Previous research indicates academic environments, faculties and departments, have an impact on the students. For instance academic environments are related to students' approaches to studying (Entwistle & Tait 1990; Vermetten, Lodewijks & Vermunt 1999). Students' tasks, goals and perspectives also vary considerably from one faculty to another (Kekäle 2000). Students in different faculties differ in what they view as important or unimportant and in the problems they face in their study process (Merenluoto 2005). Different disciplines also differ in what they perceive to be virtues and vices and in the social identities that are constructed as a novice becomes socialised in the culture of the faculty (Ylijoki 2000). This presentation focuses on faculty related differences within the student population in the University of Turku. The presentation demonstrates the differences between faculties in for example students' priorities, students' study processes and their time to a master’s degree.

Presented data is a part of a study focusing on time-to-degree and issues related to it. In the study an ex post facto criterion group design was used, where the criterion group consisted of students, whose time to the completion of a master’s degree was among the 18% fastest graduates in their respective faculties. The control group was collected using a stratified sampling method and consisted of students whose time to a master’s degree was either average or slower than average in their respective faculties. Both groups had approximately 520 graduates. All students graduated from the six faculties of the University of Turku in the years 1999-2001. These faculties are Medicine, Law, Education, Natural sciences, Humanities and Social sciences. The data was collected by a survey. Also statistics on the graduates’ time-to-degree, credits gained and thesis’ grades were used.

Initial results indicate that students in different faculties differ quite much in what they perceive as important in their studies and how they view their learning environment. Faculty also seems to be a factor that moderates the impact that for instance cultural background has on time to a master’s degree. The same kind of background that seems to be connected with shorter time to a master’s degree in Natural sciences was connected with delayed degree completion in Social sciences and so forth.