The University of Turku offers higher education students who have fled to Finland from Ukraine an opportunity to complete free studies from among a diverse course selection. Study rights for non-degree studies offered by the faculties will be granted mainly from autumn semester onwards. In addition to non-degree studies, the Ukrainian students may also complete studies at the Open University free of charge.
Ukrainian students are offered an opportunity to apply for non-degree studies at the University of Turku. Non-degree study rights may be granted for people receiving temporary protection who have a valid study right in a Ukrainian higher education institution.
The faculties and the Centre for Language and Communication Studies of the University of Turku offer free non-degree studies for Ukrainian students. The course selection offered by the faculties is broad and focuses on courses offered in English.
– The University of Turku wishes to support the higher education students fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine and offer an opportunity to continue the studies disturbed by the conflict. We aim to offer studies as flexibly as possible from the University’s diverse course selection, says Vice Rector responsible for education at the University of Turku Piia Björn.
In addition to non-degree studies, the Ukrainian students may also complete studies at the Open University free of charge. They can also apply for degree studies through the regular student selection process. The Finland Scholarship programme can be used to support the completion of degree studies. The programme is aimed for applicants who start their studies in the Master's degree programmes of the University of Turku in Finland.
Students Mainly Guided to Complete Studies in Their Own Field
A majority of the offered courses in English are intermediate or advanced studies. For these, study rights can be granted for students studying the same or corresponding degree programme in Ukraine or students who otherwise have sufficient background knowledge of the subject. The students may also apply for studies in Finnish if they have sufficient language proficiency. Some disciplines, such as medicine or dentistry, cannot be studied in English.
The application period to the non-degree studies is on-going and open until further notice. The studies of the spring semester have already started, and the non-degree study rights will therefore be granted mainly from autumn semester 2022 onwards.
The applicants should contact the faculties before filling in the application form to receive guidance on applying for the right studies based on their previous studies and plans. The faculties will make the selections on granting study rights based on previous studies. The duration of the study right depends on the study modules applied to, but extends for the minimum of the duration of the temporary protection.
In some cases, the studies may be incorporated in the higher education degree completed in Ukraine. The University of Turku advises the applicants to contact their home universities so that they can incorporate the offered studies as a part of their Ukrainian degree programmes.
Higher education degree studies interrupted in Ukraine may not be finished to completion and graduation at the University of Turku. However, if they wish so, the students can later apply to complete a degree at the University of Turku, and in these cases, the previously completed studies may be incorporated in the degree.
