Application process for exchange studies

Read about eligibility for application and criteria for selection here.

You can find the application periods on their own page.

You can select maximum of four target universities per application round. You can apply to places offered by different exchange programmes and units during the same application round, for example bilateral and Erasmus- destinations. 

A single registration form can be used to apply for destinations offered at University level, by one faculty and by one subject offered places only.  For example you can apply for your own faculty's exchange destinations and university-wide exchange destinations with the same form. 

If you are a joint degree student and you want to apply to destinations offered by different faculties or degree programmes, you will need to submit another registration form and choose another faculty / degree programme in the form. 

If you wish to apply for exchange studies through several exchange programmes, list your priority order in your registration. Your priority order of destinations will be taken into account in the selection process, but you will be offered only one place, so do not select destinations you are unwilling to accept. Applying to multiple destinations does not decrease your chances of being selected for your primary destination.

Required attachments of your application are: 

1. Study plan to each target university separately.
2. Possible other attachments:
   1. Language certificate: Check always whether a language certificate is required of applicants for exchange studies. Information for non-EU / EEA countries can be found for each university on page Exchange opportunities around the world and for European destinations on page Language requirements. If you plan to study in English language only, you do not need to attach any language certificate at this point yet.
   2. Thesis work during exchange: If you are applying for exchange in order to work on your thesis, add also this form as attachment to the application (word). (See more in"Study plan of your exchange application ")
       

Where can I find courses?

• See the courses available at your target university in the section Exchange opportunities around the world. Select courses in a field covered by the exchange agreement.
• Make sure to choose courses that are open for exchange students. Also check the teaching language. More information on restricted courses can be found in the target university's page. 

If you cannot find suitable courses, please contact International Exchange Services at studentexchange@helsinki.fi 

Please note that the Learning Agreement is always preliminary. Most often you need to make your study plan based on the course offer from the previous academic year. 

How many courses do I need to take?

The number of courses to be entered in the study plan at the application stage:

European destinations: 30 ECTS per semester irrespective of the duration of the semester.

Other destinations: See the minimum requirements for exchange studies in the introductory text for the target university in the section Exchange opportunities around the world.

You will find information on comparisons between the credit systems in different counties under the section "Amount of credits and grading scale".

Please note that the study credit requirement per exchange month is 5 ECTS. In the application phase we ask you to plan 30 ECTS worth of studies so you can have a back-up plan in case of changes later on. 

Creating a study plan (learning agreement) 

In the exchange application, the study plan for your exchange studies for your primary destination (i.e. learning agreement) is drafted in Sisu. You don't need to attach this study plan into your application, as it will be checked directly from Sisu by the international exchange services team. NOTE! If you are only applying to one destination, you can attach a screenshot from Sisu to your application, as you need to have at least one attachment in order to submit the application. 

For your other destinations the plan is made as an attachment. Use this template (word) and attach the study plans into your application in Mobility Online. 

Make sure to add the link to the course page of each course in your study plan. If your target university does not have a course page, write where you found the course information. 

Study plan in Sisu

You can choose to study either optional studies or compulsory studies during your exchange. 

Add optional exchange studies into your primary curriculum as study drafts. You can consult our Instructions for making a study plan.

Add compulsory studies to be completed during a student exchange to the timeline in Sisu. You can consult our instructions for adding compulsory studies to Sisu. If you are substituting compulsory course/s with your exchange studies, discuss it with the responsible teacher of the compulsory course. 

The study plan in Sisu does not have to be fully ready to be suitable for an exchange application. 

However, it must include the following studies:

• All the exchange studies you plan.
• All compulsory courses of your degrees that you have completed and also the ones you have not completed yet.
• All of your credits that count towards your degree and have been registered by the date of making the exchange studies application 

If you plan to study during your exchange for both your bachelor’s and your future master’s degree please make a plan in Sisu that shows you’ll be in an exchange during the completion of both degrees. For example, add three courses into your Bachelor's degree's free electives and two courses into your Master's degree's free electives.

Study plan for your secondary exchange destinations

Make the study plans for the other exchange destinations, one per destination, separately, and attach these as PDF documents in your application in Mobility Online. Use this template (word).

Please indicate in your application if you are planning to replace compulsory courses in your degree requirements with studies at an exchange university. Please write down the name of the compulsory course.

For optional studies, list the names of the courses, and the number of credits for each course you intend to take at the exchange university. 

Language studies during exchange studies

• The Language Centre is responsible for the recognition of the compulsory language studies included in the degree.  Instructions of the Language Centre. Plan courses into Sisu's timeline.
• Language studies completed in other universities in Finland or abroad can be included in Language Centre modules upon agreement with the module coordinator. Plan study courses during the exchange into Sisu as study drafts.
• You can also include exchange studies in your degree as optional studies. Draw them up in Sisu as study drafts.
• Usually it is not possible to study a foreign language full-time during your exchange. Please check additional information in the target university's destination page. 

Making thesis work during exchange studies

If you plan to work on your thesis during the exchange, please contact the International Exchange Services. We recommend you to first check if you could instead apply for the Erasmus+ traineeship grant, where the application period is continuous, the amount of the grant is higher and you would not be competing for an exchange place. You can find more information on Erasmus+ traineeship here. Please note that you cannot attend courses during a traineeship. 

If you are applying to work on your thesis via the exchange application round, attach the Agreement for Thesis work form (word) as an attachment to the application instead of a study plan. You may do thesis work only in exchange destinations in Europe (Erasmus+ and Nordplus) and some unit-level destinations outside of Europe (Faculty and unit bilateral agreements). When applying for the exchange placement from the University of Helsinki, preliminary approval from an exchange coordinator at the host university is sufficient. However, you must find an academic co-supervisor from the host university before the beginning of the exchange period.

If you plan to contribute your thesis (remotely) to UH in a way that is not part of your exchange studies, you do not need to mention the thesis when you apply. Please note that you still must obtain the minimum number of credits required by UH for the exchange university's transcript of records, 5 ECTS/month in Europe, in non-European destinations depending on the destination, usually around 24-30 ECTS/semester. So if you want to contribute your thesis to UH during your exchange, make sure you can also complete the required number of credits in the form of courses.

European destinations: The purpose of the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is to enable comparisons between the scope of studies at educational institutions in different European countries. At the University of Helsinki, one credit equals one ECTS credit. At the University of Helsinki, ECTS credits are transferred in the same scope (1 ECT​S = 1 University of Helsinki credit).

Many European universities offer credits that are fully compatible with ECTS credits. However, in Britain one credit usually equals half a credit at the University of Helsinki (1 British credit = 0.5 ECTS credits).

Exchange opportunities outside Europe: Countries outside Europe do not usually use ECTS credits. For information on the minimum number of courses or local credits you must complete during your exchange, see the descriptions for non-European universities in the Guide instructions concerning your target region.

Please note that when making your study plan in Sisu, mark the amount of ECTS credits you are completing. 

Grading scale

Studies completed in a foreign university will be transferred to your degree with the grade Pass. Failed courses cannot be transferred to your degree at UH. 

University of Helsinki applicants for exchange studies must submit their applications during the relevant application periods through the Mobility Online system. The University of Helsinki uses Mobility Online as the electronic application and information system for international mobility. For all destinations also outside the EU and EEA area, this information is available in the section Exchange opportunities around the world.

The application process in brief – click here for detailed technical instructions. Read the detailed technical instructions and follow them when completing your application. 

1. Register as an applicant by filling in the application form. Summer course have their own application form.
2. Complete the information on the registration form. Select your second, third and fourth application option, if any, on the form.
3. After registering as an applicant, you will receive a link to your email. Use the link to log in to your Mobility Online account.
4. Obtain and prepare the necessary attachments and upload them as PDF files in the folder for submissions in your Mobility Online account. Read the detailed instructions on attachments in the section above.
5. Upload all required attachments in the Mobility Online system by the closing of the application period.
    

Follow the detailed application instructions in Mobility Online when you begin to draft your application, and find out which attachments are required. For assistance in drawing up your application, participate in application “clinics” or contact International Exchange Services and Education Cooperation.

After registering you will not be taken directly to your own Mobility Online account. Log in at Mobility Online (use your AD account for the University network).

For technical assistance with your Mobility Online application and account, email studentexchange@helsinki.fi. Your message should include a detailed description of the problem. In urgent cases, you can also call +358 2941 22401 (Mon-Fri 12-14).

The University of Helsinki’s International Exchange Services and Education Cooperation will decide on the selections within six weeks from the application deadline. Selected students will receive an email from the address studentexchange@helsinki.fi. Don’t be nervous though; your friend may have received information on selection before you have. Depending on exchange destination and degree programme selection, results will be sent to different students at different times.

When you recieve the acceptance e-mail you need to  Accept or reject the place offer through your Mobility Online account within seven days.

Note that you can be offered only one place even if you applied for several places with several applications. If you refuse an offer, you will not be offered another place during the same round. If you are not selected for any of the places you applied for, you can be offered a place that remains unfilled, provided you notified on your application that you are interested in such places.

If the University of Helsinki selects you as an outgoing exchange student, you must still apply to your prospective target university.

For detailed instructions, read the email confirming your selection as an exchange student. The instructions depend on your exchange programme. More information on how to do your exchange application to your destination university.