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The purpose of this research was to assess a Finnish and a British curriculum of rehabilitation by means of benchmarking. The following aspects were assessed: the basic purpose of education; the qualifications provided by the educational programme; the objectives of education; the curricular model; the study modules and their contents; the coursework practices; and the evaluation and development of the curriculum. According to a comparative assessment the Finnish and British curricula had the same underlying starting point: in both countries, rehabilitation is regarded a societally topical and multidisciplinary issue that is addressed in the educational programme. The studies are based on different systems of credit units and scores, but after a standardization of scoring, the programmes are mutually comparable and roughly correspond to each other. There is, however, a significant difference in the two curricula: the structure of the study modules. Finnish study modules are practical-based and focus on the experiences of different individuals, groups of patients and health professionals. The education focuses on rehabilitation issues and aims to enhance students' awareness of and competence in certain target areas of practice. The British study modules are more research-based; the focus is on the scientific approach and the ways to produce knowledge. The British curriculum risks ignoring practical issues surrounding individual patients and therapists, but its focus on research-based practice means that practice is logically and consistently structured. The Finnish curriculum focuses on issues surrounding therapists and patients but risks becoming fragmented, as rehabilitation can be studied from many different scientific perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]