Challenges like pandemics, antimicrobial resistance, food and water safety, climate change and biodiversity loss cannot be solved within a single discipline. The Master's Programme in One Health trains you to integrate knowledge across human and animal health, environmental sciences, food systems, governance, and the social sciences. Graduates leave with the skills to bridge sectors, communicate with diverse stakeholders, and support decision-making in complex health challenges.
The programme is coordinated by the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and run in collaboration with five other faculties — Agriculture and Forestry, Biological and Environmental Sciences, Medicine, Pharmacy and Social Sciences — giving access to researchers and supervisors across all six.
The Master's Programme in One Health is built on a simple but powerful idea: the health of people, animals and the environment is deeply connected, and the biggest challenges of our time sit right where these fields meet. Across two years, you'll build a strong foundation in One Health, sharpen your professional and research skills, follow your own interests into advanced study, and put it all into practice through hands-on projects and a master's thesis.
The scope of studies is 120 ECTS, completed over two years:
The language of instruction of the degree programme is English.
By graduation, you have developed the knowledge, skills and perspective to work effectively across the field of One Health:
Teaching in the programme is based on research and delivered by top researchers from six faculties. The programme is closely linked with the Doctoral Programme in One Health and the Helsinki One Health network, giving students access to topics such as:
Students can align their thesis work with ongoing projects and research groups across faculties, and selected courses are shared with the Doctoral Programme in One Health.
The programme builds multidisciplinary competence that is increasingly sought after wherever health, environment and policy meet. You develop skills to integrate evidence across sectors, communicate with diverse stakeholders, and support decision-making under uncertainty.
Graduates work in public authorities and agencies at municipal, national, EU and international levels, research institutes, the health, food and biotechnology sectors, NGOs, and consultancies. Typical roles include:
The programme also provides a foundation for doctoral studies, including the University of Helsinki Doctoral Programme in One Health. The degree awarded is Master of Science (MSc).
Career Services at the University of Helsinki offers career counselling, workshops and access to career portals. Finnish language courses are available for international students, as local language skills open up further career options.
As a student in the Master's Programme in One Health, you benefit from the expertise of numerous inspiring scholars with solid teaching experience and broad research credentials.
To foster multidisciplinary learning, students will be encouraged to select courses from at least two thematic areas and to engage with course offerings across the participating faculties. You may choose your specialisation from eight thematic areas and build depth through your advanced studies, electives, internship, capstone project, and master's thesis, shaping a profile that fits your interests and career goals.
The Master's Programme in One Health is suited for students with a background in life sciences (e.g. biology, veterinary or biomedical sciences, environmental sciences, agriculture, forestry) pharmacy, medicine, public health, or social sciences (e.g. anthropology, sociology, global development), or related fields, who want to specialise in health at the human–animal–environment nexus. The full admission criteria will be available at the Finnish national education portal Studyinfo.fi soon.
Please note that the programme only has one intake per academic year. You can only submit your application during the application period.
The application period for studies starting in autumn 2027 is from 5 to 19 Jan 2027.
You are eligible to apply if you:
The detailed programme-specific admission criteria can be found at the Studyinfo.fi.
All our students must fund their own studies and living costs. Make sure you have sufficient funds to cover the entire duration of your studies.
A tuition fee applies if you are not a citizen of an EU/EEA country or Switzerland, and do not hold an exempting residence permit in Finland.
The University of Helsinki does not offer fully-funded scholarships. For Master's programmes, a limited number of tuition fee waivers (50% or 100%, mostly 50%) are available for high-achieving tuition-fee-liable applicants. Even with a waiver, you will need to cover your own living and other costs. You apply for a waiver at the same time as you apply to the programme.
If you have any questions about applying to the University of Helsinki, contact our admission advisers for guidance.
The programme welcomes applicants from diverse academic backgrounds, particularly in the life sciences and social sciences. Suitable fields include biology, veterinary or biomedical sciences, environmental sciences, agriculture and forestry, pharmacy, medicine, public health, and social sciences such as anthropology, sociology or global development.
We also welcome early-career professionals looking to move into One Health roles in public authorities, research institutes, NGOs, or the health, food and biotechnology sectors.
The programme especially suits those motivated by multi- and transdisciplinary teamwork, science-to-policy impact, and ethically grounded approaches to health at the human-animal-environment nexus.
The programme does not have fixed study tracks or modules. After completing the Foundations of One Health course package, you build your own focus and multidisciplinary expertise by selecting courses from at least two of eight thematic areas, drawing on course offerings across the six participating faculties. This means you shape your specialisation through your course choices instead of choosing a track upfront.
The eight thematic areas are:
Teaching in the programme is organised by six faculties: Veterinary Medicine, Medicine, Biological and Environmental Sciences, Pharmacy, Social Sciences, and Agriculture and Forestry. You can also choose elective courses from other faculties and programmes across the University of Helsinki.
All University of Helsinki degree students can take part in an exchange, and around 1,000 do so each year. Start thinking about your destination and timetable early in your studies, so that a possible exchange period does not delay your studies and graduation.
The programme also benefits from the Una Europa alliance, which provides shared educational resources and mobility opportunities. Partners such as national and EU agencies, research institutes, NGOs and industry can offer opportunities for internships, capstone briefs and thesis collaboration both in Finland and abroad.
Yes, a 10 ECTS internship is part of the curriculum.
The University of Helsinki has four campuses in Helsinki. Four of the six faculties organising this degree programme, including the coordinating faculty (Veterinary Medicine), are based at Viikki Campus. It is an international life sciences hub hosting faculties, institutes, research projects and network organisations. It also has a veterinary teaching hospital, a research farm, an arboretum, a greenhouse and a research field.
Depending on your studies, you may also have courses on the Meilahti and City Centre campuses, as well as elective studies in Kumpula.
The University of Helsinki also has research stations that offer facilities for research, fieldwork and teaching.
The housing situation in Helsinki is better than in many European capitals, and as a student, you have the right to apply for reasonably priced student housing. That said, it is always important to start your search early.
Universities in Finland do not provide accommodation. Instead, non-profit organisations offer student housing, with HOAS being the main provider in the Helsinki capital region.
Student apartments in Finland are well-maintained and centrally heated, keeping you warm through the winter. The most affordable type of housing is a room in a shared apartment, but studios and two-room apartments are also available, both furnished and unfurnished.
The University of Helsinki, one of the world's top 1% research universities, is a place where both personal and scholarly breakthroughs happen. Studying here means gaining skills, knowledge and experiences that go beyond a degree, and student life is an important part of that.