University of Helsinki - A Leading European University

Key Research Areas

The University of Helsinki is the oldest, largest and most multidisciplinary institution of higher education in Finland. It is also the only Finnish member in the League of Research Universities in Europe.

Within the thematic themes of the programme, the University of Helsinki and the Helsinki metropolitan area provide an excellent research and learning environment.

Strong areas of research and interest in and around the programme include:

1) Welfare state and -statism in Europe. In international contexts, the Nordic or Swedish model is regularly referred to as the prime example of an effective public welfare system. This system has guaranteed a great degree of equality in society, for example in terms of gender, education and health care, and it has also proved highly successful in the era of globalisation.

2) Boundaries and regions in Europe. Finland has often been regarded as a borderland between West and East European cultures, between western and eastern Christianity, between urban and provincial frames of mind and, more recently, between capitalism and communism. Finland provides an interesting context for studying the cultural and regional borders of Europe, and the enlargement of the European Union.

3) Europe in the world. The Nordic countries have played an active role in various international forums, such as conflict resolution and peace-keeping, North-South relations, and global environmental policies. This globally attuned tradition provides a useful background for studying the role of Europe and of the European Union in the world.

Key achievements at the University of Helsinki in these areas

The Department of Social Science History currently coordinates a Nordic Centre of Excellence on the history of The Nordic Welfare State

The Department of History actively participates in the so-called Finnish-Russian Cross-Border University.

The University’s institute for Russian and Eastern European Studies, the Aleksanteri Institute, is known as one of Europe’s leading research communities in its field. It also offers a wide selection of teaching in East European, Balkan and Baltic Studies.

The departments of Geography and Political Science have both been nominated twice as the national Centre of Teaching Excellence in the 2000s.