What are path studies?
Path studies in Social Services include the first academic year courses of the Degree Programme in Social Services, as stated in the curriculum. Completion of path studies takes two semesters. The studies start in August 2026.
Applicants will be tested on their English language skills in 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.
The study format is day-time studies, including contact teaching on campus, online learning, and independent study. Studies progress according to the schedule. The schedule is available in Schedule Machine from May 2026 onwards. The schedule is released for the entire semester at a time, but please note that changes are possible.
At the beginning of your studies, you will make a personal study plan with a tutor teacher from the degree. Your studies will follow the path of the Open University of Applied Sciences, but there is one individual choice you can make if you want to study early childhood education and care studies or need Finnish language tuition.
After you have completed the path studies, you can apply for the degree programme via the separate application process.
Target Audience, to whom?
Path studies are right for you if
- your goal is a study right in a degree programme
- you want to take advantage of the intermediate year by studying purposefully
- you are ready for full-time studies
- you aim to have a right to practice in Finnish Social Welfare as a licensed professional
- you are able to study in English and also motivated to learn or improve your Finnish
Path studies are suitable for Finnish speakers as well.
Studies include
Support in learning Finnish is integrated in the studies.
First Semester
- Orientation to Studies SX00FX97, 5 credits
- Social Pedagogy in Social Services Environments SX00FX71, 5 credits
- Professional Communication and Academic Writing SX00FX73, 5 credits
- Individual and Group Counselling SX00FX74, 5 credits
- Human Growth, Development and Socialization SX00FY23, 5 credits
And you choose one of these two:
- Finnish studies (If the student chooses this option, they will complete the first aid section of the Professional in Social and Health Care SX00FX89 course separately in Moodle in order to be eligible for the internship.), 5 credits
- Professional in Social and Health Care SX00FX89, 5 credits
Second Semester
- Culture, Gender and Sexuality in Client Work SX00FX90, 3 credits
- Client and Patient Orientation SX00FX92, 2 credits
- Social Pedagogical Methods SX00FX75, 5 credits
- Foundations of Welfare Society SX00FX76, 5 credits
- Work Placement and Language Internship 1: Social Services Work and Clients’ Everyday Life SX00FX79, 5 credits
And you choose one of these two:
- Social Inclusion and Disadvantage SX00FY26, 5 credits
- Global Awareness of Well-being of Children and Families SX00FY27, 5 credits
And you choose one of these two:
- Language-aware and Anti-discriminatory Practices SX00FX78, 5 credits (This course is suitable to students whose Finnish level is B1 or above. For other Finnish learners, you will be guided to a suitable Finnish course instead.)
- Finnish studies (for Finnish learners - the exact course is determined together with the Finnish teacher in the beginning of your studies)
Language and other requirements
The language of tuition is mainly English. 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. Most course materials are in English, but courses are implemented in a language-aware manner and students will be introduced to relevant Finnish vocabulary as well.
The student is responsible of possessing sufficient language skills for studies in higher education in English.
Note! Applicants will be tested on their English language skills in the selection process in August 2026. Applicants from the reserve list can also be invited to the selection process.
Read more about language skills and other 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. 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.
Below you can find the important information about studying in Metropolia’s Open UAS.
Check out Metropolia Open UAS and enroll to the studies in our enrollment system.
Contact Information for Open UAS in various situations
More information
Study content and implementation
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.
Contact information
- ask about enrollment: Please contact the Open UAS customer service using the contact form.
- ask about study practices from the guidance counsellor: 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: Hannele.Pulkamo [at] metropolia.fi (Hannele[dot]Pulkamo[at]metropolia[dot]fi)
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.
When you start as a new student at Metropolia, you need to activate your Metropolia 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 services customer service points.
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 have already been registered for their 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. You are required to follow you email actively. You can access your e-mail at mail.metropolia.fi. (sign in with your Metropolia ID and password).
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.
You can get the meal benefit with path students student card which on Tuudo mobile app. Tuudo is a mobile app with which you can use various Metropolia web services easily on your 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 Open UAS Customer Service.
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. Please check the application instructions and make sure to apply during the application period.
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: Admission Services
Other general help, refunding of payments and financial support applications: Open UAS Customer Service.
IT problems: IT Services
How to start Social Services path studies
The orientation to your studies starts in August 2026. More information will be updated later.
More detailed instructions regarding the schedule of the orientation and receiving the online meeting link will be provided for those students that are accepted into path studies and pay the fee.