Statistics

In most cases, a higher education degree (or recognized equivalent) and 3 years of professional work experience in a relevant field is required. 

The degree and work experience must be completed by the end of the application period. Work experience must be obtained from a field covered by the person's degree. Any work training included in the degree programme is not accepted as vocational work experience. Teaching or training experience will not be regarded as work experience from a specific field; instead, it will be regarded as teaching experience which, in recent years, has offered additional points at the application stage. Unlike vocational work experience, teaching experience is not an entrance requirement.

Being the northernmost teacher education school in Finland, the Oulu School of Professional Teacher Education educates teachers for half of Finland. In 2018, we had 496 applicants for 220 positions. The number of open positions is fixed according to educational field-specific estimates on the number of teachers needed and, therefore, acceptance is affected by the number and level of applicants within your field. A total of 15 students were accepted for English education. 

Studying at the School of Vocational Teacher Education is free of charge. Costs are accumulated from eating, travelling, accommodation and the purchase of study materials.

Application to the Professional Teacher Education Programme is implemented as a joint application to all Schools of Professional Teacher Education. The scoring criteria of the student selection is usually confirmed at the end of the year before the new application round. Scoring criteria may change each year.

In the joint application round of the year 2018 the lowest scores for acceptance in the different fields of study and in separate selection groups were as follows:

Humanities and Education: 13 points
Culture: 10 points
Social Sciences, Business and Administration: 1 points
Natural Sciences: 5 points
Engineering and Technology: 0 points
Natural Resources and Environment: 3 points
Social Affairs, Health and Sports: 8 points
Tourism, Catering and Domestic Services: 6 points
Other Field: 14 points
Separate selection group Western Lapland / Koillismaa: 8 points
Separate selection group of Professional Teacher Education programme in english: 3 points

The annual number of applicants and their educational backgrounds determine the lowest entrance points to the professional teacher education. 

In the School of Professional Teacher Education pedagogical studies comprise 60 ECTS credits. You can study either full-time or while working. Studies can take a maximum of three years. Most of the professional teacher education students study alongside work. Summer, autumn, and spring semesters enable studying throughout the year. 

For completed basic studies in education, adult education, vocational education or special pedagogy, 10 ECTS credits will be accepted in pedagogical studies for teachers. As a result, students need to complete 50 ECTS credits.

The pedagogical studies for teachers of 60 ECTS credits completed at the School of Professional Teacher Education provide you with pedagogical qualifications for all forms of schools. Each student's degree defines where and what they are qualified to teach. For example, an engineer (University of Applied Sciences) is qualified to teach their professional field at the upper secondary level, whereas a person with a Master's Degree in Science is also qualified to teach at Universities of Applied Sciences. Teachers of common subjects are qualified to teach their major subject and those subjects where they have completed studies of at least 60 ECTS credits.

The School of Professional Teacher Education is located in Oulu at Kiviharjuntie 4. In Rovaniemi the teaching premises are at the Rantavitikka Campus of the Lapland University of Applied Sciences, Jokiväylä 11. In the regional groups in Tornio,  Kuusamo and Kajaani students are informed about the teaching places before the beginning of the studies.

Teaching mainly takes place during weekdays from 9-16. There are autumn, spring and summer semesters. During the summer months you can study online, make aquarium exams and participate in elective studies in June.