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Social Policy

Social Policy

Major subject – Social Policy

Our society is constantly changing and the changes result in often unknown but long-term social consequences. Social Policy studies these consequences and their effects on welfare and social security in society. Through your studies you will gain excellent competence for a critical analysis of issues that concern, for example, the labour market, sociopolitical decision-making, income distribution, poverty and equality in society. You will also learn how to find solutions to social problems. In addition to knowledge about the origin, development, functioning and influence of Social Policy, and the interaction between different actors in the Finnish society, you will also gain insights into social policies at the Nordic and global level.

If you have chosen Social Policy as your major subject, you have excellent opportunities to make yourself a unique professional profile for working life in accordance with your own interests. Apart from your major subject studies, language studies and elective courses, you can freely select one or more minor subjects offered at Åbo Akademi University. Social Policy is also a useful minor subject for students majoring in, for example, Development Psychology or other major subjects.

The subject’s professor, Mikael Nygård, writes study handbooks in social policy with a focus on both Nordic and European perspectives. These are aimed at a broad audience and are used in education in both Finland and Sweden.

Research in social policy at Åbo Akademi University primarily focuses on concepts such as welfare, well-being, health, inclusion, and participation. The central target groups for our research include children, youth, families with children, migrants, older adults, and individuals with disabilities. Additionally, research is conducted on the demographics of the Swedish-speaking population in Finland, as well as on rural, urban, and environmental issues closely related to the subject.

Regarding research on economically disadvantaged children and families with children, as well as youth-related issues, we are currently investigating changes in family policy, child poverty, the well-being of families with children, children, and youth in a pandemic context, and the outcomes of the parental leave system.

In research on older adults and successful aging, we study, among other things, civic engagement and social and political participation, social inclusion of linguistic minorities, health and well-being, caregiving, and issues related to loneliness.

Our research on migration examines how migration and global hierarchies shape people’s daily lives and their opportunities for equality and social justice in various arenas. From an intersectional perspective, we study, among other things, the experiences of newly arrived families with children, individuals with disabilities, and older adults with local welfare institutions, multilingualism and linguistic vulnerability in the welfare service system, and the emergence of new ethnic hierarchies in social and care work.

Major studies in Social Policy give you access to a wide field of interesting research, planning, development and management tasks in the social sector, both in the public and private sectors, but also in the third sector. You can work with both children and young people, but also with adult clients and the elderly. If you have studied social work in addition to social policy, you will become a qualified social worker. Some of our graduates today work as customer advisors, planners or administrators at Kela or similar organisations. Others hold leading positions in the social sector, such as social directors or elderly care leaders. A third group of graduates work as social workers, family workers, teachers, executive managers, researchers or journalists. Your expertise in welfare and social security opens many doors, both locally and globally!

Contacts

Visiting address

Academill
Rantakatu 2
Vaasa
Finland

Address

Åbo Akademi University, Vaasa
Social Policy
PL 311
FI-65101 Vaasa
Finland