Department of Communication

Welcome to the Department of Communication

The Department of Communication offers a full academic program from undergraduate to post graduate level. The Graduate School is organized in co-operation with the Department of Information Studies and the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at University of Tampere, the Department of Communication Sciences at the University of Jyväskylä, and the University of Arts and Design Helsinki.

The Department of Communication takes in 50 new students each year. As a result of the popularity of the communication studies, competition for entrance to the department is very high. The Department has a large number of minor students from the Faculty of Social Sciences. Moreover, students from other faculties of the University of Helsinki are allowed to study communication as their minor subject, as well.

Research and teaching of Communication are divided into the following fields:

• The general theory of communication,
• The study of mass communication,
• Organizational and interpersonal communication,
• Communication policies and technologies,
• Information society and webbased communication,
• Intercultural communication
• and the media.

The teaching of communication is mainly focused on the general theory of communication but also provides sufficient knowledge of other areas.

Professional aspects of the study of the media are taught to the extent that they provide a necessary understanding of the functioning and the role of the media in society. However, the Department does not provide full professional training. Studies in communication provide knowledge and experience useful, for example, for the following fields: communication, media education, journalism, planning and administration of media, public relations and communication research.

The Department of Communication at the University of Helsinki was founded in 1978 and it is one of the 9 departments of the Faculty of Social Sciences, founded in 1945. First courses of Journalism were offered at the faculty of Social Sciences as a part of the study program of the Department of Political Science in early 1960's. The Political Science Department got a lectureship of mass communication (especially press) in 1966, and an associate professorship in 1971. The Chair of Communication was founded in 1978.