Study Paths

Sign up for pathway studies during the registration period. Act quickly, as places on Study Paths are limited and are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

When you register, you must authenticate via the Suomi.fi service. You will need online banking credentials, a mobile certificate or a security token to authenticate. Have your identifier ready! If you experience problems with Suomi.fi authentication, clear your cache or use your browser’s private browsing mode (incognito).

Only in exceptional cases can you skip authentication (for example, if you do not have a suitable authentication method).

Enrollment is binding. If you need to cancel your registration, contact Study Services immediately and confirm the cancellation by email to studyservices@hamk.fi.

• Once you have authenticated yourself, some of the requested information will be filled in automatically.

• If you are registering for Master’s Study Path, upload a copy of the certificate for the higher education degree you have completed. Note that the certificate should already be in electronic form; a photo is also acceptable as an attachment. The attachment cannot be added afterwards and the registration timestamp is generated when you submit the completed enrollment.

• The information entered into the form is sent encrypted. At HAMK, the processing of personal data complies with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (2016/679) and Finland’s national legislation. Proper handling of personal data is important to HAMK. You can read more about the processing of personal data here.

After you enroll, you will receive an automatic confirmation email. If you don’t see it, please also check your junk mail folder. The confirmation email verifies that we have received your enrollment.

Students are accepted in the order in which they enroll. All registrants will be contacted after the enrollment period has ended.

For some courses you may also be asked to submit a letter of motivation and attend an interview, so please monitor your email, including your junk folder.

If you do not receive any contact, please get in touch at studyservices@hamk.fi.

Please note that your place on the Study Path course is only confirmed after you have been contacted and by paying the course fee.

All applicants will be informed by email if they are placed on a waiting list or have been rejected.

If you do not receive any contact (approx. two weeks after the end of the registration period), please contact Study Services by email at studyservices@hamk.fi.

Once you have been accepted as a pathway student, you will receive an email containing a payment link for the pathway study fee, and you should pay the fee through HAMK’s online store.

The payment link is valid for 3 days. Check your email (including junk mail) when you have been notified that you have been accepted as a pathway student.

The payment service provider is Paytrail. In HAMK’s Open UAS online store you can pay using the following methods

• Through the online payment buttons of all domestic banks: OP, Nordea, Danske Bank, S-Pankki, POP Pankki, Oma Säästöpankki, Aktia, Handelsbanken, Säästöpankki and Ålandsbanken
• Card payment methods: Visa, Mastercard and American Express
• Mobile payment methods: Siirto and MobilePay
• Invoice and instalment payment methods: OP Lasku, OP Tililuotto and Walley

After you have paid the study fee, you will be granted study rights for the duration of the pathway studies (for Bachelor level pathway studies, one semester or one academic year; for Master level pathway studies, depending on the extent you undertake).

You will receive an email notifying you when you can activate your user account.

More detailed instructions for new students can be found here.

Welcome to HAMK, the change is in your hands!

A good command of English is needed to study at HAMK’s open studies. Upon request, the registrant must be able to demonstrate their language skills. HAMK’s recommendation for English language skills is level B2 in The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

English language skills can be demonstrated, for example, with an accepted language test or previous studies. More information on the accepted methods for demonstrating English language proficiency is available on the UASinfo.fi Language Requirements page.

If you are unable to demonstrate your English language skills through one of the listed methods, your language proficiency may be assessed in an interview.

Studying requires long-term commitment and self-management. The necessary study skills include the ability to acquire information, present orally and in writing, and structure things in the language of instruction. For example, adequate mathematics skills, physics, language studies or communication skills may be required for each education.

Pathway students are not eligible for student finance or student discounts unless they are entitled to benefits on the basis of other studies. A pathway student may join HAMKO as a member and receive the pathway student card. This entitles them to all student benefits both locally and nationally, except for VR, Matkahuolto and Kela’s meal subsidy.

As a HAMK pathway student, you can take courses from certain cross‑institutional study networks at other higher education institutions for the same pathway study fee, for example as summer courses. Before you enrol for courses in a cross‑institutional network, check that the academic level of the courses matches that of your pathway studies.

Please note that cross-institutional courses must be agreed with your guidance counsellor always before enrolment.

Courses in the CampusOnline network are free of charge for pathway students at partner universities, and enrolment can be done in Pakki.

A pathway student must complete the cross‑institutional studies during their pathway study right. Cross‑institutional studies are enrolled in the student’s own desktop (Pakki) and the completion entry is added automatically to the student’s PSP.

In exceptional cases, the assessment for cross‑institutional studies can be submitted electronically to the home university once the course has been completed during the pathway studies. Please note that pathway students should prioritise first‑year studies of the programme in order to obtain the study credits required for separate application rounds and relevant to the programme they are applying to.

Please note that when applying as a degree student in the separate admission process, modules and study units completed in the Open University of Applied Sciences must generally have been completed to a satisfactory level of competence.

The grade point average of completed studies acceptable for the International Business programme must be at least 3.0. Completion of first-year studies may be considered an advantage when being admitted.
More information about the separate application can be found here.

Pathway students are entitled to the same guidance and support as degree students.

Guidance is provided by the counselor of the degree-student group.

Beginning on 1 July 2026, undertaking open higher education studies at a university, university of applied sciences, adult education centre or summer university will not affect a jobseeker’s entitlement to unemployment benefits if they are aged 25 or over. For more information, contact the employment services in your area.

You can get lunch at the unsupported student price by showing your pathway student meal card at the till of HAMK’s student restaurant. The lunch price is lower than the visitor price, but slightly higher than the price for degree students who receive Kela meal support.

This concerns only Finnish-speaking students: a study path student may not be credited for completing language skills required for staff in public administrations. Language skills required for staff in public administrations assessment can only be given to a degree student.

The RPL process takes into account each student’s prior learning corresponding to the learning objectives of degree programmes and their parts, as described in curricula. The RPL process consists of recognition and accreditation of learning and subsequent credit transfer, validation of learning through skills demonstrations and exemption from compulsory language studies. How and where learning was acquired is irrelevant in terms of launching the RPL process. Contact your guidance counsellor in the beginning of your studies. In HAMK’s Open UAS, a maximum of 1/3 of the extent of the study path can be recognized. Please notice that studies that have been acquired via RPL in HAMK open UAS do not necessary provide for eligibility in applying process for degree programme in other Universities of Applied Sciences.

There are requirements concerning health and functional capacity in the social and health care sector when applying for degree-level study after completing pathway studies. See more information here.

HAMK students starting their studies must acquire their own laptop, if they do not already have one. See the Bring your own device – BYOD page for more information. Learning at HAMK can be independent of time and classroom.

A pathway student is covered by HAMK’s statutory accident insurance. As a pathway student, you are covered by the same insurance as HAMK’s degree students.

The duration of Bachelor’s level pathway studies is one semester or one academic year. For Master’s level pathway studies you are granted study entitlement for the duration corresponding to the scope to be completed. If your right to study ends before you complete the required credits, you can continue your studies through HAMK’s Open UAS.

Missing studies will be planned together with your programme’s guidance counsellor.
Register via the link you receive from your guidance counsellor and pay the study fee of €15 per credit. The studies to be completed are primarily first‑year courses.

This way you can collect the credits required for the application on basis of open higher education studies in Finland and continue towards your degree.

Note that depending on your citizenship you may need a residence permit for Study Paths. As Study Path studies are not leading to a degree it is not possible to get a residence permit only for that purpose.