Curriculum information about programmes and study modules
This page describes what information goes into a programme and study module curriculum.
Curriculum information about courses
A course is a part of studies that covers a specific topic, content or competence area. The curriculum defines the course contents, implementation methods and other course information that is valid for the whole curriculum period.
Course descriptions
The responsible teacher (i.e. the teacher responsible for the course) compiles the course description, i.e. adds all the curriculum information concerning the course for the next two academic years using the Curriculum Planner tool. The school Learning Services supports and coordinates the course description writing process. In Sisu, some details are part of course information while others are entered in the implementation method details.
Improvements in teaching and in course implementations should be continual and goal-oriented. Course description information entered into the curriculum should be left sufficiently open-ended.
The curriculum should not include small details on the grading procedures (such as ‘60% of the grade is based on the examination and 40% on assigned work’) or number of contact hours (‘lectures 16 h, laboratory work 10 h’). However, the assessment criteria (e.g. ‘examination’, ‘laboratory work’) and the teaching methods (‘lectures’, ‘math exercises’) must be stated.
Course completion methods
Courses may be defined one or more completion methods. Aalto uses three course completion methods: participation in teaching (regular lecture course that may involve e.g. lectures, exercises, mid-term exams and a final exam), examination (credits are earned solely by taking an examination, no participation in teaching) and independent work (the student does the coursework independently using the material provided, no participation in teaching). The student chooses a completion method for the course and registers for the corresponding implementation.
Course syllabus
A course syllabus is made for each course implementation. The syllabus is published on MyCourses no later than three weeks before the beginning of the implementation. The syllabus describes the implementation of the course in greater detail, elaborating the assessment criteria and study methods if necessary. The course syllabus is talked about in more detail under Designing the course syllabus.
Permanent basic information on courses
You cannot change these. If the course name, code or scope* or level changes, you must establish a new course.
| Name of field | Instructions for entering data |
|---|---|
| Name |
Choose a descriptive, succinct name for your course in the languages (Finnish, Swedish, English) in which the student may complete the course, i.e. the language of study attainment (language of learning in Sisu). Please note that the course description must be written in all languages of study attainment (language of learning in Sisu). Instructions on this language choice are available in the document titled The language of degree, instruction and study attainments and its influence on curricula and implementation of teaching. The course name cannot be changed without establishing a new course. If you want to establish a new course, please contact Learning Services. |
| Code |
The course code consists of the following components: Your school’s Learning Services can provide instructions on composing the abbreviations and serial numbers for courses. The letter before the serial number indicates the course level. The course code cannot be changed. If you change the code, you need to establish a new course. In such cases, please contact Learning Services. |
| Scope |
Here you can enter the scope of your course in ECTS credits. For instructions on determining course scope, see (on aalto.fi): Course workload and study time allocation As a rule, the course scope cannot be changed. |
| Course level |
The level describes the place of the course in the programme. Please choose the level that is the primary level of your course. The alternatives are:
See also the instructions for course codes. The letter in a course code indicates the course level. |
Course information updated for each curriculum period
The below details are usually modified when a new curriculum is being designed.
| Name of field | Instructions for entering data |
|---|---|
| Learning outcomes |
Describe the intended learning outcomes of your course, i.e. the knowledge, skills and attitudes that students are expected to have after completing the course. Describe these from the student’s perspective, explaining what the student is expected to learn and the level at which the learning should occur. Before designing the intended learning outcomes for the course, get to know the intended learning outcomes set for the programme and degree together with the other teachers and the director of the programme, paying attention also to generic skills. Consider which assessment methods support the students’ attainment of the intended learning outcomes. When the intended learning outcomes are written clearly and concretely, students are less inclined to feel burdened by them. Intended learning outcomes also serve as a basis for credit transfer decisions. Read more on competency-based education and how to design intended learning outcomes. |
| Content |
Write the essential course content here. With the help of the core content analysis, the course content can be divided into three categories:
It is recommended that only the ‘must know’ content should be written into the curriculum, whereas the ‘should know’ and ‘nice to know’ should be written in the course syllabus on MyCourses. The latter two can vary between different implementations of the course. For more information, see for instance, the following page: University Pedagogical Support. If the contents of your course vary from one implementation to the next, mention it here. |
| Study methods |
Describe the study methods required by each completion method. Any information given here cannot contradict the more detailed information on study methods given on a single implementation of the course. The teaching and study methods used help the student to achieve the intended learning outcomes. Having a diverse range of teaching and study methods available supports the students’ learning and adds variety to studying. In this field, describe the study methods the students are expected to use during the course. You can describe the methods in more detail and mention the calculated student workload for each implementation of the course in the course syllabus on MyCourses as follows: 12 contact hours and 24 h of independent work. |
| Assessment criteria |
Describe the assessment criteria of the course for each completion method. The purpose of assessment is to measure how well students have achieved the intended learning outcomes. Concrete and assessable (measurable) intended learning outcomes facilitate grading and assessment. Assessments can be performed at different stages of a course implementation – beforehand (measuring student starting levels), during (while the course is in progress) and/or afterwards. Assessments may be performed by the teacher, the student herself, or another student. For more information on assessment, see: Designing course-level intended learning outcomes |
| Teaching period |
Choose your course’s teaching period(s) for each academic year. Give the teaching period information for the entire curriculum period 2024–2026. Indicate your teaching dates and include the following:
These teaching dates are used in planning the academic timetable, that is, the periods are used for planning the details of your course implementations (e.g. lecture dates and times). |
| Registration selection criteria* |
Use this field to describe any potential restrictions that apply to the registration for your course and to its completion. Examples: a limited number of participants or the order in which students are admitted to the course. Indicate the minimum number of participants required for the course to be implemented, if applicable. Possible prioritisation criteria in course registration include:
Note: the prioritisation criteria cannot contradict the restrictions and instructions provided elsewhere in the course details. For example, the prerequisites set for the course or requirements concerning the student’s right to study may limit students’ registration for the course. Please note that all course registrations are approved or rejected in Sisu automatically on the basis of the prioritisation criteria defined. |
| Responsible persons |
Enter here the teacher responsible for the course. The responsible teacher must be an Aalto University staff member. The responsible teacher is in charge of organising the course as stated in the curriculum and the academic timetable as well as for grading the study attainments. The responsible teacher also participates in preparing the curriculum and bears primary responsibility for ensuring both that the course implementation corresponds to the intended learning outcomes and the credits correspond to the workload. In addition to the responsible teacher, several people may be involved in teaching and grading a course implementation. They should be announced when the timetable information is compiled for the course implementation. Your school will provide instructions about the number of responsible teachers and any other requirements if necessary. The course’s responsible teacher may be changed during the curriculum period upon the decision of the head of department. |
* The information collected on courses may be changed or specified once the university’s new language guidelines have been published and/or when progress is made in the area of inter-institutional cooperation.
Course basic information and classification details, which may be updated for each curriculum period as necessary
As a rule, this information is permanent, but you can modify them as needed when a new curriculum is being prepared.
| Name of field | Instructions for entering data |
|---|---|
| Grading scale |
You can choose only one grading scale for your course:
The oral and written tests of the second national language of Finland are graded tt (Satisfactory), ht (Good) or ‘hylätty’ (Fail). The course assessment criteria, meaning the level of competence to be attained and the elements contributing to the grade must always be specified in the course syllabus. The course assessment must always be in line with the intended learning outcomes. |
| CEFR-taso | Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Applies only to language courses. |
|
Compulsory prerequisites Recommended prerequisites |
Under Compulsory prerequisites and Recommended prerequisites mark the course codes of the courses that are either recommended or required to be completed before taking the course being described. Not having completed the course marked as a prerequisite does not stop the student from registering for the course. However, if the prerequisite is compulsory and the student has not completed the prerequisite course, their registration will be rejected automatically. Recommended prerequisites guide the student in choosing suitable courses. 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 on the course. |
| Teaching language* | Choose your course’s teaching language (language of instruction). Instructions on this language choice is available in the document titled The language of degree, instruction and study attainments and its influence on curricula and implementation of teaching. |
| Language of study attainment* |
Choose the language(s) of study attainment (i.e. the language(s) in which students may complete the coursework and exams, etc.) Please note that the course description must be written in all languages of study attainment. All the languages of study attainment must be marked in the curriculum when it is being prepared. Instructions on this language choice are available in the document titled The language of degree, instruction and study attainments and its influence on curricula and implementation of teaching. |
| Responsible organisations |
Mark here the cost-pool code for the organisation responsible for the course and its share of the responsibility as a percentage. If more than one organisation is involved, mark the shares of each as a percentage. The responsible organisation also functions as the organiser for the course. The choice of the responsible organisation has a direct effect on the distribution of funding among the organisations involved.organisaatioiden väliseen rahanjakoon. |
| Equivalences to other courses |
Write here the course codes of the courses, also for those no longer offered, to which this course corresponds. Please note that the possibility to substitute this course with other courses that you describe here does not prevent students from completing both/all courses. The student may include all the courses mentioned here in their personal study plan. As for courses that are no longer offered, you must mark only those that were in the curriculum in the previous curriculum period. Marking the equivalences to other courses makes it easier for students to plan their studies. |
* The information collected on courses may be changed or specified once the university’s new language guidelines have been published and/or when progress is made in the area of inter-institutional cooperation.
Other information on the course
This information is given in connection with the curriculum information, but it is not part of the official curriculum and does not need formal approval.
| Name of field | Instructions for entering data |
|---|---|
| Study materials |
In this field, list the literature and other materials used in the course and any related additional information. You can provide more detailed information on the study materials in the course syllabus on MyCourses. If you want the study material to be available at the Learning Centre for the students, you must notify the Learning Centre a minimum of 8 weeks before the course begins to give them time to acquire the material. |
| Doctoral-level course (D) |
The alternatives are Yes/No. Here you can indicate whether your course 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 course being a doctoral-level course and if yes, choose Yes. If you choose Yes, the search word ‘tohtori’/’doctoral’/’doktorand’ will be added to the course details in Sisu and the letter D will be added to the end of the course name to indicate that it is a doctoral-level course |
| Completion method |
There are three completion methods:
Select the completion method based on the primary method in which you are implementing the course. For example, if the course usually consists of lectures, exercises and an exam, select the option ‘Participation in class’. If the students can complete the course simply by sitting an exam, select ‘Examination’ as the method of completion. Select ‘Independent work’, if the course implementation consists only of a written assignment, a project or another independent completion method. |
| Field of Study | Mark the field of study of the course in accordance with the National field of education classification |
| Search tags |
Here you can choose search tags for your course. These are the search terms the student may use when searching for courses for different purposes in Sisu. Note that students can also use any search term when looking for course descriptions in the course catalogue. |
| Sustainable Development Goals or other classification criteria set by the university. | Enter here the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for your course. |
| Notes for Learning Services | Use this field to give additional information to the Learning Services staff of your school in the Curriculum Planner, if needed. |
A course syllabus is made for each implementation of a course to complement the formally approved curriculum information. The course syllabus is a public document and accessible for anyone without logging into MyCourses. The course syllabus cannot contradict the information included in the curriculum. The course syllabus is also known as the course brochure.
The teacher must publish the information listed below in the course syllabus no later than three weeks before the course begins. Although the information does not require formal approval, it cannot be changed once the course implementation has started.
| Field in MyCourses | Information |
|---|---|
| Contact information for the implementation | In this field, enter instructions on how and when a student can contact the staff of the course implementation. |
| Elaboration of the assessment criteria and methods, and acquainting students with the evaluation |
You can use this field to indicate which assignments and tasks the assessment is based on and how the learning is measured, or for example describe the weight given to the different assignments in the overall assessment as percentages. Also give instructions on how students can obtain information about the application of assessment criteria to their study attainment. |
| Details on the course implementation content | This field is for example suitable for the ‘Should know’ and ‘Nice to know’ aspects of the course content. |
| Details on the workload | Here, you can describe the workload of the course in more detail. For example, list the numbers of hours that different forms of contact teaching and independent work will require of students. Another option is to enter the recommended number of hours that the students are expected to devote to your course each week, such as a requirement for students to familiarise themselves with upcoming themes in the coursebook. |
The following information may be included in the course syllabus. This is information that you may edit during the course.
| Field in MyCourses | Information |
|---|---|
| Details on the course materials |
Use this field to provide further information about the study materials described in the course description. If you want the study material to be available at the Learning Centre for the students, you must notify the Learning Centre a minimum of 8 weeks before the course begins to give them time to acquire the material. |
| Details on the implementation schedule |
List the course components 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 or other assignments. Please note that all timetable information (lecture times and locations) is transferred here automatically from Sisu. Huomaathan, että aikataulutiedot (luentojen ajankohdat ja salit) tulevat automaattisesti Sisusta. |
| Further information on the implementation |
Curriculum Planner
The Curriculum Planner system is used to collect and update the course description information and to give time and location preferences for teaching for the purposes of timetable planning and space bookings.
From below you can download a document including three examples of course descriptions. These examples have been gathered from Sisu and slightly modified together with the responsible teachers.
Other instructions related to this stage
Formulating degree requirements clearly in Sisu
Clearly formulated degree requirements make planning studies easier. This page contains instructions on how to formulate degree requirements clearly.
How to update course information in the Curriculum Planner
The Curriculum Planner is a tool for the courses’ responsible teachers to update their course information.
More information about the topic at aalto.fi
Teaching periods for 2024–2025 and 2025–2026
At Aalto University, teaching is divided into five periods. As a rule, one period lasts for 7 weeks and includes an examination week. This page has the dates for the teaching periods in the academic years 2024–2025 and 2025–2026.
To the main page Curriculum design at Aalto University
Curriculum design at Aalto University
Aalto University’s curriculum design guidelines and schedule aims at supporting sustainable, future led degree programmes.
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