Education

In Finland, technical communication can be studied at four universities, each of which have a different emphasis. The universities of Jyväskylä, Tampere, and Vaasa have restricted study rights, but the University of Oulu’s Open University package is open to everyone. In all of the universities, the teaching language is currently Finnish. Some of the links below also contain information in Finnish only, as translations weren’t available for all of them.

The University of Jyväskylä offers a 15-credit thematic module on Information Design and Technical Communication, which can be taken by students in the Department of Language and Communication Studies. There is also a larger, 30-credit version of the module, available for Master of Science students at JYU. Both cover the basic principles of information design and technical communication, including the use of structured writing tools. The modules also contain a company project.

The University of Oulu Open University offers basic studies package (25 credits) in International Business Communication (in Finnish only). This package is open to everyone interested in the subject, and completing individual courses is also possible. In addition to technical communication, the package covers, for example, service design and graphic design, and is entirely online.

The University of Tampere offers a technical communication specialization programme of 40 credits. The programme is available to students in both the Master’s Programme in Languages and the Master’s Programme in Multilingual Communication and Translation Studies. The programme covers a wide range of topics in the research and practice of technical communication, and also contains a training period.

At the University of Vaasa, it is possible to complete a Master’s Programme in Technical Communication (either a Master of Arts or a Master of Economic Sciences, depending on the specialisation). In the MA programme (in Finnish only), students can combine studies in communication with studies in economics, administrative science, and technology. In the Economics programme (in Finnish only), students can combine communication studies with studies in business and information systems. Information for both programmes is only available in Finnish.