Postgraduate students
Unlike all Bachelor’s and Master’s degree students, Student Union membership is voluntary for those who are completing an academic postgraduate degree. This page will explain how to join the Student Union and what benefits are available to you as a postgraduate member.
Registering as a member
You can join the Student Union my paying the TYY postgraduate membership fee (€34 for the academic year 2011-2012). You must pay the fee during the university registration period. If you started your postgraduate studies in the middle of the semester, you must join within one month or otherwise wait for the following registration period.
You can also support TYY development cooperation projects along with the membership fee. If you do decide to join, you can pick up the sticker for your postgraduate student card at the TYY Service Desk. It takes a few days for the bank payment to be seen in the University of Turku study register, after which you will get the sticker. Just make sure to prepare yourself for any possible delays! Stickers for the card will be available starting 1 August 2011.
More information about paying the membership fee
Benefits and services only available to you as a TYY member
Well-being
The student cafeteria Assarin Ullakko offers TYY postgraduate student cardholders a lunch price of €4.27.
TYY counselling services
As a TYY member, the counselling services of the TYY Secretariat and TYY lawyers are available to you.
TYY Service Desk services and loan fund
As a TYY member, you have the right to use all of the services at the TYY Service Desk such as reserving Turku-sali and borrowing the button maker or Tyyma dining set. You can take out a small (max. €200) or large (max. €500) loan from the TYY loan fund when you submit your application form by Tuesday afternoon.
Turku Student Newspaper
You can pick up a copy of Turku Student Newspaper at any of the newspaper stands around campus but as a postgraduate student, you can have the paper delivered to you home at the student price of €7.95.
Regardless of TYY membership, you have the right to the following benefits and services
Travel
Turku public transport grants the student-priced card with an application form filled out by Student Services.
Housing
As a postgraduate student, you have the right to housing through the Student Village Foundation of Turku (TYS).
Fitness
As a university member, you have the right to University Sports activities. By paying the sports fee, postgraduate students may get a University Sports card and sticker and participate in fitness and athletic activities organised for the university community.
N.B. In addition to these, businesses (e.g. pharmacies, swimming pools, restaurants) may erratically give discounts to postgraduate student cardholders.
TYY postgraduate student forum
All postgraduate students working on their Licentiate work or Doctoral dissertation are welcome to join the TYY postgraduate student forum whether or not they are TYY members. There are no requirements for participation. The forum offers an opportunity to be in contact with other postgraduate students and a channel to influence how postgraduate student issues are taken care of.
Meetings
There are meetings held on different topics such as the social security reform for grant receivers. Information about the meetings is sent through the e-mail list for postgraduate students (se below) and on the TYY events pages. This information and the meetings themselves are generally held in Finnish.
E-mail list
Students can give each other information about matters concerning postgraduate studies though the jatko-opiskelijafoorumi@lists.utu.fi e-mail list. The list topics are mainly in Finnish, but non-Finnish speaking students are welcome to introduce themselves and send messages to the list in English. You can join the list even if you do not participate in other activities.
You can join the list by visiting https://lists.utu.fi/mailman/listinfo/jatko-opiskelijafoorumi and following the instructions.
Chat forum on the web
There is a chat board on the web at http://groups.google.fi/group/jatko-opiskelijafoorumi where all postgraduate students are welcome and encouraged to discuss any issue, in English, concerning academic postgraduate studies.
Contact information
More information is available by e-mailing the forum contact person MNSc, PhD student Johanna Olli at jmolli@utu.fi.