The Finnish National Defence University ( fi, Maanpuolustuskorkeakoulu, MPKK, sv, Försvarshögskolan) is a

military university A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

located in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

. The university trains officers for the

Finnish Defence Forces The Finnish Defence Forces ( fi, Puolustusvoimat, sv, Försvarsmakten) are the military of Finland. The Finnish Defence Forces consist of the Finnish Army, the Finnish Navy and the Finnish Air Force. In wartime the Finnish Border Guard (which i ...

and the

Finnish Border Guard The Finnish Border Guard (; ) is the agency responsible for enforcing the security of Finland's borders. It is a military organisation, subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior in administrative issues and to the President of Finland in issue ...

. The main campus is located in

Santahamina Santahamina ( sv, Sandhamn) is an island and neighbourhood of Eastern Helsinki, Finland. At present it is a military base housing the Guard Jaeger Regiment, making access restricted. The Finnish National Defence University (NDU) is also located ...

. Prior to 2007, the school referred to itself, in English, as the National Defence College.

History

The first army officer school in Finland, then part of Sweden, was , which was founded by

Georg Magnus Sprengtporten Count Georg Magnus Sprengtporten (russian: Егор Максимович Шпренгпортен, translit=Egor Maksimovič Šprengporten, ; sv, Göran Magnus Sprengtporten; fi, Yrjö Maunu Sprengtporten, ; 16 December 1740 – 13 October 1819) ...

in 1780 in

Kuopio Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cult ...

and relocated to

Rantasalmi Rantasalmi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia region, northwest of Savonlinna and northeast of Mikkeli. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density i ...

in 1781. Initially it was established to train officers for the Savo Brigade of the Swedish Army, but soon it began to recruit cadets from all of Finland. The school continued operation even after the

Finnish War The Finnish War ( sv, Finska kriget, russian: Финляндская война, fi, Suomen sota) was fought between the Gustavian era, Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic ...

in 1809, where Finland was ceded to the Russian Empire. However, in 1818, a fire broke out in the building, and the school was moved to

Hamina Hamina (; sv, Fredrikshamn, , Sweden ) is a List of cities in Finland, town and a Municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located approximately east of the country's capital Helsinki, in the Kymenlaakso Regions of Finland, reg ...

to become the

Hamina Cadet School The Hamina Cadet School and Finland Cadet School were the common names for the Fredrikshamn cadet school during the period 1819–1901. The Cadet School was founded in 1780 by Georg Magnus Sprengtporten at Kuopio and transferred in 1781 to Ranta ...

. The Hamina Cadet School was trained officers for the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. It was abolished on July 24, 1903 under the influence of various orders given during the first period of repression of Finland by the Russian Empire. After independence, the Finnish officer training was always divided among three schools until 1992: initial education at the ("Cadet School", abbreviated KADK, founded in 1919), General Staff Officer Training at the ("War College", founded in 1924), as well as continuous training at the ("Battle School", founded in 1927). From the beginning of 1993, all of these schools were merged into the National Defence University, one of the largest colleges of higher education for officer education. In 2001, the (a

military junior college A military junior college (MJC) is a military-style junior college in the United States and one of the three major categories of the Army ROTC schools that allows cadets to become commissioned officers in the U.S. Army reserve components in two y ...

) in

Lappeenranta Lappeenranta (; sv, Villmanstrand) is a city and municipality in the region of South Karelia, about from the Russian border and from the town of Vyborg (''Viipuri''). It is situated on the shore of the Lake Saimaa in southeastern Finland, and ...

was decommissioned, but the school was immediately repurposed to provide freshman and army training for the National Defence University, as the Army Academy ( fi, Maasotakoulu, "Land Warfare School").

Rectors of the National Defense University

Degrees

It is possible to get the following degrees in the National Defence University: * Bachelor of

military science Military science is the study of military processes, institutions, and behavior, along with the study of warfare, and the theory and application of organized coercive force. It is mainly focused on theory, method, and practice of producing mil ...

* Master of military science * Senior staff officer's degree * General staff officer's degree * Doctor of military science

Departments

* Department of Leadership and Military Pedagogy * Department of Warfare * Department of Military Technology

Locations

Service branch schools

The following establishments are responsible for the branch- or service-specific education of the students: * Air Force Academy,

Tikkakoski Tikkakoski is a northernmost residential area of Jyväskylä, Finland, about north of the city centre. It has a population of 6,000. The Jyväskylä Airport, Aviation Museum of Central Finland, and a Finnish Air Force base, with the FAF Headqua ...

* Army Academy,

** Armour School,

Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; sv, Tavastehus; krl, Hämienlinna; la, Tavastum or ''Croneburgum'') is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Tavastia and the modern province of Kanta-Häme in the south of F ...

** Artillery School,

Niinisalo Niinisalo is a village in the municipality of Kankaanpää in the region of Satakunta in Finland. It is known for the Niinisalo Garrison which is the base of the Finnish Army unit Artillery Brigade. The population of Niinisalo is 996 (2009). The ...

** Engineer School,

** Infantry School,

** Signals School,

Riihimäki Riihimäki (literally "Drying barn hill") is a town and municipality in the south of Finland, about north of Helsinki and southeast of Tampere. An important railway junction is located in Riihimäki, since railway tracks from Riihimäki lead to ...

* Naval Academy,

* Border and Coast Guard Academy,

Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...

Imatra Imatra is a town and municipality in southeastern Finland. Imatra is dominated by Lake Saimaa, the Vuoksi River and the border with Russia. On the other side of the border, away from the centre of Imatra, lies the Russian town of Svetogorsk. ...

(part of

) * Logistics School,

(part of Defence Forces Logistics Command) Besides these,

Military Museum of Finland The Military Museum of Finland ( fi, Sotamuseo) is the central museum of the Finnish Defence Forces and the national special museum of military history. It is located in Helsinki and it is part of the Finnish National Defence University. In 2018, ...

, National Defence Courses departments and the National Defence University Library operate under National Defence University.

References

External links

Maanpuolustuskorkeakoulu

Finnish National Defence University
Education in Helsinki Universities and colleges in Finland Educational institutions established in 1993 Military academies of Finland 1993 establishments in Finland {{Finland-university-stub