Welcome to the Contemporary Societies

The Master’s Programme in Contemporary Societies (COS) invites our newly admitted students starting their studies in autumn 2024 to take a moment to explore this page and get to know us better. Our staff, students and faculty welcome you!

The admission results (application round from 1 Dec 2023 to 3 Jan 2024) have been sent to the applicants to the e-mail address given on their application form. The results can also be found in the My Studyinfo -service.

Greetings from the programme

Welcome to COS, and congratulations on being accepted! It is wonderful to have you as one of our students.

Our programme is committed to providing you with an engaging education, career support, and a welcoming environment. Excellent examples of the work our students have done, and what may be possible for you, can be found in their research plan presentations from the Valtsika 2024 Career Fair.

You will receive more practical information about the University of Helsinki from Admission services in the coming months. If you have any questions about our programme’s contents in that time, do not hesitate to contact me.

All of our staff look forward to meeting you face-to-face in Helsinki!

On behalf of the programme,

Kimmo Vehkalahti

Director of Contemporary Societies

Get to know your fellow students

The University of Helsinki and the Faculty of Social Sciences have an active student community, involving a variety of student organisations and activities.

Kannunvalajat is the student organisation for all students in the Faculty of Social Sciences. CISSI, the Organisation of International Social Scientists, is focused specifically on the needs of international students. There are also subject organisations as well as a range of other student associations.

Learn more about the experiences of our students by reading student testimonials.

You can chat with our student Alice to get answers to your questions. You can also chat with other University of Helsinki students to ask questions or read their blog posts to get an overview of student life in Helsinki.

Orientation and tutoring

The teaching officially starts on 2 September 2024, but you should participate in the orientation activities for the new students already before classes begin (Orientation week 26 August – 1 September).

You will be assigned to a tutor group led by a senior student who will be your student tutor. She or he will help with questions related to studying in our programme, give support with administrative matters and introduce you to the university campuses and facilities. This will make it easier for you to start your studies and life in Helsinki. Each student will also be assigned a teacher tutor with whom you can discuss your personal study plan and goals.

The detailed information and schedule concerning your orientation and tutoring will be published in the Instructions for students in the summer. Make sure the COS programme is selected on the dropdown menu to access the correct information.

UNITalent Programme

The international students in the Master's Programme in Contemporary Societies can apply to the UNITalent Programme. It is designed to support international students in building professional networks in Finland and to gain insight into field specific working life. Students take part by attending monthly group meetings with hosting organisation for a period of three months. During the programme, the University Career Services also provides training in career management skills.

Contacts and useful links

If you have questions related to the admissions and accepting your study place, please contact the Admission Services.

If you have questions about the content of the programme, you are welcome to send an email to one of the following: