Why I Choose to study at the University of Tampere

Photo: Emilia Kangasluoma/Finland Promotion Board.

Established in 1925, my beloved seat of learning, University of Tampere is one of the largest universities in Finland with 15,000 students, 1,200 being international. As a matter of fact, the university hosts students from over than 80 nationalities making the university quite an international learning environment. The university’s actions are based on its strategy to emphasize the connection between teaching and research as well as their social impact.

Teaching is strongly based on the latest research and it’s partly produced by the professors and lecturers themselves, which makes learning new things truly interesting. The research is known for its diversity with core strengths in social sciences and health. Finland being as a low-hierarchy country, relations between students and professors are relaxed and usually on a first-name basis.

Photo: Elina Manninen/Kuvatoimisto Keksi/Finland Promotion Board.

The multidisciplinary University of Tampere consists of six different faculties that concentrate on communications, education, management, medicine and life sciences, natural sciences and social sciences. The university also offers a great variety of international master degree programs, such as Leadership for Change, Peace, Mediation and Conflict Research and Computational Big Data Analytics. Find more information about the programs here 

One of the reasons I originally chose to study at the University of Tampere was its flexibility – a feature I still cherish a lot. The university offers the opportunity to attend courses of degrees other than your own, which means the students can actually benefit from a variety of disciplines. It is even possible to include courses of the Tampere University of Technology and Tampere University of Applied Sciences as well!

Riitta Supper/Kuvatoimisto Keksi/Finland Promotion Board 

University of Tampere is on the cusp significant change, in 2020 it will join forces with Tampere University of Technology and Tampere University of Applied Sciences to form a completely new university that aims to be more international and innovative than ever before. The new university will consist of 30,000 students and 5,000 staff members.

The new university will integrate economics, technological, health and societal research to deepen an understanding of the changing world and create the problem-solvers and decision-makers of tomorrow. For students, the new university will offer a broader variety of studies, therefore an opportunity to create unique and flexible study paths fitting one’s needs and interests easier than before.

Students celebrating Vappu (May Day). Photo: Laura Vanzo/Visit Tampere.

In addition to the studies, the University of Tampere offers many options for the free time as well. You can choose between approximately 40 different hobby associations that include a choir, a beer club, an orchestra, a photography club and debate society just to name a few!

There is also plenty of options to take part in the decision-making and improve the different systems of the university by serving in positions of trust and participating in the development processes. More information about how to act within the university community here.

Tampere. Photo: Aki Rask/Visit Tampere.

Voted as the most popular residential city in Finland for already six times in a row, Tampere is a proper student city with 40,000 of its 220,000 citizens being students. Situated between two lakes, Tampere offers a great variety of outdoor sports, festivals, art and well-functioning public transportation. Not being too big nor too small, there is always a lot to do and you don’t need to go far to access all the activities! To get to know Tampere a bit better, click here

My five years of studying at the University of Tampere have been awesome and I definitely would change them for nothing. In addition to learning plenty of the world around us, I’ve also learned a lot about myself, made life-long friends and created unforgettable memories. So thank you, University of Tampere, I’ll definitely recommend you for others as well!