Named in honour of Helsinki University of Technology graduate and renowned architect Alvar Aalto, Aalto University was established in 2010 by merging his alma mater with the Helsinki School of Economics and the Helsinki University of Art and Design.

The university has six schools, each with several departments:

- School of Engineering: Applied Mechanics Department; Energy Technology Department; Engineering Design and Production Department; Civil and Structural Engineering Department; Real Estate Department; Planning and Geoinformatics Department; Civil and Environmental Engineering Department;

- School of Electrical Engineering: Automation and Systems Technology Department; Electronics Department; Microsciences and Nanosciencies Department; Radio Science and Engineering Department; Signal Processing and Acoustics Department; Electrical Engineering Department; Communications and Networking Department;

- School of Chemical Technology: Chemistry Department; Biotechnology and Chemical Technology Department; Materials Science and Engineering Department; Forest Products Technology Department;

- School of Science: Applied Physics Department; Mathematics and Systems Analysis Department; Biomedical Engineering and Computational Science Department; Industrial Engineering and Management Department; Information and Computer Science Department;

- School of Business: Management and International Business Department; Marketing Department; Finance Department; Accounting Department; Economics Department; Information and Service Economy Department;

- School of Arts, Design and Architecture: Design Department; Architecture Department; Art Department; Television and Film Department; Media Department.

By the end of 2011, the university had:

- 19,700 students, of whom 9.5% were from abroad;

- 5,200 teaching and administrative staff, including 346 professors, foreign professors and postdoctoral fellows as 13% percent of its staff.

In addition to courses in Finnish and Swedish, the university has bachelor's and master's programmes in English.

The university's budget is over 400 million euro.

The university's main campus is located in Otaniemi in the Espoo district, which is Northern Europe's busiest high-technology hub. It is also home to renowned laboratories and innovative research institutions. The O.V. Lounasmaa Laboratory is a top international cryophysics, nanophysics and neurobiology research centre.