Tuija Hakkila studied at the Sibelius Academy with Liisa Pohjola and Eero Heinonen, continuing her studies at the Paris Conservatory with Jacques Rouvier and Theodor Parachivesco. She studied modern music in Paris with Claude Helffer and the fortepiano at Cornell University with Malcolm Bilson. She received her PhD diploma in music at the Sibelius Academy in 2005.

Hakkila was appointed lecturer in piano at the Sibelius Academy in 1987, and became professor in piano in 2014. She regularly gives master classes and appears in international expert assignments. In late 2022 she was appointed visiting professor at the Malmö Music Academy.

Hakkila has been an active artistic planner at festivals and concert series. She has appeared at most Finnish music festivals and regularly visited as orchestral soloist. She has performed in most European countries as well as in USA, Japan, Indonesia, Africa, and South America.

Hakkila is interested in diverse musical styles and her repertoire stretches from the baroque to the newest contemporary music.