Health Care, Nursing
Field of studies
- Health
- Health and Social Services
Degree title
- Bachelor of Health Care, Nursing
Registration period
- Finnish Joint Application 2025
Teaching language
- English
Type of education
- Bachelor’s Degree
Academic level
- Bachelor Level Studies - EQF 6
Campus
- Hämeenlinna
Teaching format
- Contact Lessons
Become a bettermaker by learning professional nursing
Our nursing degree will enable you to become a valued and diverse health care professional, who can work in Finland or abroad as a nurse. Nurses are widely needed around the world, and after graduation you will be working in a practical profession where you get to work closely with people every day.
Objective
You will gain professional skills and knowledge to help people with their health and develop community’s wellbeing. You will learn the Finnish language to help manage in different nursing situations in Finnish working life.
Qualification provided by education
After the studies, you will have the professional skills and knowledge to work as a registered nurse in health care services in Finland using the Finnish language. As a certified professional, you may also be employed abroad.
Structure of studies
A nurse works in professional care aiming to promote health and well-being. Nursing includes caring, guiding, supporting and rehabilitating the client. Our degree programme consists of core competencies, work placements, thesis and deepening your expertise through profiling competence. The language of the degree programme is English with a strong emphasis on learning Finnish language, and the degree meets the criteria of the EU directives for a General Nurse. You will receive personal guidance from the tutor teachers and study guides throughout the stages of your studies.
Core competencies
You will study closely around real-life phenomena from health care, and the content of the studies include getting to know the Finnish health and social care culture. You will study themes like medical nursing, acute and perioperative nursing, mental health, gerontology, family health and management in nursing.
Work placements
We will provide work placements for you through HAMK’s partner organisations. Practical training represents one-third of the nursing studies, and it is implemented in several phases in the degree in various health care environments. This allows you to acquire a deep understanding and a wide view of the different possibilities that a career in nursing can offer. When agreed upon, practical training can be conducted during the summer term.
Thesis
The bachelor’s thesis is a comprehensive design or development process, or research project, where you will independently utilise the most essential knowledge and practices of nursing. You can choose the topic according to your interests together with work-life partner organisations. You can do the thesis in Finnish or English. The aim of the thesis is to strengthen both your general working life skills and your professional competencies.
Specialization options
Deepening your competence
In addition to the studies around core competence, work placements and the thesis, nursing studies include profiling studies to advance your expertise in nursing. You may choose profiling studies that serve the competence needs of the nursing field.
Note
The studies require commitment to academic studies and self-organisation skills. The student must be motivated and committed to learning the Finnish language to reach the required proficiency.
Health Assessment and Vaccinations
Since professional studies at HAMK start from the very beginning of the degree, you should prepare for your first work placements in the field. For this you will need to complete and save for yourself a Tuberculosis self-assesment and provide our student health care information on your current vaccination coverage. If there is a need to supplement your vaccinations, this can be done at student health care (FSHS) at the beginning of your studies. Your first clinical placement will take place in the end of October. Read more information and instructions for social and health care students concerning infectious diseases and vaccinations.
Apply to study
Joint and Rolling Application
Bachelor of Health Care, Health Care, Nursing, full-time studies, Joint application
- Application begins:
- Application ends:
- Studies begin:Autumn 2025
- Places of Study:40
For Students living in Finland
Study Paths – Open Studies Leading to a Degree
In our Study Paths, you will complete studies that are part of a degree program as a student of the Open University of Applied Sciences, alongside degree students. Once you have completed the required amount of studies with the necessary grades, you can apply to become a degree student and continue your studies to completion as usual. Check more information:
Students outside of Finland: As Open University Studies are not leading to a degree it is not possible to get a residence permit only for that purpose.
Five reasons to study Nursing in Hämeenlinna, Finland!
Achieve the competence of a nurse to work in a practical profession in Finland and abroad. High-quality education with close connections to work life.
Enjoy the perfect location. Hämeenlinna is an hour away from the capital and close to other big cities.
Be safe. Hämeenlinna is one of the safest cities to live in Finland.
Live cheaper. Living costs are cheaper than in bigger cities.
Feel the nature. Hämeenlinna is full of lakes, forests and beautiful scenery.
What is it like to study with us?
Watch videos about how we learn!
Our simulation classroom is an authentic work environment. Various procedures can be performed on patient care manikins. Explore the the classroom virtually!
Studying in Finland
Finland is a great place to study! Here are some information for international applicants:
Study Methods
Full-time Studies, Contact Lessons
Campus
As a student of Nursing programme, your home campus will be Hämeenlinna University Centre.
Hämeenlinna University Centre
Our evolving, growing, and modern main campus, Hämeenlinna University Centre, brings together thousands of students and hundreds of employees. Across the expansive campus area, there are versatile facilities and services for studies across various fields as well as for research work.
The Hämeenlinna campus offers around 30 degree programs and serves as the home campus for all of HAMK’s research units. Additionally, the university center provides excellent facilities for organizing various events for both internal and external participants, resulting in frequent activity and bustling events on campus.
Studies tailored to you
Your degree consists of 210 credits and includes four core elements:
The core competence studies, or core competence modules as we call those, form the foundation of your degree and professional skills. These studies are designed to support your development as a professional in your field and provide a solid groundwork for future elective studies.
Part of your degree consists of profiling competence modules, enabling you to build expertise in your chosen direction according to your own goals. These studies offer opportunities to broaden, deepen, and enhance professional skills and personal development.
We will provide work placements for you through HAMK’s partner organisations. Practical training represents one-third of the nursing studies, and it is implemented in several phases in the degree in various health care environments. This allows you to acquire a deep understanding and a wide view of the different possibilities that a career in nursing can offer. When agreed upon, practical training can be conducted during the summer term.
Your thesis is a development or research project you work on towards the end of your studies. It helps you get better at what you’ve learned and shows how you can use that knowledge. It’s worth 15 credits, and you get to pick a topic that interests you and fits your career plans. It aims at solving problems emerging from the workplace. We encourage you to choose a real problem to solve from a company, to put your skills into practice and create new solutions for your industry.
As a student at HAMK, you can tailor your degree to suit you. You have the option to choose various studies from us and around the world, and complete the required studies in different ways.
Explore more about the content of the program and learn about planning your studies at HAMK:
Innovative study options that we offer
At HAMK, we develop new, innovative ways of study. Our goal is to provide you with versatile expertise that you can develop in various directions. We hope to inspire you to try something completely new!
Entrepreneurial university
Entrepreneurship is about recognizing opportunities, innovation capability, and the ability to create something new. In an entrepreneurial university, learning happens through collaboration and experimentation!
Design Factory
Design Factory is an operational and learning environment that brings together businesses, students, teachers, and researchers. Join projects where you develop new solutions together with students from various fields!
RUN EU -studies
HAMK is part of the RUN-Europe University, comprised of nine European universities. You can leverage the fantastic opportunities provided by RUN Europe University for accumulating international study experiences!
Exchange Studies
Exchange studies are a unique opportunity to explore the world. We encourage all our students to seize the chance and go abroad for an exchange. Will you go too?
HAMK’s Study Selection
We offer you a wide range of studies that you can choose as part of your degree. You can also select modules from other degrees at HAMK. Or why not utilize the expertise you’ve gained previously, for example, from scouting!
Cross-Institutional Studies
As a student at HAMK, you have the opportunity to take courses at other universities as well! It’s called cross-institutional studying, aiming to allow you to study comprehensive units that support your own goals.
Frequently asked questions
From here you can find answers to frequently asked questions about Nursing programme!
In the beginning the studies will mostly be conducted in English, with Finnish language learning gradually increasing. There is no requirement for Finnish language skills when applying. By the time of graduation, the goal is that you will be able to work in health care services in Finland using the Finnish language.
Yes, attendance in class is required. If you miss a class, the teacher will appoint compensatory assignments or exercises. You will reach the best study results by taking part in all the classes.
This matter will be evaluated case by case with Study Counsellor.
During the studies you will need mathematics skills, because medication courses include exercises in mathematics. You need to pass all the exams related to medication calculation. You will be given support from teachers as studies proceed, but studies also include independent exercises to make sure that you will become an independent professional who is capable of dosing medicine for patients while ensuring safety.
No, you do not. You will learn everything needed while studying. Previous experience might give you some advantage, but a positive attitude towards learning is even more important.
The employment situation for nurses is excellent, and they are in high demand in Finland. You can choose the workplace according to your interests in the field of nursing. The post graduate education opportunities for nurses are diverse, and we offer a lot of specialisation education and higher education possibilities after you have graduated.
Lectures are mainly held during the day but can be held in the evenings.
You will be studying in a multicultural group. During your studies, you will have the opportunity to participate in international activities and projects. We are also part of RUN European University.
The Finnish Nursing degree allows for the comparability of the degree and employability as a nurse in other EU countries. If you wish to work outside the EU/EEA area, you need to check the country-specific qualification requirements upon graduation.
Completing the degree requires full-time study, but you may work in part-time jobs if your individual situation is flexible enough and the studies are not affected.
Want to ask more?
If you want to ask more about the content of the programme, please contact:
If you need more information about applying to this programme, please visit here:
Graduate faster?
Are you already familiar with the field by previous higher education studies and have gained expertise through work? For students who are independent learners and have great studying skills, we offer opportunities alongside traditional degree studies that allow you to accelerate your degree progress.
24 / 7 – Fast track for studies
If you have prior education or work experience, and you are determined and pro-active, you have a chance to graduate faster through our 24/7 -study mode.
Read more about HAMK’s 24/7 -study mode:
Looking for something else?
Choosing the right education for yourself can sometimes be challenging, especially when there are plenty of good options available! We’ve gathered a few more alternatives in the same field for you, in case you’re interested in exploring our other programs as well. You can find our entire range through the search tool: