Courses for Exchange Students at the City Centre campus

You can find courses from preliminary teaching programmes offered by different study programmes by clicking on the course list links below.  

• When selecting courses, you should choose the majority of your courses from the degree programme (or the study track) that has the exchange agreement with your home institution.
• If you are applying based on a university-wide exchange programme, you should choose the majority of your courses from the degree programme (or the study track) which is closest to your educational background.

In addition, there are several courses that are open for all degree and exchange students. You can find them on the PDF files below. Please note that some restrictions are also listed. 

Academic year 2025-2026

• Preliminary list of courses open for exchange student in academic year 2025-2026 

Academic year 2024-2026

• Preliminary list of courses open for exchange students in spring term 2025

Course descriptions for most courses can be found on the Courses search using the course code or name when searching (unless the course is taught for the first time). However, please note that "suitable for exchange students" tab on the Courses search does not work for courses at the Faculty of Arts. Please only pay attention to the lists on this website when looking for information whether the course is open for exchange students.

Advanced Bachelor's level students are usually allowed to take Master's level courses. However, there are some exceptions regarding some of the study tracks in the Bachelor's and Master's programme in languages and the Master's programme in English Studies. Please find information about the restrictions below.

When looking for courses, notice that only courses offered in periods I & II are available during autumn semester and courses offered in periods III & IV during spring semester. Please, pay attention also to teaching language and if needed, availability for exchange students.

Bachelor's programmes

• Bachelor's Programme in Art Studies
• Bachelor's Programme in Cultural Studies
• Bachelor 's Programme in History
• Bachelor's Programme in Languages  - please note that the courses of the Bachelor's programme in Languages (study track: English) are only available to the study track's own Bachelor's level exchange students
• Bachelor's Programme in the Languages and Literatures of Finland
• Bachelor's Programme in Philosophy

Master's programmes

• Master's Programme in Area and Cultural Studies
• Master's Programme in Art Studies  * For finding comparative literature courses, please use the course search with course codes KIR or TTK-YL
• Master's Programme in Cultural Heritage
• Master's Programme in Culture and Communication
• Master's Programme in English Studies - please note that courses of the Master's Programme in English Studies are only available to the degree programme's own Master's level exchange students
• Master's Programme in Finnish and Finno-Ugrian Languages and Cultures
• Master's Programme in Gender Studies
• Master's Programme in History
• Master's Programme in Intercultural Encounters
• Master 's Programme in Languages
• Master's Programme in Linguistic Diversity and Digital Humanities (LingDig)
• Master's Programme in Philosophy
• Master's Programme in Russian, Eurasian and Eastern European Studies
• Master's Programme in Scandinavian Languages and Literature
• Master's Programme in Translation and Interpreting

Other courses which are suitable for all exchange students

• Finnish courses
• Swedish courses: please see the link for other language courses below, which includes information about Swedish.
• Tandem language courses (ALICE)
• Language Centre Course Assistant Programme for International students
• Other language courses suitable for non-Finnish speakers: preliminary syllabus. In addition to the preliminary syllabus, please also see a more detailed course list for other language courses suitable for non-Finnish speakers, which will be updated annually by August for the next academic year

The availability of courses may vary from semester to semester. The availability depends on current curriculum of the Bachelor's and Master's programmes in Educational Sciences, as well as the Master's programme in Changing Education.

Please note that:

• If you don't have previous studies in Educational Sciences, the only courses available to you are Uncover Finnish Education I and II (3 + 2 cr).
• There may be a limited number of places available for exchange students in these courses. We cannot guarantee that you will get a place on the courses.
• Participation requirements may apply, such as prior knowledge in certain areas (e.g. special education courses).
• Bachelor's students usually need to complete some Master's level courses as well as Bachelor's level courses, as there may not be enough Bachelor's level courses offered.

The courses can be in high demand, and priority is given to exchange students enrolled in the Faculty of Educational Sciences. So if you are enrolled in another faculty, it may be challenging to secure a spot in these courses. Additionally, you should have sufficient prior academic background in the field of Education. As places in courses are limited, you may need to adjust your Learning Agreement after arriving if a course is full.

To register for courses, please follow the instructions on how to create a study plan and register for courses in Sisu (the study information system at the University of Helsinki).

Courses for Exchange Students at the Faculty of Educational Sciences in 2025-2026

Please note that the list of courses offered to exchange students may be subject to change before the start of the autumn semester 2025.

Course Offerings for Autumn Term 2025:

Course Offerings for Spring Term 2026:

Courses from the Faculty of Law are only available to the faculty's own exchange students.

You can find the preliminary course listing for law exchange students below. You must choose the majority (min. 50%) of your courses from the Law faculty as they have the exchange agreement with your home institution. You can also look for suitable courses for your Learning Agreement from other Faculties (except the ones with restrictions). In addition, you may be interested in the following courses:

University of Helsinki MOOC courses - https://www.mooc.fi/en/courses/

When choosing courses, please pay attention to 

• the teaching period (autumn term = periods I & II, spring term = periods III & IV)
• whether the course open for exchange students of all levels, or only Master level students.

Course descriptions for courses can be found on the Course pages using the course code or name when searching. Remember to choose the right Faculty/degree programme and English as the language for the course when searching. 

Bachelor level students may take optional courses from the Masters of Law, the Global Governance Law and the International Business Law programmes, as long as the prerequisites are fulfilled. However, please note that some courses are aimed at Master's level students only.

If you have questions about the courses, please email porthania-student@helsinki.fi to reach the Faculty of Law student advisors.

Faculty of Law courses open to exchange students in 2025-2026 (PDF)

Course listing last updated on 28.3.2025.

You find preliminary teaching programmes offered by different study programmes, by clicking on the course list links below. 

When choosing courses, please pay special attention to the teaching language and to the teaching period (I & II are available during autumn semester September-December and courses offered in periods III & IV during spring semester January-May). Incoming exchange student, pay also attention to the column Open for exchange students.

Please note that there are some restrictions regarding course access: 

• Courses from the following degree programmes are only available to the faculty's/degree programme's own exchange students: Politics, Media and Communication and Global Politics and Communication. These can also be students coming via university-level agreements, as long as the student is admitted to the faculty/programme and has sufficient prior academic background in the disciplines taught.
• We will host all bachelor-level students in bachelor-level programmes. The majority of your course choices must be from bachelor-level offerings. If you are at least a third-year bachelor-level student, you may enroll in master-level courses that are open to exchange students. Please ensure that you meet the prerequisites for each course. Note that master-level degree students and exchange students are given priority in course enrollment. 

As reference material, you can use this preliminary list of courses open for exchange students in academic year 2025-2026. Notice that you may select courses from several programmes both at the Faculty of Social Sciences as well as Swedish School of Social Science. 

Course descriptions, possible prerequisites and the name of the teacher for courses can be found through the Courses search. Use the course code or course name when searching (for new courses the course pages will be available by June).

Bachelor's programmes

• Bachelor's Programme in Politics, Media and Communication, courses are only for students from the Faculty of Social Sciences
• Bachelor's Programme in Social Research
• Bachelor 's Programme in Society and Change
• Bachelor's Programme in Economics (from AY 2025-26 onwards BA level courses in economics in English take place during spring semesters only) 

Master's programmes

• Master's Programme in Philosophy
• Master 's Programme in Politics, Media and Communication, courses are only for students majoring in politics and media
• Master's Programme in Global Politics and Communication, courses are only for students majoring in politics and media
• Master 's Programme in Contemporary Societies
• Master's Programme in European and Nordic Studies
• Master 's Programme in Society and Change
• Master 's Programme in Social Research
• Master 's Programme in Economics

Please see the list for courses for exchange students below.

When choosing courses please pay attention to 

• Teaching period (autumn term = periods I & II, spring term = periods III & IV)
• Teaching language
• Is the course open for exchange students

Bachelor's programmes

Bachelor's programme in Social Sciences (journalism, sociology, political science, social psychology, social work)

Master's programmes

Master's programme in Social Sciences (journalism, sociology, political science, social psychology, social work)

You can find courses from preliminary teaching programmes by clicking on the course list links below. Notice that courses offered in periods I & II are available during autumn semester and courses offered in periods III & IV during spring semester.

Bachelor's programmes

• Bachelor's Programme in Theology and Religious Studies

Master's programmes

• Master's Programme in Theology and Religious Studies