Education in Oulu

Here you can find information on the services available in Oulu. Other important information on this topic is available at Education.

Early education is arranged in municipal and private day care centres and family day care. Early education can be full or part time. A customer fee based on income is charged for early education.

There are separate early education arrangements for children who require support for development and learning.

You can apply for early education for a child under school age. Apply for early education at least four (4) months before your child is set to begin early education. Use an online application. You can contact a service steering team of early education.

If your family does not require full-time early education, you can apply for open early education services. The operation of open early education is based on the contents of an early education plan. The target of operation is to promote children's learning and well-being in cooperation with their guardians. For example, various clubs and outdoor playschools are arranged as open early education services.

Further information: Taking care of a child

Early education in English and other languages 

Tuulikello day care centre hosts groups in English. The Allinpuisto day care centre has an English-language immersion group and a Swedish-language group. A Sami-language group is available at the Mäntylä-Snellman day care centre.

Private international day care centres:

Pre-school education takes place at day care centres. Pre-school education is arranged in a centralised manner at day care centres and a couple of schools in various parts of the city. Pre-school education is also offered by Christian School of Oulu (Oulun kristillinen koulu), Oulu University Teacher Training School (Oulun Normaalikoulu), Oulu Steiner school (Oulun Steinerkoulu), Svenska Privatskolan i Uleåborg and Tervaväylä school. Pre-school education in English is organised at the Pikku-Aino day care centre on the premises of the international school for those children who pass separate language tests. Pre-school education is free of charge.

Further information: Pre-school education

Registration for basic education 

When you register your child for basic education, please contact the education and cultural services of the City of Oulu. The person responsible for organising education for immigrants will handle the educational arrangements of immigrant children of comprehensive-school age (under 16).

Educational and cultural services (Sivistys- ja kulttuuripalvelut)
Eija Laasonen-Tervaoja
eija.laasonen-tervaoja[at]ouka.fi
040 1320 463

The schools providing the city's basic education services accept only children residing in Oulu as pupils. Children who have special needs or are applying to an international school can be accepted from other municipalities.

Oulu International School 

If your children would like to attend school in English instead of Finnish, please contact the Oulu International School (OIS), which operates under the City of Oulu and offers education from first to ninth grade. Teaching is provided in Finnish and English. The curriculum is based on the Finnish curriculum and the international IB programme.

Further information: Basic education

Preparatory education for basic education 

The City of Oulu offers preparatory education for basic education, which is intended for students whose Finnish skills are not yet adequate for studying in basic education groups.

The purpose of preparatory education is to provide pupils with the required Finnish proficiency for them to move on to basic education.

In preparatory education, pupils study all subjects in Finnish and familiarise themselves with Finnish culture and various learning environments.

Schooling after preparatory education (Koulunkäynti valmistavan opetuksen jälkeen):

Preparatory education normally takes a year, after which pupils continue education in a basic education class.

The pupils will be provided with additional support even after the preparatory year. They will attend Finnish and native language education, religion class and general remedial education, as needed. Other subjects are studied according to the Finnish curriculum.

Learning your own mother tongue 

Pupils with an immigrant background also receive two hours of education in their native language, provided that at least six pupils study the same language and that a teacher or an instructor is available for the group.

Further information: Comprehensive school

There are several regular upper secondary schools and one general upper secondary school primarily for adults in Oulu. Education for immigrants is also provided at the upper secondary school for adults (Oulun aikuislukio). More information on education for immigrants is available on the website of the upper secondary school for adults (Oulun aikuislukio).

Oulu upper secondary school for adults (Oulun aikuislukio)
Sairaalanrinne 5
90220 Oulu

Most upper secondary schools in Oulu are operated by the city. Oulun normaalikoulun lukio is administered by the University of Oulu. Private upper secondary schools include Svenska Privatskolan i Uleåborg (for Swedish-speaking students) and Oulu Steiner school.

You can also complete general upper secondary education in English by attending the International Baccalaureate Diploma programme of the Oulun Lyseo Upper Secondary School.

Further information: Upper secondary school

There are five vocational upper secondary education and training institutes in Oulu which provide vocational education in various fields. In many vocational schools, you can also obtain a vocational qualification through apprenticeship training. Those who have finished upper secondary school can also apply to a vocational institution, and you can complete upper secondary school studies in connection with vocational studies. To receive more information on application and qualifications, please contact the schools directly.

Further information: Vocational education

Further Information: Preparatory schools for immigrants:

Vocational institutions in Oulu:

Preparatory schools for immigrants:

Higher education refers to studies at a university or a university of applied sciences. You can apply to institutes of higher education once you have completed upper secondary school or a vocational qualification.

Oulu is the city with the most students in Northern Finland. The city boasts a multidisciplinary university and university of applied sciences.

Further information: Universities of applied sciences - Ammattikorkeakoulut

Further information:Universities - Yliopistot

Supplementary and further education 

Oulu Conservatory provides music education.

Oulu Art School offers arts education to children and young people between the age of 4 and 20.

The Education and Research Services of the University of Oulu provides advanced education programmes.

Everyone is welcome to attend open university studies regardless of age, goals and educational background. Open university studies in Oulu are provided by the Open University of Oulu and the Summer University of Northern Ostrobothnia.

Integration training is organised by the following institutions:

Adult education centres

provide general and recreational education in a variety of fields. You can read more about the selection of studies on the websites of the adult education centres.

Read more: Studying as a hobby