Degrees 

In the Faculty of Information Sciences it is possible to take the following degrees.

Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, Interactive Technology, and Information Studies and Interactive Media as the major subject

• Bachelor of Science degree, in Finnish luonnontieteiden kandidaatin tutkinto (first cycle degree) - available in Finnish only
• Master of Science degree, in Finnish filosofian maisterin tutkinto (second cycle degree)
• Licentiate of Philosophy degree, in Finnish filosofian lisensiaatin tutkinto (third cycle degree)
• Doctor of Philosophy degree, filosofian tohtorin tutkinto (third cycle degree)

Hypermedia as a discipline has merged into Information Studies on 1 August 2010.

The Department of Computer Sciences in the Faculty of Information Sciences offers in English the following Master's degree programmes:

• Master's Degree Programme in Software Development (major Computer Science)
• Master's Degree Programme in User Interface Software Development (major Interactive Technology)
• Master's Degree Programme in Interactive Technology (major Interactive Technology)

For more information on these Master's degree programmes, please see Admissions on the left panel.

University degrees in Finland

Finland has a dense network of institutions of higher education, both universities (yliopisto) and polytechnics (ammattikorkeakoulu) located around the country. Although Finnish universities are publicly financed through the Ministry of Education, they are autonomous institutions in their internal affairs.

In the Finnish educational system, renewed in August 2005, the 3-year Bachelor's degree is the first cycle degree and the 2-year Master's degree the second cycle degree. The Master's degree gives eligibility for the third cycle studies which are called postgraduate studies.

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. For academically oriented postgraduate students, the Doctor's degree is recommended directly after the Master's degree. In many fields, the Licentiate's degree is developing towards a more professional degree.

Doctoral programmes require independent research and an extensive doctoral dissertation. The doctoral dissertation must be published - either in printed or in electronic form - and defended in a public examination. Full-time studies for the doctoral degree take about four years.

In Finnish universities credit units are used to measure study progress and the extent of studies. The system was renewed in 2005, and after a transition period only new credits are now given. One Finnish credit equals one ECTS (European Union Credit Transfer System) credit. Sixty ECTS credits refer to an average input of approximately 1600 hours of work per year by the student. Student work input may include lectures, exercises, seminars, independent study and research work plus other assignments.

The minimum requirement for the Bachelor's degree is 180 ECTS credits. For the Master's degree, the minimum is 120 ECTS credits.

Concerning the postgraduate degrees, the Licentiate's degree entails taking 150 ECTS credits, of which the Licentiate's thesis accounts for 90 ECTS credits. The Doctor's degree requires 240 ECTS credits, of which the doctoral dissertation accounts for 180 ECTS credits.

The academic year is divided into two semesters. The autumn semester runs from the beginning of September to mid-December and the spring semester from early January to mid-May. At UTA, each semester is divided into two periods and thus the academic year has four periods.