The School of Health Sciences (HES) advances knowledge through multidisciplinary education and research in public health and nursing science. Research and teaching in public health addresses a wide range of issues pertaining to health, health promotion and means of preventing diseases as well as various aspects of health care and health policy and their effectiveness. Our research profile includes concepts and methods from the fields of epidemiology, medicine, nursing science and the social sciences. Nursing science examines individual, family and public health in relation to caring. The focus in nursing science is on family nursing, health, disease and treatment-related experiences and factors influencing them at different stages of life.
HES provides undergraduate (Bachelor's), graduate (Master's) and postgraduate (Doctoral) level education. In the undergraduate and graduate level degree programmes the major subjects are Nursing Science or Public Health.In nursing science there are separate programmes in the teaching of nursing and in nursing management. The School also offers an International Master’s Degree Programme in Health Sciences with options to specialize in Public Health or International Health. This two-year programme with students from all around the world is offered every other year and the medium of instruction is English.
At the School of Health Sciences it is possible to carry out the following post-graduate degrees: Licentiate and Doctorate Degrees in Philosophy or Health Sciences or the Doctoral Degree in Medicine. The postgraduate degrees can be carried out in all the academic fields at the school.
The multidisciplinary faculty and staff at the school represent the fields of biostatistics, epidemiology, gerontology, health economics, nursing science, occupational health, public health, social and health policy and social psychiatry. The board at the School of Health Sciences is the executive body of the school. It is chaired by the Dean of the School. The members include a representation of professors, other teachers and personnel as well as students, and external members of important stakeholders.
HES organizes several doctoral programmes and participates actively in many graduate schools in the field of public health and nursing science. Doctoral Programs in Public Health (DPPH) is a national multidisciplinary network for doctoral training in the field of public health. It involves five universities and five research institutes, and it is coordinated by the School of Health Sciences at the University of Tampere. The main aim of DPPH is to offer funding possibilities for public health students and offer postgraduate courses. The aim of the national Finnish Post-Graduate School in Nursing Science is to educate both nationally and internationally recognized researchers and to promote the development of multidisciplinary research on national and international levels in the field of nursing science. The International Postgraduate Programme in Epidemiology (IPPE) is an expert programme for epidemiologically oriented researchers worldwide with special focus on the essential public health problems in low-income countries. Doctoral Programs in Ageing Studies (DOPAS) is a pilot doctoral programme in the field of ageing studies carried out in collaboration with the University of Jyväskylä and aims at gaining knowledge and understanding of ageing and health both as an individual and social phenomenon.
The School of Health Sciences also offers scientific and professional continuing education and participates in the education of medical doctors in the School of Medicine. HES is also a member of ASPHER (Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region) and many other international networks.