General upper secondary education
- Service
- Helsinki
- Public service
The City of Helsinki has 15 general upper secondary schools, two of which offer general upper secondary education for adults. Our general upper secondary schools offer regular general upper secondary education, general upper secondary education based on a special educational task and special emphasis general upper secondary education. There are also private general upper secondary schools and stat ...
Do the following
You apply to general upper secondary school with your comprehensive education certificate or equivalent, primarily in the joint application procedure. Some of our general upper secondary schools may emphasise one or more subjects as a selection criterion. Some of our general upper secondary schools also have entrance or aptitude tests and may take into account an applicant's other education, hobbies or other additional evidence in student admission. You can find information about the selection criteria on the Studyinfo service or on the web page of the general upper secondary school that you are interested in.
If study places become available at a general upper secondary school during the school year, they will be filled through rolling admissions. The selection criteria are the same as in the joint application procedure.
If you have completed education equivalent to Finnish comprehensive education abroad or do not have a comprehensive education certificate, you can apply to general upper secondary general school via discretionary admission in the joint application procedure or through rolling admission. You may also be eligible to apply to the English-language track of Helsinki Upper Secondary School of Languages.
If you are over 18 years old and have completed the comprehensive education syllabus, you can enrol in a general upper secondary school for adults as a student studying for an upper secondary qualification. If you are interested in studying at Konepaja Upper Secondary School for Adults or the adult education track of Tölö gymnasium Upper Secondary School, check the enrolment instructions on the schools' web pages.
To whom and on what terms
You apply to general upper secondary school with your comprehensive education certificate or equivalent, primarily in the joint application procedure. Some of our general upper secondary schools may emphasise one or more subjects as a selection criterion. Some of our general upper secondary schools also have entrance or aptitude tests and may take into account an applicant's other education, hobbies or other additional evidence in student admission. You can find information about the selection criteria on the Studyinfo service or on the web page of the general upper secondary school that you are interested in.
If study places become available at a general upper secondary school during the school year, they will be filled through rolling admissions. The selection criteria are the same as in the joint application procedure.
If you have completed education equivalent to Finnish comprehensive education abroad or do not have a comprehensive education certificate, you can apply to general upper secondary general school via discretionary admission in the joint application procedure or through rolling admission. You may also be eligible to apply to the English-language track of Helsinki Upper Secondary School of Languages.
If you are over 18 years old and have completed the comprehensive education syllabus, you can enrol in a general upper secondary school for adults as a student studying for an upper secondary qualification. If you are interested in studying at Konepaja Upper Secondary School for Adults or the adult education track of Tölö gymnasium Upper Secondary School, check the enrolment instructions on the schools' web pages.
Background information
General upper secondary education provides you with the necessary skills for studying at a university or university of applied sciences. At the end of your general upper secondary education, you will complete a matriculation examination that will make you eligible for a place of study at a higher education institution.
You can apply for a study place at the educational institution of your choice. The provider of the education decides whom it will admit to its institution.
The target completion time for a general upper secondary school syllabus is three years. Every syllabus and the studies included in them are measured in credits. The general upper secondary school syllabus for young students consists of 150 credits. The studies included in the syllabus for young students have been designed with full-time study in mind. A separate syllabus is also available to adults who wish to participate in general upper secondary education.