University of Turku

The modern University of Turku was founded in 1920. The Finnish intelligentsia wanted a purely Finnish university, the first of its kind in Finland. 22,040 people contributed to the fund-raising campaign. Newly gained independence and the campaign are reflected in the motto of the University about a free people's gift to free science. To honour the memory of these donors, the University has named its specially created liqueur "22 040". Developed by the University's own food chemists, the liqueur does homage to some of the distinctive fruits of the Finnish landscape: the cloudberry, therowan and the sea buckthorn.

The first premises of the University of Turku were in the centre of the city, by the market square. In the 1950s a new campus was built on Ryssänmäki (Russian Hill[2] – now known as University Hill). In the 1960s the University started to expand rapidly, a process that still continues.
The University was made a public institution in 1974.

Since 1995 the University of Turku has been a member of Coimbra Group.
In January 2010, Turku School of Economics merged with the University of Turku, forming a seventh faculty of the university.

Enrolment
The University has approximately 18,000 students, of which 5,000 are postgraduate students having completed their MSc or MA. The largest faculties are the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences.

Organisation
Natural Science Building I (left) and Main Building (right)

ICT Building

Department of History

Turku School of Economics

The university is governed by three bodies, the Board of Directors, The Rectorand the Chancellor.
The Board is the highest decision-making organ of the University and is made up of 19 individuals both from academia, politics and studentship. It develops the University's operating processes and approves plans concerning its financing and activities; it decide on the guidelines of granting appropriations; it give its opinion in any matters of significance that concern the University in principle and the Board approves the service regulations and other similar rules.

The Rector directs the activities and processes of the University and solves any issues concerning its general management. The Rector represents the University and uses the University's right to speak in courts of law and in dealings with the authorities. Prof Keijo Virtanen is currently the elected Rector.

The Chancellor, appointed by the President of Finland upon proposal of theFinnish Government, shall promote science and scholarship, look after the general interests of the University and supervise its activities. The Chancellor confirms the standing orders and other corresponding general regulations of the University. The most visible task of the Chancellor is the appointment of the Professors and the Docents of the University. Professor Pekka Puska currently holds this position.

The university is divided into seven faculties. Some of the departments are listed under the faculty header.
  • Faculty of Humanities
    • School of History, Cultural Research and Art Studies
    • School of Languages and Translation Studies
  • Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
    • Department of Biochemistry and Food Chemistry
    • Department of Biology
    • Department of Chemistry
    • Department of Geography and Geology
    • Department of Information Technology
    • Department of Mathematics
    • Department of Physics
  • Faculty of Medicine
    • Institute of Biomedicine
    • Institute of Microbiology and Pathology
    • Institute of Clinical Medicine
    • Institute of Dentistry
    • Department of Nursing Science
    • BioCity
    • Turku Biomaterials Centre
    • Centre for Biotechnology
    • The Research Centre for Applied and Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine (CAPC)
    • Terbio - Health Biosciences
  • Faculty of Law
  • Faculty of Social Sciences
    • Department of Behavioural Sciences and Philosophy
    • Department of Political Science and Contemporary History
    • Department of Social Research
  • Faculty of Education
    • Department of Education
    • Department of Teacher Education Turku
    • Department of Teacher Education Rauma
    • Teacher training school in Turku
    • Teacher training school in Rauma
    • Educational Technology Unit
  • Turku School of Economics
The university also has number of special units not affiliated with the faculties:
In addition to being a destination for international exchange, the University also has several English-language Master’s degree programmes and one Finnish-language Master's degree programme for international degree students:
  • Asian Studies
  • Baltic Sea Region Studies
  • Bioinformatics
  • Biomedical Imaging
  • Embedded Computing
  • Environmental Sciences
  • European Heritage, Digital Media and the Information Society
  • Futures Studies
  • Global Information Technology Management
  • Global Innovation Management
  • Information Technology
  • Institutions and Social Mechanisms
  • Learning, Learning Environments and Educational Systems
  • Management of Information Technology
  • Physical Sciences, Astronomy Track
  • Suomen ja sen sukukielten maisteriohjelma (Finnish and Other Finno-Ugric Languages)
Source: Wikipedia