Bachelor's applicants: How to prove your English skills 2027

You must have completed or complete by 18 May 2027 Finnish matriculation examination with a minimum grade of magna cum laude approbatur (M) in English language in advanced syllabus. 

If you are completing the qualification in spring 2027, your language proficiency will be checked from your final grades once they are published. We are able to check and verify the results from national databases.

If you have completed the Finnish matriculation examination in 1990 or later, you do not need to submit a copy of your diploma because we are able to verify your results from national databases. 

If you have completed the Finnish matriculation examination in 1989 or earlier, attach copies of your diploma to your application form on Studyinfo.fi by 28 January 2027 (the exact time will be announced later).

You must have completed or complete by a given deadline one of the three:

• successfully completed IB diploma in English; OR
• successfully completed A Level English (literature/language and literature/literature and performance); OR
• a minimum score of 5 (good) in B Level English.

If you have graduated by the time of applying, upload a scanned copy of your IB Diploma to your online application form by 28 January 2027 (the exact time will be announced later).
 

If you are completing the IB diploma in spring 2027, your language proficiency will be checked from your final grades. Please pay attention to the deadlines below: 

• The deadline for submitting predicted grades for applicants completing an IB Diploma in spring 2027 is 1 April 2027 (the exact time will be announced later).
• The deadline for submitting the final grades for applicants completing an IB Diploma in spring 2027 is 13 July 2027 (the exact time will be announced later).
  
  Order a Transcript of Grades from IBO and ask them to deliver it to the University of Jyväskylä. Our Admission Office will then receive the final grades electronically from IBO. Please note that if your final grade for proving your English skills is below the required minimum, your admission will be cancelled.

You must have completed or complete by a given deadline one of the two: 

• successfully completed L1 in English; OR
• a minimum score of 7 at L2 or L3 in English.
   

If you have graduated by the time of applying, upload a scanned copy of your EB Diploma to your online application form by 28 January 2027 (the exact time will be announced later). Attach all pages of the diploma.

If you are completing the EB diploma in spring 2027, your language proficiency will be checked from your final grades. Please pay attention to the deadlines below: 

• The deadline for submitting predicted grades for applicants completing an EB Diploma in spring 2027 is 1 April 2027 (the exact time will be announced later).
• The deadline for submitting the final grades for applicants completing an EB Diploma in spring 2027 is 13 July 2027 (the exact time will be announced later).
  
  You need to submit an officially certified copy of your diploma and grades according to our instructions. Please note that if your final grade for proving your English skills is below the required minimum, your admission will be cancelled.

You must have completed or complete by a given deadline one of the two: 

• successfully completed written A Level English; OR
• a minimum score of 8 in oral A Level English.

If you have graduated by the time of applying, upload a scanned copy of your RP or DIA Diploma and equivalency certificate to your online application form by 28 January 2027 (the exact time will be announced later). Please attach all the pages of your diploma.

If you are completing the DIA Diploma in spring 2027, your language proficiency will be checked from your final grades.

The deadline for submitting the final diploma, final grades and an equivalency certificate for applicants completing a DIA Diploma in spring 2027 is 28 April 2027 (the exact time will be announced later). 
 

If you have completed Reifeprüfung (RP) or Deutsche Internationale Abiturprüfung (DIA) Diploma outside Finland, see further instructions from the section below ("Upper secondary education completed in English").

Note! If you apply to the Business Innovation and Sustainability (BIS) degree programme based on an SAT or an ACT test result and you have achieved one of the score requirements listed below, the aptitude test result can be used as a proof of your English-language skills and you are not required to submit any additional proof of your language skills.

The minimum required scores for the SAT and ACT test result for the Business Innovation and Sustainability degree programme are:

• minimum total score of 1100 for the Evidence-based Reading and Writing and Mathematics sections in the SAT test,
• minimum total score of 22 in the Reading, English, Mathematics, and Science sections.
   

If you have completed your upper secondary education fully in English in an EU/EEA country, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the United States, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand, your diploma can serve as proof of your language skills. If the language of tuition is not mentioned in your diploma, an additional document stating English as the language of instruction is required. 

If you have graduated by the time of applying, upload a scanned copy of your final diploma, transcript of records or other official document issued by the educational institution confirming your medium of instruction as English to your online application form by 28 January 2027 (the exact time will be announced later). If the document has been issued in a language other than Finnish, Swedish or English, an official translation of the document to one of these languages is required too.

If you are completing the qualification in spring 2027, your language proficiency will be checked from your final diploma. The deadline for submitting the final diploma (and possible translation) for applicants completing a foreign upper secondary level qualification will be updated later.

Business Innovation and Sustainability (BIS) and Early Childhood Education (EarlyEdu):

• SAT test result with a minimum total score of 1100 for the Evidence-based Reading and Writing, and Mathematics sections.

The test result must be delivered to the University of Jyväskylä in the requested ways and by the given deadline. Test scores that are not delivered as requested or scores that are received after the deadline will not be accepted. Please see further information at:

Delivering SAT and ACT test scores to JYU

Business Innovation and Sustainability (BIS) and Early Childhood Education (EarlyEdu):

• ACT: minimum total score of 22 in the Reading, English, Mathematics, and Science sections

The test result must be delivered to the University of Jyväskylä in the requested ways and by the given deadline. Test scores that are not delivered as requested or scores that are received after the deadline will not be accepted. Please see further information at:

Delivering SAT and ACT test scores to JYU

We accept the following IELTS tests:

• IELTS Academic (including IELTS Academic for UKVI) and,
• IELTS Online.

You must have achieved the minimum overall score of 6.0 with no band below 5.5.

IELTS Academic with One Skill Retake is also accepted. 

IELTS General Training test does not suffice.

After you have taken the test, it usually takes at least 13 days for the test results to be published. Therefore, please book your test well in advance.

IELTS results are valid for two years from the test date.

You must upload a scanned copy of your IELTS Test Report Form and enter your IELTS test report form number to your online application form. The quality of the scan needs to be high and each character on the report needs to be readable. We will verify all results from an online verification service.

Where to book and take your test (ielts.org)

We accept the following TOEFL tests:

• TOEFL iBT,
• TOEFL iBT Home Edition, and
• TOEFL iBT Paper Edition.

You must have achieved the following minimum result:

• total score of 78 (if taken before 21 Jan 2026)
• total score of 4 with no section below 3.5 (if taken on or after 21 Jan 2026)

MyBest Scores are accepted.

TOEFL results are valid for two years from the test date.

When registering to take the TOEFL test, you can fill in the University of Jyväskylä’s Institution Code 9818 in the Score Report Recipient field. This is optional. If you have not used our institution code before taking the test, there is no need to do so afterwards.

You must upload a scanned copy of your TOEFL score slip to your application form. The quality of the scan needs to be high and each character on the report needs to be readable.

Schedule your test

We accept the following PTE tests:

• PTE Academic (including PTE Academic UKVI), and
• PTE Academic Online. 

PTE Core test does not suffice.

You must have achieved the following minimum results:

• overall score of 62
• Writing score of 61

PTE results are valid for two years from the test date.

The results are typically available within five working days from the test session. Once you receive your test score, please send it to the University of Jyväskylä from your PTE account:

1. Sign in to your My PTE account.
2. Go to “My Activity”.
3. Click “Send Scores” next to the relevant test.
4. Type “University of Jyväskylä” in the field marked ‘Institution / Organization / Department / School’ and click ‘Search’.
5. Tick the box next to the institution’s name when it appears in the list.
6. Review your details then scroll down the page and click ‘Next’ and then ‘Next’ again to confirm. It takes up to 48 hours before we can view your score.

You must also upload a copy of your Score Report and enter your PTE Score Report code to your online application form. You can download your Score Report from your PTE account.
 

PTE Academic
 

PTE Academic Online

You must have achieved one of the following results:

• Cambridge C1 Advanced: C
• Cambridge C2 Proficiency: Level C1

CPE and CAE results do not expire. However, we only accept tests taken in 2005 and thereafter.

You must upload a scanned copy of your test certificate to your application form on Studyinfo.fi. Additionally, you must enter your Statement of Results number. If you do not have it, please contact Cambridge Assessment English. The Statement of Results number is required for us to be able to verify your test certificate.
 

Cambridge C1 Advanced
 

Cambridge C2 Proficiency

You must have received a grade of 4 or higher at the intermediate level in all components (speaking, writing, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension). Advanced tests and skill levels 5 and 6 are accepted as well. You may combine test results from multiple dates.

YKI results do not expire. However, we only accept for tests taken in 2002 and thereafter.

After you have taken the test, it takes about two months to receive your certificate by mail. Please take the test well in advance.

You must attach a copy of your test result to your application form. Your result will be verified from the test organiser.
 

National Certificate of Language Proficiency (YKI)

Note! If you apply based on an SAT or ACT test result to the Business Innovation and Sustainability (BIS) bachelor's degree programme and you have achieved the minimum required total score, the test result is used as a proof of your English-language skills and you do not need to submit additional proof of your English skills.
 

If you wish to prove your English skills with a higher education degree, please notice that country in which the degree is completed must be one of the following:

• European Union/European Economic Area country, or
• one of the following countries: Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Dominica, Cameroon, Canada, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Dominica, Eswatini, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Kenya, South Africa, United Kingdom, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Switzerland, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States, Zimbabwe, Zambia.

If you have completed your degree in English in some other country, it cannot serve as proof of your language proficiency, even if English is a commonly used language in that country.

If the awarding institution is located in one of the above-mentioned countries, but you completed the degree on an off-shore campus in some other country, the degree cannot serve as proof of your language skills. If you completed your studies at the awarding institution and on an off-shore campus, at least 50% of the credits included in the degree must have been completed in the awarding institution. Your educational documents must state where you have completed your credits or study units. Otherwise, a separate document stating this information is required. The document must be issued by the awarding institution in English. The 50% rule applies only if your degree has been conferred to you by the time of application.

Language of tuition

Your educational documents must state English as the language of tuition or instruction of your degree. If the language of tuition has not been specified, English is considered to be the language of tuition if at least 50% of the studies included in a finished degree were completed in English and this is verifiable from your educational documents.

An additional document stating the language of instruction of the degree is required in the following case:

• You have completed your degree, its language of tuition is not mentioned in your educational documents, and the documents do not prove that at least 50% of studies included in the degree were completed in English.

The additional document stating English as the language of tuition of your degree needs to be issued by the degree-awarding institution in English.

Upload a scanned copy of your degree certificate, transcript of records or other official document issued by the educational institution confirming your medium of instruction as English to the online application form in Studyinfo.fi by 28 January 2027 (the exact time will be announced later). If the document has been issued in a language other than Finnish, Swedish or English, an official translation of the document to one of these languages is also required.

Please note that it is not possible to prove your English-language proficiency with an unfinished higher education degree. 

You can prove your English skills with a higher education degree completed or being completed at a Finnish university if the major/specialisation of the degree is the English language.

Your degree certificate, transcript of records, or some other document issued by the awarding institution must state the major/specialisation of your degree. When applying, you need to upload a copy of the document to your application form on Studyinfo.fi.

You can prove your language skills with a higher education degree completed or being completed in Finnish or Swedish in a higher education institution in Finland if the degree includes command of English as a foreign language as stipulated by one of the following decrees:

• Valtioneuvoston asetus yliopistojen tutkinnoista (794/2004), i.e., Government Decree on University Degrees (794/2004)
• Valtioneuvoston asetus ammattikorkeakouluista (1129/2014), i.e., Government Decree on Universities of Applied Sciences (1129/2014)

Your degree certificate, transcript of records, or some other document issued by the awarding institution must state this information. You must upload a copy of the document to your application form on Studyinfo.fi.

A command of English demonstrated according to a prior government decree does not suffice.

It is not possible to demonstrate your English skills with an unfinished higher education degree for the international bachelor's programmes.

How do I know if my degree meets the requirement?

Your degree certificate, transcript of records or diploma supplement should state it if you have demonstrated English skills according to the government decree. For example: ”Tutkinnon suorittanut on osoittanut yliopistojen tutkinnoista annetun asetuksen (794/2004) mukaisen vieraan kielen taidon englannin kielessä.”

If you have completed 25 ECTS in English at a university in Finland during the current or past two academic years, you can prove your English skills by submitting the relevant transcript of records. The studies must have been registered in a study system between 1 August 2024 – 21 January 2027. Please note that studies completed at universities of applied sciences are not considered.

You must upload a copy of your official transcript of records to your application form. Screenshots taken from MyStudyinfo or study registers are not considered.

We must be able to determine that you have completed 25 ECTS in English within the given time frame based on the document. Therefore, the following information must be included:

• the name of the university
• the name of student
• the number of ECTS credits
• the date(s) of completion
• English as the language of instruction

If your official transcript does not include some piece of information, you must submit an additional official document issued by the university in question.