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 a full year of studies in English by choosing from a wide variety of courses offered in English (approximately 250 annually).
Instructions for making a study plan
Course information is always subject to change; therefore, it is important that students have alternatives for flexibility.
- To read course descriptions, visit the study handbook and search for your courses. The course database is updated annually on 1 August. 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. 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 during the summer, 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.
Course load
- 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.
Grading Scales
ECTS grades Åbo Akademi University grades
A 5 (Excellent)
B 4 (Very good)
C 3 (Good)
D 2 (Satisfactory)
E 1 (Sufficient)
Filling in the study plan in SoleMOVE
When filling in your exchange application in SoleMOVE, you will be asked to complete a section called “Proposed Study Plan”. In this section you should list all the courses that you want to study at Åbo Akademi University, including the course code and amount of credits the course is worth. This study plan should match your signed learning agreement exactly that you upload as a PDF attachment in your application.
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 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 when you submit your exchange application.
Courses at The University of Turku
Exchange students at Åbo Akademi can also study courses at the University of Turku, not from the Turku School of Economics and Business. 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 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.
Courses outside Åbo Akademi University
Please see the course offer at Åbo Akademi University’s network partners. The National network Hilma is especially aimed at students of Gender studies and the UniPID network offers courses in Development studies.