Curriculum information about study units and study unit implementations

Choose a name that describes the key contents of the study unit concisely. You should avoid special terminology and abbreviations in the name, as the study unit names also serve to communicate to prospective students and employers, among others, the knowledge produced by the study unit. 

The name of the study unit is always given in all the languages in which the student can complete the study unit, i.e. in the languages of learning (NB. suorituskieli is translated as language of study attainments at Aalto, but in this guideline, language of learning is used in line with the Sisu terminology.) It is recommended that a name be given in Finnish and English and in the fields of technology and arts, also in Swedish. 

For instructions for choosing the study unit languages, see https://www.aalto.fi/en/teachers-handbook/applying-the-language-guidelines-to-teaching 

The study unit code consists of the following components:
ABBREVIATION – LETTER – SERIAL NUMBER (e.g. REC-E3600)

Each new study unit is assigned a code by the Learning Services. 

The letter before the serial number indicates the study unit level: 
A = basic studies, bachelor’s level
C = intermediate studies, bachelor’s level   
D = supplementary studies for a master’s degree (not used by all schools)
E = advanced studies for a master’s degree
L = doctoral studies

Here you enter the scope of your study unit in ECTS credits. Aalto University uses only whole numbers in expressing the scope of a study unit in credits. 

For instructions on determining the study unit scope, see https://www.aalto.fi/en/services/course-workload-and-study-time-allocation

The level describes the primary level of studies for which the study unit is intended. Select the level based on the study modules in which your study unit is primarily located in the degree structure.

The alternatives are:

• Basic studies = bachelor’s programme basic studies
• Intermediate studies = bachelor’s programme’s major studies
• Advanced studies = master’s programme studies
• Doctoral studies = doctoral programme studies
• Other studies = Studies that generally do not belong to any of the levels above.

See also the instructions for study unit codes given above. The letter in a study unit code indicates the study unit level.

Please indicate here the responsible teachers (teachers-in-charge) of the study unit. The responsible teacher must be an Aalto University staff member.

The responsible teacher is responsible for preparing the curriculum for the study unit. The responsible teacher of the study unit is responsible, together with the responsible teacher of the study unit implementation, for ensuring that the study unit implementation corresponds to the curriculum. 

Your school will provide instructions about the number of teachers responsible and about other requirements if necessary.

Describe the intended learning outcomes of your study unit, i.e. the knowledge, skills and attitudes that students are expected to have learnt and acquired after completing the study unit. Describe these from the student’s perspective, explaining what the student is expected to learn and the level at which the learning should occur. Consider both transferable skills and advanced skills specific to the field of study. 

Before designing the intended learning outcomes for the study unit, collaborate with the programme director and other teachers of the programme to get to know the intended learning outcomes set for the programme and degree.

Design the intended learning outcomes and teaching and assessment methods so that they form an aligned whole, where the teaching and assessment supports the attainment of the intended learning outcomes. The alignment of teaching supports the student's learning throughout the entire learning process as well as their wellbeing.

Having clear and concrete intended learning outcomes makes it easier to evaluate learning and simplifies credit transfer. Read more on the competence-based approach and designing intended learning outcomes as well as alignment in teaching. 

As a rule, intended learning outcomes should be written in Finnish and English, and in the fields of technology and arts, also in Swedish. 

Write the essential contents of the study unit here from the viewpoint of the intended learning outcomes. The content refers to the core contents of the study unit, which are necessary for later studies and the understanding of which allows for the acquisition of advanced or more comprehensive information on the subject (e.g. theories, models, principles). You can specify the content description in the MyCourses syllabus.

You can read more about identifying the key contents of a study unit in  Get inspired! A guide for successful teaching or on the University Pedagogical Support site.

As a rule, the key contents should be described in Finnish and English and in the fields of technology and arts, also in Swedish. 

Indicate the teaching periods in which implementations of your study unit are given as well as the languages of instruction of each implementation given during the next curriculum period. 

The teaching periods are entered in the Additional information field of the study unit. Examples:

2026–2027 Autumn II, language of instruction: Finnish
2026–2027: Spring III–IV, language of instruction: English
2027–2028 Autumn I, language of instruction: Finnish
2027–2028 Autumn II, language of instruction: English

Choose the languages in which the student can complete the study unit, e.g. use for an examination or assignment. 

In addition to this information, the languages of instruction and study attainments are defined for each study unit implementation; different implementations of the same study unit may have different language options. 

See more information about implementing the Aalto University Guidelines on the Languages of the Degrees and Instruction. 

You can choose only one of two grading scales for your study unit:

• A scale of 0–5 (does not include the grade ‘Pass’)
• A Pass/Fail scale

The oral and written tests of the second national language of Finland are graded tt (Satisfactory), ht (Good) or ‘hylätty’ (Fail).

This applies only to language courses and the Language Centre will provide information on how to mark this information.

Read more:  Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. 

Describe the skills the student must have before taking part in your study unit. Describe the skills primarily verbally. You can also give information (code and name) on the Aalto University study units for students to complete to obtain the requisite knowledge. 

For language courses, you should also specify the required starting level (CEFR).  In the case of study units offered for lifewide learners it is important that the prerequisites are described also verbally.

In Sisu, this information is shown as text in the field Prerequisites under the title Compulsory prerequisites. As a rule, Aalto University does not use ‘formal prerequisites’ that technically prevent a student from registering for a study unit if they lack the prerequisite studies for it. However, if you wish to set a formal prerequisite for your study unit, please contact the Learning Services of your school. 

A description of the prerequisites is given in all of the languages of learning.

Describe the skills that students are recommended to have before they take part in your study unit, but the absence of which does not prevent the student from completing the study unit. Describe the skills primarily verbally. You can also give information (code and name) on the Aalto University study units for students to complete to obtain the requisite knowledge. 

In Sisu, this information is shown in text in the field Prerequisites under the title Recommended prerequisites. If you wish to set a formal recommended prerequisite for your study unit, for instance to simplify the process of prioritising students who have registered for the study unit, please contact the Learning Services of your school. 

While recommended prerequisites cannot be used as a basis for rejecting any students, they can affect the order of priority in which students are accepted into the study unit.

A description of the prerequisites is given in all of the languages of learning.

Mark here the organisation responsible for your study unit. If several departments or other organisations are responsible for the study unit, their contributions are indicated as percentages totalling 100.

According to Aalto's internal funding policy, the completed credits are allocated to departments/other organisations based on the organisation marked as responsible for the study unit in the curriculum information.

Write here the codes and names of the study units that have intended learning outcomes and contents equivalent to this study unit. 

Indicate how the new study unit is equivalent to previous, either discontinued or still offered, study units, for example: 

• Replaces the study unit ABC-1234 Sample Study Unit
• When combined with ABC-5678 Sample Study Unit 2, this study unit replaces DEF-1234 Sample Study Unit 3. 

Indicate here any study units that prevent the student from including this study unit in their degree, for instance: 

• Students can include only one out of the following study units to their degree: ABC-1234 Sample Study Unit and DEF-1234 Sample Study Unit 3. 

A description of the equivalent study units is given in all of the languages of learning.

Choose the field of study for the study unit based on the department or programme offering the study unit. Aalto determines its fields of study in accordance with the Ministry of Education and Culture’s areas of higher education steering:

Business, administration and law

• Study units offered by the following departments of the School of Business: Management Studies; Marketing; Accounting and Business Law; and Finance.

Arts and culture

• Study units offered by the School of Arts, Design and Architecture’s Department of Design, Department of Film as well as those belonging to the major of Interior Architecture at the Department of Architecture.

Engineering and technology

• The study units offered by the majors of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the School of Arts, Design and Architecture’s Department of Architecture, and those of the Master’s Programme in Urban Studies and Planning.
• All study units offered by the School of Electrical Engineering’s departments of Electrical Engineering and Automation as well as Electronics and Nanoengineering and some study units offered by the Department of Information and Communications Engineering.
• All study units offered by the School of Engineering
• All study units of the following departments of the School of Science: Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering; Mathematics and Systems Analysis; Applied Physics; Industrial Engineering and Management.
• All study units of the School of Chemical Engineering

Information and communication technologies (ICT)

• All study units of the Department of Information and Service Management of the School of Business
• Some study units of the Department of Information and Communications Engineering of the School of Electrical Engineering
• All study units of the School of Science’s Department of Computer Science

Social sciences

• All study units of the School of Business’ Department of Economics

If you do not know which field of study your study unit represents, contact the Learning Services of your school.

Here you can indicate whether your study unit content and intended learning outcomes meet the criteria for studies that may be included in a doctoral degree. Make sure that your school has agreed to the study unit being a doctoral-level one and if yes, choose Yes.

If you choose Yes, the search word tohtori/doctoral/doktorand will be added to the study unit details in Sisu and the letter D will be added to the end of the study unit name to indicate that it is a doctoral-level study unit.

Select Yes if the study unit’s key contents or at least one of its intended learning outcomes is related to sustainability or a sustainable development goal (SDG)/target. Please ensure that the link to sustainable development is shown not only in this field, but also in the study unit description.

Select ‘No’ if the study unit does not address sustainability questions or only does so only to a minor extent.

Here you can choose search tags for your study unit. These are the search terms the student may use when searching for study units for different purposes in Sisu and other systems.

The search tags are given in all of the languages of learning.

Enter here the name of the responsible teacher of the study unit implementation (this may be the same person as the responsible teacher of the study unit). The responsible teacher must be an Aalto University staff member.

The responsible teacher of the study unit is in charge of organising the study unit implementation as stated in the curriculum and the academic timetable as well as for grading the study attainments. 

In addition to the responsible teacher, several people may be involved in teaching and grading a study unit implementation; their names are indicated in the details of the study unit implementation.

Your school will provide instructions about the number of responsible teachers needed for study unit implementations and any other requirements if necessary.

The access rights to Sisu and MyCourses are automatically created on the basis of the information given here. 

One or more completion methods may be defined for each study unit. The student chooses a completion method for the study unit and registers for the corresponding study unit implementation.

• In the case of a ‘regular’ study unit, which includes e.g. lectures, exercises, midterm examinations and a final examination as well as possible makeup exams, the completion method selected is Participation in teaching.
• If you can complete the study unit by passing the examination without attending classes, the completion method is Exam.
• If the student completes assignments independently with the support of the material provided and no teaching is given, the completion method is Independent study.

Describe the working methods of the study unit implementation, i.e. its teaching and learning methods, by completion method. Examples: 

Lectures and in-class math exercises
Working in a small group
Project work
Laboratory exercises

Teaching and learning methods should be designed in a way that helps the student achieve the set intended learning outcomes. Employing a variety of working methods allows you to take into account the needs of diverse learners and influence the students’ experience of the workload.

You can describe the methods in more detail and mention the calculated student workload for each study unit implementation in the MyCourses syllabus, for instance: ‘12 contact hours and 24 h of independent work’.

A description of the working methods is given in all of the languages of learning.

Describe here how the achievement of the intended learning outcomes will be assessed in the study unit, meaning what will be evaluated (which study attainments the assessment is based on). Examples:

Class participation
Math exercises
Group work
Project work
Mid-term examinations and final examinations

You can also describe who participates in the assessment (e.g., peer assessment, assessment by the teacher, automated assessment).

The purpose of assessment is to direct the student's learning and to verify how the student has achieved the intended learning outcomes. Concrete and clear learning outcomes make the assessment easier and support the student's learning throughout the learning process.For assessment to support learning, the teaching and assessment methods must be aligned with the intended learning outcomes. Employing a variety of assessment methods allows you to take into account the needs of diverse learners and influence the students’ experience of the workload. For additional information, see e.g. Learning assessment at Aalto University

A description of the assessment methods is given in all of the languages of learning.

Indicate here the language of instruction of the study unit implementation. 

The language of instruction is the language you use for teaching the study unit implementation. Each study unit implementation has one primary language of instruction. 

Read more about the Guidelines on the Languages of the Degrees and Instruction and their implementation at https://www.aalto.fi/en/teachers-handbook/applying-the-language-guidelines-to-teaching 

Indicate here the supplementary language of instruction of the study unit implementation, if any. 

If the study unit implementation is taught in more than one language, you can indicate here its supplementary languages of instruction. The supplementary language of instruction is a language in which, e.g. a real-time quality translation of the teaching is produced or parallel practice groups are organised or in which it is otherwise ensured that the student receives the key teaching relevant for attaining the intended learning outcomes of the study unit and learning the key concepts.

Read more about the Guidelines on the Languages of the Degrees and Instruction and their implementation.  

Indicate here the languages of study attainments of the study unit implementation. 

The language of study attainment is the language in which students may complete the study attainments of the study unit implementation. A study attainment is a thesis, written or oral examination, presentation, or artistic or other performance which is included in the curriculum and evaluated separately.

The teaching of the study unit implementation must be organised in accordance with the language information provided in the curriculum: for example, study attainments must not be accepted or assessed in languages other than those marked as languages of study attainments. 

Read more about the Guidelines on the Languages of the Degrees and Instruction and their implementation.  

In this field, list the literature and other materials used during your study unit and other study materials that the students are expected to acquire or have at their disposal.

You can provide more detailed information on the study materials in the MyCourses syllabus, if no time needs to be reserved for acquiring the study materials. 

If you want the course book or other similar study material to be available at the Learning Centre for the students, you must place an order with the Learning Centre a minimum of 8 weeks before the study unit begins using the purchase request for course books.

Use this field to describe any potential restrictions that apply to the registration for your study unit implementation and its completion. Examples: a maximum number of participants or the order in which students are admitted to complete the study unit.

Possible prioritisation criteria in study unit registration include for example:

• belonging to a certain target group (such as having the right to study in a given degree programme or being an exchange student of a given Aalto School)
• the fulfilment of the recommended prerequisites
• the number of credits completed for the degree.

The prioritisation criteria cannot contradict the restrictions and instructions provided elsewhere in the details of the study unit and those of the study unit implementation. Some prioritisations, such as belonging to a certain target group, is possible to automate, some must be processed manually. If there is a need to use other prioritisation criteria than the target group, please contact the learning services in order to choose suitable criteria and agreeing on how it is organized in practise. 

This information is given in all of the languages of learning.

Here you can specify the methods and criteria used in the assessment:

• Which tasks and assignments the assessment is based on, and the weight given to the different assignments in the overall assessment as percentages.
• The assessment criteria, i.e., the level of competence on the chosen grading scale.
• Instructions on how the student can obtain information about the application of the assessment criteria to their own performance.

Here you can, for example, specify the content of the study unit implementation: which topics will be covered during the study unit implementation in addition to the core content.

Read more about identifying key content Get inspired! A guide for successful teaching or University Pedagogical Support -pages.

Here you can complete the description of the study materials set out in the description of the study unit implementation.

If you want the course book or other similar study material to be available at the Learning Centre for the students, you must place an order with the Learning Centre a minimum of 8 weeks before the study unit begins using the purchase request for course books (link).

List the components of the study unit and assignments that the students need to complete, and their schedule. For example, an outline of the lectures. However, do not use this field to give assignments or instructions on how to submit them. You may include a table that describes the weekly topics, potential guest lecturers, coursebook chapters to read, or other assignments or things to note.

Please note that all timetable information (lecture times and locations) is transferred to MyCourses automatically from Sisu.