University of Helsinki

Career Prospects

Multidisciplinary expertise in urban environmental issues is in demand throughout the world in order to understand the complexity and dynamics of urban areas. Today, over half of the global population live in towns and cities, while a century ago the share of urban inhabitants was merely 10%. Furthermore, in the next 50 years urbanisation will continue to increase. Such drastic changes in and around cities have created problems related to infrastructure, pollution, destruction and fragmentation of the natural environment and social issues.

The objective of this MSc programme is to train experts in urban environmental issues with multidisciplinary knowledge on ecological, socio-ecological and technical problems and solutions. The focus is especially on sustainable development: how to create multidimensional and sustainable urban policy and planning strategies. The studies provided nurture skills for participating in discussion across sectors as well as to utilise the latest research-generated knowledge. Such multidisciplinary environmental expertise is needed e.g. in municipal and regional official duties as well as in urban planning. For example, the implementation of legislation such as the EU Water Framework Directive need extensive expertise on environmental protection, which is challenged by ongoing urbanisation.

After completing this MSc, it is possible to start a scientific career and become a PhD student in Environmental Ecology.

In the news! New generation urban ecologists are needed in city planning (Safa - Finnish Association of Architects). Download the article from here