Final Maturity Test
Instructions for AMP students and readers of maturity examinations.
What is a maturity test?
The maturity test (in Finnish 'kypsyysnäyte' or 'maturiteetti') is a compulsory study attainment
stipulated in the Degree Statute. According to the Statute, students have to complete a maturity
examination in the field of their thesis. The maturity examination makes up part of the
compulsory language and communication studies of both the Candidate (Bachelor) and Master
Degrees.
Note that all the students who enter Master Programmes with a foreign Bachelor degree
as their basis, must write the ordinary maturity exam at a controlled situation.
The ordinary maturity examination is an essay-type paper which assesses both the student's
mastery of the subject and his/her language ability.
Those students whose school language has been other than Finnish or Swedish are entitled to
take the maturity examination in other languages than those two. However, the language used
must be one which the readers understand sufficiently well to be able to judge both the
candidate's competency in its use, and the content of his or her essay.
Taking a maturity test
The maturity examination is written on the basis of a thesis that you have completed as a part
of your major studies. If you have already taken the maturity examination for the Bachelor's
Degree you do not need to re-take it for the Master's Degree.
Registration
You can register for the maturity examination after you have submitted your Thesis for
assessment. (If your school language has been Finnish or Swedish, the compulsory courses in
your mother tongue need to be completed, too, before registering for the maturity
examination.) The examination is normally taken on a Department examination day. To
register for the examination, fill in both the maturity examination form (below) and the
examination envelope. The form and the envelope should be left at the department on Friday
one full week before the examination day.
Composing the maturity essay
In the examination your will be given two - three topics related to your thesis. Choose one
according to your own interests. Because the maturity examination is written in the form of an
essay, the topics should be such that they can be dealt with within the compass of a short,
essay-type composition. The maturity essay is not a conventional examination paper, and the
topics are not supposed to be formulated as examination questions. Instead, they should be
fairly well-defined, and such as are likely to predispose the student to use language effectively
and accurately. No reference material of any kind may be used. The examination time is four
hours. The recommended length of the maturity essay is about one examination paper (=four
sheets) of single-spaced handwriting.
The intended reader of the maturity examination is someone who is familiar with the way of
thinking in the field of study in question, but not acquainted with the particular research
question at issue. Thus, you cannot assume that the reader of your maturity examination has
read all your previous papers; instead, the maturity essay should be such that it can be read as
an independent paper.
The text should form a coherent, essay-type ensemble. It should be fully comprehensible as a
self-contained text, and not depend on material such as tables or charts which cannot be
verified in an examination situation. Start your text by stating the topic; otherwise your reader
may not be able to judge whether the text follows the subject. The text should have a clear
beginning and an end. It will be easier for you to compose the text if you first make a plan
about the main points and outline roughly the structure of your composition. Bear in mind that
the final text is only one examination paper (=four sheets)t long; apart from the beginning and
the end you will not be able to treat many themes exhaustively. Use readable handwriting
and make sure that small and capital letters are easily identifiable. Consider transcribing
if you think that your handwriting is not readable enough.
Assessment
If written in Finnish, the contents of the maturity examination and the language use are
assessed and approved by a subject teacher. If written in English or Swedish, the language use
is assessed by a language consultant (in case of English prof. Roger Jones). Once completed
successfully the examination is recorded on your transcript system at the department. If you
should fail the examination, you would be well advised to ask the readers for feedback before
re-taking it. The appeal procedure which applies to the maturity examination is the same as for
all written examinations taken at the University of Jyväskylä.
UNIVERSITY OF JYVÄSKYLÄ
Faculty of Mathematics and Science
Department of Biological and Environmental Science
REGISTRATION FOR MATURITY EXAMINATION
(KIRJALLINEN KYPSYYSNÄYTE) ___ /___ ___
SURNAME
FORENAME(S)
___________________________________ ________________________________________
PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER
OR DATE OF BIRTH
PREVIOUS EXAMINATION
OR RESULT
_____________________
___ / ___ ___
MAJOR SUBJECT
TITLE OR SUBJECT OF THESIS
_____________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
MATURITY TEST RESULTS
CONTENTS
• Pass
LANGUAGE
• Fail
Date
•Pass
•Fail
_________________
Date _________________
_______________________________
__________________________________
Examiner
Examiner
Merkitty rekisteriin ___ / ___
___
Koulutusohjelmaopiskelijoiden kypsyysnäytteen tulee osoittaa tutkielman aihepiirin
ja äidinkielen hallintaa.