Founded in 1925, the University of Tampere (UT) in Finland was originally established as a civic college in the neighbouring city of Helsinki. Five years later it became known as a school of social sciences before relocating to Tampere and changed its name to that which it goes by today in 1966.
UT is made up of nine schools and offers subjects ranging from biomedical technology to media and theatre to language and translation studies. Its number of international students has grown in recent years, to about 500, partly as a result of UT’s engagement with exchange programmes such as Erasmus.
UT’s international students are each given a personal ‘student tutor’ prior to arrival to help with practical issues and assist with settling into the university.
One of the unique features of studying as an undergraduate or postgraduate exchange student in Finland is the national ‘JOO Agreement’, which allows all registered students of Finnish universities to undertake minor subject studies at any other Finnish University free of charge. Students are encouraged to study a subject that is unavailable to them in their home university and which can be included in their degree programme.
The university’s main campus is located close to Tampere’s city centre and its railway station. A second campus, in Kauppi, about 2.5 kilometres east of the city, near to the university hospital.
Tampere itself is the third largest city in Finland and, with a population of half a million inhabitants, it is the most populous inland city of any Nordic country. Due to its high student population – almost 40,000 in Tampere overall – the city has a fast paced yet safe feel to it, with an abundance of clubs, bars and restaurants to choose from.
Students at Tampere can also take advantage of the unspoilt countryside, the many lakes and forests, surrounding the university. .
Each year, the university awards approximately 1,000 master’s degrees and one hundred doctoral degrees.
