Visiting student applicants 

Visiting students

Visiting students are international 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 do not participate in bilateral or international student exchange programmes (e.g.Erasmus, FIRST, bilateral agreement). Students are entitled to official student status (e.g. student cards) at the university. Since visiting students are non-degree students, official diplomas or certificates, other than transcripts, are not available after the study period. Please note that studies for visiting students cannot be guaranteed in all departments of the University of Eastern Finland.

Requirements

Applicants must be registered at their home university and also be recommended for admission by the home university (see below: Nominations). Applicants must have studied for at least one academic year at a university in a related study field. Applicants must have good command of spoken and written English. Applicants can support the application by including a voluntary language test certificate.

Financing of the studies

The tuition fee for visiting students is 3500 euros for the full academic year or 1750 euros for one semester. Tuition fee is also required if exchange lasts less than one semester (e.g. if visiting student stays at the University of Eastern Finland for three months, his/her tuition fee is 1750 euros). Visiting students cannot register before the tuition fee is paid, and the proof of the payment is required to provide on arrival. Finnish authorities also require non-EU applicants to prove that they have adequate funds for living expenses (about 500 euros/ month, e.g. of 3000 euros if studying six months in Finland) when applying for a student visa. Please note that the University of Eastern Finland does not offer scholarships or other financial support for visiting students.

Application deadlines

11 May                                  for Autumn Semester (September - December) or Full Academic Year (September - May)

30 September                      for Spring Semester (January - May)

Nominations

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

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.

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.

Check list for the application

A) 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.

B) ENCLOSURES

1.       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.

2.       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).
  • 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/

3.       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.

4.       Two Letters of Reference

  • One of the two needs to be from your Academic Advisor
  • Scan the letters and upload them as an attachment to your application. Please scan them both as one file.

5.       Motivation letter

  • Describes your motivation to study at the University of Eastern Finland
  • Includes study and financial plan
  • Scan and upload as an attachment to your application.

Other information

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.

Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered.

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 Student Services will forward it to appropriate academic department. The department then processes the application and the proposed learning agreement. Once the International Student Services receive an official confirmation of acceptance from the faculty/department, an official admission document is issued and sent to you, together with an information package, 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 Student Services:

  • Joensuu campus: international.joensuu[at]uef.fi
  • Kuopio campus: international.kuopio[at]uef.fi
  • Savonlinna campus: international.savonlinna[at]uef.fi