Åbo Akademi University is the only exclusively Swedish language multi-faculty university in Finland (or anywhere outside Sweden). It is located mainly in Turku ( but has also activities in Vaasa. Åbo Akademi should not be confused with the Royal Academy of Åbo, which was founded in 1640, but moved to Helsinki after the Turku fire of 1827 and is today known as the University of Helsinki.
Organisation
The university consists of four faculties:
- Faculty of Arts, Psychology and Theology (located in Turku)
- Faculty of Education and Welfare Studies (located in Vaasa)
- Faculty of Science and Engineering (located in Turku, with some activity also in Vaasa)
- Faculty of Social Sciences, Business and Economics (located in Turku, with some activity also in Vaasa)
In addition, there are several other units and joint programs, such as:
- Language Centre
- Centre for Lifelong Learning
- Donner Institute for Research in Religious and Cultural History
- Institute of Human Rights
- Turku PET Centre (jointly run by Turku University, Åbo Akademi and the Turku University Hospital)
- Turku Centre for Computer Science (TUCS) (in co-operation with Turku University, among others)
- Turku Centre for Biotechnology (in co-operation with Turku University, among others)
- Vasa övningsskola, located in Vaasa, is the normal school of the teacher training programme.
When the university was turned into a public institution the foundation Stiftelsen för Åbo Akademi remained. Besides maintaining many of the university buildings, it is also a significant donor. Because of new legislation regarding higher education, it is planned to turn universities in Finland into semi-private institutions.