Study Guide

Objectives

The master's degree in mental health nursing is a broad-based master's degree that gives you the skills to work in expert positions, supervisory work and development tasks in the social welfare and health care sector.

Degree programme description

The education is aimed at professionals, nurses, paramedics and nurses and social workers in the field of social and health care. With the training, you will strengthen your core competence in developing expertise and mental health nursing as well as mental health work in immediate supervisor work, demanding special expertise, developing expertise and evidence-based activities. The training provides skills in competence development and assessment, research development in working life and the professional field, as well as supervisory and management work.

Complementary competence can be acquired from the entire Xamk Master School's common, multidisciplinary complementary competence study offering. Through your choices, you can emphasize development or management skills according to your own goals. Possible elective courses are related to research and development expertise, management, quality work, professional communication, and patient and customer guidance. The education is carried out as a blended learning. It means that contact teaching, lecture teaching by specialists, independent study, group work, studying in an online environment, and learning tasks integrating theory and practice form an inspiring and high-quality whole. At the beginning of the studies, competence is built through the core competence common to all. As the studies progress, the importance of the Master School's complementary competence increases in the construction of personal competence.

In the Master School, the production of learning and competence is a strongly individual and communal process. The Master School responds to individual development needs, especially with meaningful collaborative and working life-oriented research, development and innovation processes, but also with individual ways of completing studies. In relation to multidisciplinary, community-based competence development processes are promoted in learning communities in different fields of education, including those that are open to working life partners.

Core competence 40 ECTS
Developing expertise in mental health care
Contact Supervisor

Research and development studies
Communication skills
Management Studies
Topical themes
Thesis 30 ECTS

Complementary competence 20 ECTS

You can choose complementary competence studies from a wide supply of Xamk Master School’s common studies according to your interests. 
 
These common studies cover courses both in Finnish and English and include the following:  
• Digitality and technology in society
• International operating environments and communication
• Management, leadership and entrepreneurship
• Research and development
• Language studies

You can also choose complementary competence studies from other universities, if they are at the level of master’s degree.  

In case you have previously completed studies at the level of EQF 7, and they match the objectives of the degree, they can be accredited as part of your studies. More information is provided by the Degree Programme Coordinator. 

Implementation of studies

The study period is approximately 1.5-2 years, and the place of study is mainly the Xamk Kotka campus. On average, contact teaching takes place four days a month in the orientation phase, later mainly online. It is possible to complete the studies alongside work and you can, if you wish, link the learning tasks and thesis to the development of your workplace.

Study flexibly
At the beginning of your studies, a personal study and career plan (HOPS) will be made with you, during which you will be supported in your choices related to your studies, internship, thesis and internationality, among other things. The goal is that you can plan your studies as well as possible according to your life situation.

Student counselling
Xamk supports students in all matters related to studying. Your studies are supported by student leaders and student tutors, who guide you in matters such as study environments and study practices. You also have access to study secretary, student curator, study psychologist and student health care services on campuses.
Read more about student well-being.

BYOD Bring Your Own Device
Xamk students are required to use their own terminals (e.g. laptops).

Career opportunities

The degree produces eligibility for positions requiring a master's degree.

Your task may be:
• Various leadership roles
• various expert tasks in mental health nursing (mental health work)
• Tasks of the project/project manager

Job Titles
Expert, Department Manager, Service Manager, Director of Nursing, Designer, Development Manager

RDI and cooperation with world of work

The higher university of applied sciences degrees at the Master School have been developed into working life-oriented degrees as distinct from the more theoretical master's degrees at the universities. The development and management of mental health nursing (mental health work), the own jobs of Master's degree students are the most central working life connection in education. Both the various course assignments and the thesis can be attached to the student's workplace needs as well as to Xamk's national and international development projects.

The closeness to working life is reflected in the active participation of partners at different stages of education. The Master School is based on the fact that the student finds the suction of research and development activities from the beginning of their studies. The aim is for the studies to be built around strategic research and development issues or innovations and one's own development needs. Research and development issues may be related to the student's own background organization, development of their own field, or wider joint research and development projects between the university and working life, or strategic challenges in the area. Learning is researching, developing and promoting innovation.

Learning environments

Teaching is mainly carried out as an online implementation.