Application form for exchange students (Academic ear
2010-2011) will be published will
be published here in the beginning of year 2010.
Please fill out the application electronically where possible. After you have
completed the application, please print it and ask for the required signatures
from your departmental and institutional coordinator.
Enclosures
We cannot process your
application without the Transcript of Records
because our academic departments need to check your academic
background and suitability for studies applied. Therefore, it is essential to attach
the most current Transcript of Academic Records in English
to your application.
Transcript of Academic Records is an official document
issued by your home University. It contains details of all the courses that you
have completed at university level (name, credits, grades etc).
If you cannot get a Transcript of Academic Records from your home University,
you can use the standard ECTS form:
http://www.uku.fi/intl/english/prospective/forms/ECTStranscriptofrecords.doc
Application deadlines
In order to ensure housing availability for our exchange students, we invite
applications by following annual deadlines:
- April 30
- autumn semester (Aug/Sept-Dec)
- full academic year (Aug/Sept-May)
- September 30
- for spring Semester (Jan-May)
NB! For medical students the primary deadline is 30 April. If placements
are left, applications can be considered in the autumn application round also.
Unfortunately we cannot guarantee accommodation if we receive your
application after these deadlines.
Practical training / clinical placements for medical
students
General terms
Practical training for
international medical students is coordinated by the International Office in
collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine and the University Hospital. Students
should send any enquiries concerning practical training first to the
International Office. Training agreements cannot be signed directly between
the student and the University Hospital
Students applying for
practical training are considered as exchange students. Therefore, the same
eligibility requirements apply. Students
must be enrolled at
their home University both at the time of the application and during the
exchange. The practical training has to be approved by student’s home
university. Approval is verified by signatures in the application from your
academic/international coordinators.
Since
accepted students are registered as exchange students, they are entitled to the
same services and benefits as the exchange students who come here for studying.
For more information, please see:
http://www.uku.fi/intl/english/
Students can apply as freemovers or practical training can be included in
exchange programmes such as Erasmus and Nordplus . In order to find out if you
are entitled to use an exchange programme and the benefits of it (like the
scholarship) for these training placements, please contact the international
coordinators at your HOME university.
Applying
Practical training can
take place any time with the exception of summer months (June-August). Training
cannot start during June-August but the ongoing training may, in some cases, be
continued over these months.
Students wishing to
apply for practical training / placement at the University of Kuopio or at the
University Hospital KYS, must send their applications to the International
Office.
The
annual application deadline is 30 April.
If there are placements
left, applications can also be considered in the autumn application round.
Our
application form (placement during the academic year
2010-2011) will be published in the beginning of year 2010 at:
http://www.uku.fi/intl/english/prospective/forms/forms.shtml (application
for exchange students).
Enclosures
We cannot process your application without the Transcript
of Academic Records because our academic departments and the hospital clinics
need to check your academic background and suitability for studies applied.
Therefore, it is essential to attach the most current Transcript of Academic
Records in English to your application.
Insurance
Liability insurance for working in the hospital will be
signed before starting work at the hospital.
What does "exchange student" mean?
Exchange students
are not studying for a degree at the University of Kuopio. They are students
who are enrolled at our partner universities abroad (e.g.
Erasmus,
Nordplus,
FIRST,
ISEP, UNCEP,
North-South-South,
bilateral agreements). Sometimes exchange students are also
called study abroad students or visiting students.
Students' home
university has nominated them to study at the University of Kuopio for a given
period. Exchange students usually come to study for 3-12 months in Kuopio after which
they return to their home University. Credits earned during their stay in Kuopio
should be transferred towards the degree they are staying for at their home
university.
Freemover
students are also exchange students but they have arranged exchange
independently without participating in any official exchange programmes or
bilateral agreements (i.e.. universities that we have an official cooperation
agreement with). Depending on the resources and number of applicants from our
official partner universities, free mover applications can also be considered.
In competitive situations preference is usually given to applicants from our
partner universities.
Who is eligible to apply?
You should have completed at least the basic or intermediate level studies
(1-2 years) at
your home University in order to be eligible to apply. The exchange has to be approved by your home university.
This is why you need the signatures for the application form. In addition you must be enrolled as a full-time student at your home University both at
the time of the application and during the exchange.
What should I do first?
Contact the International Office/your
department at your home university
to find out if there is existing co-operation agreement between the University of
Kuopio and your home university
(e.g. Erasmus, Nordplus, ISEP,
UNCEP, bilateral cooperation agreements).
You can also apply independently as a
free mover, which means that you are not
participating in any official student exchange programmes. Depending on the
resources and number of applicants from our official partner universities, free
mover applications can also be considered. Please note that in competitive
situations preference is usually given to applicants from our partner
universities (i.e.. universities that we have an agreement with). Even if you
apply as a free mover, your exchange has to approved by your home university.
What can I study?
After you have consulted the International Office you at your
home University about the exchange possibilities, you can start planning your
academic study programme (ie.making a Learning Agreement) at the University of Kuopio.
Unfortunately the University of Kuopio does not have many general/introductory
courses. Most of the teaching in English is offered at Master's level. To fully
benefit from the course, it is essential that you have at least basic knowledge
of the study field you wish to study at the University of Kuopio.
You should note that the courses you intend to take at the University of
Kuopio should be transferable to the degree pursued at your home university.
Therefore, it is essential that your home university approves your study
programme and confirms the proposed programme by signing the application.
Study programmes offered in English are listed at:
http://www.uku.fi/intl/english/prospective/studies.shtml
Detailed course descriptions are available at:
http://www.uku.fi/courses
NB! Always check the teaching language
How many credits should I complete during my exchange?
The University of Kuopio
does not have a limit concerning the minimum or maximum amount of credits
completed during the exchange. However,
exchange students must comply with the credit requirements and rules of his/her
home university.
Typically exchange
students complete about 15-30 ECTS per term.
Glossary for exchange students
Learning
Agreement:
Exchange students are expected to complete a learning
agreement. It has to be signed by the students, their home university and the host
University.
The learning agreement is an informal contract that
contains all the courses that the student wishes to take abroad. Learning
agreement should be completed and submitted together with the application form before
the application deadline. You can modify the learning agreement throughout your
exchange period. Please note that all changes have to be approved by the home
and host university.
ECTS:
To facilitate academic recognition, the majority of
European universities have adopted the
European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). This system provides a common scale
for measuring in credits the student workload required to complete course units
(for example, one full year of studies generally amounts to 60 credits)
Transcript of
Records:
Transcript of Academic Records is an official document
issued by your home University. It contains details of all the courses that you
have completed at university level (title, credits, grades etc).
Departmental
and institutional coordinator:
Departmental
and institutional coordinators are key persons especially in the Erasmus student
exchange programme. They promote and give counselling in study abroad matters
and are usually involved in the process of selecting students who go abroad.
They are also the ones who approve and sign your exchange application before
sending it to us.
Departmental
coordinator is usually an academic staff member at your department who takes
care of the international student affairs at departmental level.
Institutional
coordinator is usually
working in the administration of the University or Faculty. He/she is
responsible for the overall coordination of the Erasmus exchange programme.
Undergraduate
studies leading to
Bachelor's and Master's degrees
Do you offer Bachelor's degrees in English?
Undergraduate
studies leading to a Bachelor's degree are offered in Finnish only.
Therefore students wishing to take Bachelor's degree in Finland should have an
excellent command of Finnish language.
If you have an excellent command of Finnish language, you can apply for admission to degree programmes offered in Finnish. Application forms are available in Finnish at:
http://www.yliopistohaku.fi . For
applicant's guides, please see: http://www.uku.fi/valinta . For further information, see also:
http://www.koulutusnetti.fi (English version).
All applicants wishing to pursue Undergraduate studies in Finnish should take
part in the entrance examinations. Entrance examinations take place in May-June
and are held in Finnish only.
University of
Kuopio does not offer any preparatory language courses in Finnish language.
For information about countries Finnish language studies abroad, please
see
Do you offer any Master's degrees in English?
The main language
of instruction at the University of Kuopio is Finnish. Therefore most of the
degrees are available only in Finnish. However, it is possible pursue
studies leading to a Master's degree in English in the following fields :
Applicants interested in Information
Technology/Computer Science, please see:
http://cs.joensuu.fi/impit/index.php?page=admission
http://www.joensuu.fi/cbu/valikko/index_3.html
How to apply for admission?
International
students are usually accepted to pursue Master's degree studies on the basis of their
application documents (i.e. Bachelor's degree certificate, transcript of academic
records, English language proficiency test, motivation letter and references).
In some fields students are also interviewed.
Eligibility
Students who have
already obtained a Bachelor’s or equivalent degree from a recognised University may apply
for studies leading to a Master's degree. The Bachelor's degree must be
in the same or relevant field as the Master's studies applied
for. It is not possible to switch to a completely new area of study between
Bachelor's and Master's degree.
Language proficiency
All applicants whose first language is
not English must
demonstrate excellent skills of English language that will enable them to
benefit fully from their course of study. English language proficiency can
be proved with official Test of English as a Foreign Language
(TOEFL) or International English Language Testing Service
(IELTS) test score report.
Applicants are required to have achieved at least the following or preferable
higher test scores:
: overall 6.5 (min. 6.0 in writing)
TOEFL:
- 237 in computer bases test (CBT)
- 580 in the TOEFL paper-based test (PBT)
- 90 in the Internet based test(iBT)
The institutional TOEFL code for the University of Kuopio is 9779. This code
is needed for sending the test score report directly to the University of Kuopio
Application
Are there any tuition fees?
Education in Finland
is free of charge at all levels when it leads a qualification because education
is largely financed by the State. There are plans to introduce tuition fees for
students coming from outside the European Union. So far no decisions have been
made on this issue.
The only fee that
undergraduate students pay is the annual Student Union membership fee (app. 109 EUR per academic year). This fee includes the services of the student health
care. Student Union membership fee is compulsory for degree seeking students
(Bachelor's and Master's) but optional for exchange students and postgraduate
students.
Do you offer any scholarships for international
students?
University of Kuopio
has no scholarship programmes and cannot offer any financial aid to
international students. Students must be able to cover all expenses themselves.
Because education is free in Finland, there are no scholarship programmes
available for undergraduate students (Bachelor's and Master's) in Finland. Therefore you
should search for scholarship and grant possibilities in your home country.
NB! Please note that finding a job in Finland is very difficult. Therefore
you should not count on financing your studies by working in Finland.
What does "undergraduate student" mean ?
Universities
offer two
academic degrees
at undergraduate level:
- Lower
undergraduate degree: Bachelor’s degree, 180 ECTS credits, three years
fulltime
- Higher
undergraduate degree: Master’s, 120 ECTS credits, two years full time
after the Bachelor's degree
The most common
undergraduate degree in Finland is the Master's degree (maisteri). Unlike any
countries, Master's degree is considered a undergraduate degree in Finland.
POSTGRADUATE / DOCTORAL STUDIES LEADING TO A LICENTIATE'S
OR DOCTORATE DEGREE
What does "postgraduate/doctoral studies" mean?
After completing a Master's degree
graduates can go on to study for a postgraduate degree, the Licentiate's
and the Doctor's. Students may take the Licentiate's degree before taking
the Doctor's degree. Licentiate's degree is, however, an optional degree and it
is not even offered in all fields of study.
Completion
of a Licentiate's degree takes about two years after the Master’s degree. The
requirement for the completion of the Doctor’s degree is the preparation of an
extensive scientific thesis. The full-time studies for a Doctor’s degree
take about four years after the completion of a Master’s degree
Are there any tuition fees?
No, education in
Finland is free of charge at all levels when it leads to a qualification. This is
because education is largely financed by the State.
Do you offer any scholarships for international students?
The
University of Kuopio
has no scholarship programmes and cannot offer any financial aid to
international students. Students must be able to cover all expenses themselves.
It is advisable to search for scholarship and grant possibilities in your home
country.
For further information,
please see:
http://finland.cimo.fi/scholarships.html
http://www.aka.fi/eracareers
How to apply for admission?
When planning to apply for doctoral
studies (PhD), you should first familiarise yourself with the research areas of
the University. Please visit the websites of the departments at:
http://www.uku.fi/english/departments.shtml.
BEFORE YOU
APPLY you should already have
- a written
research plan
- a supervisor for your research at the University of Kuopio
- a financial plan for covering the costs of you research period.
For further information and
application forms, please see:
Further information
Why Finland?
Checklist for
studying in Finland
One stop access for education
information in Finland
International Study Programmes in Finland
Studying Finnish
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