Going abroad to study involves a lot of hard questions. The first things you should ask yourself are: What language can I get by in? Whereabouts in the world do I want to go? At what point in my degree would work? Want do I want to study? What kind of work do I want to do?

Look at the mobility guidelines for your faculty in the My Global Story guide

Application periods for the exchange are for the next academic year

Bilateral universities outside of Europe:

• application period: 15 October – 15 November
• Decisions made by 15 December

European destinations through the Erasmus+ and North2North programs

• application period: 15 December – 31 January
• Decisions made by 28 February

Additional call for still available destinations (only spring semester for the next academic year)

• application period: 1 May – 31 May
• Decisions made by 30 June

You can find the exchange destinations of your own faculty or major in the SoleMOVE system.

You can find the available destinations using the “Exchange destinations Abroad and feedback” function. With the extended search, you can refine the results for example by your own faculty and the destination country. However, the most important search filter is to select the valid application period, which allows you to see the destinations you can apply for in that specific call.

Please note that some exchange destinations are programme-specific, meaning that only students of a certain degree programme or faculty can be accepted. Other destinations are based on general exchange agreements, meaning they are open to all degree students of the University of Lapland, provided that the destination’s course offering includes suitable studies for the student. The number of students sent to each destination depends on the agreement made with the partner university.

Apply for an exchange electronically through the SoleMOVE system

• Take a closer look at the directions for applying in the guide My Global Story
• Begin the application process by choosing the appropriate type of mobility and exchange period. Check the call for applications.
• Remember the following required attachments
  • Learning Agreement – before mobility 
  • Transcript of Records
  • Letter of motivation
  • Language certificate
  • To be noticed during mobility period

The University of Lapland chooses the applicants to be selected for the different host universities. The criteria are presented in detail in the guide My Global Story. You will be informed of the university’s decision by email.

When you have been recorded as an applicant for an exchange, you will receive an invitation to a compulsory orientation session, where you’ll get help with the application process, planning exchange studies, applying for a grant and taking care of the other paperwork involved.

• Wait for directions on applying, which will come from the Internationalisation Services or directly from the host university.
• Update your Learning Agreement and ask the Internationalisation Services to sign it.
• Apply to the host university in accordance with the directions you have received.

The host university makes the final decision on which applicants are accepted. If selected, you will receive a letter of acceptance within about a month of the application deadline.

When participating in exchange through ULapland exchange agreements, you are eligible for an exchange grant. The amount of the grant depends on the exchange programme and the length of the exchange.

You will get the grant in two parts: the first payment is 80 % of the grant and it is paid before the exchange. The remaining 20 % is paid after the exchange once you have completed the required reporting.

Special needs grants are intended to enable international exchange and internship in circumstances when a special need causes additional costs that are not covered by other sources. Special need can be an injury, impairment, physical or psychological illness or learning difficulty. The application process is completely confidential.

All students going on an exchange through agreements made by the University of Lapland receive a grant.

• Log into the SoleGRANT programme through the SoleMOVE system. The details of your exchange will be updated automatically and used as the basis of your grant application

• Attach the letter of acceptance and the Online Learning Agreement signed by 3 parties in PDF format

• You will be informed of the decision by email when your application has been processed.

Erasmus+ grants are determined according to the duration of the exchange and the cost of living in the target country. One calendar month makes you eligible for one full monthly payment. For example, the period 15 Sep – 14 Oct makes a full calendar month. The days exceeding a full month make you eligible for a daily allowance according to the category (below).

Grant: 540 euros/month, daily allowance 18 €.
Target countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and UK.

Grant: 490 euros/month, daily allowance 16,30 €.
Target countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Greece, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey.

Fewer opportunities top up for Erasmus+ students, who have less opportunities: 250 €/month. See more from Fewer opportunities declaration. 

The Erasmus+ travel grant is determined based on the distance between the city of the home university and the city of the exchange destination (length of the one-way trip in kilometres).

The travel distance is calculated with the Distance Calculator of the Erasmus+ programme (link to the calculator).

You can apply for additional Green Travel support if you travel using an environmentally friendly means of transport (bus, train, carpool or bicycle). At least half of the journeys must be made using the aforementioned green means of transport. You can find more information in the Green Travel declaration form (link to the form).

NORTH2NORTH
Nordic countries:
6 months: grant 1500 € / mobility – 12 months: grant 2 000 € / mobility.
Other destinations:
6 months: grant 2000 € / mobility – 12 months: grant 2500 € / mobilty.

BILATERAL

Europe:
3 – 6 months: grant 800 € / mobility – 7 – 12 months: grant 1 000 € / mobility.
Other destinations:
3 – 6 months: grant 1200 € / mobility – 7 – 12 months: grant 1500 € / mobilty.

FREEMOVER
Europe:
3–6 months, grant 300 €/mobility – 7–12 months, grant 400 €/mobility
Other destinations:
3–6 months, grant 400 €/mobility – 7-12 months, grant 500 €/mobility

Short mobilities (less than 3 months), grant 200 €

NORDPLUS & NORDLYS Short Mobilities: 70 € / week, travel grant 330 € to Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden, 660 € to the Faroe Islands and Iceland

Nordplus & Nordlys travel grant

• 330 € Nordic & Baltic countries
• 660 € Iceland
• 1300 € Greenland
• 175 € domestic travel top-up (only, when related to travelling abroad)

EXTERNAL GRANTS

You are recommended to request external grants from foundations, organisations, funds, societies, etc. You may request for example grants of Finnish National Agency on Education, country-specific grants or grants given by organisations such as the Rotary ry and Finnish Japanese Society. There are plenty of tips and links available on the Internet e.g. Aurora database. You should also be active and apply in good time because each organisation has its own application period.

• Register as an attending student and pay the student union membership fee.
• Update your learning agreement (LA During mobility) if you have changed the courses you will be taking. Remember to get the signatures you need at both universities.
• Ask someone to sign the LA After mobility at the very end of your exchange period because this will show the exact duration of the exchange. Make sure that the length of the exchange matches as closely as possible the dates in the letter of acceptance you used when you applied for your grant.
• Ask for and check the transcript of the courses you completed while on exchange. If you did not get the transcript of records before returning, make sure you find out when it is going to be sent to you.
• Save the course descriptions of the courses you have completed for credit transferring (substitution of studies).
• Please remember that even when studying abroad, you are expected to complete 25 to 30 credits per term. In case you are having challenges progressing in your studies as planned, please contact the internationalisation services planner as early as possible and discuss updating your study plan.

If you have to interrupt your exchange for one reason or another or it is going be more than five days shorter than originally planned, proceed as follows:

• Report the interruption to the host institution and the International Studies Coordinator
• Notify the organisation paying your grant (the length of the exchange affects the size of the grant)
• Inform Kela and Student Services
• Take care of the documentation ordinarily required after an exchange.

Extending your exchange

If you originally went abroad for a single term and decide you would like to stay for a second term, you have to

• Check with the host university and the University of Lapland to make sure it is possible for you to extend the exchange
• Update your learning agreement (LA)to cover the rest of the exchange (Remember to get the signatures needed and to save the document in SoleMOVE).
• Notify the organisation paying your grant (the length of the exchange affects the size of the grant)
• Inform Kela and Student Services
• Take care of the documentation ordinarily required after an exchange.

When you return from your exchange, you have to report it before you can receive the rest of your grant.

Access your SoleMOVE account and in the “After the exchange” section, add as enclosures:

• Learning Agreement After the Mobility (or a Certificate of Attendance) signed by your host university
• Learning Agreement During the Mobility, if your study plan has changed
• Insert a copy of your Transcript of Records
• Download and add your Transcript of Records from Peppi with your exchange studies included
• Answer to the questions in the “Feedback” section

When you submit all the requested documents, send an e-mail to outgoing@ulapland.fi titled “Reporting Completed”.

For Erasmus+ students:

• Fill out the EU survey feedback, sent to your e-mail address

You should take care of registering the credits you have earned abroad as soon as possible after returning.

There is two possibilities:

• Studies completed at a foreign university (a minor or electives) may be included in your degree.
• Courses forming part of your degree and corresponding to those in the University of Lapland curriculum are replaced by corresponding course completed elsewhere.

By filling out the eAHOT application carefully, you speed up the processing of your application. Step-by-step instructions for filling out the application can be found in the Peppi instructions. Please pay particular attention to what type of credit transfer you are applying for (inclusion or replacement) and to whom the application should be addressed!

Faculty of Education: Hanna Nilivaara
Faculty of Law: Senni Jokela
Faculty of Art and Design: Mia Kyyhkynen
Faculty of Social Sciences: Pauliina Leivo
Language Centre: Riikka Tuisku

When the credits from the studies completed abroad have been transferred to your transcripts, order a transcript from Peppi. Attach your transcript to your SoleMOVE application in the After Exchange tab.