Adult education in Finland

Education is available for adults at all levels of education. You can study at work, alongside employment or in your own time. For certain studies, financial support is available.

Education for adults includes, for example, education leading to a basic, vocational or specialised vocational qualification or university of applied sciences degree, university education, primary education, upper secondary education, further and continuing education and liberal adult education.

Degrees obtained in adult education give you the same eligibility for post-graduate studies as those obtained in youth education. Read more about adult education on the Studyinfo website and about education and training at different levels on the Info Norden website.

Liberal adult education is not degree-oriented. Liberal education institutions include adult education centres, folk high schools, summer universities, sports training centres and study centres. Schools offer civic and social studies, general education and hobbies to improve knowledge and skills. Find out more on the websites of the individual institutions.

You can find more information on language studies in Finland on the page Language courses in Finland.

Both the content of your studies and your own situation will affect the kind of support you can get for adult learning. Possible forms of support include financial aid for students, apprenticeship benefits, unemployment benefit, rehabilitation allowance and various grants and scholarships.

If you come to Finland to study, it is also good to know about student housing, work placements, healthcare and social security, and student discounts in Finland. We have collected information on these on the page Guide: Studying in Finland.