How to apply as an exchange student

 Exchange students

Exchange students are non-degree students who intend to study at the University of Eastern Finland (Joensuu, Kuopio or Savonlinna campus) for one or two semesters. These students participate in bilateral or international student exchange programmes (e.g. Erasmus, FIRST, Campus Europae, UNCEP, Nordplus/Nordlys, North-South-South, bilateral agreement).

Application deadlines

30 April for autumn semester (September - December) or full academic year (September - May) studies

30 September                  for spring semester (January - May) studies

Nominations

The application process begins when the University of Eastern Finland receives nomination e-mails from partner universities. In other words, study abroad coordinators send an e-mail to the International Mobility Services (see contact information at the bottom of the page) in which they announce their candidates for student exchange. After that, International Mobility Services sends applicants usernames for the online application tool SoleMOVE by e-mail.

Nominations should include:

1. Student's complete name 
2. Date of birth 
3. Gender 
4. E-mail address 
5. Duration of exchange (autumn semester, spring semester or full academic year)
6. Campus choice (Joensuu, Kuopio, Savonlinna)

The deadline for autumn semester and full academic year nominations is 15 April.

Important! If you have not received an e-mail that contains information on activating your user account, check your junk mail folder!

Activating the user account

When you have received the e-mail containing your username, click the activation link. You can choose your own password. Enter it twice and activate the account. Then you can log in. Do not delete the activation e-mail – it contains your username and the link to the application system. You will need them later. Please note that the system works best with Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. Safari is not recommended. Also, you should use the login option 'Local', not 'Shibboleth'.

User instructions

You will have access to the complete user manual when you have logged in. You will find it in the upper left corner by clicking the question mark.

Application check list

1) Application form - COMPULSORY

• Complete the form in the online application tool. Check the information that is already there, and be careful to spell your name as it appears in your passport. Capitalise the first letter, leave the rest lower case.

2) Official Transcript of Academic Records - COMPULSORY

• A Transcript of Academic Records is your complete academic record with the information on completed courses, grades and credits.
• An English translation of the Transcript of Academic Records is required.
• Application cannot be processed without the transcript because the academic departments of the University of Eastern Finland need to check the applicant's academic background and suitability for the intended studies.
• Scan your transcript and upload it as an attachment to your application.

3) Learning agreement - COMPULSORY

• Complete the learning agreement clearly with BLOCK letters or type electronically. You can use the form your home university has given you, or the UEF Learning Agreement which is available here.
• The learning agreement must be signed by the applicant, the departmental coordinator and the institutional coordinator (if available).
• Please note that your learning agreement will be only provisionally accepted, and you may need to revise it once you arrive in Finland
• Scan the signed learning agreement and upload it as an attachment to your application. Note that even if you list all your courses on the ‘Proposed study plan' tab, you still need an official learning agreement with the required signatures. Also note that having your Learning agreement approved does not mean that you have secured a place on those courses – you need to register for them when you have arrived.
• Information on courses is available in WebOodi at https://wiola.uef.fi/weboodi/

4) A scanned copy of an official ID - COMPULSORY

• Scan the identification page of your passport or other official ID as an attachment to your application.

5) Other information

• Motivation Letter is optional.
• Letters of reference are optional.
• In order to avoid any delays in the application process, please make sure that you have carefully filled in all sections of the application form, enclosed required documents and collected all necessary signatures.

Submitting the application

You do not have to complete the application without stopping – if you do not have all the information ready, you can save your progress and continue later. Be sure that you have filled in all the necessary information and attached all enclosures before you send your application. It is not possible for you to change anything in your application after you have submitted it.

Admission procedure

The faculties of the University of Eastern Finland admit the students. After receiving your application, the International Mobility Services will forward it to appropriate academic department. The department then processes the application and the proposed learning agreement. Once the International Mobility Services receive an official confirmation of acceptance from the faculty/department, an official admission document is issued and sent to you by e-mail 1-2 months after the application period has ended. Please do not make any definite travel plans or reserve accommodation before you have received the official acceptance.

Help?

If you have technical problems with the application tool, send an e-mail to movesupport[at]uef.fi.

Further information

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the International Mobility Services: international[at]uef.fi.