Exchange destinations in Middle East and Africa

By selecting a degree programme you are able to see the general content as well as the possible degree programme-specific content. You do not have to select a degree programme to see the Open University's instructions.

 

You can participate in an exchange to, for example Jordan, Israel, Namibia, Zambia or South Africa.

These instructions offer information on the universities with which the University of Helsinki has university- and unit-level exchange agreements. If you cannot find a suitable destination, you can make your own arrangements.

Also note that the academic year does not begin on the same date at the destinations in Africa as at the University of Helsinki. Applicants to all destinations in the Middle East and Africa are required to purchase a comprehensive insurance at their own cost for the duration of their exchange.

The number of exchange placements available for application will be updated here at least two weeks before the beginning of the application process.

Please note that the application period to exchange destinations outside the EU/EEA area can take place even 1½ years before your exchange begins. Prepare early!

This is a link back to Exchange destinations around the world.

Egypt

The American University in Cairo

https://www.aucegypt.edu/

Erasmus+ global agreement: all faculties

If you get selected, you will receive an Erasmus+ global mobility scholarship

Stage of studies during the exchange Bachelor’s and Master’s students
Language requirement English, TOEFL or IELTS required
Courses available to exchange students
University of Helsinki minimum requirement for the target university’s credits
Credit conversion scale recommended by UH's International Exchange Services 1 American University of Cairo credit = 2 ECTS
Terms ca. 26.8.-20.12.; 27.1.-24.5.
Duration of exchange term
Exchange opportunities available  February 2024 call: not open for applications

 

Israel

Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 

english.tau.ac.il

University bilateral agreement: all faculties

 

Stage of studies during the exchange Bachelor’s and Master’s students
Language requirement English
Courses available to exchange students
  • Courses available to exchange students
  • "Hebrew and Arabic language courses are not included in the exchange program and offered with an additional fee before or during semester, pending availability"
  • Tel Aviv University's Faculty of Law's instructions It has been possible to apply to the Faculty of Law based on the university-wide exchange agreement even though there is no Faculty-level exchange agreement for Law
  • Before the beginning of the exchange, students can choose to participate in a 1–2 month Ulpan language course in modern Hebrew. The Ulpan course is voluntary and subject to a fee. Students must pay their own Ulpan course fees. For more information on Ulpan courses, click here.
University of Helsinki minimum requirement for the target university’s credits
  • 10 credits per term
  • The target is 15 credits per term.
  • The most common scope of courses at Tel Aviv University is three local credits. If a course has another scope, it is stated in the course details.
Credit conversion scale recommended by UH's International Exchange Services 1 Tel Aviv credit = 2 ECTS credits
Terms

Academic year: October–June

  • Autumn term: October–January
  • Spring term: March–June
Other important matters On-campus accommodation is not available for exchange students. Incoming exchange students are required to find accommodations independently. "The cost of a shared room in a rented apartment is approximately $800 per month."
Duration of exchange Term
Exchange opportunities available Outgoing exchanges to Israel are cancelled for the time being

 

Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem

https://international.huji.ac.il/

University bilateral agreement: all faculties
 

Stage of studies during the exchange Bachelor’s and Master’s students
Language requirement English
Courses available to exchange students
  • For teaching in English, click here. Select undergraduate (Bachelor’s level) or graduate (Master’s level) courses, depending on whether you have completed a Bachelor’s degree. Check the language of teaching for each discipline.
  • Before the beginning of the exchange, students can choose to participate in a 1–2 month Ulpan language course in modern Hebrew. The Ulpan course is voluntary and subject to a fee. Students must pay their own Ulpan course fees. For more information on Ulpan courses, click here.
University of Helsinki minimum requirement for the target university’s credits
  • 10 credits per term.
  • The target is 15–16 credits per term.
Credit conversion scale recommended by UH's International Exchange Services
  • 1 Hebrew University in Jerusalem credit = 2 ECTS
  • NB! Hebrew University of Jerusalem's own credit conversion scale is different from the credit conversion scale recommended by UH, because HUJI's own conversion scale does not include the share of independent work. 
Terms
  • Note that the duration of the term is shorter for English-language teaching than Hebrew-language teaching. In the former, the term usually lasts 11 weeks, and in the latter, 14 weeks.
Other important matters
  • Students agree to take the TOEFL or IELTS test required by the target university at their own expense prior to the exchange, should they be selected for the destination.
  • NB! Students must also complete the TOEFL or IELTS test if they only wish to complete Hebrew-language courses. Attendance at regular Hebrew-language teaching requires Dalet level proficiency in modern Hebrew.
Duration of exchange Term or academic year
Exchange opportunities available  Outgoing exchanges to Israel are cancelled for the time being

Jordan

University of Jordan, Amman 

www.ju.edu.jo

University bilateral agreement: all faculties

Stage of studies during the exchange Bachelor’s and Master’s students
Language requirement Arabic
Courses available to exchange students
  • For more information on courses and the target university, click here.
  • Instructions for searching for courses 
  • Exchange students can complete studies only at the stage they have reached at the time of application. For example, if you wish to take Master’s level courses at the University of Jordan, you must obtain your Bachelor’s diploma by the application deadline of the University of Jordan, i.e., no later than approximately four months prior to the exchange.
University of Helsinki minimum requirement for the target university’s credits
  • Students completing undergraduate (Bachelor’s level) courses: 12 credits per term
  • Students completing courses in Arabic as a foreign language exclusively: full number of language courses per term.
  • The target for exchange studies: 30 ECTS credits per term.
Credit conversion scale recommended by UH's International Exchange Services
  • Students completing courses in Arabic as a foreign language exclusively: 20 teaching hours per week for one semester = 25 ECTS
  • Students completing undergraduate (Bachelor’s level) courses taught in English: 3 University of Jordan credits = 6 ECTS
Terms

Academic year: September – May

  • Autumn term: September − January
  • Spring term: February – May
Duration of exchange NB! Exchange students must arrive at the destination one week prior to the beginning of term.
Exchange opportunities available  February 2024 call: 2 students for spring semester 2025

Lebanon

Lebanese American University, Beirut and Byblos 

https://www.lau.edu.lb/

University bilateral agreement: all faculties 

Stage of studies during the exchange Bachelor’s and Master’s students
Language requirement English
Courses available to exchange students
  • Please find course information here. Instructions for Exchange students
  • "If you are an undergraduate student, please select courses numbered between 200 and 400. As for graduate courses the numbering is between 700 and 800"
  • Arabic language courses
University of Helsinki minimum requirement for the target university’s credits
  • 12 Lebanese American University credits / term
Credit conversion scale recommended by UH's International Exchange Services 3 Lebanese American University Credit Hours = 5 ECTS
Terms ca. 26.8.-20.12.; 27.1.-24.5.
Duration of exchange Term or academic year. Full-time study of Arabic language: duration is always one academic year.
Exchange opportunities  Outgoing exchanges to Lebanon are cancelled for the time being

Palestine

Birzeit University 

http://www.birzeit.edu/en

Erasmus+ global agreement: all faculties, but mainly for students of Faculty of Arts and Faculty of Social Sciences

If you get selected, you will receive an Erasmus+ global mobility scholarship

Stage of studies during the exchange Bachelor’s and Master’s students
Language requirement Arabic
Courses available to exchange students

N.B. You need to be flexible with your course choices as it won't be sure which courses will be organized in the end, especially in English. You may consider also making part of your Master's thesis in Birzeit University, provided that you will find a co-supervisor by yourself. 

University of Helsinki minimum requirement for the target university’s credits
  • 12 Birzeit credits / term
  • "One Birzeit University credit hour is equivalent to one contact hour/week of lectures, and 3 contact hours/week for laboratories, training and practice, over a period of 15-week semester"
Credit conversion scale recommended by UH's International Exchange Services  
Terms 1.9.-16.1.; 26.1.-11.6.
Study period Term
Exchange opportunities available February 2024 call: not open for applications.

Benin

University of Abomey-Calavi 

https://uac.bj/

Erasmus+ global agreement: Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences

If you get selected, you will receive an Erasmus+ global mobility scholarship

Please note that all courses are taught in French!

Stage of studies during the exchange Master’s students 
Language requirement

Courses: French 

Thesis work: French or English

Courses available to exchange students Link to the course list
University of Helsinki minimum requirement for the target university’s credits
  • 20 credits per term.
  • The target is 30 credits per term.
Credit conversion scale recommended by UH's International Exchange Services 1 Abomey-Calavi credit = 1 ECTS credit
Terms First term: September - March
Second term: March - August
Duration of exchange 3 - 5 months 
Exchange opportunities  February 2024 call: not open for applications

 

Kenya

University of Nairobi * new exchange destination!

https://www.uonbi.ac.ke/

More information to be published in spring 2024.

Strathmore University, Nairobi

https://strathmore.edu/

If you get selected, you will receive an Erasmus+ global mobility scholarship

Erasmus+ global agreement

Stage of studies during the exchange Bachelor’s and Master’s students
Language requirement English
Courses available to exchange students

Three undergraduate programmes available for the University of Helsinki students: 1. Development Studies & Philosophy, 2. Communication and 3. International Studies/Relations

Courses should mainly be chosen from one undergraduate programme but you can choose 1-2 courses from another programme if the timetable allows.

Excel of courses

University of Helsinki minimum requirement for the target university’s credits 20 credits per term (4 courses). The target is 30 credits (6 courses). One Strathmore course is 5 credits. 
Credit conversion scale recommended by UH's International Exchange Services 1 Strathmore credit = 1 ECTS credit
Terms July - November
Duration of exchange July - November
Exchange opportunities  February 2024 call: not open for applications

Morocco

Université Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah

http://www.usmba.ac.ma/~usmba2/  

Erasmus+ global agreement: faculty of science
 

If you get selected, you will receive an Erasmus+ global mobility scholarship

Stage of studies during the exchange Bachelor’s and Master’s students
Language requirement

Courses: French or English

French: minimum B2 (if your level is B1 your application can be sent to a relevant department where it will be evaluated case-by-case)

Two English programmes: master programmes in cultural studies and in gender studies. 

Courses available to exchange students

Link to the course list

 

University of Helsinki minimum requirement for the target university’s credits Six courses per semester
Credit conversion scale recommended by UH's International Exchange Services  
Terms Autumn term: Mid September - Mid January
Spring term: February - June.
Duration of exchange 3 - 5 months 
Exchange opportunities  February 2024 call: not open for applications.

 

Namibia

University of Namibia, Windhoek 

University of Namibia web page

University bilateral agreement: all faculties

Stage of studies during the exchange Bachelor’s and Master’s students. NB! Exchange students can take only Bachelor’s level courses. If you apply for an exchange at the Master’s stage, you must confirm in advance that the Bachelor’s level courses can be recognised for your degree.
Language requirement English
Courses available to exchange students
  • For course information, see the UNAM faculty websites.
    • Select the faculty you want to apply to from Faculties. When you are on the Faculty's webpage, you can access course information under Faculty Prospectus in the menu on the left.
  • UNAM has several campuses in various parts of Namibia. See the location of the campus for your field before applying. Select all courses from a single faculty.
  • Some courses last for a whole academic year. Only select courses that last one term (see Duration of exchange below). The course code indicates the duration of each course: The codes for all full-year courses and modules end with 0; students who arrive in January or February are only allowed to take courses with a code that ends with 1.
University of Helsinki minimum requirement for the target university’s credits/courses Five courses per term
Credit conversion scale recommended by UH's International Exchange Services This destination’s workload for credits changes depending on the Faculty / year of studies. International Exchange Services is not able to make a recommendation for the destination for credits and that is why the minimum recommendation is marked as amount of courses and not credits. The International Exchange Services recommends that the credit transfer be made by the actual workload done for a course.   
Terms

Academic year: January – November

  • 1st term: mid-January–end of June
  • 2nd term: mid-July–end of November
Other important matters
  • Housing: The exchange agreement includes free accommodation in a student residence.
  • A student residence permit for Namibia and the required enclosures cost a total of some €200.
Duration of exchange Term or academic year. Due to the teaching schedule at UNAM, we require that the exchange always commences from the beginning of the first term (January–February), also in the case of students who apply for one term only.
Exchange opportunities available February 2024 call: not open for applications.

 

South Africa

University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch

www.sun.ac.za

University bilateral agreement: all faculties

 

Stage of studies during the exchange Bachelor’s and Master’s students
Language requirement English
Courses available to exchange students
  • The languages of teaching are English and Afrikaans. Stellenbosch offers teaching in English in several fields. Always check the language of teaching for each discipline.
  • For information on the teaching available, click here. For course descriptions, see the faculty sites.
  • Exchange students have been exempted from paying the fees for GEP (previously IPSU) courses if these can be included in a degree at the University of Helsinki.
  • Exchange students can select both “mainstream” courses intended for local degree students and GEP (previously IPSU) courses intended for exchange students.
  • The field of law was previously excluded from the agreement, but can now also be studied. This means that you can also apply for courses in law.
University of Helsinki minimum requirement for the target university’s credits
  • 50 credits per term
Credit conversion scale recommended by UH's International Exchange Services 2 Stellenbosch credits = 1 ECTS credit
Terms
  • 1st term: January-June
  • 2nd term: July–mid-December

For orientation days, click here.

Other important matters
  • Students selected for an exchange agree to purchase a comprehensive insurance for the duration of the exchange and to pay the Exchange Administrative Fee required by Stellenbosch (e.g., 2020 the fee was approximately €450 per term and €900 per academic year).
  • Free accommodation in a student residence for the duration of the exchange is included in the exchange.
Duration of exchange  One term 
Exchange opportunities available February 2024 call: not open for applications                                                                                      

University of Cape Town, Cape Town

https://www.uct.ac.za

Unit bilateral agreement: Faculty of Law

Stage of studies during the exchange Master’s students
Grade average requirement At least 3,5. (All studies)
Language requirement English
Courses available to exchange students
  • Information on course selection from here. Choose Faculty of Law
  • The student can select Undergraduate and graduate courses.
  • The student has to have received their bachelors degree before the exchange starts
University of Helsinki minimum requirement for the target university’s credits
  • 72 NQF credits / semester (max 4 courses)
Credit conversion scale recommended by UH's International Exchange Services 72 NQF credits is 30 ECTS
Terms
  • 1st term: January-June
  • 2nd term: July–mid-December

For orientation days, click here.

Other important matters  
Duration of exchange One term   
Exchange opportunities available February 2024 application round: Not open for applications                                                                               

 

Zambia

University of Zambia (UNZA), Lusaka 

www.unza.zm

University bilateral agreement: all faculties

Stage of studies during the exchange Bachelor’s and Master’s students
Language requirement English
Courses available to exchange students There is no course information/ only a few courses on UNZA:s home page. Pleas choose a degree program and year for your learning agreement and where it fits in to your UH degree. List of degree programs at UNZA
University of Helsinki minimum requirement in the target university’s credits/courses Four courses per academic year
Credit conversion scale recommended by UH's International Exchange Services This destination’s workload for credits changes depending on the Faculty / year of studies. International Exchange Services is not able to make a recommendation for the destination for credits and that is why the minimum recommendation is marked as amount of courses and not credits. The International Exchange Services recommends that the credit transfer be made by the actual workload done for a course.   
Terms Academic year starts in January, however academic year dates has changed from year to year an the start may be already earlier.
Other important matters
  • The exchange agreement includes free accommodation in a student residence.
  • For information on the UNZA as a destination, click here.
  • NB. The University of Zambia cannot guarantee teaching in the following disciplines: Human Medicine, Health Sciences, Nursing Sciences and Public Health. This does not affect other disciplines.
Duration of exchange A semester / Academic year. An exchange lasting the whole academic year is easier to organise in terms of the teaching available. The academic year at the University of Zambia consists of three teaching periods. Some courses last the whole academic year, which means that courses lasting two teaching periods are not offered in all fields.
Exchange opportunities available February 2024 call: not open for applications