Study Guide

Descriptions

Study objectives:

Development and Management of Social and Health care Programme gives you the opportunity to deepen your management and development skills in this field.

The aim of the programme is that, after completing the degree, you will be able to lead and develop customer-oriented social and health care services, taking into account the principles of sustainable development. You are familiar with the evolving social and health care service system and the driving forces of the renewal of the system. You can apply this knowledge in the management of the social and health care sector and in research, development and innovation activities. You will be able to analyze and develop yourself as a leader and expert, taking into account the needs of the changing working life. In addition, the programme gives the skills to evaluate and develop the quality and effectiveness of social and health care services, as well as to strengthen financial competence in management work. You can also choose your studies and deepen your knowledge in service coordination in the health sector, customer-oriented service development, competence management or knowledge management.
The aim of the programme is to strengthen your opportunities and give you the confidence to apply for more challenging positions in management and development in the social services, health care and well-being sector. Through education, you will network with experts in your own field as well as in other fields and get the opportunity to look at the challenges of working life from different perspectives.

More about the language of instruction:

The main tuition language Finnish, but parts of the teaching can be in English.

Structure and contents of studies:

The extent of the study programme is 90 ECTS. The structure of the studies:

The studies are composed of:
- compulsory core competences 40 ECTS
- elective complementary competences 20 ECTS
- thesis work 30 ECTS.

Studies in core competence consist of 5 credits courses (5 ECTS is the computational equivalent of 135 hours of work).
The contents of the core competence in education include the functioning of the social and health care service system and the forces that guide its renewal, the analysis and development of one's own management and expert expertise, the quality, impact and effectiveness of social and health services, and business and financial competence in social and health care services. Core competence studies also focus on future awareness, foresight, sustainable development, and research and development methods. According to one's own interest, one can choose studies from the contents of service coordination in the health sector, customer-oriented service development, competence management or knowledge management.

Elective complementary competence is built on elective studies (20 ECTS) in which the student expands his/her competence by including studies from his/her own or other education or from the offerings of other higher education institutions. Elective studies are also offered as a completely virtual implementation.

Master´s thesis:

The Master's thesis (30 ECTS) solves a topical issue or problem related to working life. The topic of the thesis may be related to the development of a new product, service or process, for example. The thesis is carried out as a commission in research, development and innovation projects (RDI) of working life or Turku University of Applied Sciences. You can also acquire the topic from a variety of professional networks, third sector, wellbeing services counties or national research institutes. The thesis is done individually or in pairs. The completion of the thesis requires the ability to work independently and in expert work. In accordance with the tripartite model, the work is carried out in cooperation between the student, the teacher tutor and the working life mentor/contact person throughout the education. As a rule, the guidance is implemented as group guidance in ways agreed with the supervisor/teacher tutor of the thesis.

Career opportunities:

The graduate can work in various national or international expert, development and management positions.
Tasks may include various demanding management, expert and development tasks in the private and public sectors of the social and health care sector or in non-governmental organizations. The degree also provides an opportunity to work in teaching positions in the social welfare and health care sector, if you also complete pedagogical studies.

It is a good idea to start your own career planning right at the beginning of your studies and continue it throughout your studies. A personal study plan (ISP) lays the foundation for this. During your studies, you can evaluate and refine your own goals and the knowledge and skills you need by updating your study plan, for example with regard to elective studies.

Qualification:

An upper university degree produces the same eligibility for a public post or post as a university degree at a university. Training provides general competence in management and development tasks. In the social and health sector, besides the general eligibility conditions, there is also sector-specific regulation for management. Extensive development and substance expertise enables national and international mobility. The training follows the European Qualification Framework (EQF) proficiency level descriptions and the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) proficiency descriptions. The level corresponding to the higher polytechnic degree is 7.

Possible jobtitles after graduation:

Nurse Manager, Service Manager, Project Manager, Development Manager, Designer, Director

Internationalisation:

Students have the opportunity to complete part of their studies outside Finland at the higher education institutions with which Turku University of Applied Sciences has signed a cooperation agreement. In addition, students can integrate internationalization in their studies e.g. by participating in the intensive weeks organized by the international networks as well as by participating in international conferences and projects.

Co-operation with other parties:

Cooperation with various working life organizations and networking are part of the studies. In research, development and innovation projects, cooperation can also extend to international higher education institutions and international working life partners.
Students can apply for courses at other higher education institutions and include these in a degree. Students can also take advantage of CampusOnline's joint online study offer at the polytechnics of Finland. http://campusonline.fi/

Research focus:

The focus of applied research, development and innovation activities is on project and group work related to the students' work tasks and the development of the employer organization, as well as in the thesis. Students have the opportunity to do some of the studies in the University of Applied Sciences' own projects.

Check out the research groups and projects on the Turku University of Applied Sciences website > Research and Development and innovations > Research Groups

Postgraduate study opportunities:

A Master’s degree awarded by a university of applied sciences provides eligibility for further academic studies as well as for applying for professional teacher education. Universities may set conditions on granting rights for further studies in the form of e.g. supplementary studies.

Objective

After completing the programme, the student is able to:

- lead and develop customer-oriented social and health care services, taking into account the principles of sustainable development
- analyze and develop him/herself as a leader and expert, taking into account the needs of the changing working life
- evaluate and develop the quality and effectiveness of social and health care services and strengthen financial competence in local management work
- utilizes the contents of health care service guidance, customer-oriented services development, competence management or knowledge-based management in the management or development activities of the work community
- apply different research, development and innovation methods in the renewal of social welfare and health care activities

Development

The pedagogical approach applied in the leadership (MBA) studies is Innovation pedagogy that refers to an approach of constructivist and problem-based learning. Master´s students study alongside their work and want to broaden and deepen their theoretical knowledge and get models to apply theory in their own work.

At the beginning of each semester there is one day of contact teaching on the campus of Turku University of Applied Sciences and mainly studying takes place online. Studying is practice-oriented distance learning that includes contact teaching, guidance, independent work, group and project work and development tasks. There is little traditional lecture-oriented study. On average, there are two days of contact teaching per month via remote connections, and students should reserve time not only for self-study but also for group work between students. The workload of studies corresponds to full-time studies (20 ECTS per semester corresponds to 540 hours of work).

The student creates an individual study plan (ISP) at the beginning of his/her studies. According to the plan, the student selects elective studies related to, among other things, the implementation of the thesis and their own career plans. An important part of the education is the thesis, which combines theory, practice, and the production and application of new knowledge.

Further information

The objectives for skills levels in a Master’s Degree are based on the legislation on universities of applied sciences and the European Qualification Framework (EQF). The level corresponding to a Master’s Degree is level 7. The assessment criteria for each course are described in its implementation plan. Performance requirements vary depending on objectives, content and the method of implementation. The courses and the thesis are mainly assessed on a scale of 0 to 5. Assessment focuses on competence and its development. The course assessment methods vary according to the objectives of the study module. Assessment may focus on the outcome (for instance, a report or a seminar presentation), on the process (the student’s own activity and actions during the course) or on both. Students receive regular feedback on their performance from their teachers. Peer- and self-assessment as well as client company feedback on performance are also utilized. The degree assessment framework is used as the basis for the assessment. The Degree Programme will be developed according to the principles of continuous improvement. In the development work, feedback from the students and working life as well as their initiatives have a key role. Feedback is collected with, for instance, student questionnaires and group-specific development discussions.