What are path studies?
Path studies offer an alternative route to becoming a degree student in Applied Gerontology. During the path studies, you complete the first-year courses together with degree students.
The studies are bilingual. Teaching begins mainly in English, and no Finnish language skills are required at the start. Finnish language learning is included in the studies and the role of Finnish increases as the studies progress.
Please note that completing the path studies does not automatically guarantee admission as a degree student in the separate application process.
What will you study?
The path studies (60 ECTS) consist of the first-year courses in the Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Applied Gerontology.
1. Semester: Starting Points of Gerontological Competence (30 ECTS)
- Orientation to the Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Applied Gerontology – 5 ECTS
- Gerontological Competence – 5 ECTS
- Finnish studies (the exact course is determined together with the Finnish teacher in the beginning of your studies) – 5 ECTS
- Society and Ageing – 4 ECTS
- Professional Ethics 1 – 2 ECTS
- Professional in Social and Health Care – 5 ECTS
- Digital Services in Social and Health Care – 2 ECTS
- Client and Patient Orientation – 2 ECTS
2. Semester: Right to Individual Ageing (30 ECTS)
- Anatomy, Physiology and Age-Related Changes – 3 ECTS
- Cultural Wellbeing of Older People – 5 ECTS
- Person-Oriented Memory Work I – 2 ECTS
- Rights of Older People and Legislation – 3 ECTS
- Internship 1: Promoting Cultural Wellbeing for Older People – 8 ECTS
- Sustainability in the Urban European Context – 1 ECTS
- Culture, Gender and Sexuality in Client Work – 3 ECTS
- Finnish studies (the exact course is determined together with the Finnish teacher in the beginning of your studies) – 5 ECTS
Students who have completed their basic education in Finnish and/or have Finnish language proficiency at C1–C2 level will complete 10 credits of Alternative studies instead of Finnish language studies. These Alternative studies consist of separately agreed courses that are part of the Bachelor of Gerontology degree programme and are selected at the beginning of the studies.
How are the studies organized?
The studies start in August 2026 and end in May 2027. Teaching is organized in a multimodal format, combining contact teaching on campus, online learning and independent study. Path students study together with degree students and follow the same schedule. The schedule will be available from May 2026 onwards. Please note that changes to the schedule may occur.
Language and other requirements
The studies are bilingual. Teaching begins mainly in English, and no Finnish language skills are required at the start. Finnish language learning is included in the studies and the role of Finnish increases as the studies progress. The student is responsible of possessing sufficient language skills for studies in higher education.
Successful studies require:
- active participation
- good study skills
- sufficient language skills
- independent and responsible study habits
Higher education studies require you to have strong self-organization, time management and collaboration skills, an ability to comprehend wide-ranging areas of study, and effective communication skills both orally and in writing. In addition to scheduled teaching, you must also reserve plenty of time for independent study.
Note! Applicants will be tested on their language skills in the selection process in August 2026. Applicants from the reserve list can also be invited to the selection process.
See more information about study skills and requirements:
Price
900€, 15€/ECT
Enrollment to path studies
Enrollment is open from August 3, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. until August 4, 2026, at 11:59 p. in the Metropolia's enrollment system.
Note! Applicants who have applied for the program will be invited to the selection process by separate invitation. In the process applicants will be tested on their language skills and motivation. Applicants from the reserve list can also be invited to the selection process. The selection process will take place in August 2026 after the application period has ended. Further information on the selection process schedule will be updated later.
More information
Study guide
Contact information
- ask about study practices from the guidance councellor: elina.nissinen [at] metropolia.fi (elina[dot]nissinen[at]metropolia[dot]fi)
- ask about what's included in the studies from the Head of degree programme Anna.Puustelli-Pitkanen [at] metropolia.fi (Anna[dot]Puustelli-Pitkanen[at]metropolia[dot]fi), +358 40 682 3326
- ask about enrollment: Please contact the Open UAS customer service using the contact form.
Open UAS: Payments, benefits, services, studying
- Terms of Payment and Cancellation
- Open UAS studies and enrollment
- Studying in Open University
- Guidance: Please contact the Open UAS customer service using the contact form.
Applying for degree studies
Guidance: admissions [at] metropolia.fi (admissions[at]metropolia[dot]fi)
How to start path studies at Metropolia
Welcome to study path studies at Metropolia!
Read below all the common instructions for Metropolia's path students as well as the instructions for your own group.
When you start as a new student at Metropolia, you need to activate your user ID. Activate your user ID by using Netbank User ID or Mobile Certificate, or by using activation password. See instructions how to activate you user ID.
Strong identification
If you have registered for open studies with weak identification, you will need to complete strong identification in one of the following ways in order to receive your Metropolia user credentials:
- In person at the campus in student and admissions services customer service points. The opening hours of the customer service points can be found on the student and admissions services website.
Remotely via the Candour ID service by using the Candour ID mobile application. Please read the instructions for remote identification on Metropolia’s IT services website, which you can access via this link.
For remote identification, you must have a valid identity document, which can be one of the following: a passport (with or without an ICAO chip), a Finnish identity card with an ICAO chip, or a foreign identity card with an ICAO chip.
You will receive your study schedules at the beginning of the studies. You can use the Schedule Machine to see the up-to-date schedules. You can also check the schedules in Tuudo app.
Open UAS students do not enrol for the courses themselves but you have already been registered for the courses.
Communications concerning your studies takes place in OMA intranet workspaces and in your Metropolia e-mail, which you can use once you activate your user account. Please follow actively your metropolia.fi email! You can access your e-mail at mail.metropolia.fi.
Lecturers mostly send their messages through the courses' OMA workspaces. If other learning management platforms are used, such as Moodle, the lecturer will inform you of this. Please also read the general announcements on Metropolia's OMA intranet.
Metropolia has arranged a separate meal benefit for Open Path students because Open UAS students are not entitled to the degree students’ meal subsidy.
The price of the meal is restaurant-specific. The meal benefit is not applicable at Arabia campus.
Tuudo mobile app’s student card or meal certificate, which you can either pick up at the Student and Admission Services customer service point or order by e-mail from studentservices [at] metropolia.fi (studentservices[at]metropolia[dot]fi) at the beginning of your studies, entitles to a meal benefit.
Tuudo is a mobile app with which you can use various Metropolia web services easily on your smart phone.
In Tuudo you can also check announcements, your schedule, study attainments, and cafeteria menus.
Get Tuudo on your phone from the app store for free and start using it!
If you have selected invoicing as the payment method for your studies, the studies will be invoiced in two installments. The first invoice is sent at the beginning of the studies and the second invoice four months after the start of the studies.
Please also see Open UAS terms of payment and cancellation.
If your address changes during your studies, please notify us by e-mail avoinamk [at] metropolia.fi (avoinamk[at]metropolia[dot]fi)
If you wish to complete other studies in addition to those in your study path or module, you can enroll for the Open UAS courses in the enrollment system. Please make sure that your additional studies do not overlap with the studies included in the path or module.
Path students are also entitled to complete some courses offered by other universities of applied sciences. For more information, visit Metropolia’s Student's Guide.
After completing Open UAS path studies, you can apply for a degree programme on the basis of Metropolia’s Open UAS Studies.
Make sure to read the instruction for Open UAS students.
Contents and completion of courses: lecturers
Application on the Basis of Open Metropolia’s Open UAS Studies and other matters concerning applications: Student and Admission Services, admissions [at] metropolia.fi (admissions[at]metropolia[dot]fi)
Other general help, refunding of payments and financial support applications: Open university of applied sciences: avoinamk [at] metropolia.fi (avoinamk[at]metropolia[dot]fi)
IT problems: helpdesk [at] metropolia.fi (helpdesk[at]metropolia[dot]fi)