The University of Vaasa Doctoral Programme

In the field of social sciences, graduates include Doctors of Administrative Sciences (D.Sc. (Admin.)) or Licentiates of Administrative Sciences as well as Doctors of Philosophy (PhD) or Licentiates of Philosophy.

Doctoral degrees in the field of social sciences may be obtained in the following fields of research (major subject): Regional studies, public management, public law, social and health management, and communication studies.

The focus areas in the field of social sciences are:

* regional development and economy

* study of public management and ethics: ethical management and identification of problems, good management and leadership

* changing governance and basic rights

* study of social and health services and systems: citizen participation, governance and management of complex problems

* sociocultural phenomena of media and communication.

The field is nationally and internationally networked. The researchers organise seminars and actively participate in international scientific seminars and contemporary public discussion.

The doctoral studies consist of general scientific studies, methodological studies, studies in the research field and studies supporting research work and researcher’s career. The most important part of the studies is the doctoral dissertation, which is supported by scientific doctoral studies, research training courses and seminars.

The Success of the University of Vaasa

• Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2022: 401 – 500
• Times Higher Education (THE) Young University Rankings 2022
• THE World University Rankings 2022 by subject: Business and economics 201 – 25

Rankings are one way of assessing and ranking universities. The benchmarks primarily measure research performance, as high standards of research are valued. Universities are often compared in terms of peer review and the number of citations in scientific publications. Various rankings also measure reputation, scientific and teaching excellence, the number of degrees, internationalism, and Nobel laureates. All rankings use different data and calculation models. There are both university rankings and discipline-specific rankings.

The ranking results provide important information for the university on its strengths. In particular, the strengths of the University of Vaasa include the number of scientific publications, the number of citations to scientific articles (meaning the impact of publications), and international co-publications.

THE (Times Higher Education) World University Ranking

One of the best-known rankings is THE (Times Higher Education) ranking, published by the commercial Times Higher Education magazine. The ranking compares universities on the basis of teaching, research, research references, internationalization, and funding. Teaching and research are assessed through numerical scores and surveys. The rankings are based on a total of 13 indicators. The current version of the ranking has been published since 2010.

Indicators and weights of the benchmark:

• Education 30% (teaching reputation, academic staff to student ratio, doctoral degrees to undergraduate degrees and academic staff, university income to academic staff ratio)
• Research 30 % (research reputation, publications in relation to academic staff, research funding in relation to academic staff)
• References to research 30 %
• Internationalization 7,5 % (percentage of foreign students, percentage of foreign academic staff, international co-publications)
• Research funding from companies in relation to the academic staff 2.5%

The University of Vaasa is ranked among the top 500 out of 1,662 universities evaluated in the THE 2022 ranking. Ten Finnish universities were included in the ranking. In the national comparison, the University of Vaasa was ranked 8th.

The (Times Higher Education) World University Rankings by subject

Times Higher Education World University Rankings by subject are a set of subject-specific ranking tables where the evaluation methodology has been calibrated to suit each individual subject.

The ranking tables are compiled based on 13 indicators that are calibrated for each subject. The THE subject ranking evaluates universities in five areas:

• Teaching (the learning environment)
• Research (volume, income, and reputation)
• Citations (research influence)
• International outlook (staff, students, research) and industry income

The THE business and economics subject ranking assesses universities by their performance in the following disciplines:

• Business and management
• Accounting and finance
• Economics and econometrics

The University of Vaasa was ranked third best out of nine Finnish universities in THE ranking by subject 2022.

THE (Times Higher Education) Young University Rankings

The University of Vaasa is ranked 70th among the 790 young universities evaluated, and 7th among Nordic universities.

The 2022 THE Young Universities Rankings list the world’s best universities that are 50 years old or younger. It applies the same methodology as the World University Rankings, with recalibrated weightings to reflect the profiles of young universities.

The ranking evaluates universities in five areas: research, references, teaching, internationalization, and corporate financing. The rankings are compiled on the basis of a total of 13 indicators.

Shanghai Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS)

The Shanghai Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) is a discipline-specific global ranking published by Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The university also publishes the Shanghai Ranking (ARWU), one of the oldest and best-known university rankings. The GRAS ranking has been published since 2017. It includes rankings in 54 different disciplines in natural sciences, engineering, life sciences, medicine, and social sciences.

GRAS ranking indicators:

• Research performance (Q1)
• Effectiveness (CNCI)
• International cooperation (IC)
• Quality of research (Top)
• International academic awards (Award).

The University of Vaasa was ranked in the Shanghai Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) 2021 as follows: business administration 201–300 and management 301–400.

Our accredited degree programs

Accreditations are quality labels that universities can apply for at the international level for their teaching. The University of Vaasa uses accreditations as a means of improving the quality of its activities. The aim is to obtain an international quality label for all the university's degree programs in the future.