Elective studies
With elective studies, you can complement your degree and shape your expertise in a direction that interests you. These studies offer an opportunity to deepen, broaden, or diversify your skills and help you stand out in working life.
The scope of elective studies is determined by your personal study plan (curriculum).
What should you keep in mind?
- Choose elective studies that correspond to the level of your degree (Bachelor’s or Master’s).
- Select courses that do not overlap in content with your degree programme’s compulsory studies or with studies you have already completed or received credit for.
- Some courses may have prerequisite requirements—please check these before enrolling.
- If you are unsure whether a course is suitable as an elective, discuss it with your study counsellor (HOPS advisor) before registering.
👉 Make the most of the opportunity – elective studies give you the chance to shape your degree to reflect your own interests and goals!
Course offering
You can find Metropolia’s course offering in the Study Guide and in the Tuudo Study Search.
💡 Tip: Use the Tuudo mobile app – you can search for courses and register for them directly! The course search can be found in the menu on the left side of the app: STUDIES → Search implementation .
Elective languages at Metropolia include Spanish, Italian, Japanese, French, Swedish, German, Finnish and Russian.
International students may also study Finnish as an elective language. Learning Finnish is very useful in terms of employment, networking and integrating into Finnish society, so students are recommended to improving their language competence also by means of elective studies.
In addition to Suomi 1–4 courses, there are also basic and intermediate-level courses preparing students for National Certificates of Language Proficiency (YKI) tests, and Puhutaan suomea and Asiantuntijatyön suomi courses for more advanced students. Students outside the EU/EAA paying annual tuition fees may apply for a grant to take an YKI test. Read more about the Metropolia grant, YKI tests and Finnish language studies.
The course offering is designed and coordinated for each degree programme and location.The courses can be found with Study Search by language or in the basket containing optional languages.You register on the courses through OMA using the course number.
Metropolia cooperates with Laurea, Haaga-Helia and Aalto University (known as the 3UAS-Aalto cooperation), and students can pick elective language and communication courses in any of the above three UASs and Aalto University. Learn more about courses available through the 3UAS-Aalto cooperation network and start learning languages! Registration for the following term's courses must be done by the end of the preceding term.
As a Metropolia students, you may also take Campus Online courses. Check out the Campus Online courses and earn credit points!
You can also study languages virtually! KiVAKO, the joint project funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture involving 26 higher education institutes, will continue between the institutes as the KIVANET cooperation network, offering elective language courses of 3–5 credit points on the Moodle platform of the DigiCampus project. Read more and register for a course!
Each Bachelor's degree programme starting in autumn 2025 includes either 5 or 10 ECTS credits of Profile Studies in Working Life Skills (abbreviated in Finnish as "TOP studies"), depending on the degree programme. As a student, you can choose the studies that best suit your interests from the study offering, which is available in the Study Guide and the Tuudo Study Search.
In addition to the compulsory amount, you may also include Profile Studies in Working Life Skills studies in your elective studies.
TOP courses are small in scope (1–3 ECTS credits) and are designed as independent online studies. They use automatic registration approval, automated messages to students, and self-assessed assignments.
The study offering for 2025–2028 includes the following themes:
- Working life skills and career planning
- Broad digital skills
- International and sustainable working life
- Promoting well-being
- Language and communication studies
You can complete elective studies also through courses offered by other higher education institutions, such as those available via the 3AMK and U!REKA alliances or the cross-institutional study network. In addition, you can take courses from open universities of applied sciences or open universities. If the courses offered by another institution are subject to a fee, you are responsible for paying the study fee yourself.
👉 More information about 3AMK courses
👉 More information about U!REKA courses (Offerings available starting from the beginning of 2026.)
👉 More information about cross-institutional studies
👉 Find open study offerings from other higher education institutions on the Opin.fi service or on the institutions’ own websites.
As an attending degree student at Metropolia, you cannot register for studies offered by Metropolia Open UAS (if you are a non-attending student, you may study at the Open UAS).