Faculty of Information Sciences
Mailing address
Faculty Office, Faculty of Information Sciences
FI-33014 University of Tampere, Finland
Visiting address
Kanslerinrinne 1, Pinni B building, 3rd floor
Tel. 03-3551 7078 and 03-3551 8329 Faculty Office
Fax 03-3551 4002
Email informaatiotieteiden.tiedekunta (at) uta.fi
Website http://www.uta.fi/tiedekunnat/inf/inenglish.html
ABOUT THIS GUIDE: This information is based on the Faculty of Information Sciences Study Guide given in Finnish. This version has been translated, edited and condensed with the Faculty’s international – both degree and exchange – students in mind. Those sections which do not apply to exchange students are marked with ‘degree students only’.
Degree students in the Master's degree programmes given in English get a printed copy of the Study Guide from the Faculty Office with the full information on programme requirements.
Faculty of Information Sciences
The Faculty of Information Sciences at the University of Tampere offers an excellent selection of fields of science which examine information from different points of view. The faculty produces research and education in the fields of Computer Science, Interactive Technology, Information Studies and Interactive Media, Mathematics, and Statistics. The research and teaching in the faculty are aimed at fulfilling the increasing demands for information technology in modern society.
The main language of teaching is Finnish but three Master degree programmes and some Bachelor level course units are offered with English as the medium of instruction.
The following Master’s degree programmes given in English are offered by the Department of Computer Sciences in Computer Science and Interactive Technology:
Master’s Degree Programme in Interactive Technology, 120 ECTS credits
- major subject Interactive Technology
Master’s Degree Programme in User Interface Software Development, 120 ECTS credits
- major subject Interactive Technology
Master’s Degree Programme in Software Development, 120 ECTS credits
- major subject Computer Science
Departments of the Faculty
Department of Computer Sciences
Tel. (03) 3551 6616 Department Office, Fax (03) 3551 6070,
Department of Information Studies and Interactive Media
Tel. (03) 3551 6970 Department Office, Fax (03) 3551 6560,
http://www.uta.fi/laitokset/infim/english.php
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Tel. (03) 3551 6321, Fax (03) 3551 7342 Department Office,
http://www.uta.fi/laitokset/mattiet/english.php
Hypermedia Laboratory
See Department of Information Studies and Interactive Media
Degrees and Subjects of the Faculty
In the Faculty of Information Sciences, the following degrees can be taken:
Undergraduate degrees: Bachelor of Science, Master of Science
The Bachelor of Science degree is a lower university degree of 180 ECTS credits
The Master of Science is a higher university degree of 120 ECTS credits
Postgraduate degrees: Licentiate of Philosophy, Doctor of Philosophy
Subjects:
The following fields of science can be major subjects in the degrees awarded by the Faculty:
Computer Science
Information Studies and Interactive Media
Interactive Technology
Mathematics
Statistics
Study counselling
Study counselling for DEGREE students: Master’s degree programmes given in English
Department of Computer Sciences
Programme tutor teachers
Ms. Zheying Zhang (M.Sc. Programme in Software Development)
Pinni B Building, room B1034
Tel. (03) 3551 4045
Email zheying.zhang (at) uta.fi
Mr. Poika Isokoski (M.Sc. Programme in User Interface Software Development; M.Sc. Programme in Interactive Technology)
Pinni B Building, room B1040
Tel. 040 190 1718
Email poika.isokoski (at) cs.uta.fi
Departmental amanuensis (study affairs)
Ms. Heli Rikala
Pinni B Building, room B1024
Tel. (03) 3551 8566
Email studies (at) cs.uta.fi
Faculty Office, International officer
Ms. Kirsi Tuominen
Pinni B Building, room B3141
Tel. (03) 3551 7036
Email kirsi-marja.tuominen (at) uta.fi
Study counselling for EXCHANGE students
Exchange and visiting students should contact the departmental advisers of their department.
Department of Computer Sciences
Ms. Minna Parviainen
Pinni B Building, room B1025
Tel. (03) 3551 7060
Email minna.k.parviainen (at) uta.fi
Department of Information Studies and Interactive Media
Ms. Katri Seitsonen
Pinni A Building, room A4048
Tel. (03) 3551 7039
Email katri.seitsonen (at) uta.fi
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Mr. Jarmo Niemelä (Mathematics)
Pinni B Building, room 0024
Tel. (03) 3551 6290
Email jarmo.niemela (at) uta.fi
Mr. Jyrki Ollikainen (Statistics)
Pinni B Building, room 0008
Tel. (03) 3551 6426
E-mail jyrki.ollikainen (at) uta.fi
Regulations concerning studies
1 Degree structure and required studies
The extent of a degree is given in credits (in Finnish opintopiste). Finnish credits are ECTS compatible, i.e. one Finnish credit corresponds to one ECTS credit. The minimum requirement for a lower university degree, Bachelor’s degree (= first cycle), is 180 credits. The extent of studies leading to a higher university degree, Master’s degree (= second cycle), is 120 credits.
Master programmes given in English at the Department of Computer Sciences consist of three components:
Advanced level course units in computer sciences 40 ECTS
Master’s thesis 40 ECTS
Other studies 40 ECTS
2 Credits and workload
The average input of 1600 working hours needed for studies of one academic year corresponds to 60 credits. The working hours include lectures, practical work, seminars, exercises, independent study, written examinations, and research. The credit system is based on a full student workload and is not limited to contact hours only.
As the extent of the Master programmes is 120 ECTS, the programmes require two years of full time studies.
3 Major subject
Master degree students have a major subject, in which scientific knowledge, theory and practice of the field are combined. At the final stage of their studies, students write an extensive thesis based on independent research in a chosen area of the major subject.
4 Minor subjects and other studies
Studies in minor subjects may be included in the degree. They may be chosen from a faculty other than the one for which the student is accepted. Minor subjects taken may be on basic, intermediate or advanced level (for these study modules please see below).
In the Master programmes, also other types of studies (e.g. General studies, Language and Communication Studies), are to be included in the degree. For these, please see Other studies in Master’s degree programme at the end of this Study Guide.
Finnish students admitted into a Master’s degree programme given in English are required to take the majority (100 ECTS) of their master’s degree studies in English. Thus, only 20 ECTS may be taken in Finnish.
5 Study module
All course units in major and minor subjects belong to a study module (opintokokonaisuus), which is the basic structural entity of the degree programme. Study modules are classified with respect to their contents and position in the curriculum as basic studies (perusopinnot), intermediate studies (aineopinnot) and advanced studies (syventävät opinnot). Study modules comprise a certain number of course units and they represent either one discipline or are interdisciplinary. The study modules usually range from 25 to 65 credits depending on the subject and the level of studies. Advanced studies in Computer Science and Interactive Technology are 80 credits.
The main aim of the advanced studies is to develop the student’s ability to seek and apply scientific knowledge independently.
Master programme course units in the major subject are on the advanced level. Some Complementing studies on intermediate level may be required.
6 Course unit
Study modules consist of course units. All instruction is planned, arranged and taken in course units. Course units carry a certain number of credits, usually from 3 to 10 credits. In most cases, one course unit consists of lectures, exercises and/or an exam. In addition to lecture courses, other forms of teaching are used, e.g. exercises, seminars, group work, practical work, written assignments, and set book exams.
Once the student has taken all the course units within a certain study module, s/he should ask for a grade for the completed study module at the department office.
Assessing study modules and course units
In assessing study modules and course units the evaluation scale for studies graded ‘pass’ is five-tiered. The grades are 1 (sufficient), 2 (satisfactory), 3 (good), 4 (very good), and 5 (excellent). Furthermore, the dichotomy pass/fail (HYV/HYL) is sometimes used in the course unit evaluation as such without grading to indicate that the student has fulfilled/not fulfilled the requirements set in the curriculum for the course unit. For more information please see http://www.uta.fi/studies/legislation/.
After the Master’s thesis has been assessed and graded and Master programme studies in Computer Science or Interactive Technology finished, Master programme students should ask for the final grade of their major subject studies at the department. The mean value of the course units is calculated for the final grade. The Master’s thesis is not included.
7 Personal study plan HOPS (degree students only)
All students must make a HOPS plan, a written personal study plan to support the planning of the studies. In the Master degree programmes, the student writes the HOPS plan together with the programme tutor teacher, and the plans are monitored by the programme professor and the Faculty Office. Personal study plans are part of General studies and included in the course unit Guided planning of studies 2 ECTS.
8 Transferring credits from other universities (degree students only)
Master programme students with a previous Bachelor’s degree from a Finnish university may transfer language and Communication studies to UTA provided that the content of the studies is similar as in the UTA Master programme. The transferred studies must be compulsory in the Master programme studies.
Students taking JOO studies at other Finnish universities must transfer the JOO studies to the home faculty to be included in the UTA degree. For transfer purposes, the student must obtain an official study transcript from the host university and submit it to the Faculty of Information Sciences.
9 Internship (degree students only)
It is possible to include internship in the Master programme studies. However, Master programme students whose previous degree included internship should consult the International Officer of the Faculty Office. Students with a Finnish AMK degree cannot include internship in the Master programme studies.
The following requirements are to be followed:
- Student must first consult the professor of the Master programme for the approval of the internship plan suggested by the student
- Student must have a named person at the workplace monitoring the internship
- Student is to write a report regarding the internship
It is possible to take the internship in Finland or abroad. For more information please see the course unit on internship below.
10 Queuing for a study place
If there are exercises, seminars or some other small group teaching where the number of study places has to be limited, the number of admitted students is to be decided in the curriculum or teaching programme.
If there are more students wishing to take a taught course unit than can be admitted, the priority is given to those who have registered in time and who have taken the prerequisite course units, and to those degree students on Bachelor and Master level for whom the course unit is compulsory. If there are still more students than can be admitted, the priority is given first to those who have taken more credits in the subject and secondly to those whose grades in the subject are better. If the situation is still unsolved, the priority is given first to those who have taken more credits in the major subject and secondly to those who have taken more credits in all their studies. Doctoral students are taken into account, if the course unit in question is listed in the Doctoral student’s detailed personal HOPS study plan accepted by the home department. Unclear cases are solved by the Head of Department.
If specific reasons are presented, the Head of Department may deviate from the above rules.
11 Exercise essay (degree students only)
One or more exercise essays may be written in the Master programmes if required in the programme studies. The aim is to allow the student to exercise scientific writing and clear written expression. An exercise essay is written under the direction of the thesis supervisor and both the content and the language are examined. An exercise essay may be a part of the thesis.
12 Master’s thesis (degree students only)
For the Master’s degree, the student is required to write a Master’s thesis in the major subject and a maturity test connected to the thesis. The Master’s thesis is part of the advanced studies in the major subject, and it must show that the writer knows well the topic of the thesis, the required research methods and the ways to express scientific findings in writing.
The extent of the Master thesis is 40 ECTS. The thesis may be written according to the following options:
• a monograph
• a collection of papers presented together with an introduction
An earlier published work may be accepted as a thesis provided that the work corresponds with the requirements that are set for the thesis.
If the thesis is written as group work, the independent part of each student must be made clear. The work load of each student must also equal that of a personal thesis. The thesis is examined by assessing the part of each individual student. A joint thesis may be written to combine two or more disciplines. Each discipline and each student will be appointed a separate examiner.
Submitting the Master’s thesis
The thesis is submitted through the electronic service maintained by the University Library at http://www.uta.fi/laitokset/kirjasto/english/guides/theses.php. The service produces copies of the thesis for the examiners and for the University archives. More information is available from the Department of Computer Sciences at http://www.cs.uta.fi/en/studies/thesis.html. The thesis is to be submitted with an abstract of 1-2 pages, giving information on the research question, material, methods used, and the most important results. More information on the abstract is available at the department. If the programme studies include an exercise essay, it must be completed before the Master’s thesis is submitted.
Maturity test
A maturity test based on the thesis is compulsory for all degree students and is taken after the completion of the thesis. Students with Finnish/Swedish as the language of their elementary school education will write the test in Finnish/Swedish accordingly. If the elementary school education is not Finnish/Swedish, the maturity test is taken in English. Maturity test is a written examination taken on a faculty examination day or some other day arranged with the department. Registration is done through the thesis supervisor in the same way as for an examination on set books. The registration is to be done a minimum of seven days before the test date unless the programme rules require differently, and cannot be done before the thesis has been handed in.
The aims of the maturity test are to ensure that the student is well versed in the topic of the Master’s thesis and scientific writing, and to verify that the student has written the thesis him/herself. The main examiner of the thesis prepares a minimum of two questions related to the theme of the thesis. The student should choose one of the questions and write an essay about the topic. The main examiner assesses the content of the essay. UTA Language Centre will check the language used in the essay. If both the content of the essay and the language and grammar used are considered to be acceptable, the student will pass the maturity test. The dichotomy ‘pass’ and ‘fail’ is used in the evaluation. More information is available from the Department of Computer Sciences at http://www.cs.uta.fi/en/studies/thesis.html.
Assessing the thesis
A thesis is assessed and graded by a minimum of two examiners appointed by the Head of Department. The examiners’ assessment is to be delivered three weeks after the date of the student’s maturity test, unless the Head of Department has ruled otherwise. The assessment with the proposed grade is delivered to the student at least four days before the thesis is graded. At the same time, the student is given an opportunity to give a rejoinder against the assessment and the proposed grade. The rejoinder is to be delivered to the Department Office by the deadline given. If no rejoinder is given, the Head of Department decides the grade of the thesis using the examiners’ assessment. A possible rejoinder is dealt with by the Head of Department, who if needed may take the matter to the Department Board.
It is not possible to rewrite a Master’s thesis that has been submitted and graded (UTA Regulations for Evaluation of Studies, 8§).
If the student is not satisfied s/he may submit a rejoinder to the Faculty Council within fourteen (14) days of the date when the assessment was made known. It is not possible to appeal against the decision of the Faculty Council regarding the grading of the thesis (University Act 558/2009, 84§).
In the case of Master’s thesis, the 7-tier grading scale in Latin (approbatur - laudatur) is used:
L, laudatur (highest grade)
E, eximia
M, magna cum laude approbatur
C, cum laude approbatur
N, non sine laude approbatur
B, lubenter approbatur
A, approbatur
13 Degree diploma (degree students only)
After all the studies for the degree have been taken, the student is to submit an application to the Faculty Office for the degree diploma. The application is made using a form available in the Faculty Office or at http://www.uta.fi/tiedekunnat/inf/english/studies/graduation.html. The Dean grants the diploma. The student, before submitting the diploma application, can request a study transcript from the Faculty Office and use it to make sure that all the taken studies with their final grade have been registered. It is the responsibility of the student to make sure that all the studies are registered. The student must him/herself get the final grades (the number of credits and the grade of studies taken in the subject) from the departments. The final grade is needed of all the subjects where the student has taken 15 ECTS credits or more.
In the Master’s diploma, the number of credits and the grade of the advanced studies in the major subject are recorded.
A minor subject is recorded if the student has taken 15 ECTS or more. Minor subjects with less than 15 ECTS are recorded as ‘Other studies’.
Language and Communication studies are recorded as ‘Language studies’.
14 Teaching schedules
This Study Guide gives the programme and course unit requirements but not the times and places of the tuition offered. University of Tampere teaching schedules are available at http://www.uta.fi/studies/.
15 Web tools: NettiOpsu
With the Basic User Account (BUA) students can browse their examination results, study record and change their contact information using the electronic NettiOpsu in the Internet. Through NettiOpsu, students can also enrol for examinations and some lecture courses. It is also possible for a student to send a transcript of his/her academic records in pdf format to any email address. NettiOpsu is available at http://www.uta.fi/studies/nettiopsu/.
16 Legislation and UTA regulations related to studies
Finnish legislation together with UTA regulations for the evaluation of studies and regulations governing degrees can be found at http://www.uta.fi/studies/legislation/.
17 More information
For more information on studying please see the following:
- Department of Computer Sciences http://www.cs.uta.fi/en/studies.html
- Faculty of Information Sciences http://www.uta.fi/tiedekunnat/inf/english/studies.html
- University of Tampere http://www.uta.fi/studies/
Programme requirements (degree students only)
For programme requirements regarding the Master's degree programmes given in English, please see the printed Study Guide.
Below is information on General studies, Language studies and Complementing studies required in the programmes.
Other studies in Master’s degree programme 40 ECTS
The extent of this component of the Master programme is 40 ECTS. These studies include the General studies, Language and Communication studies, and any course units required as Complementing studies (previous studies in 0.2 of the programme requirements), if the Complementing studies are taken inside the 120 ECTS of programme studies.
If no Complementing studies are required, the student has the option of choosing minor subject course units in the Faculty of Information Sciences or other UTA faculties.
1.1 General studies 3 ECTS
Students studying in the Master’s degree programmes given in English are to take the following General studies course units:
MUUI01 Orientation course 1 ECTS
TKOPY2 Guided planning of studies (including the HOPS personal study plan) 2 ECTS
1.2 Language and Communication studies 12 ECTS
English language studies 6 ECTS
- English language assesment test
- English language studies 3-6 ECTS (according to the assessment test)
All new Master programme students are tested by the UTA Language Center using the Oxford Quick Placement Test. All programme students are to take Introduction to Thesis Writing 3 ECTS. Another course unit in English (English Oral Skills and Writing Course – Information Sciences 3 ECTS) must be taken if the test result shows it to be necessary.
Finnish language and Intercultural Communication studies 6-8 ECTS
Elementary level Finnish course units 6 ECTS (Finnish as a foreign language: Elementary Course 1 and 2, or higher level) or either one of the following options:
- Finnish as a foreign language: Elementary Course 1 3 ECTS, and Introduction to Intercultural Communication 5 ECTS, or
- Finnish as a foreign language: Elementary Course 1 3 ECTS, and a language course (student’s mother tongue and English excluded) 3 ECTS.
Finnish students are requested to take Language studies (English excluded), Communication studies, or Intercultural Communication studies in such a way that the extent of these studies is a minimum of 6 ECTS. Finnish students may take also Finnish or Swedish.
Swedish language studies (Finnish students only) 3 ECTS
Finnish students who have not taken for their Bachelor’s degree studies in the Swedish language are requested to take
- Ruotsin kielen kirjallinen ja suullinen viestintä informaatiotieteilijöille 3 op
1.3 Complementing studies
Some Complementing studies may be required depending on the student’s educational background. The Complementing studies are to be listed with the programme tutor teacher in the HOPS personal study plan.
Students with a Bachelor’s degree from polytechnic level institution (e.g. Finnish AMK polytechnics or universities of applied science), are requested to take a minimum of 15 ECTS and a maximum of 60 ECTS of Complementing studies at UTA. All such students must take 15 ECTS of one minor subject at UTA.
1.4 Elective studies
If no Complementing studies are required, the student may choose course units in computer sciences or in minor subjects to finish the remaining 40 ECTS of Other studies.