Program Overview

Master's Degree Programme in Inequalities, Interventions and New Welfare State

The Master's Degree Programme in Inequalities, Interventions and New Welfare State is a two-year programme that provides students with rigorous training on social inequalities and welfare, effective social policy or intervention design, and advanced statistical methods to measure data on these topics.

Extent of the Study Programme

• The extent of the study programme is 120 ECTS.
• The planned duration is 2 academic years.
• The tuition fee is free for citizens of EU/EEA countries or Switzerland, and 10,000/academic year for citizens of non-EU/EEA countries.
• The qualification awarded is Master of Social Sciences.
• Studies begin in late August 2026.
• The location is Turku, Finland.
• The language of instruction is English.
• The mode of teaching is contact teaching.

Faculty and Department

• The programme is offered by the Faculty of Social Sciences.
• The annual quota is 15 students.
• The application period is January 2026.

Entry Requirements

General Admission Requirements

• Applicants must have a nationally recognized first cycle degree, typically a Bachelor's degree, from an accredited institution of higher education.
• The degree must correspond to at least 180 ECTS or three years of full-time study.
• The degree must give eligibility to master level studies in the country where it was issued.

Language Requirements

• Applicants must have excellent English language skills and a certificate that proves those skills.
• Recognized English language tests include TOEFL, IELTS, and Cambridge English.

Study Right

• It is not possible to have more than one Bachelor's or Master's study right at the same Faculty.

Programme-Specific Eligibility Requirements

• All applicants must have at least a Bachelor's degree in applicable fields of social and behavioral sciences.
• The content of previous studies should be similar or related to the INVEST research flagship, including topics such as social inequality, comparative social research, child and youth development, welfare state services, benefits, and policy processes, population and family demographics, prevention and intervention research, and quantitative methodological courses.

Application Evaluation

• The selection criteria include previous degree studies, academic performance, thesis or research paper title and abstract, quantitative research methods, other relevant work or study-related experience, answers to questions, and a self-introduction video.

Programme Structure

• The first year of studies consists of methods and substantive courses, together with the initial development of the thesis idea and proposal.
• The second year centers on seminars and the thesis in the first semester and includes work-life competences, internship, and exchange studies in the second semester.
• The thesis is supervised by research group members and written in the form of a working paper with a view to publication.

Academic Excellence and Experience

• The programme collaborates with the national INVEST flagship's world-class social and behavioral scientists.
• Research areas include socioeconomic inequality and wellbeing, intergenerational and within-family influences, social relationships and networks, demography and life course, skills and learning, and health and biology.

Master's Thesis

• The master's thesis is an important area of specialization during the studies.
• Theses can be done within the frame of research themes like comparative research on social inequalities, child and youth development in context, welfare state services, benefits, and policy processes, population and family demographics, child and adolescent epidemiology, prevention and intervention research, and advanced statistical methods related to these topics.

Career Prospects

• The programme educates research and public administration professionals for analyzing social inequalities and welfare state institutions, as well as developing new policies and intervention methods.
• Typical areas of employment include public administration, research-focused public and private institutions, academia, and data science.
• The Master's Degree provides eligibility for scientific postgraduate degree studies, and it is expected that all chosen students acquire researcher's skills that make them eligible for social and behavioral science PhD programmes, including INVEST's own PhD programme.