Journalism education in Finland

In contrast to most European countries, journalists in Finland are predominantly educated at university. For Finnish journalists a university degree in journalism is the most promising qualification for the job. Compared to others, students who have graduated in journalism have better chances to get a permanent employment in the media.

ike in most western democratic countries, journalism is a free trade in Finland, which means that a compulsory education or degree is not required. But at the same time it is getting more common that the journalists have a university degree, preferably in journalism or communication. This is reflected in the situation on the job market: More than 5.000 of the 10.000 journalists in Finland have an academic journalism education. In 1993, one third of the journalists had a degree in journalism.
Finland has a long tradition of academic journalism education. The first course of studies was established in 1925. Today the three most important institutions are located at the universities of Tampere, Helsinki and Jyväskylä. Together they provide about 170 places a year. The working language in Tampere and Jyväskylä is Finnish, in the Helsinki program students and lecturers speak Swedish.
People with a different professional background who are intending to be journaslists often have to cope with difficulties when they start their career. If they want to find an acceptable job, they have to get some practical experience which usually is got by freelancing and trying to find contacts in the media. Introduction to journalism studies is offered by schools on different levels. Some media companies also arrange short-term training for their present and future employees.
Because of their quasi-monopoly on journalism training the universities in Tampere, Jyväskylä and Helsinki have an excellent reputation. Their limited places are in great demand. The program in Jyväskylä for instance hit a dubious record in 1997 by being able to take only less than five percent of the applicants: More than 400 candidates competed for only 22 places.
Torsten Holtz /Ann-Charlotte Helenius