The Department of Education was founded in 1957 within the Faculty of Humanities. Since 1974 the department has been a part of the Faculty of Education. The fields of education, adult education and special pedagogy belong to educational science. All three fields may be studied as major subjects atthe Department of Education at the University of Turku. The educational sciences lie at the crossroads of anthropology, sociology and the humanities. The centres of research are all the fields of education and training. The scientific fields closest to educational sciences are psychology, sociology, philosophy and history.

The department offers a thorough training in the educational sciences to approximately 300 major students and 1500 minor students annually. At the department it is possible to take the Master's, Licenciate and Doctor's degrees. Graduates place well in working life.

The department has a staff of about 50, of whom half are researchers and the other half teaching and administration staff.