There were nearly 5,800 applicants for police education starting this year. This is the highest number of applicants since police studies became a higher education program in 2014.
Nearly 5,600 applications were received for Finnish-language police education groups starting in 2026 and over 200 for Swedish-language education. There are a total of 375 student places available for the Bachelor of Police Services program this year.
“We have accepted more students than usual in recent years because the government program has aimed to increase the number of police officers. Last year, there were 450 places available, and the year before that, 500. It's great that there have been so many applicants and that we've been able to fill all the places,” says Director of the Police University College Marko Laitinen.
Finnish-language police studies begin four times a year, and student selections for the last group of the year, beginning in October, will be confirmed in September. Swedish-language studies begin every 1.5 years, most recently in January this year.
The annual number of applicants for the Bachelor of Police Services degree has fluctuated around 5,000 since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The average age of applicants is currently around 26, and around 40 percent of applicants are women.
