Sustainable Development Studies

Application period for those studying KEKO in English is open from 16 May to 5 September 2024.

>> Application form

The results of application are launched latest on 9 September 2024 by email.

The intake for English speaking students is 10 students for a study year. Please note that you must have a right to study in the University of Turku to be qualified to apply to KEKO. 

The evaluation of applications is based on the following criteria:

• Motivation for studies in sustainable development
• Desire and willingness to work in a self-directed, multidisciplinary team
• Completed studies, credits and academic success (by 31 August 2024) 

When applying to Sustainable Development Studies (which we call KEKO in Finnish), please be prepared to do research: in the core course KEKO9001, you will work as a part of a team of students with various disciplinary backgrounds (max. 10 members) from September to April. 

You will do joint research on sustainability-related issues around a given theme. During the year, the teams make 4 written analyses (ecological, social, economic and cultural sustainability) and one poster (integration of the four dimensions) on their case/theme. The work is facilitated by the teachers, but for substantial part of time, the teams will work in a self-organized manner, with rotating leadership – each student will lead the team at some point. Thus, in addition to sustainability-related understanding, the core course provides the KEKO students with research and team working skills and develops their collaborative expertise in doing multidisciplinary case-studies. 

Due to the intensive nature of the mandatory course, it may be unadvisable to do KEKO studies in the same year as when you do your Bachelor’s Thesis seminar.