Bachelor of Science

Practically all courses leading to a bachelor's degree are taught in Finnish. International students are expected to have a suitable bachelor's degree from some other institution, based on which they may be accepted to study directly for a master's degree. However some master's students may find it useful to strengthen their prerequisite skills by including some bachelor's level courses in their studies. In particular, the courses Models of computation and Concurrent programming are considered essential for all master's students at our department and are therefore recommended for students who do not have a corresponding course in their bachelor's studies.  Although the courses are lectured in Finnish, there is often at least an exercise group in English.

Master of Science

Beginning from Autumn 2010, all compulsory courses and most of the special courses of the specialisation area are lectured in English. However some special courses may be offered only in Finnish.

In addition to the modules required from all students studying for a master's degree in computer science, the subprogramme of algorithms and machine learning has the following requirements:

Compulsory courses of the specialisation area (8 cr)

• Design and analysis of algorithms (4 cr)
• Introduction to machine learning (4 cr)

Elective courses of the specialisation area (6 cr)

at least one of the following:

• String processing algorithms (4 cr) and project (2 cr)
• Probabilistic models (4 cr) and project (2 cr)
• Data mining (4 cr) and project (2 cr)
• Biological sequence analysis (4 cr) and project (2 cr)

Other elective courses (20 cr)

at least 20 cr advanced courses in computer science as specified below

Seminars (6 cr)

Master's thesis and maturity examination (40 cr)

Additionally, the bachelor's and master's degrees combined must contain a total of 60 cr in mathematics and statistics

For other elective courses, at least the following are acceptable:

• all elective courses of the specialisation area, as listed above
• all advanced compulsory and elective courses listed in the degree requirements of other subprogrammes of computer science
• changing special courses of the subprogramme, such as Discrete optimization, Data compression techniques, Special topics in computational geometry, Randomized algorithms, Supervised machine learning ja Unsupervised machine learning
• from other advanced computer science courses at least Information retrieval methods , Computer security, Introduction to specification and verification and Compilers (and the related project)
• several courses in bioinformatics, including at least Elements of bioinformatics and Computational methods in systems biology.

The lists above are not complete. Students are welcome to suggest other suitable courses to the professor in charge of the subprogramme. Notice however that seminars cannot be used to fill this part of the degree requirements.

In particular it should be noted that for students interested in computational biology, the subprogramme offers an alternative to the separate master's programme MBI. When planning such a course of study, one should however take into account that some MBI courses may have restricted attendance, and some of them may be ineligible as advanced courses in computer science. This may in particular be the case with laboratory courses.

Minor subjects

Studies in the subprogramme require certain mathematical skills from the beginning. Students are required to include a total of at least 60 cr of mathematics and statistics in their bachelor's and master's degree, and it is recommended that most of this is already taken care in bachelor's studies. In particular, basic courses in real analysis, linear algebra, mathematical logic and probability and statistics are useful.

Other recommended minor subjects include physics, theoretical physics, statistics, language technology and cognitive science. It is also possible to take courses in other Finnish universities based on the JOO Flexible Study Rights Agreement.