Health Sciences
The Health Sciences Unit of the Faculty of Social Sciences (SOC) at Tampere University is a multidisciplinary health education and research unit comprising twelve disciplines: biostatistics, epidemiology, gerontology, global health, medical philosophy and ethics, nursing, public health, social psychiatry, social and health policy, sociology of health, health economics and occupational health.
In health sciences, we research factors that affect health, the means and effectiveness of health promotion and disease prevention, the different areas of health care and health policy, and the foundations of care, health and well-being. The research topics are central to society and are situated at the intersection of the two main areas of expertise at Tampere University: social and health research. The Unit’s broadest cross-disciplinary research areas are child, adolescent and family health and health promotion, ageing and the ageing population, and the health care and social service systems.
The Unit is home to the Gerontology Research Centre (GEREC), the Prostate Cancer Research Center (PCRC) and the Academy of Finland’s Centre of Excellence in Research on Ageing and Care (CoE AgeCare). Tampere University’s Centre for Childhood, Youth and Family Research (PERLA) is also home to some of our research projects. Our research has a strong link to social and health care and health promotion practices.
We train Bachelors and Masters of Health Sciences, with majors in public health and nursing science. Our teachers also teach in the Licentiate Degree Programme in Medicine. We provide a wide range of scientific and professional postgraduate and continuing education. About half of the doctoral students completing a doctoral degree at the Faculty of Social Sciences graduate from the doctoral programmes in health science. Health sciences graduates are employed in a wide range of health services research, development, management, administration, and education roles.
Our teaching and research are characteristically international and multidisciplinary. Health sciences is home to both the international Master’s Programme in Public and Global Health (PGH) and the International Doctoral Programme in Epidemiology and Public Health (IPPE). Several research projects are carried out in collaboration with research institutes and universities in different countries.
