Postgraduate Degrees in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities

Postgraduate studies consist of two levels: the Licentiate's degree and the Doctor's degree. The Licentiate's degree is an intermediate but optional step towards a Doctor's degree. In many fields, the Licentiate's degree is developing towards a more professional degree. Such an alternative already exists in Psychology and in Social Work.

Postgraduate programmes require independent research and an extensive thesis. The doctoral thesis must be published and defended in a public debate. Programs also include other studies, some general and some more specialised. In theory full-time studies for a Licentiate's degree take two to three years and for a Doctor's degree four years, but in practice very often much longer.

Postgraduate degrees in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities of the University of Tampere are:

In the field of Social Sciences:

• Licentiate of Social Sciences, Doctor of Social Sciences. In the field of Social Work, there is a Specialized Social Worker's Licentiate -degree, which very seldom is appropriate for foreigners. The degree is more practical than that of the Licentiate of Social Sciences and the two licentiates are not comparable.

• Licentiate of Arts (Psychology), Doctor of Philosophy (Psychology). The Licentiate degree is divided into general and professionally oriented options. The latter is normally an option only for Finnish students.

• Doctor of Philosophy.

Major subject alternatives in Social Sciences (Licentiate of Social Sciences, Doctor of Social Sciences) are Social Anthropology, Social Policy, Social Psychology, Social Work, Sociology and Women's Studies. 

The major subject in Psychology (Licentiate of Arts/Psychology, Doctor of Philosophy/ Psychology) is Psychology.

In the field of Humanities:

• Degree of the Licenciate of Philosophy and

• Degree of the Doctor of Philosophy

The major subject alternatives are Ethnomusicology, Philosophy, History or Logopaedics.

For more information on postgraduate studies, please see the School's web pages and TAMCESS (Tampere Graduate Center for Social Sciences).