Social Services

The course aims to train professionals who are competent to work for socially sustainable communities in Finland and abroad. The specific focus of the program is on community development work, with an emphasis on people’s participation and empowerment, and on the identification of and fighting against different forms of discrimination in communities and societies. The students learn about social work and social policy issues from the Finnish, European and Global perspectives. They gain the skills required to plan and carry out social activities and analysis, implement participatory research, and analyze local conditions in relation to wider economic and social changes. Graduates will be able to work as social service workers in the Finnish context and as social workers in many other countries. Within the degree program in social services, students can choose the optional study path, which concentrates on the study of Diaconia and focuses on the issues of marginalized youths and other deprived groups in communities and societies. The ecumenical aspects of faith are studied, and Christianity is analyzed in dialogue with other religions. This study option enables the members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland to be ordained as Deacon and prepares them for social work within the Church or other Christian organizations.