Finnish:Turun yliopisto | |
 | |
| Latin:Universitas Aboensis[1] | |
| Motto | Vapaan kansan lahja vapaalle tieteelle[2] |
|---|---|
Motto in English | The gift of a free people to free science |
| Type | Public University |
| Established | 1920; 105 years ago (1920) |
| Rector | Marjo Kaartinen |
Administrative staff | 3,412 |
| Students | 21,900[3] |
| Undergraduates | 9,095 |
| Postgraduates | 6,481 |
| 2,033 | |
| Location | , 60°27′15″N22°17′5″E / 60.45417°N 22.28472°E /60.45417; 22.28472 |
| Campus | Urban |
| Affiliations | Coimbra Group,UArctic |
| Website | Official Website (in English) |
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TheUniversity of Turku (Finnish:Turun yliopisto, shortenedUTU) is a multidisciplinary publicuniversity with eight faculties located in the city ofTurku insouthwesternFinland. The university also has campuses inRauma andPori and research stations inKevo andSjälö.
Established in 1920, the university is the third largest in the country as measured by student enrollment, after theUniversity of Helsinki andTampere University. It is a member of theCoimbra Group and the European Campus of City-Universities (EC2U).[4]
The first university established in Turku was theRoyal Academy of Turku, founded on March 26, 1640, by QueenChristina of Sweden at the suggestion of CountPer Brahe. It originated from theTurku Cathedral School, which had been established in 1276. The Royal Academy was the third university in theSwedish Empire and the only one in Finland during the period of Swedish rule.
In 1809, afterRussia's victory over Sweden in theFinnish War, Finland was annexed by Russia as the autonomousGrand Duchy of Finland. To reduce Swedish influence and move the capital closer toSaint Petersburg, Finland's capital was relocated from Turku toHelsinki on April 8, 1812. Following theGreat Fire of Turku in 1827, the Royal Academy was also transferred to Helsinki, where it eventually became the modernUniversity of Helsinki. For the remainder of the 19th century, Turku did not have a university.[5]
In 1918, university-level teaching returned to Turku with the founding ofÅbo Akademi, an exclusively Swedish-speaking institution. This prompted the Finnish intelligentsia to establish a university whereFinnish would be the language of instruction—the first of its kind in Finland. As a result, the modern University of Turku was founded onKalevala Day (February 28) in 1920. A total of 22,040 people contributed to the fundraising campaign. Finland’s newly gainedindependence and the success of the campaign are reflected in the university's motto: "The gift of a free people to free science."[5][6]
The first premises of the University of Turku were in the centre of the city, by the market square. In the 1950s a new campus was built onRyssänmäki [fi] (Russian Hill[7] – now known as University Hill). In the 1960s the university started to expand rapidly, a process that still continues.
The university was made a public institution in 1974.[8]
Since 1995 the University of Turku has been a member of theCoimbra Group. In 2017, the university became a member of The European Campus of City-Universities (EC2U).[4]
In January 2010, theTurku School of Economics merged with the University of Turku, forming a seventh faculty of the university.[8]
In 2021, the Faculty of Technology was established as the eighth faculty of the university.[9]
The university has approximately 22,000 degree students.Bachelor’s,master’s anddoctoral degrees are offered both in Finnish and in English. The largest faculties are the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Science and Technology.
The University is a home for The University of Turku Graduate School (UTUGS) which consists of doctoral programmes covering all disciplines. The graduate school has approximately 2,000 doctoral candidates pursuing a PhD.
| University rankings | |
|---|---|
| Global – Overall | |
| ARWU World[10] | 401–500 (2024) |
| QS World[11] | 366 (2026) |
| THE World[12] | 301–350 (2025) |
| USNWR Global[13] | =355 (2025) |
There are altogether eight faculties in the University of Turku:
In addition to the faculties, the research and learning activities at the university take place in five independent units: Brahea Centre of the University of Turku, Centre for Language and Communication Studies, Turku PET Centre, Finnish Centre for Astronomy with ESO and Turku Bioscience Centre.
The university management consists of the Board, TheRector and the vice rectors and the University Collegiate Council.
The Board is the highest decision-making organ of the university and is made up of 10 members from academia, society and studentship.Organisation and Management of the University of Turku | University of Turku It develops the university's operating processes and approves plans concerning its financing and activities; it decide on the guidelines of granting appropriations; it give its opinion in any matters of significance that concern the university in principle and the Board approves the service regulations and other similar rules.
The Rector directs the activities and processes of the university and solves any issues concerning its general management. The Rector represents the university and uses the university's right to speak in courts of law and in dealings with the authorities. Professor Marjo Kaartinen is currently the elected Rector.[14]
The University Collegiate Council consists of 30 members: ten professors, ten other teaching and research personnel and other staff and ten students.[15]
The University of Turku shares a campus withÅbo Akademi University and elements ofTurku Science Park. The area also encompassesTurku University Hospital (TYKS) and theStudent Village. The Main Building and the surrounding complex was built in the fifties on what became known as the University Hill. The campus is constantly expanding, the latest example is the Medisiina D building which houses the facilities of the Faculty of Medicine. The university also owns the Botanic Garden at Ruissalo as well as the research station at the Island of Seili. In addition to the campus area in Turku, the university also has campus areas in the nearby cities of Pori and Rauma.
As defined in its strategy 2030,[16] the university's multidisciplinary research is profiled through six thematic areas which are biodiversity and sustainability; future technologies and digital society; cultural memory and social change; children, young people and learning; health, diagnostics and drug development; and sea and maritime studies.
The University of Turku has been involved in many research projects in thePeruvian Amazon. With the Peruvian Amazon Research Institute (Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana – IIAP), based inIquitos, has been studying the Amazon in theBIODAMAZ Project.
The university is an active member of theUniversity of the Arctic. UArctic is an international cooperative network based in the Circumpolar Arctic region, consisting of more than 200 universities, colleges, and other organizations with an interest in promoting education and research in the Arctic region.[17]
The university participates in UArctic's mobility program north2north. The aim of that program is to enable students of member institutions to study in different parts of the North.[18]
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The Chancellor, appointed by the President of Finland upon proposal of the Finnish Government, was to promote science and scholarship, look after the general interests of the university and supervise its activities. The Chancellor confirmed the standing orders and other corresponding general regulations of the university. The most visible task of the Chancellor was the appointment of the Professors and the Docents of the university. Professor Pekka Puska was the last person to hold this position until it was abolished based on the decision of the University Board. The duties were reassigned to the Rector.[20]
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