There are some general outlines for accreditation.

What can I apply for accreditation for?

  • Studies from a another university or university-level school
  • Practical trainings and work experience
  • Competence achieved informally through work or volunteer experience

Please note that practical training, work experience and informal competence are always validated.

Principles

Only competences that are relevant and needed for your degree can be accredited. Do also familiarize yourself with the for graduation demanded amount of credits.

Competences that are a prerequisite for gaining admission to a degree programme (e.g. upper secondary education) cannot be accredited.

Study attainments older than 10 years cannot be accredited without assessing the relevance and whether or not the knowledge is up-to-date.

The original grade will be registered if the studies are from a Finnish university and the grading scale is the same as the one used at Arcada. Foreign grades are always registered as passed.

Military Leadership Education

Leadership education as part of Finnish military service can correspond to 5 ECTS credits of development studies. Please note that this only applies to students studying in the following degree programmes:

  • International Business
  • Materials Processing Technology
  • Mechanical and Sustainable Engineering

Competences

Competences are divided into four categories, which are based on how they have been acquired:

  1. Formal competence
    Competence acquired from studying at the same or equivalent level as the current degree programme (tertiary institution, e.g. university or university of applied sciences).
  2. Non-formal competence
    Documented studies that do not meet the required level, but can be considered relevant for the degree.
  3. Informal competence
    Competence acquired in an informal way and for which there is no documentation. Competence acquired in this way must always be assessed by means of an examination. If you have gained competence this way, please contact the examiner personally and do not fill in the application form.
  4. Work experience