Teaching psychology in the University of Helsinki

1. Teaching psychology in the University of Helsinki • The Context • A Master's Degree in Psychology provides a direct licence to work as a psychologist in Finland. The degree and the professional requirements are detailed in legislation and statutes. National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira) grants each student the permit to work as a licensed psychologist after graduation. Employment opportunities include health care, schools and education, social welfare and corporate organisations. • To be admitted to a university a student must pass a highly competitive entrance exam. In 2009 805 students took the exam for Helsinki, 46 (5%) were accepted. Once admitted, tuition is free and government subsidies the studies. • There are six Finnish universities offering the degree: the Universities of Helsinki, Jyväskylä, Eastern Finland (Joensuu), Tampere ,Turku and ÅboAkademi (training in Swedish). These departments work together as a network called Psykonet collaborating both on undergraduate and postgraduate levels (specialization training and doctoral studies). Around 200 students complete their master’s degree in psychology each year in Finland. • The Department • In Helsinki, the Psychological Laboratory was founded in the basement of the Department of Physiology in 1931. Gradually, psychology gained an independent position and became a department of its own. By the end of 2009 the faculty and staff included 130 people with 9 professors of psychology, 10 senior lecturers , more than 20 active research groups, and administrative as well as technical personnel. There are around 400 Master’s level students and 150 post-graduate students. • In 2010 the whole Finnish university system has undergone a historic reform. With the new University Act the Finnish universities are now either public-law corporations, like the University of Helsinki, or private-law foundations.  Within all universities of Finland this has meant restructuring of departments and faculties. • In Helsinki, Psychology as a field of study now resides in a multidisciplinary Institute of Behavioural Sciences. • Figure 1.The number of BA (light blue bars), MA (red bars), Licentiate (green bars), and PhD (yellow bars) degrees with Psychology as the major subject obtained at the Department of Psychology in 2000-2008. • Figure 2. Peer-reviewed journal articles produced at the Department of Psychology in 1995-2008 . • Figure 3. The financial resources of the department in 2002-2008: budget based and external / additional funding. • The Teaching and the Curriculum • Students first complete a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) degree of 180 credits and then continue to a Master's degree of an additional 150 credits. This includes an obligatory practical training period of about 5 months (30 credits) as well as independent research (Master’s thesis, 40 credits). Earning the Master's Degree in psychology usually takes 5½ years. • See appendix for the degree structure. • The teaching goals are twofold. One emphasis is on the development of the professional skills and an identity as a psychologist. Another is on research skills and scientific thinking. University of Helsinki is a member of the League of Research Universities of Europe (LERU) and is proud of its methodological and research orientation. • In addition to doctoral level courses, an interim postgraduate degree (licenciate) level of training is offered in five fields of specialization: development and education, neuropsychology, psychotherapy, health psychology, and work and organizations. • The Technology • All basic study courses in psychology are shared within the Psykonet network. They are prepared jointly and broadcast to all five universities in Finland via video and internet connections. Several other graduate courses also utilize advanced technology and are organized in online / in virtual teaching environment. • The postgraduate specialization training courses are organized as a nationwide collaboration and all courses are offered via teleconference facilities. Also exams are carried out online. • Contact details • Laura Hokkanen, PhD , adjunct professorlaura.hokkanen@helsinki.fi • University of HelsinkiInstitute of Behavioural Sciences / PsychologyPO Box 9 University of Helsinki, FIN-00014 HelsinkiFinland http://www.helsinki.fi/psykologia • Laura Hokkanen • Hilkka Pakarinen • Max Ingman • www.europlat.org • EUROPLAT: European Network for Psychology Learning and Teaching Funded with support from the European Commission. Reference 155981-LLP-1-2009-1-UKERASMUS-ENWA