Psychology

In the degree programmes in psychology, you can complete a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) and Master of Arts (Psychology) degree. Students admitted to the Bachelor’s Programme in Psychology can continue studying directly in the Master’s Programme in Psychology. Persons who have completed the required prior studies elsewhere are also eligible to apply to the Master’s Programme in Psychology. Descriptions of the degrees are available in the Studyinfo service.

The Bachelor’s Programme in Applied Psychology offers students the opportunity to complete a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) degree. The Master’s Programme in Organisational Psychology (launching in 2026) offers a Master of Arts (Psychology) degree. Students admitted to the Bachelor’s Programme in Applied Psychology can continue studying directly in the Master’s Programme in Organisational Psychology. Persons who have completed the required prior studies elsewhere are also eligible to apply to the Master’s Programme in Organisational Psychology. 

The degree programmes in psychology establish knowledge and skills needed in the profession of psychologists. While the language of the programmes is Finnish, part of the teaching is in English. The degree programmes in psychology provide a link to, for example, medicine, the natural sciences and the social sciences. Students are also offered teaching organised collaboratively with the other degree programmes of the Faculty of Medicine. At the latest, students will be integrated into research groups specialising in psychology when working on their master’s theses.

The Master’s Programme in Psychology trains students in the use of psychologists’ clinical skills relating to the mental health of children, adolescents and adults as well as to questions of neuropsychology. The master’s programme includes a five-month clinical traineeship period. Graduates of the master’s programme can apply for the right to practise a healthcare profession (psychologist). 

While the Bachelor’s Programme in Applied Psychology and the Master’s Programme in Organisational Psychology together provide the skills needed for a broad range of specialist positions in psychology, they do not confer the qualifications of psychologist practising a healthcare profession.

Specialisation programmes in psychology

Specialist education in psychology is academic postgraduate specialist education organised through university network collaboration. For detailed descriptions of options, see the websites for postgraduate professional education (in Finnish and Swedish only) and Psykonet – the Finnish University Network of Psychology.

Specialist education in psychology is arranged in five fields of specialisation (coordinating university in brackets):

• Clinical health psychology (University of Eastern Finland)
• Children and adolescents (University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University)
• Neuropsychology (University of Helsinki)
• Clinical mental health psychology (University of Helsinki)
• Psychotherapy (University of Jyväskylä)
• Work and organisational psychology (Tampere University)

Coordinated by the University of Helsinki, the Specialisation Programme in Neuropsychology provides the qualifications required for working as a clinical neuropsychologist in the healthcare system.

Psykonet is a university network in the field of psychology consisting of the psychology departments and discipline groups at the Universities of Helsinki, Eastern Finland, Jyväskylä and Turku, as well as Tampere University and Åbo Akademi University. The network has served as an umbrella organisation in the field since 1989.

Psychotherapist training programmes

Psychotherapist training programmes constitute professional continuing education comparable with the continuing education of healthcare professionals. Applicants to the programmes are required to have experience in working with clients in the mental health or a corresponding sector, as well as applicable prior education in the healthcare or social welfare sector. After successfully completing a programme, students will be eligible to apply for the right to use the protected occupational title of psychotherapist from the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira).

For further information on the application procedure and the content of the training, see the website for psychotherapist training programmes.

At the Faculty of Medicine, the Doctor of Philosophy (Psychology) degree may be completed by postgraduate students majoring in psychology, provided they have completed the advanced studies and traineeship included in the Master of Arts (Psychology) degree, as well as a second-cycle degree in a Finnish university (or an equivalent degree in a university abroad). Students majoring in psychology may complete a Doctor of Philosophy degree if they are graduates of the Master’s Programme in Organisational Psychology or if they will not be completing clinical training. Most doctoral researchers in psychology pursue their degree in the Doctoral School in Health Sciences.

Attentional Multimodal Networks
We study how behavioural contexts and cognitive functions, such as attention, manifest in human neural networks. We use naturalistic experimental designs and imaging techniques, such as fMRI and EEG.

Clinical Neuropsychology Network
The group investigates both acquired and developmental cognitive disorders in children and adults, the development of cognition from childhood to adulthood, neuropsychological methods for assessing cognition, as well as cross-disciplinary and multiprofessional rehabilitation methods.

Clinical psychology and mental health interventions (CLIPI)
We focus our research on factors underpinning mental distress and cognitive abilities as well as on the means for supporting mental wellbeing. We are particularly interested in studying the interplay between the environment and biological factors in shaping mental health. We also investigate the effectiveness of brief mental health interventions and psychotherapies. We envision that understanding the biological mechanisms of mental distress will eventually improve the outcome of psychosocial interventions.

Cognitive Brain Research Unit (CBRU)
The group investigates perceptual and cognitive processes in humans as well as their development, disorders and plasticity, particularly in functions associated with language and music.

Developmental Psychology Research Group (DEPSY)
The group focuses on themes associated with the development of the human psyche throughout the lifespan. Our interests include foetal programming, maternal health and wellbeing during pregnancy, mental health, neurocognitive development, cardiovascular risk factors, sleep and ageing. We work on a range of follow-up datasets, collaborate extensively in Finland and abroad, and employ a wide variety of methods to study the development of the human mind.

Developmental psychopathology and intervention studies
We investigate early developmental risk factors associated with the family environment as well as interventions targeted at children and families.

Emotional Interaction and eHealth (EIeH)
The group investigates emotions, health and wellbeing in the era of virtual reality and digital health apps. The group’s research combines social psychology, human–computer interaction and cognitive neuroscience.

Higher Cognition
We study the cognitive underpinnings of thinking and reasoning. Our current research focuses on informal reasoning, particularly the ability to assess arguments, as well as different thinking dispositions.

Interaction Analysis Lab
We investigate physiological and behavioural background processes that enable mutual understanding and effective communication in face-to-face and technology-mediated interaction.

Mind and Brain in the Systemic Context
We are interested in the interaction between mental phenomena and the physiology of the human body, and are seeking new ways to modulate observed interactions. Our goals are to identify systemic mechanisms of depression and other common mental disorders, and to utilise the generated knowledge to develop or optimise new therapeutical applications. We are pursuing our goals by working with different populations ranging from healthy volunteers to individuals affected by mental disorders.

Music, Ageing and Rehabilitation Team
Our group investigates the effects of ageing and brain diseases on the processing of music and speech in the brain, the use of music interventions in support of healthy ageing and neurological rehabilitation, as well as the brain mechanisms underlying the effect of music.

Neurogenomics laboratory
Our group investigates why some people are more susceptible than others to psychiatric disorders. We study the genetic and neurobiological basis of anxiety disorders in both humans and experimental models.

O’BRAIN Lab
Our multidisciplinary research group investigates interaction between the modern alimentary environment and the brain, examining the link between environmental factors, behaviour and brain function on the one hand, and genetic factors associated with dietary behaviour and obesity on the other. We focus particularly on the role of neuroplasticity in learning and decision-making.

Perception, Action and Cognition (PAC)
We study perception and the processing of sensory information in relation to memory, learning, decision-making and motor control. Our research topics include colour and speech perception, visual and tactile identification, perceptual learning and working memory. As methods, we use especially psychophysics, brain imaging and computational modelling.

Population Mental Health

Psychological treatment, etiology, and mental health (PsyTEAM) 
The group investigates psychotherapies, psychosocial therapies, mental health as well as the epidemiology and aetiology of psychopathology. The group employs a range of methods, including registry-based research, statistical modelling, machine learning and theoretical modelling, as well as randomised experimental designs.

Psychosocial Factors & Health Research Group
The group investigates mental, social, behavioural and biological processes underlying mental and physical health that may relate to, among other things, the early childhood environment, professional life, social relations in old age or cross-generational factors. 

Sleep & Mind Research Group
The group investigates the significance of sleep to emotions and cognition using the methods of experimental sleep research. The research is carried out in a sleep laboratory, focusing on brain activity during sleep and its significance to, for example, the formation of memories and emotions, the development of anxiety and the effects of insomnia on brain function. Our research group is also involved in studying various patient groups in terms of sleep research.

Visual Cognition Research Group
The group investigates visual cognition from the perspectives of basic and technological research.