Developmental and Educational Psychology (DYNAMIC) Åbo Akademi University

Overview

Developed in response to the growing societal need for research-based competence on learning, motivation, and wellbeing — highlighted by recent PISA results and by the Finnish government’s Right to Learn programme — DYNAMIC combines a solid foundation in developmental psychology with cutting-edge educational psychology and rigorous quantitative and qualitative research-methods training. 

Building on Åbo Akademi’s long tradition of high-quality international master’s studies in developmental psychology, DYNAMIC realigns the curriculum with the current research profile of the Developmental Psychology unit at Åbo Akademi. 

Skills learned throughout the duration of this two-year programme (which is based at the Vasa campus of Åbo Akademi University ) are highly significant within today’s education systems and welfare services. The programme’s bilingual environment, its close cooperation with the Swedish-language Master’s Programme in Developmental Psychology at Åbo Akademi, and integrated Swedish-language courses give international students a competitive advantage in the Finnish and Nordic labour markets. Successful completion of this programme results in students being awarded a Master of Social Science degree.

Career Prospects

Whilst the aim of DYNAMIC is to prepare students for professional activity as experts in developmental and educational psychology, there are also possibilities to go on to study at PhD level, conducting advanced research within the field of social sciences. 

Graduates of this master’s degree programme in Developmental and Educational Psychology (DYNAMIC) from Åbo Akademi University who choose to start working right after graduation can pursue careers in schools, in municipal and welfare-region services, in research institutes, and in EdTech and educational-publishing companies. DYNAMIC also serves as a natural recruitment base for the doctoral programme in Social Sciences at Åbo Akademi University and for comparable doctoral programmes at other Finnish universities.