The Political Science Section at the University of Turku: A brief overview
The Political Science section of the University of Turku, along with the Contemporary History section, is part of the Department of Political Science and Contemporary History at the University. The Political Science section (originally a Department) at the University of Turku was founded in 1961 and recently celebrated its 50th birthday. There are currently seven permanent faculty members in the teaching staff of the Political Science section, composed of 3 Professors and 4 lecturers. This section also hosts various other researchers and Ph.D. students, specializing in Political Science, Political Systems and International Relations. Additionally, there are many Political Systems researchers working at the Public Choice Research Centre (PCRC) located in the Publicum building at Assistentinkatu 7
The Political Science section is located on the university campus at Arwidssoninkatu 2, Building 2 in the old barracks area next to Tuomaanpuisto (Tuomas Park). The section’s current offices are located approximately 10 minutes walking distance from both downtown Turku and the student village.
Prospective Political Science students need to attend a competitive entrance exam in order to be accepted to study political science at the University of Turku. 22 new students are annually accepted to study for a Political Science Degree. It usually takes about three years to complete a Bachelor’s Degree and two more years to receive the Master's Degree. The Department also offers qualified post-graduate students the opportunity to complete postgraduate Licentiate and Doctoral degrees.
The Department of Political Science currently offers two specialized subprograms: Political Systems and International Relations. Students typically choose one of these disciplines as a major study focus. There also a variety of minor subjects (e.g. sociology, law, political history, philosophy, social policy, languages, economics, journalism) that may be studied and used to complement a Political Science major, as well as any other subject from the Faculty of Social Sciences Faculty. Additionally, interested studies may opt to study political science as a minor subject. There are currently 200-300 students completing minors in Political Science.
The University of Turku
The original university of Turku, Akademia Aboensis was formed in 1640. However, the Turku Academy (now the University of Helsinki) was moved to Helsinki in 1827. After Finland gained independence in 1917, two new universities were established in Turku: University of Turku (1920) and the Swedish speaking Åbo Academy (1918). The University of Turku has the distinction of being the first University in Finland where the language of instruction was Finnish. These two universities were later joined by the Turku School of Economics and Business Administration (1950), which itself became a unit of the University of Turku in 2010. There are currently around 19,000 students studying at the University in fields such as Physics and Astronomy, Biomedicine, Social Policy and so forth.
The City of Turku
Founded in 1229, Turku is the oldest city in Finland. It was here that the first university in Finland was founded as early as 1640 by Pietari Brahe. Turku is situated on the South West coast of Finland on the bank of the river Aura. The city provides a fascinating combination of historical traditions and modern life. Turku was selected, alongside Tallinn, Estonia, as the European Capital of Culture for 2011. During that time the city hosted numerous cultural events, which reflected the international and diverse culture that Turku has to offer.