-V, 1B-V, 1C-E 
    5623-2A, 2B, 2C 
    5623-3A, 3B, 3C  

    NB: The test of level in Swedish does not correspond to the language test used for admission to Hanken or the language test that shows skills in Swedish (560) for the degree.

    More information:  https://www.hanken.fi/en/departments-and-centres/centre-languages-and-b…

Students within a Master's Programme with instruction in English and previous education in Swedish:

  • Write a maturity test in Swedish (with language review) when submitting your master’s thesis.
  • Fulfil at least satisfactory skills in Finnish by completing the course 5724 Yritysviestinnän syventävä kurssi as 2 credits. Please inform the teacher Marit Nilsson-Väre in the beginning of the course that you need to fulfill the requirements for language proficiency in Swedish of the Act on the Knowledge of Languages Required of Personnel in Public Bodies (424/2003).

Students within a Master's Programme with instruction in Swedish and previous education in Finnish:

  • Write a maturity test in both Finnish and Swedish (with language review) when submitting your master’s thesis.

Students within a Master's Programme with instruction in Swedish and previous education in Swedish:

  • Write a maturity test in Swedish (with language review) when submitting your master’s thesis.
  • Fulfil at least satisfactory skills in Finnish by completing the course 5724 Yritysviestinnän syventävä kurssi as 2 credits. Please inform the teacher Marit Nilsson-Väre in the beginning of the course that you need to fulfill the requirements for language proficiency in Swedish of the Act on the Knowledge of Languages Required of Personnel in Public Bodies (424/2003).

 

In addition to the studies in your major subject or programme (advanced level studies and programme specific studies) and the language studies you usually need elective studies in order to receive a total of at least 120 credits. The elective studies can be any studies at university level in any subject, i.e. any courses completed at Hanken or at another university. However, note that studies that were included in your lower university degree based on which you were admitted to Hanken cannot be included in your Master's degree. 

If you have at least 25 credit in another subject than your major, it will form a minor subject that will be written out on your degree certificate.

Changes in the study structure as of 1.8.2018 may affect you if you started your master's studies in 2017 or earlier.

Study plans
All subjects' study plans for the master's degree were as of the academic year 2018-2019 divided into compulsory courses and elective courses. 

Course credits
Beginning from 1.8.2018 almost all master level courses comprise of either 10 or 5 credits. A voluntary internship on master’s level comprises of 5 or 10 elective credits. From 1.8.2019 the seminar course will be 5 credits. In case a student, due to the structural changes, would fall short of a few credits in his/her major, a supplementary literature course consisting of 2 or 3 credits can be offered when the student is at the end of his/her studies. Visit a study counsellor at the Office of Study Affairs who can check if you may take the supplementary literature couse.

Combination of old and new study plans
Students, who have followed and meet the requirements of an old study plan in their major, can still graduate according to it. Students who need to combine studies from an old and a new study plan are advised to prioritise compulsory courses in the new study plan. In addition, by taking elective courses, they should make sure that they have at least 60 credits on advanced level in their major and at least 30 credits in studies that can be approved as programme/major specific (see the picture of the structure below) and thus attain at least 90 credits in their major. All previously conducted studies that were included in previous study plans can be included as electives in the new plan. Students are welcome and recommended to go through their studies with a study counsellor well before graduation.

Re-taking exams and courses from 2017-18
If you have already completed a course worth 8 credits in a previous study plan, and the course as of August 2018 is worth 5 credits, you may not re-take the course or write an exam in that course. A course that has been removed from the syllabus cannot be re-taken.

Internship
The advanced internship on MSc level demands 8 weeks of work to attain 5 credits and 16 weeks of work for 10 credits. You can no longer attain 8 credits for the advanced internship on MSc level. All internship reports submitted after September 1st 2018 are connected to the 5 or 10 credit internship course and must fullfil the "new" requirements for examination. Contact your examiner or the study counsellors. 

Global competence and seminar courses
A new course, Global Competence 5 credits (consists of courses 9995 and 9996), is part of the compulsory studies within the major for students starting their master studies fall 2018 or later, and all students that complete the seminar worth 5 cr. Students that finish the seminar worth 12 credits before the fall of 2019 are not required to take the Global Competence courses 9995 and 9996, but the courses can however be a part of the elective programme specific studies (they can be included in the 90 credits).

Weighting of course grades
The double weighting of master level courses in comparison to bachelor courses and courses in language and business communication have ceased at Hanken. Other universities in Finland do not have a system of weighting course grades differently depending on the level of the course when calculating the grade point average (GPA). All courses held after 1 August 2018, have the same weight meaning that master courses will no more affect the average grade more than bachelor level courses. Students, who wish to graduate 1.10.2018, or later, can when they apply for their degree certificate choose to keep the weight 2 on all their advanced level courses (completed before 1.8.2018), or to change the weight to 1 for all courses. NB! You can choose to keep old courses with the weight 2 if you graduate no later than on 31.7.2020. Those graduating with a master's degree after 1.8.2020 will have all courses included in the degree with the weight 1. 

Compulsory language studies
The amount of compulsory language credits in the master´s degree has decreased from 6 credits to 5 credits. This means that the number of elective courses in the master’s degree increases from 24 to 25 credits. If a major/specialisation/track has defined a study plan with 90 credits, there is thereby possible to fit a minor into the master´s degree. Note that some study plans are defined as larger than 90 credits (which usually is the case regarding master's degree specialisations offered in English), and then there is no space for a minor subject (a minor has to be at least 25 cr). All master's degree students have to complete at least 90 cr within their major/specialisation/track, and ultimately attain at least 120 cr.