MDP Baltic Sea Region Studies! The course you are actually doing!

It is a tired cliché amongst those outside of the humanities and social sciences that whilst your studies may be interesting and personally rewarding, they may not result in a job at the end of your time at Turku University. This is a myth perpetuated time and time again, with little basis in fact.

There may be a grain of truth in the assertion that a social science degree means one has to be more adventurous when looking for future employment.  But that is exactly what a multi-disciplinary Masters prepares you for.

The MA BSRS is as advertised, a multi-disciplinary programme, it does not pigeon hole your talents. It allows you to explore the social sciences and find your niche. And yes you may have to search and be a bit more creative with acquiring internships and work, but I have not yet met a social sciences student who does not have a bit of adventure about them.

Studying subjects as diverse as macro-economics, history, culture and identity, regionalism and environmental ethics turn the BSRS graduate into the all-star decathlete of the academic world. It allows for fantastic flexibility when choosing the area of specialization for your thesis.

It enables one to search for internships and work in places as diverse as finance, media, marketing, the start-up community, and government. This is not just ‘prospectus speak’, I can vouch for friends who are social science graduates who work in all of these fields.

The BSRS programme supplies the graduate with more than one string to their bow, and whilst I’m on the metaphor bandwagon, it turns the student into more than a one trick pony.

Throw into the mix the notion that this is a dynamic region in flux, where currently one can point to questions surrounding nationalism, EU sovereignty, the future role of NATO in Europe vis a vis Russia, and whether or not smaller countries can go it alone like ‘Brexity- Britain’, as examples which make the BSRS programme pertinent and useful.

A large percentage of International Master’s students at Turku are studying science or IT related subjects, where lack of automatic specific degree related job prospects is an anathema to them. But for the inquisitive, independent and intrepid BSRS student this is something to be embraced.

Turku University has a generous internship grant, and also Erasmus exchange system in place, this should be taken advantage of.

After one year of studying the BSRS I hope I have displayed enough ammunition with which one can repel the attacks from the science and IT community regarding this unique but invaluable department of study.

© Pravin Bjarni Ramdin