Institutions of higher education are designated as universities by Finnish legislation.
[2] In addition to the universities, Finland has another, separate system of tertiary education consisting of the ammattikorkeakoulus/yrkeshögskolas, which used to be translated as polytechnics but now call themselves universities of applied sciences according to international usage (see the list of polytechnics in Finland).
The universities of applied sciences have the right to confer degrees in the categories of ammattikorkeakoulututkinto/yrkeshögskoleexamen and ylempi ammattikorkeakoulututkinto/högre yrkeshögskoleexamen.
[2] The Finnish universities are (sorted by the year of establishment): In Finland, there are a few institutions of higher education that have full university status, but which specialize in certain academic fields: The National Defence University is not considered a university by Finnish law, although it has the authority to award bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees and to pursue free research, and its rector is a member of the Council of Finnish University rectors.
[15] The practical effect of this distinction is minor, and most notable in the administrative organization of the university, which is military instead of civilian.