Political Science

- The subprogramme of Politics
- The subprogramme of Administration and Organisations
- The subprogramme of World Politics

- Minor Subject Studies in European Union
- Minor in Leadership and Management Studies (JOS)

This HOME PAGE contains the GENERAL PART of the study guide with information on studies in Political Science and on the general practices of the department. Information on courses and degree requirements can be accessed from the links on the left side of the page.

Enrolling on the courses organized by the department of political science is through WebOodi. The enrolment for autumn term 2009 courses begins on Thursday 27.8.2009 at 9.00 (except for JOS1 course “Johtamisen perusteet”, for which enrolment begins already on Thursday 6.8.08 at 9.00). The enrolment for spring term 2010 courses begins already in December: Thursday 31.12.09 at 9.00.

The course pages contain information on the times, places and enrolment, and they are updated also during courses. (selaimet tarkistavat nykyään itse ovatko sivut muuttuneet). Changes to the study guide and teaching times are listed on the Current – section of the study guide. Changes in the study guide.


GENERAL PART OF THE POLITICAL SCIENCE STUDY GUIDE (contents)

Academic Year 2009-2010
- Teaching periods, enrolling for courses and exams
- Faculty examinations in academic year 2009-2010 (link to the faculty pages)
- Summer exam and summer essays
- Teachers and staff
- Study counselling
Rules and instructions for the studies of Political Science
- Completing the studies, scheduling the major studies, expiration of studies
- Grading of studies
- Practices and evaluation criteria concerning faculty examinations at the Department of Political Science
- Results and registration
- Applying for registration of a study block (major or minor in Political Science, EU, JOS)
- Compensation of studies completed in other universities
- Teachers responsible for compensation of studies completed elsewhere and the approval of student exchange plans
- Student exchange programs arranged by the Department of Political Science and the academic recognition of exchange studies (link to the departmental web pages)
- Changing major into Political Science and changing the subprogramme within Political Science
More rules and instructions for studies (the web pages of the faculty)

Academic Year 2009-2010:

TEACHING PERIODS AND ENROLLING FOR COURSES AND EXAMINATIONS

The registration dates and times apply for most courses arranged by the Department of Political Science. Courses organised by other departments that can be included in a Political Science degree may have other times and ways of enrolment. Always check the beginning of the registration time from the pages of the respective course!

Registration to all teaching and examinations organised by the Department of Political Science is done through WebOodi. Links for WebOodi registration can be found on the individual course pages. WebOodi registration is possible between 9.00 at the starting day and 23.59 at the last day of registration. It is the student’s responsibility to successfully enrol and check that the enrolment has been successfully registered. Claims of system failure will be verified from the log information.

Periods in 2009 - 2010 and the registration times for courses requiring enrolment in advance:
- I period: 7.9.- 25.10., prior registration in WebOodi 27.- 31.8.
- II period: 2.11.- 20.12., prior registration in WebOodi 22.- 26.10.
- III period: 18.1.- 7.3., prior registration in WebOodi 31.12.09 - 11.1.10
- IV period: 15.3.- 7.5.*, prior registration in WebOodi 4.- 8.3..

(* IV period includes the week of Easter and a two-week intensive section in the end of the period.)

WebOodi registration times for other courses:
- Courses in I and II periods starting from 27.8.09 and ending one week after the starting day of the cours.
- Courses in III and IV periods starting from 31.12.09 and ending one week after the starting day of the course

Exam retakes:
- Exam retakes for autumn courses: Mon 11.1.10 at 16-18, Porthania room 1, prior registration in WebOodi 17.12.2009 - 3.1.2010.
- Exam retakes for spring courses: Mon 24.5.09 at 16-18, Porthania room 1, prior registration in WebOodi 6.-13.5.2010.

Course exams (written examinations of lecture series etc.) can be taken in exam retakes, but not the literature examinations taken in faculty examination days.

FACULTY EXAMS IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2009-2010

Exam days and instructions can be found on the faculty pages.

SUMMER EXAM AND SUMMER ESSAYS

The literature exams pertaining to study units that are on the responsibility of the Political Science can be taken as follows:

- Basic and intermediate studies:. ONLY IN JUNE: Fri 18 June 2010 10-14 (hall PI, PII, PIII), You have to sing up for the exam in June between 9:00 a.m. 19 May 2010 and 23:59 8 June 2010
- Advanced studies: ONLY IN AUGUST: Tue 17 Aug 2010 10-14 (hall PI). You have to sing up for the exam in August between 9:00 18 July 2010 and 23:59 7 Aug 2010.
- JOS (Minor in Leadership and Management): In June, you can take all JOS exams that are responsibility of the Political Science.

You can register for the exams in WebOodi via the unit in question in the study guide of the Political Science.

What is an essay?

An essay can be a summary of literature with a critical attitude, but another, more recommended form of essay is a concise research paper with a clear assignment or research problem agreed upon with the teacher responsible of respective study unit. The literature required for solving the assignment or research problem is used for reference, even if it is not part of the required literature of the study unit. Of course, not all of the literature of the study unit needs to be referenced if the assignment does not require it. In both cases, the contents and method of the essay are to be agreed upon with the teacher responsible for the study unit.

The idea of an essay is that the whole study unit (or the remaining part, if the study unit has already partly been taken on a taught course) is taken at once. The length of a mostly summarizing essay is 12 pages per book (line spacing 1½, ca. 2500 letters per page excluding spaces). In a concise research paper, the depth of the work is more essential than the number of pages. In practice, in order to take a full study unit (normally three to four books) a in-depth concise research paper of about 25-30 pages (spacing and number of letters as above), representing month’s full work, is required.

TEACHERS AND STAFF

STUDY COUNSELLING

General study counselling can be obtained from the student counsellor of the faculty of social sciences. During reception hours the department staff gives counselling considering study units organised by the Department of Political Science as stated below.

Rules and instructions for the studies of Political Science

These rules apply mainly to Political Science degree students (majors and minors) at the University of Helsinki. Exchange and visiting students should follow the instructions bearing in mind they are not pursuing a degree or a minor study block.

Completing the studies, scheduling the major studies, expiration of studies

Studies in Political Science are completed according to the degree requirements of 2008-2009. Studying according to the earlier degree requirements and structures is no longer possible. Instructions for transition (in Alma intranet).

Schedule recommendations for major studies in political science

The literature of a study unit is examined in one literature exam, unless otherwise specified during the teaching of the course.

If a study unit is taken as parts, the study unit must be completed within six (6) months of the date of the completion of the first part.

A student can participate in literature exams, even if the compensatory courses belonging to the units have not yet been completed. In such cases it is required that the courses are completed during the same term.

In addition to what is stated above, the general principles of the Faculty of Social Sciences apply.

Grading of studies

For courses, the grading criteria is usually available on the course pages, and often expanded on during the course. If the basis of the grading for a course or a study unit is not clear to you, please contact the teacher responsible for the course / study unit.

The study units, study blocks and the bachelor’s thesis are graded on the scale 0 to 5, with the following verbal equivalents: 0 (fail), 1 (adequate), 2 (satisfactory), 3 (good), 4 (very good), 5 (excellent).

The master’s thesis is still graded on a seven-step scale. More on the grading of Master’s thesis.

The grade for the whole completed study unit or block is formed by the weighed average of the grades received for the different parts. The weights are counted by credits awarded or, in the case of courses, by percentages announced beforehand. The combined grades are calculated accurately enough two be rounded to the accuracy of two decimals, which makes rounding up to the final grade unambiguous (1 = 1.00-1.49, 2 = 1,50-2,49, 3 = 2,50-3,49, 4=3,50-4.49, 5 = 4,50-5,00). You can use the grade counter.

If the grading used by the teacher is not in line with the official scale, the department can ask from the teachers a fix to the grading, however the student can also contact the teacher in borderline cases.

The grades awarded before 1.9.2005 have been converted to the new grading, see grade conversion at the faculty pages (in Finnish).

Practices and evaluation criteria concerning faculty examinations at the Department of Political Science

In order to successfully complete a study unit by means of taking a faculty examination on the set literature, students should carefully study all the books. The aim is to understand both each individual book and how the books relate to the overall theme of the study unit. For this purpose, students are required to:

    Prepare well for the exam. If students fail to show up on two consecutive exam occasions, they may not sign up for the following occasion. Take all the books in a single exam. The literature may not be divided into several exam sittings. Only when a course/courses that cover/s for one/some of the required books is/are organized, the faculty examination will not include all the reading specified for a particular study unit. When study units are completed in parts (e.g. lecture course, seminar, book exam), all the parts should be completed within a six month period. Pass all the books. An F for any one of the questions/books will result in an F for the entire exam, i.e., several excellent answers will not compensate for a poor one. Complete a study unit by one of the means specified in the study guide. Special arrangements, such as writing home essays, are, as a rule, not offered. However, if the examiner agrees to accept a literature essay, the students are required to consult her/him for supervision.

Results and registration

The grade awarded for a study unit must be informed to the student within one month of the completion of the unit and the result must be registered into WebOodi within one month of the announcement of results. The results are announced on the department notice board (in the office lobby), with the student number corresponding to the grade awarded. It is not possible to make telephone inquiries on the results. The results of literature examinations are kept on the board at least until the next literature examination, the results of courses for at least a month. After that, the results can be obtained from the department office.

On the notice board it is also informed where those who have not passed the course or exam can obtain information on the results. Otherwise, it is always possible to contact the teacher during reception hours. The student has the right to attempt to raise the received grade, and if intending to do so must inform the responsible teacher within a month of announcing of the grades. Course exam retake occasions are organised for students wishing to take a course exam anew.

A student who is unsatisfied with the grade received from a literature exam may request correction to the grade. See examination rules for details.

Study attainments are registered in the department office. When a study unit has been successfully completed, the different parts are automatically combined. If after successfully completing all the required parts, the study unit is not listed in the transcript of studies, the student should ask for rectification from the department office.

All registrations for study units must be applied for as soon as possible, and by the end of the academic year at latest. The study units can be registered by respective responsible teachers only. For compensation of studies completed in other universities, see here.

Applying for the registration of a study block (major or minor in Political Science, EU, JOS)

After a major/minor student in Political Science, or an EU or JOS student has completed all the studies belonging to a study block (basic, intermediate or advanced studies), registration of the study block should be applied for as described below.

The registration of a completed study block in Political Science or the EU or JOS studies should be applied for as soon as the block has been completed, but the latest date is two weeks prior to graduating (applying for a degree certificate from the students respective faculty).

Notice that if you are majoring in Political Science, your Master’s Thesis is not registered in the advanced studies in Political Science block, which means that you can request the registration of the advanced studies block as soon as they are completed even though the Master’s Thesis isn’t yet complete.

Only full study units are accepted into the study blocks. Partially completed study units are not accepted as parts of the blocks. See also Scheduling major studies, finishing courses, expiration of study units.

Registration of a study block is done by sending the registrar an electronic application form for registration (links to the forms below) or by leaving a transcript of studies to the registrar (unofficial WebOodi transcript is also valid), on which it is written what block is applied for and which study units should be included in it (circle the codes of the study units that should be included in the block).

Major students must apply for the registration of three different study blocks: 1) basic studies, 2) intermediate studies and 3) advanced studies:

Minor students receive registrations for two blocks, basic studies (25 cr) and intermediate studies (35 cr):

EU-studies:

Leadership and management (JOS) studies:

Registrars:

Administrative official Piia Susiluoto :

  • Major and minor in political science: basic, intermediate and advanced studies
  • Minor in leadership and management (JOS) studies: basic and intermediate studies

University teacher Leena Malkki:

  • EU-studies: basic and intermediate studies

Compensation of studies completed in other universities

The student who wishes to find out whether studies completed elsewhere can be compensated for in the degree should personally visit the teacher with the responsibility area resembling most the studies completed in another university, during reception hours (see below). If studies exist from several different fields, the teacher will pass the application on to the next teacher. The student can take the ‘compensation for studies completed elsewhere’ - form to the reception (the form can be obtained from the office lobby of the department) and the transcript of studies from University of Helsinki and the other university, or other certificates of accepted studies (also descriptions of the content and methods of completion of the studies and possible written work).

The teachers decide whether the studies completed elsewhere will be accepted as studies of Political Science and forward the studies to be registered. The student should mention if he or she requires some of the attached documents to be returned. The documents can be obtained from the department office after the studies have been registered. This can be seen from the transcript of studies in WebOodi. If the approval does not require supplementing the studies, the studies can be seen in the transcript within three weeks in normal cases. Please re-check the transcript every time before contacting the department.

If the studies completed by minor students, either by themselves or together with studies completed in this department, qualify for completion of basic or intermediate studies in Political Science, the study units can be registered together with assessing the equivalence of the studies. The same applies for basic, intermediate and advanced studies for major students. The student should mark on the transcript of studies (an unofficial one received from WebOodi is enough) those study units, which together with the studies done elsewhere should form the study block.

Studies in Political Science completed earlier and requirements of preceding studies

The obligatory study units required from major students of Political Science admitted for studies 1.8.2005 or after can be found from the degree structure of Political Science. A student that has been admitted for studies by prior study attainments must immediately in the beginning of the studies (during the first period) find out the equivalence of the prior studies in order to avoid having to take the missing study units later, when the studies are nearing completion.

Those who have been admitted to study for a Bachelor’s Degree, and who have either studied Political Science in another institution or have only studied Political Science as a minor, the following study units (obligatory for major students) are required. Whether prior studies will be accepted as equivalent is left for the teachers as listed below to decide. Obligatory studies can be compensated with studies completed elsewhere only in exceptional cases, and a complete equivalence of content is required.

Bachelors admitted to study for a Master’s Degree must complement their studies with method studies and substantial, subprogramme-specific modules in the manner specified by the teacher responsible for the subprogramme (see list below).

Teachers responsible for compensation of studies completed elsewhere and the approval of student exchange plans

Bachelor’s studies (also minor studies, 25cr or 35cr)

  • Senior Lecturer Erkki Berndtson (Subprogramme of Politics)
  • Research Manager Markku Kiviniemi (Subprogramme of Administration and Organisations)
  • University Lecturer Mikael Mattlin (Subprogramme of World Politics)

Master’s Studies:

  • Professor Juri Mykkänen (Subprogram of Politics)
  • Professor Turo Virtanen (Subprogram of Administration and Organisations)
  • University Lecturer Riikka Kuusisto (Subprogram of World Politics)

Contact information and reception hours of the teachers can be found on the contact information page of the department.

Student exchange programs arranged by the Department of Political Science and the academic recognition of exchange studies

Changing major into Political Science and changing the subprogramme within Political Science

Changing major to Political Science for a student of the Faculty of Social Sciences

Changing major is subprogramme-specific. The minimum requirement is to have completed basic studies in one’s own major subject (other than Political Science). In Political Science, basic studies and two subprogramme-specific study units from intermediate studies are required. Te subprogramme-specific study unit included in the basic studies must be from the same subprogramme the student wishes to change into. The Political Science studies common to all subprogrammes (unit codes including the letter Y) are not included in the subprogramme-specific studies. The amount of studies completed does not affect the decision, which is done on the basis of overall success in studies. The basis for measuring study success is the average of the grades in the aforementioned basic and intermediate studies in Political Science, weighted by their credit value. If the applicant has extra subprogramme-specific intermediate studies, the two study units with the best grades are taken into account. Applications for changing major are only accepted if there is room in the admission quota after the subprogramme changes of students already majoring in Political Science.

Subprogramme changes of students majoring in Political Science

In order to apply for a subprogramme change, the Political Science student must have completed the basic studies and the two subprogramme-specific study units of intermediate studies. The subprogramme-specific study unit of basic studies must be from the subprogramme which is being applied to. Otherwise, the basis for selection for Political Science majors for subprogramme change is the same as for change of major for minor students (see above). However, major students have preference and minor students are accepted as major students in the subprogramme only if there is room left in the selection quota after students majoring in Political Science have changed their subprogramme.

Students who have completed Bachelor’s degree in Swedish School of Social Science (Svenska Social- och Kommunalhögskolan, SocKom) and start their Master’s degree in Political Science

From SocKom it is possible to transfer to the subprogrammes of Politics and Administration and Organisations without quota-based limits, if the major of the Bachelor’s degree completed in SocKom is statkunskap med förvaltning.

It is not possible to transfer to the subprogramme of World Politics without an application. The applicant must have at least 60 credits in the Political Science subprogramme of World Politics in the Department of Political Science or the equivalent in studies completed elsewhere. A maximum of 2 students are admitted annually.

Application and admission quota

The application for major or subprogramme change is held annually during spring term. The application for a change in major is done by submitting a form confirmed by the Faculty of Social Sciences together with required attachments to the Faculty’s study office by the end of April. Those applying for subprogramme change within Political Science and those from SocKom applying to the subprogramme of World Politics should submit a free form application to the administrative official of the Department of Political Science by the end of April, together with a transcript of completed studies.

Those admitted for study receive the right to study 1.8. the same year. The net maximum size of the admission quota is 10. The admission is by subprogramme: , a maximum 3 for subprogramme of Politics, a maximum of 4 for subprogramme of Administration and Organisations, and a maximum 3 for subprogramme of World Politics. Since also students majoring in Political Science may wish to change major, but no information is available on the admissions of other departments of the Faculty of Social Sciences, all applicants are listed by subprogramme in order of study success by the department. After the number of students switching away from Political Science major is known to the department, the faculty chooses as many students with the best success in studies as is required to fill the quota for each subprogramme of political science – however if there are not enough applicants with the required qualifications, the quota will not be filled. If one of the quotas is not filled, the department may decide to raise one or two other quotas.

Instructions and rules for studies on the pages of the Faculty of Social Sciences:

Updated 10.9.2009

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