Master’s Degrees and Degree Programmes

Master’s Degree

The Master’s degrees of Finnish universities of applied sciences (i.e. polytechnic Master’s degrees) are second-cycle (master-level) degrees. They are the principal route to further education for the professionals who have first completed a Bachelor’s degree at a university of applied sciences. The scope of the degree is 60 or 90 ECTS credits. The Master’s degree can be completed flexibly while working, within 2-3 years. The education is practically oriented and based on the needs of working life, deepening the student’s professional competence and expertise. Studying is free of charge for students.

The universities of applied sciences are more practically oriented than universities and prepare professional experts for working life and its development. Therefore, the university of applied sciences Master’s degrees clearly differ from university Master’s degrees in terms of objectives and profile. The university of applied sciences Master’s degree qualifies the graduates for expert and managerial tasks in their field. In the higher education degree system, a university of applied sciences Master’s degree is equivalent to a university Master’s degree. The graduates are also qualified to apply for positions requiring a Master’s degree.

The development of Master’s degrees at the universities of applied sciences has focused on the promotion of internationalisation and the integration of the Master’s degrees with R&D pursued in order to enhance regional development and internationalisation.

Characteristics of Master’s Degrees at Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences

• Admission criteria: Bachelor’s degree at a university of applied sciences or other applicable higher education degree, and three years of relevant work experience
• Scope of the degree: 60 or 90 ECTS credits, depending on the degree
• Completion: usually through part-time study while working, duration 2 - 3 years
• Nature of the degree: demanding, workplace-oriented expert education
• Mode of study: adult pedagogy, integrating studies and work
• Thesis: a project aiming to develop working life or one’s own workplace
• Qualification provided by the degree: master-level qualification, mostly qualified for equivalent positions

The Master’s degree has provided the graduates of universities of applied sciences with a new route to continuing and further education, as well as with the opportunity to obtain a master-level qualification. A successful completion of the Master’s degree strengthens the student’s field-specific competence, broadens the generic workplace skills related to management, entrepreneurship, research and development - thus creating new career development prospects. The degree opens doors to more demanding tasks, enabling the graduates to apply for positions and further education requiring a formal qualification at master’s level, for example, for vocational teacher education.

Degree Programmes

After an initial experimental phase, the Master’s degrees of the universities of applied sciences were established on a permanent basis in 2005. Since then, the number of JAMK’s master’s degree programmes has grown annually.

At present, three schools of JAMK offer master’s degree education:

• School of Business and Services Management
• School of Technology
• School of Health and Social Studies

There are currently 11 master’s degree programmes at JAMK. They are presented under Education: Master’s Degree Programmes

The section Education also provides information on admission criteria and applying.