Tourism, Culture and International Management

Programme overview

Degree: Master of Social Science (M.Soc.Sc.)
Major subject: Tourism Research
Credits: 120 ECTS
Duration of studies: 2 years (full time)
Application period: January 8, 2025 - January 22, 2025 (by 3pm Finnish time)
Student selection results: 28 May 2025 at the latest
Study right begins: August 1st, 2025

What will you learn?

• To understand contemporary lifestyle-related consumption and trends
• To understand the link between cultural industries and tourism
• To gain expertise in designing and managing responsible tourism
• To use versatile methodological tools to gain and understand market knowledge
  

To be eligible you must have:

• a Bachelor’s or Master's degree in tourism, hospitality or business studies OR
• a Bachelor’s or Master's degree from another field of study containing the minimum of 60 ECTS (basic and intermediate level studies) in tourism, hospitality or business studies
• a good command of English language for academic purposes
• Full admission criteria here

The Master’s degree programme in Tourism, Culture and International Management (TourCIM) has been created to meet the demand for professionals with the ability to develop and execute responsible tourism. The two-year Master’s degree programme provides you with knowledge and tools necessary to work on the interface between the production and consumption of tourism experiences. The TourCIM programme offers an exceptional combination of current issues in tourism, management and cultural studies.

The TourCIM programme is based on the idea that an in-depth understanding of the values underlying business strategies and consumption practices are essential for the development of responsible tourism. Our teaching and research reflect this perception and consider cultural and lifestyle-related research and knowledge, in particular, as crucial for gaining insights into existing and future tourism markets.

What are they actually studying? Take a look at the curriculum for current students: TourCIM degree structure

"G'day. I am Heli and I graduated from TourCIM in 2019. I chose this Master’s degree programme because I wanted to deepen my understanding about tourism, especially sustainable tourism. Studying in my home town Rovaniemi felt like a wonderful idea after travelling and working abroad.

TourCIM provided an excellent opportunity to further develop my academic knowledge and skills in tourism related matters. The master’s programme provided a broad selection of interesting and topical courses, and with the elective courses, I could tailor the studies to suit my interests and future career focus.

I chose to specialise in sustainable tourism, as sustainability and environmental issues have always been close to my heart. My master’s thesis combined tourism studies with environmental education and explored how preschool aged children can learn conservation values in ecotourism. After graduating from TourCIM, I wanted to continue to further research the intersection of tourism, children and environmental education. I am currently undertaking doctoral studies at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia where I live with my family. My PhD looks into children’s environmental learning with the more-than-human world in the tourism context."

Read more about Heli's master thesis research in the article she wrote together with José-Carlos García-Rosell and Steve Noakes. 

Career opportunities:

TourCIM provides a sound grounding for tourism and hospitality related careers. It prepares you for identifying opportunities, working innovatively and critically evaluating tourism production and consumption practices. The programme will boost your credentials as a tourism and hospitality professional in private and public tourism organisations, or will provide you with the knowledge needed to develop your own business. The TourCIM degree will open up a range of career paths in fields such as:

• management;
• entrepreneurship;
• service design;
• planning;
• consultancy;
• research.
  
   
  
  

Studying in Lapland

After finishing his bachelor's degree in tourism at the Lapland University of Applied Sciences, Mikhail Sinitcyn wanted to continue his studies in Rovaniemi. He chose TourCIM at the University of Lapland to gain his master's as he found the combination of theory and practice in the studies appealing.

In the video Mikhail shares his thoughts about combining studies, work and hobbies in the University of Lapland. 

More information:

How to apply?

>> All applications via Studyinfo
>> More information on applying, start here

Admissions criteria and student selection: TOURCIM admission criteria 2025