Exchange agreements between Åbo Akademi University and sending universities are made between a specific faculty or specific subject area. That means that you should apply to study courses mainly for that faculty or subject area that you have been nominated via.
As an example, if you have been nominated on an agreement that Åbo Akademi University has with your home university in the study subject of Computer Science, you should study most of your courses within that subject at Åbo Akademi University, and you will be able to study for example business and economics courses with us.
If you are unsure which agreement you have been nominated via, or what courses you should study on exchange, please contact your home universities coordinator or us at the International Office and we can help you.
Exchange students study the same courses as degree students that are offered in English. Most courses that are available in English are open to exchange students however there may be some restrictions at some faculties. Additionally, students must always meet any course prerequisites which are always mentioned in the course description in the study handbook.
The official language of instruction at Åbo Akademi University is Swedish. Exchange students can either study in Swedish, if you are at B2 level in Swedish, shown by uploading a language certificate in Swedish in your exchange application, or complete studies in English by choosing from a wide variety of courses offered in English (approximately 250 annually).
Course information is always subject to change; therefore, it is important that students have alternatives for flexibility.
- Visit the study handbook to see which courses we offer at Åbo Akademi University
- Click on the faculty that offers courses within your subject area.
- Click directly on the course to read course descriptions, see restrictions, see when the course will be held and how many credits it will be worth.
- The study handbook and courses that are available to study during the next academic year will be updated during the summer and latest on August 1st. Therefore you should base your study plan on courses that were offered during the same semester of the previous year. Most of the courses will be the same.
- If there are changes to courses, you will have the opportunity to change your courses and your learning agreement ONCE during the orientation week.
- If there is a blue box in the beginning of the course description, the course is offered this academic year. Click on it to see more info when and where it’s taught.
- Periods 1 and 2 are in the Autumn, and periods 3 and 4 in the Spring. When a course is offered period 1, 2, 3, 4, it usually implies that the course is a self-study course that can be taken anytime.
- Students are welcome to mix courses from different faculties as long as the student meets any pre-requites that the course may have.
- Combining courses from both campuses (Åbo and Vasa) is not possible (unless if it is a self-study course), due to the distance between the campuses.
- Erasmus+ students are to remember within what agreement they are applying, and to choose courses accordingly.
- Students that are proficient in Swedish can see the regular curriculum studiehandboken.abo.fi (updated annually on 1 August).
- Students will receive feedback on their study plan before the exchange begins, and are encouraged to read their e-mail often as we expect answers within a few days.
- If these instructions feel too simplified, please take a look at the incredibly detailed guide in the right list.
You are encouraged to study one of Finland’s national languages during your exchange with us.
We offer language courses in both Swedish and Finnish. You can find more information and course descriptions in the Study Handbook.
Due to our language courses being so popular please choose only one language to study during your time with us.
If you are planning to write a Master’s thesis during your exchange with us, firstly please visit the following website page: Writing a Master’s Thesis but you should list your master’s thesis title and amount of credits that you have agreed on with your supervisor at Åbo Akademi University in the study plan section in SoleMOVE. Your learning agreement should also be signed by your home university and your master’s thesis supervisor at Åbo Akademi University when you submit your exchange application.
Most of our courses are taught on campus, however some of our courses can be taught online e.g. via Zoom, or be literature studies where there are no physical classes.
Information on how the course will be organised is available in the study handbook so please read course information very carefully when planning your studies with us.
- A full-time course load for one semester is 30 credits, for an academic year 60 credits. The home institution must approve the study plan (signed appropriately).
- Exchange students should aim to study 30 or 60 credits during their exchange which is a healthy work load.
- Incoming students are welcome to use the study plan/learning agreement form of Åbo Akademi University, or use the home university’s equivalent form. Erasmus+ students should use their home universities’ own Erasmus+ learning agreement.
ECTS grades Åbo Akademi University grades
A 5 (Excellent)
B 4 (Very good)
C 3 (Good)
D 2 (Satisfactory)
E 1 (Sufficient)
You can find dates of the academic year here.
Exchange students at Åbo Akademi University based in Åbo can also study courses at the University of Turku.
Courses at the Turku School of Economics and Business are unfortunately not available for exchange students.
Please check the following website page for more information: Studies at the University of Turku.
Any courses that you would like to study at the University of Turku should also be included in your proposed study plan and your learning agreement when you submit your exchange application. Åbo Akademi University will not confirm whether you can be accepted to the courses at the University of Turku, you will need to complete an online application to all courses at the University of Turku at the beginning of your studies at Åbo Akademi University. You will then be accepted or declined by the University of Turku.
For more information on how to apply to courses at the University of Turku please see here: How to apply for courses at the University of Turku.
As an exchange student at Åbo Akademi University you are also able to study courses available in networks that we are members of.
The National network Hilma is especially aimed at students of Gender studies and the UniPID network offers courses in Development studies.
These courses are open to all students from all subjects. A separate enrollment will need to be made to enroll to these courses.
Wherever possible, Åbo Akademi University tries to arrange the teaching so that it is suitable for people with special needs, both regarding physical accessibility, psychological challenges, social accessibility and dyslectic difficulties. Should you have a special need that would require special arrangements at the study facilities, we recommend you to be in contact already during the application period (studinfo@abo.fi, tfn 02-215 4169) for a discussion and assessment. It is in the interest of both the university and the applicant that these needs are reported at an early point. For individual arrangement regarding the entrance exam it is also important that special needs are reported early. If you have a certificate of dyslexia that you wish be taken into account, please be in contact before the event.
Should you be admitted for studies at Åbo Akademi University and should you wish for your special need to be taken into account during your studies, you should bring a certificate of the special need to your accessibility advisor who would assist regarding support services such as:
- longer examinations
- alternative examination forms
- longer library loans
- right to use supporting technical equipment at hand
For more information please read here.