How to apply for exchange studies

On this page you will find out how to apply to exchange studies at the University of Turku. Applications are submitted online in our portal SoleMove. Please see below for further information on nomination & application deadlines and enclosures.

Nomination periods for partners

For Autumn Semester and Academic Year

For Spring Semester

Application periods

For Autumn Semester and Academic Year

For Spring Semester

Application enclosures

Transcript of Records

Language Certificate

Language Assessment Sheet or other official proof of your language skills (e.g. a valid TOEFL/ IELTS/ Cambridge CAE/ DAAD test result). This document must be in English, stamped and signed by the applicant and the academic person assessing the language skills (for example a language teacher).
Please note, that you should assess your skills in the language you are going to study in (English or Finnish). We also accept a document where your home university verifies your English level as at least B2.

University of Turku requires a B2 level in English.

NB! The language certificate should not be more than 2 years old at the time you are submitting it.

NB! Unfortunately the OLS test or TOEIC isn't valid for proving the language skills.

TOEFL:

ITP:
- Listening Comprehension: section score 54-63
- Structure and Written Expression: section score 53-63
- Reading Comprehension: section score 56-62
iBT: minimum score 72
TOEFL Home test is accepted for UTU
Combined test scores from different test dates are not accepted (e.g. TOEFL MyBest scores is not accepted).

IELTS: total minimum score 6.0
One skill retake is accepted, if the test is retaken within 60 days of your original test day.

PTE: Academic minimum requirement 62 points

Native speakers of English do not need to submit a language certificate.

Online Learning Agreement/ Study Plan

For Erasmus+ students

As a part of your application to UTU, you will fill in a proposed study plan on the application programme SoleMove. During the application process, the courses in your proposed study plan will be pre-checked: they will be either "endorsed" (available for you) or "not endorsed" (not available for you).

After receiving the Letter of Admission, see the status of your courses on SoleMove and fill in the Erasmus+ Online Learning Agreement (OLA) either on the Erasmus+ OLA platform or using the software of your home university (e.g. Mobility-Online, MoveOn or an in-house system) if the software in question is connected to the Erasmus Without Paper (EWP) network. If you are unsure if your home university's software is connected to EWP, please approach your coordinator for more information.

Please find in the Online Learning Agreement according to your accepted study plan in the application programme, i.e. make sure you have the same courses on your OLA as on the SoleMove proposed study plan. Remember to exclude the courses that were "not endorsed", as these courses will not be available for you.

NB! The Learning Agreement is a proposed plan of your studies and therefore subject to change during your mobility period. It does not guarantee a place on the courses as most courses require a separate enrolment before the start of the course.

During your exchange you will follow the academic semesters of UTU:

Autumn semester: September - December
Spring semester: January - May

Erasmus code: SF TURKU01

The contact person in OLA: Anna Ryzhova or Kaija Kangasjärvi, incoming@utu.fi

NB! The Learning Agreement information above applies also to Erasmus+ funded students from Coimbra and Nordplus networks.

For non-EU exchange students (Erasmus+ ICM, ISEP, bilateral etc)

The Learning Agreement is a proposed plan of your studies during your mobility period. When submitting one, please use your home university's template or find one below. Please enclose a PDF version of your Learning Agreement to your application if your home university requires Learning Agreement from you. This document must be stamped and signed by the applicant and the applicant's home university before submission. If your home university does not require Learning Agreement, please just list your chosen courses in the proposed study plan on the application form.

Please note, exchange students of Erasmus+ ICM and ISEP programmes need to submit Learning Agreement with their application.

Learning Agreement templates:

Learning Agreement for non-Erasmus+ applicants

Include either one of the following persons as the host institution responsible person:

Ms. Kaija Kangasjärvi, International Officer, +358 40 145 0461, incoming(at)utu.fi
Ms. Anna Ryzhova, International Advisor, +358 50 327 0844, incoming(at)utu.fi

FAQ

What's the purpose of a Learning Agreement?

The purpose of the Learning Agreement is to help you to plan your studies during the exchange as well as the credit transfer to your home university. A signed Learning Agreement approves the courses, but does not guarantee a place on the courses. Please note that the LA is a preliminary study plan, which means you will probably have to make changes to it after arriving in Turku.

Where to find available courses?

Please see the Study Guide and Courses in English. The study guide has a separate list of courses that are intended for exchange students.
Autumn's teaching is confirmed by 15 May and spring's teaching by 15 November, which means the information on courses might not be up-to-date during the application period. Please use the information available on the study guide. If a course was offered e.g. during the spring semester during the previous academic year, it is likely to be offered in the spring semester during the current academic year as well.
In addition to the name of the course you will also need to fill in the course codes into the application form. The course code is a combination of letters and numbers (e.g. FNSC9806), and you can find it in the study guide.

How many courses?

The recommended work load for a semester is 30 ECTS credits and for an academic year 60 ECTS credits. This usually means 5-6 courses per semester.

What are semesters and periods?

Courses are usually arranged either during the autumn (September to December) or spring semester (January to May).
Autumn semester is divided into periods I and II and spring semester into periods III and IV. Some faculties have a fifth period during the summer, but no teaching is usually offered then.
Make sure that your Learning Agreement contains courses which are available during your stay in Turku.

Are there any restrictions?

In general, you should have some previous knowledge of the subject(s) in question.
Studies at the Faculty of Medicine and Turku School of Economics are available only for students majoring in these subjects. Faculties of Law and Education can admit students from other faculties only if there are available places on the courses.
You can also choose language courses up to half of your planned studies. The recommended amount of language studies is 2-3 courses in addition to your other studies.
Courses offered by Åbo Akademi University are in many cases open for you but at least half of your planned studies must be from the University of Turku.

Exchange students with special needs

If you need individual arrangements due to reading difficulties, injury or illness, such as extra time in exams during your studies, please contact the Accessibility Planning Officers, email: esteet@utu.fi, preferably before the start of the exchange.

Please note that the arrangements offered by UTU are mainly for study arrangements. Receiving wider services, such as sign language interpretation, personal assistance or transport services, requires Finnish citizenship and domicile in Finland.

If you need more extensive services during the exchange, contact your home university and exchange destination well in advance to find out more about your possibilities.

Please see also Accessibility at University of Turku.

Eligibility

You can apply for exchange studies at the University of Turku if you meet the following prerequisites:

Your home university is a partner university or a member in the same mobility network. In most cases, an exchange agreement must exist between your home university and UTU. Please contact the coordinator at your home university to find out about the application procedures. For more information about partner universities and mobility networks please see International University Networks.
You should be nominated as an exchange student candidate by your home university in our SoleMove portal.
You should have some background knowledge in the subject(s) you are planning to study at UTU. Most studies require familiarity with the basic concepts of the discipline in question. You should have studied 2 years at least when coming to the exchange at UTU. If you wish to complete Master level studies at UTU, you should be a Master student or in the last year of your Bachelor studies.
You should have good knowledge (at least B2) of the language you are going to study in, i.e. English or Finnish. Non-native English speakers will need to enclose a language certificate to their application. Native English speakers need not enclose a language certificate and can upload their Transcript of Records twice on the application (as the language certificate is a compulsory application enclosure).

Application process step-by-step

Make sure your home university has nominated you online in SoleMove. Once you have been nominated, you will receive an email on how to activate your SoleMove user account and how to submit your application.
If you don't receive application email from SoleMove, please check your junk mail too. Please contact International office incoming@utu.fi in that case.
Activate your user account and submit your application online in SoleMove by due date. Please save your user name and your password for later use. Enclose a Transcript of Records, a language certificate (and a Learning Agreement - non-EU students) to your application. All the enclosures must be in English, official, signed and stamped.
Wait for the International Office to process your application. You will receive an electronic Certificate of Admission once your admission is complete. It usually takes about 3 - 4 weeks to process an application.
After submitting the application, check the housing options and apply for accommodation according to the deadlines given by the housing providers. Please apply for housing well in advance!
Arrange other practicalities (e.g. health insurance, travel arrangements, residence permit if needed).
NB! If you are an Erasmus double degree student, you do not need to submit an application in SoleMove.

University Consortium of Pori

The University Consortium of Pori (UCPori) is a unique partnership that brings together four Finnish universities – University of Turku, Aalto University, Tampere University of Technology and University of Tampere. More information about studying in Pori is available here.

Contact information

Questions? Contact our incoming student mobility team at incoming@utu.fi!