You can apply for a decision on recognition of your degree as comparable to a Finnish Master of Laws degree, if you have completed a second cycle degree in Law abroad.

Because the degree of Bachelor of Laws is not a statutory eligibility requirement for any post or position in Finland, the Finnish National Agency for Education does not under the current legislation issue decisions on the comparability of foreign degrees to a Finnish Bachelor of Laws.
The lobby of the Kaisa library of the University of Helsinki
Photo: Satu Haavisto

Preconditions for recognition

A higher education degree completed abroad can be recognised as comparable to a Master of Laws degree only if the studies completed are comparable in terms of level and content to the studies that comprise the Finnish degrees of Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws.

Additional requirements

Supplementing studies, that are completed at a Finnish university, can be required in the decision. The maximum extent of supplementing studies is 100 credits.

Supplementing studies are usually required in the following topics or in some of them: law of obligations, property law, family law and succession, criminal law, procedural law, constitutional law, and administrative law.

The need for supplementing studies is assessed during the processing of the application. During the assessment, all the higher education studies in law completed abroad will be taken into account, as well as the legal studies you have possibly completed in Finland.  

Generally, these studies are completed in Finnish or Swedish.

If you receive a decision requiring you to complete supplementing studies, contact a Faculty of Law at a Finnish university to complete them. Apply for a final decision from the Finnish National Agency for Education after you have completed the required supplementing studies.