On this page you can find information on how to apply for exchange studies at the University of Turku. Please click on the bars below for further information on application periods and enclosures, or scroll further down for a step-by-step guide.
Application periods
15 March - 15 April at 11.59 pm Finnish time for non-EU/EEA applicants/ citizens
15 March - 30 April at 11.59 pm Finnish time for EU/EEA applicants
You' will receive the application instruction once your home university nominated you to UTU.
The email is coming from noreply@solemove.fi. If you have not received it, please remember to check your spam folder!
1 September - 15 October at 11.59 pm Finnish time for all applicants
You will receive the application instruction once your home university nominated you to UTU.
The email is coming from noreply@solemove.fi. If you have not received it, please remember to check your spam folder!
Application enclosures
Transcript of Records is a list of courses you have completed at your home university. This document must be official (signed and stamped by hand or electronically by the applicant's home university) and in English.
NB! The language certificate cannot not be more than 2 years old when you are enclosing it to your application.
University of Turku requires a B2 level in English.
You may use the Language Assessment Sheet, a proof of language proficiency from your home university, or other official proof of your language skills (e.g. a valid TOEFL/ IELTS/ Cambridge CAE/ DAAD test result). This document must be in English, stamped, and signed by the applicant and the academic person assessing the language skills (e.g. a language teacher).
Please note, that you should assess your skills in the language you are going to study in (English or Finnish).
NB! UTU doesn't accept the OLS test, TOEIC or Duolingo certificate as language certificates.
You are exempt from providing this enclosure if you have a Bachelor’s degree (or higher) or an equivalent degree in an English-taught programme. In this case, please enclose your Bachelor Transcript of Records as your language certificate to your application.
Native English speakers do not need to submit a language certificate. You may enclose your Transcript of Records twice to get past the mandatory enclosure on SoleMove.
TOEFL:
ITP taken before Jan 26 2026:
- iBT: minimum score 72
- Reading Comprehension: section score 56–62
- Listening Comprehension: section score 54–63
- Structure and Written Expression: section score 53–63
- TOEFL Home test is accepted at UTU
ITP taken after Jan 26 2026:
- iBT: minimum score 4
- Reading Comprehension: section score 18–21
- Listening Comprehension: section score 17–19
- Speaking: section score 20–22
- Written Expression: section score 17–20
- TOEFL Home test is accepted at UTU
Combined test scores from different test dates are not accepted (e.g. TOEFL MyBest scores is not accepted).
IELTS:
Total minimum score: 6.0.
One skill retake is accepted, if the test is retaken within 60 days of your original test day.
PTE:
Academic minimum requirement: 62 points.
For Erasmus+ students
As a part of your application to UTU, you will fill in a proposed study plan on the application platform SoleMove. During the application process, the courses in your proposed study plan will be pre-checked: they will be either endorsed (available for you) or not endorsed (not available for you).
After your application has been accepted and you have received the Letter of Admission, see the status of your courses on SoleMove and fill in the Erasmus+ Online Learning Agreement (OLA). Use either the Erasmus+ OLA platform or the software your home university uses (e.g. Mobility-Online, MoveOn or an in-house system), if the software is connected to the Erasmus Without Paper (EWP) network. If you are unsure whether your home university's software is connected to EWP, please ask your exchange coordinator about it.
Please fill in the Online Learning Agreement according to your accepted study plan in SoleMove, i.e. make sure you have the same courses on your OLA as on the SoleMove proposed study plan. Remember to exclude the courses that were "not endorsed", as these courses will not be available for you.
NB! The Learning Agreement is a proposed plan of your studies and therefore subject to change during your mobility period. It does not guarantee a place on the courses as most courses require separate enrolment before the start of the course.
During your exchange you will follow the academic semesters of UTU:
- Autumn semester: September - December
- Spring semester: January - May
Erasmus code: SF TURKU01
OLA Contact Person: Anna Ryzhova or Kaija Kangasjärvi, incoming@utu.fi
NB! The Learning Agreement information above applies also to Erasmus+ funded students from Coimbra and Nordplus networks.
For non-EU exchange students (Erasmus+ ICM, ISEP, bilateral etc)
The Learning Agreement is a proposed plan of your studies during your mobility period. When submitting one, please use your home university's template or find one below. Please enclose a PDF version of your Learning Agreement to your application if your home university requires a Learning Agreement from you. This document must be stamped and signed by the applicant and the applicant's home university before submission. If your home university does not require a Learning Agreement, please just list your chosen courses in the proposed study plan on SoleMove.
Please note that exchange students in the Erasmus+ ICM programme need to submit a Learning Agreement with their application.
Learning Agreement templates:
Learning Agreement for non-Erasmus+ applicants
Erasmus+ ICM learning agreement
Include either one of the following persons as the host institution responsible person:
- Ms. Kaija Kangasjärvi, International Officer, +358 40 145 0461, incoming@utu.fi
- Ms. Anna Ryzhova, International Advisor, +358 50 327 0844, incoming@utu.fi
FAQ
What is the purpose of the Learning Agreement?
The purpose of the Learning Agreement is to help you to plan your studies during the exchange as well as aid the credit transfer to your home university. A signed Learning Agreement approves the courses, but does not guarantee a place on the courses. Please note that the LA is a preliminary study plan, which means you will probably have to make changes to it after arriving in Turku.
Where can I find available courses?
- Please see the Study Guide. The study guide has a separate list of courses that are intended for exchange students.
- Autumn's teaching is generally confirmed by 15 May and spring's teaching by 15 November, which means the information on courses might not be up-to-date during the application period. Please use the information available on the study guide. If a course was offered e.g. during the spring semester during the previous academic year, it is likely to be offered in the spring semester during the current academic year as well.
- In addition to the name of the course you will also need to fill in the course codes into the application form. The course code is a combination of letters and numbers (e.g. FNSC9806) generally situated before the course name.
How many courses should I take?
- The recommended work load for a semester is 30 ECTS credits and for an academic year 60 ECTS credits. This usually means 5-6 courses per semester. Do note that this is not a rule. Please discuss with your home university what is the suitable workload for you.
What are semesters and periods?
- Courses are usually arranged either during the autumn (September to December) or spring semester (January to May).
- Autumn semester is divided into periods I and II and spring semester into periods III and IV. Some faculties have a fifth period during the summer, but no teaching is usually offered then.
- Many courses span the entire semester (two periods), but some may only last for a single period. Please check the timing of the courses you are wishing to take at UTU.
- Make sure that your Learning Agreement contains courses which are available during your stay in Turku.
Are there any restrictions?
- In general, you should have some previous knowledge of the subject(s) in question.
- Studies at the Faculty of Medicine and Turku School of Economics are available only for students majoring in these subjects. Faculties of Law and Education can admit students from other faculties only if there are available places on the courses.
- You can also choose language courses from the Centre for Language and Communication Studies up to half of your planned studies. The recommended amount of language studies is 2-3 courses in addition to your other studies. NB! Do note that these courses are different from the language studies at the Faculty of Humanities.
- Courses offered by Åbo Akademi University are in many cases open for you. However, at least half of your planned studies must be from the University of Turku.
We require a picture of the photo page of your passport or an official ID as an enclosure in your application.
Other documents, such as residence permits, are not accepted. This enclosure is required for correctly registering your information.
NB! Driver's licence is not a valid ID in Finland!
If you need individual arrangements due to learning difficulties, injury or illness, such as extra time in exams during your studies, please contact the Accessibility Planning Officers at esteet@utu.fi preferably before the start of the exchange.
Please note that the arrangements offered by UTU are mainly study arrangements. Receiving wider services, such as sign language interpretation, personal assistance, or transport services, requires Finnish citizenship and domicile in Finland.
If you need more extensive services during the exchange, contact your home university and exchange destination well in advance to find out more about possible accommodations.
Please see also Accessibility at University of Turku.
Application process step-by-step
- Make sure your home university has nominated you online in SoleMove. Once you have been nominated, you will receive an email on how to activate your SoleMove user account and how to submit your application.
UTU International Office will start sending the user IDs when the application form opens, not beforehand. - If you do not receive application email from SoleMove, please check your spam folder. It is common for this message to get falsely flagged as spam. If you did not receive the email, please contact incoming@utu.fi before the application deadline.
- Activate your user account and submit your application online, in SoleMove, before the application deadline. Please save your username and your password for later use. Enclose your Transcript of Records, language certificate and official ID. If you have problems with your enclosures, please contact UTU International Office before the application deadline!
All enclosures must be in English, official, signed and stamped/electronically verified. - Wait for the International Office to process your application. You will receive an electronic Certificate of Admission once your admission is complete. It usually takes about 3 - 4 weeks to process an application.
- After submitting the application, check the housing options and apply for accommodation according to the deadlines given by the housing providers. Please apply for housing well in advance!
- Arrange other practicalities (e.g. health insurance, travel arrangements, residence permit if needed).
- NB! If you are an Erasmus double degree student, you do not need to submit an application in SoleMove.
University Consortium of Pori
The University Consortium of Pori (UCPori) is a unique partnership that brings together two Finnish universities – University of Turku and Tampere University. More information about studying in Pori is available here.
Eligibility
You can apply for exchange studies at the University of Turku if you meet the following prerequisites:
- Your home university is a partner university or a member in the same mobility network.
- In most cases, an exchange agreement must exist between your home university and UTU. Please contact the coordinator at your home university to find out about the application procedures. For more information about partner universities and mobility networks please see International University Networks.
- You must be nominated as an exchange student candidate by your home university in our SoleMove portal. The nomination is sent to you directly from SoleMove. Please contact incoming@utu.fi, if you know you have been nominated, but have not received further information.
- You should have some background knowledge in the subject(s) you are planning to study at UTU. Most studies require familiarity with the basic concepts of the discipline in question. You should have studied at least 2 years/4 semesters when arriving to Turku as an exchange student.
- If you wish to complete Master level studies at UTU, you should be a Master student or in the last year of your Bachelor studies.
- You should have good knowledge (at least B2) of the language you are going to study in, either English or Finnish.
- Non-native English speakers will need to enclose a language certificate to their application. See "Language Certificate" on this page for more information.
- Native English speakers need not enclose a language certificate and can upload their Transcript of Records twice on the application (as the language certificate is a compulsory application enclosure).
Contact information
Questions? Contact our incoming student mobility team at incoming@utu.fi!