Each faculty has an exchange coordinator who can help prospective students with course related questions and other faculty specific matters. They are also responsible for the Erasmus+ agreements for their faculty. Please see contact information for the coordinators.
Our academic year consists of autumn and spring terms. Exchange students are accepted for either one term or a full academic year (autumn-spring). The dates for academic year 2024-2025 are as follows.
Autumn Term 2024
AutumnTerm exchange dates are 29.8.2024-23.12.2024
Full Academic Year dates are 29.8.2024-31.5.2025
Recommended arrival date for exchange students: September 2-4, 2024
Please note, that PSOAS housing is guaranteed only from the recommended arrival date onward.
Orientation for exchange students: September 5, 2024
Spring Term 2025
Spring Term exchange dates are 3.1.2025-31.5.2024
Recommended arrival date for exchange students: January 2, 2025 Please note, that PSOAS housing is guaranteed only from the recommended arrival date onward.
Orientation for exchange students: January 3, 2025
Spring term for exchange students is divided into two periods
period 3: January 4 - March 10
period 4: March 11 - May 31
Please note that there can be exams and assignment deadlines also after the end of period 4.
All exchange applicants (study and traineeship) regardless of the exchange programme must be enrolled at a higher education institution.
1. English language competence
The required English language level for exchange students is B2 in the CERF scale. This is equivalent to IELTS 6.5. We do not require an official language test document, e.g. TOEFL or IELTS, instead a certificate written by the home university's English teacher is sufficient.
2. Previous studies
Students should have completed at least one year of university level studies before applying to exchange. Please note, that some courses may have prerequisites that must be taken into account when choosing the courses.
3. GPA
The University of Oulu does not have a specific GPA requirement for incoming exchange students. We trust that our partners nominate students who have the sufficient academic skills needed to study abroad. However, transcript of records are used as one criteria for exchange student selection.
All incoming exchange students must be nominated by their home university's exchange coordinator before the student can apply. Exchange students should be nominated either for one term or a full academic year (autumn-spring). Nominations should be sent through our online nomination form. If you do not have access to the online form, please contact the International Mobility Services at international.office@oulu.fi
Nomination deadlines are:
April 15 for autumn term and full academic year exchanges
October 1 for spring term exchanges
Please note that due to the high number of incoming students, late nominations are not accepted unless otherwise agreed.
Students applying for traineeship (placement) exchange need to be nominated as well. We strongly recommend you follow the nomination deadlines given above. Regardless, traineeship nominations should be submitted at least three (3) months prior to the planned start of the traineeship exchange. Nominations should be sent through our online nomination form. If you do not have access to the online form, please contact the International Mobility Services at international.office@oulu.fi
After the nomination has been processed, the student will get access to our online application system SoleMOVE. Students will receive their user ID and instructions by email. All necessary information including required enclosures are to be submitted through SoleMOVE, we do not accept any application documents by email.
Application deadlines are:
April 30 for autumn term and full-year exchanges
October 15 for spring term exchanges
For traineeship (placement) exchanges we strongly encourage you to follow the above mentioned deadlines. Regardless, traineeship applications must be submitted through SoleMOVE at least three (3) months before the planned start date. Please note, that traineeship exchange are always subject to availability and the student must be active in searching for suitable traineeship options.
The recommended course load per term is 30 ECTS. Make sure that students also find out if home institutions have specific requirements on this too. Students are required to choose a minimum of 80% of courses from the faculty or study field to which they are applying to. If student proposes courses from another study field or faculty, the Faculty Exchange Coordinator needs to separately check the availability of those courses. In addition to study-field specific restrictions, it needs to be noted that when choosing courses from another faculty, schedule overlaps are possible.
Students can find available courses from our Courses for Exchange Students cataloguein Peppi system. All courses listed in the catalogue are taught in English.
One can also choose Finnish courses offered by the Language and Communication unit. Those courses are listed in the catalogue under "Language and communication courses". We recommend everyone to take the Survival Finnish course to make their stay as smooth as possible.
Courses are assessed on numerical scale 0-5 (0 stands for fail) or pass/fail. The assessment criteria is given in the course description. For more information on assessment, please see the Assessment Criteria at the University of Oulu page.
Study-field specific restrictions
Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine
Study field specific exceptions may apply, please see the course catalogue or contact Faculty Exchange Coordinator.
Faculty of Education and Psychology
Courses are divided as ‘Bachelor’s level studies’ and ‘Master’s level studies’ – both these are also divided by term, so students need to make sure to check clearly which term they are selecting courses from. To see more detailed information on the course, please click the course name. Please also refer to the study guide’s “Show description” section to read more about studying at the Faculty of Education and Psychology.
Faculty of Humanities
In the catalogue, courses are listed under different study fields. Some courses are available in English only by independent study. Also, some courses (e.g., courses offered by the English unit) are meant only for students majoring in the field in question.
The Scandinavian Studies courses are available for all exchange students (if the course is full, the exchange and degree students of the Faculty of Humanities have priority to enroll).
Please read carefully the information provided in the “Show description” tab and by clicking the name of the subject you are interested in.
Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering
Courses in the course catalogue are listed by study fields, but exchange students of the Faculty of ITEE are welcome to take courses from all of the study fields within the faculty, as long as the prerequisites of the courses are met.
Advanced level courses require bachelor’s level knowledge of the study field in question. Bachelor level students who wish to take advanced courses will need to provide information on how they meet the prerequisites.
Biomedical Engineering students are allowed to take courses from both the Faculty of ITEE as well as the Faculty of Medicine, but a majority of the courses have to be chosen from their own faculty.
Please read further instructions in the course catalogue description section.
Faculty of Medicine
Courses are in sections according to the study fields. There is also a list of courses that are open for all exchange students of the faculty. Note that only study field specific courses are planned so that they don’t overlap.
Faculty of Science
Courses are in sections according to the study field (Biology, Geography, Physics and Mathematics). Courses are marked as “basic level studies”, “Intermediate level studies” and “Advanced level studies”. Students at the end of their bachelor studies may also choose advanced level courses. By clicking on the course, you can see more detailed information.
Faculty of Technology
Courses for exchange students are divided into the FTECH study fields. Courses are available for students nominated to that specific study field or related FTECH study fields.
Oulu Business School
Courses are divided as ‘Bachelor’s level studies’ and ‘Master’s level studies’ – both these are also divided by term so students need to make sure to check clearly which term they are selecting courses from. To see more detailed information on the course, please click the course name.
Accepted students will receive their official acceptance letter and information package by email. Students should go through all the materials carefully, as it includes information on residence permits, housing and other important matters.
We aim to send out acceptances in early June for autumn term and full academic year students, and by December for spring term students.
It should be noted, that accepted students have to confirm their exchange in SoleMOVE system. Instructions are provided in the information package.
Exchange students do not pay any tuition fees. However, all students should pay the Student Union fee which entitles you to several student discounts. The Student Union fee is 28.5€ per term (2023-2024). For more information about the fee, please see the Student Union webpage.
Housing for exchange students is available through the local student housing foundation PSOAS.
Students are housed in shared apartments with private bedrooms and shared kitchen and bathroom facilities. The university has reserved a certain number of rooms that are furnished with basic furniture (bed, pillow and duvet, bed linen, table, chair, lamp, wardrobe). Please note that the number of these rooms is limited, so you should make sure you apply for housing as soon as possible.
Please note that tenancy agreements are made for fixed period (one term or two terms) and they are binding, meaning that you are required to pay the rent for the entire agreement period. Should you decide to leave early, note that tenancy agreements are cancelled in force majeure cases only (illness, etc).
More information on housing can be found from PSOAS webpage. In any housing related questions, please contact PSOAS directly at asuntotoimisto@psoas.fi.
All incoming exchange students, both study and traineeship, are required to have a valid health and accident insurance that covers possible accidents and health problems also during your travel to and from Finland. The University of Oulu does not cover medical costs for students.
European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)
If you are a citizen of an EU/EEA/EFTA country, you are eligible to apply for an European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) which gives you access to the public health care services. Students from EU countries must bring their European Health Card with them. Note that the European Health Insurance Card is not valid during your travels to and from Finland or during any excursions to a third country.
Students coming from outside of EU
If you are a non-EU/EEA/EFTA national, a health insurance policy is to be taken when applying for a Residence Permit. You can use the the public health care services, but services in private health care are more affordable for you.
For information on agreements/partners see our SoleMOVE database. Select ‘Exchange destinations and Feedback at UO’ from the top left-hand corner, select your home country, institution, and the type of exchange.
