Maturity Test

Students with a language of school education of Finnish or Swedish

Students are required to take a written maturity test in the field of their final project to demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the field and excellent proficiency in Finnish or Swedish. The maturity test is written under supervision in the student's schooling language (Finnish or Swedish). An approved maturity test is proof of such a command of Finnish or Swedish which is required in bilingual districts, under the Act on the Knowledge of Languages Required of Personnel in Public Bodies (424/2003, and amendment 693/2016), of State personnel who need an academic degree to hold the position and which is necessary to practice the profession and to develop oneself professionally.

Language of maturity test in Finnish-language degree programmes:

• If the student's language of school education is Finnish, the language of the maturity test is Finnish.
• If the student's language of school education is Swedish, the language of the maturity test is Swedish.

A teacher of the language and communication studies checks the language of the maturity test.

Students with a language of school education of other than Finnish or Swedish

If the student's language of school education is other than Finnish or Swedish, the language of the maturity test is Finnish in Finnish-language degree programmes and English in English-language degree programmes. A maturity test will not indicate an excellent command of the schooling language if the language of school education is other than Finnish or Swedish. In cases like this, the student may prove their excellent command of Finnish and/or Swedish by obtaining a civil service language proficiency certificate or a national certificate of language proficiency.

Language of maturity test in Finnish-language degree programmes:

• If the student's language of school education is other than Finnish or Swedish, the language of the maturity test is Finnish.

Language of maturity test in English-language degree programmes:

• If the student's language of school education is other than Finnish or Swedish, the language of the maturity test is English.

A language and communication teacher checks the language of the maturity test.

Assessment the language of the of maturity test when the student's language of school education is other than Finnish or Swedish

As an exception to section 26 of these Degree Regulations, if the student’s language of school education is not Finnish or Swedish but they write the maturity test in Finnish or Swedish, the assessment of the maturity test will not include an assessment of the student’s proficiency in Finnish or Swedish, as referred to in section 7.1 of the Government Decree on Universities of Applied Sciences, but instead will focus solely on the student’s knowledge of the field of study, unless agreed otherwise with the student (Degree Regulations of Metropolia University of Applied Sciences Ltd Section 25). However, the student can require the assessment of the language of the maturity test according to the set Metropolia process.

In order to complete their degree (Bachelor’s and Master’s), the students are required to take a written maturity test. The language of maturity test is determined by the student's language of school education and the language on their degree programme.

If you have been diagnosed with dyslexia, you do not have to apply for Individual Study Arrangements Plan. There will ne enough time to take all exams including the maturity exam. Moreover, you may complete your performance orally. In the latter case, you must apply for Individual Study Arrangements Plan.

If you do not have a dyslexia diagnosis, but you suspect you may have it,  you may take a screening test organised by Metropolia.

You need to submit your Individual Study Arrangements Plan to the final project supervisor before taking the maturity test.

At Metropolia, a maturity test can be written in Finnish, Swedish or English.

The factual content of the maturity test is assessed by the lecturer of the professional subject, while the language is assessed by a lecturer of the language in which the test is written.

A maturity test is given a grade of pass or fail.

The assessment of the language of the maturity test focuses on the following aspects:

• structure (incl. overall structure of the text, division into paragraphs, headings)
• understandability (incl. independence of the text, argumentation, claims and their justifications)
• clarity (incl. sentence structure, use of professional terminology, choice of words)
• style (factual style) and language (incl. correct grammar and spelling, layout in line with instructions).

Maturity test written in the student’s language of school education

When a student writes the maturity test in their language of school education (Finnish or Swedish), an accepted test must demonstrate excellent proficiency in the language in question. 

Characteristics of an accepted maturity test (Working group of the Finnish language and communication UAS lecturers’ network, 29 January 2010):

• The text of the maturity test corresponds to the general guidelines for maturity tests and to the assignment given.
• The structure of the text and its headings correspond to the text type and the content. For example, an essay with a factual style conforms to the basic structure of an essay, where the introduction, discussion of the subject and the conclusion can be clearly distinguished. The text is divided into paragraphs in an appropriate and logical way. Paragraphs are clearly indicated.
• The text has a factual style – other styles may be used in accordance with the conventions of the text type.
• The text forms an independently understandable, clear and coherent whole.
• The text’s sentence and clause structures are appropriate, diverse and fluent.
• The text is polished and, apart from individual errors, does not contain any deviations from language use recommendations in the following aspects: punctuation, compound words, uppercase and lowercase first letters, presentation of numbers, abbreviations and other characters, referencing, concord, case government, use of participial phrases, loanwords, buzzwords, noun style or other forms of jargon, word order and correct spelling.

Characteristics of a failed maturity test:

• The text does not correspond to the general guidelines for maturity tests or to the assignment given.
• The content of the text is not consistent with the title or the title is missing altogether.
• The text is not understandable as an independent text but instead requires the reader to possess external information.
• The text structure is fragmented and it is difficult or impossible to form a full picture of the subject at hand from the text. However, the lack of one structural element in an essay-type text, for example, may not necessarily lead to a failed grade, but if both the introduction and conclusion are missing, the text will be failed.
• The division of the text into paragraphs is uneven and illogical, or there are no paragraphs at all. However, a list-like quality of the text and the lack of proper interconnections do not always lead to a failed grade if the text is divided into paragraphs in an appropriate way.
• The style of the text includes features that are inconsistent with the text type.
• There are problems in the sentence and clause structures (e.g. subordinate clauses used as sentences, sentences are too long, chains of subordinate clauses, use of independent clauses only, clumsy clause structures).
• There are plenty of linguistic errors in the following aspects: punctuation, compound words, uppercase and lowercase first letters, presentation of numbers, abbreviations and other characters, referencing, concord, case government, use of participial phrases, loanwords, buzzwords, noun style or other forms of jargon, word order and correct spelling. If the errors make it more difficult to the understand the text, even a small number of linguistic errors are grounds for failing the test.

Maturity test written in a language other than the language of school education and maturity test written in English

If the student’s language of school education is other than Finnish or Swedish, they should write the maturity test in the language of their degree programme. If the student has requested the evaluation of the language of maturity test, a passed maturity test should demonstrate such written skills in the language used as to suffice for handling work duties in the student’s profession.

Characteristics of an accepted maturity test:

• The text’s content corresponds to the general guidelines for maturity tests and to the assignment given. Its title corresponds to the content.
• The text is an independent whole and can be understood without reading the thesis which it refers to.
• The text is a coherent and logical whole. Its style and structure can be recognised as that of the text type required for the assignment.
• The division into paragraphs is clear and it expresses the structure of the text. There are connections within and between paragraphs.
• The sentence and clause structures are diverse and mostly in line with grammatical recommendations.
• Sentences do not contain grammatical errors that make the text difficult to understand.
• The text mostly complies with grammar recommendations (spelling, punctuation, compound words, uppercase and lowercase first letters).
• The terminology used indicates a command of the profession’s concepts.

Characteristics of a failed maturity test:

• The text does not correspond to the general guidelines for maturity tests or to the assignment given.
• The content of the text is not consistent with the title or the title is missing altogether.
• The text structure is fragmented and it is difficult to form a full picture of the subject.
• Topics are discussed on a general level without justifying thoughts and views.
• The text is written in the form of a list and its sentences do not form a coherent whole.
• The maturity test mostly consists of images and/or tables.
• The text is so short that the author’s language skills cannot be assessed on its basis.
• The text contains a significant number of linguistic errors that make it difficult to understand, and it does not meet the requirements for skill level B2 under the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Occasional spelling and structural errors that do not affect the understandability of the text do not, on their own, lead to a failed grade.