North2north (N2N) - University of the Arctic

The University of the Arctic is a network of universities, institutions of higher education and other institutes in the North. The countries involved include Canada, the United States, and the Nordic countries.

Semester exchanges

General information

• The University of Helsinki can propose 1–3 students for a North2North exchange to Canada or the United States.
• The only application period for N2N is the autumn (October) one.
• The duration of each exchange is one semester.
• The minimum GPA requirement is 3,0/5 and for some destinations can be higher (see below).
• N2N exchange opportunities are primarily intended for Bachelor’s and Master’s students, but Doctoral students may in some cases also be selected.
• IMPORTANT: only apply to one N2N university in University of Helsinki's application round. You are in fact applying to the N2N program, and the exchange university will only be known later. For technical reasons, you need to apply to a university called "North2North" in Mobility Online, which you can find under Canada. During the application round we don't yet know to which universities we can send N2N students without tuition fees. This information will usually be available in late February/early March. Be prepared that you may be selected to another university in North America than the one you applied to.
• The N2N programme includes several universities, but a University of Helsinki student can only apply to the following:
  • Canada:
    • Lakehead University  Only available for undergraduate courses. GPA requirement 3,5/5.
    • Ontario Tech University, Oshawa. Mainly for undergraduate courses. For access to graduate (Master-level) courses, you need to have completed four years of university studies in your field.
    • Université du Quebec à Montréal UQAM (studies only in French)
    • Université Laval, Quebec City (studies only in Frensh)
    • Vancouver Island University Only available for undergraduate courses. VIU requires a fee-paying language test, but fully English-taught UH programmes may be exempt.
  • USA:
    • University of Alaska Fairbanks (note: living expenses for one semester $9 000 - 13 000)
• NB! If you are applying for a N2N destination in North America. We've noticed that most often we receive placements free of tuition to Lakehead and Vancouver Island. Therefore if you are applying to one of them, also make a study plan for the other and upload it as one of the application documents. Please mention in your application if you are unable to make a study plan for both destinations because there are no suitable courses for you.
• For fields of study and courses, see UArctic's website. The purpose is to take courses specifically concerning arctic matters.
• The exchange must be full-time studies, equivalent to 30 ECTS/semester.
  • In Canada and the USA: typically 4-5 courses. Five courses at undergraduate (Bachelor) level correspond to about ca. 30 ECTS (UH credits) (absolute minimum requirement 4 courses = ca. 24 ECTS). Four courses at graduate (Master) level correspond to ca. 30 ECTS.
• Students must pay their accommodation and living expenses as well as travel, insurance and visa costs.

For application dates and instructions, see page Application process for exchange students. For country-specific language requirements, see page Language requirements and language certificates in student exchange.

The application process has several stages. First follow the application dates and instructions of the University of Helsinki. If University of Helsinki selects you as an exchange student, you will receive detailed instructions from International Exchange Services later, once we know which university we can send students to.

Online courses

Here you will find information on online courses organized by University of the Arctic (UArctic). You need to transfer the credits into your degree in order to be able to take part (unless the course offers no credit). GPA requirement: 3 (unless otherwise noted).