Exchange students to Laurea

Study for a semester at Laurea

Laurea attracts international students from all around the world with its active student mobility co-operation in Bachelor’s degree programmes.  International students at Laurea enjoy a friendly atmosphere and a community feeling, as well as the working life oriented, competence building studies.

We have six campuses in the Greater Helsinki Region and providing educational services in four fields of study. Exchange students can choose studies from the degree programmes in English as well as from the degree programmes in Finnish, which also offer some studies in English.

We welcome exchange students to the following campuses:

• Laurea Hyvinkää (Service Business Management)
• Laurea Leppävaara (Hospitality Management, Service Business Management, Safety, Security and Risk Management)
• Laurea Otaniemi (Physiotherapy, Spring semester only)
• Laurea Tikkurila (Service Business Management, Business Information Technology, Nursing, Social Services)

Exchange students can study at Laurea for one semester or for one academic year. Mandatory orientation days are organised in the beginning of the autumn and spring semester.

Interested in applying to Laurea as an exchange student? Please read more about important dates and deadlines for applying below. Information about the studies suitable for exchange students is found at the bottom of this page. Also, take a look at the practicalities of living in Finland.

Please also see our brochure for exchange students (pdf).

Important deadlines

For the academic year and autumn semester

• Nominations April 15 (made by home institution)
• Applications April 30 (except April 15 for traineeships in nursing)
• Enrollment for studies in May

For spring semester

• Nominations October 15 (made by home institution)
• Applications October 31 (both studies and traineeships in nursing)
• Enrollment for studies in November

Semester dates

https://www.laurea.fi/en/degree_programmes/opiskelijana-laureassa/schedule-for-the-academic-year/ 

Students will receive detailed instructions about their arrival in about a month prior to the semester starts.

Autumn exchange semester 2023

• August 14 - December 15

Spring exchange semester 2024

• January 8 - May 25
• Please note January 6  is a national holiday in Finland and campuses and offices are closed.

It is highly recommended for exchange students to arrive during the Arrival Days, as the days have been selected to ensure that taking care of necessary practical issues is as smooth as possible before the actual studies start.

Orientation days Spring 2024

• Common orientation for all incoming exchange students: January 11 (organised in Tikkurila campus)
• Campus orientation for Hyvinkää students: 9-10  January
• Campus orientation for Leppävaara students: January 12
• Campus orientation for Tikkurila students (social and health care) January 12

Language skills

A good command of English is needed to study/train at Laurea. Laurea's recommendation for English language skills is level B2 in The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Incoming exchange students at Laurea can complete at least Basic Finnish 1 (5 ects). Incoming students are also welcome to participate in other Finnish language courses organized for international degree-seeking students (altogether 15 ects credits).

Tutoring and assistance

Laurea's Student union Laureamko and its International Student Tutors provide orientation and assistance to exchange students. This includes help from International Student Tutors with practical arrangements and studies, social activities, trips and introduction to Finnish language and culture. Laureamko will contact all exchange students prior to their arrival.

International students are asked to notify their Student Tutor at Student Union Laureamko about their arrival and travel arrangements, so that they can be met upon their arrival in Finland.

International planning officers, together with student affairs offices and faculty, assist exchange students in academic questions, i.e. studies and studying, and provide information especially related to exchange. Support is provided in face-to-face meetings and by e-mail and telephone.

How to apply

Exchange students

Exchange programmes at Laurea are for students from Laurea’s international partner institutions. Students who wish to study at Laurea on exchange programmes - such as Erasmus, Nordplus or Bilateral Agreement - should turn to the international office at their home institution in order to be selected into a programme before filling in the application to Laurea.

1. Nomination

You need to be nominated by your home institution first by the given deadline. A person responsible for international activities at your home institution needs to send the nomination information through Laurea's online nomination system called SoleMove.

• April 15 (Fall Semester or Academic Year)
• October 15 (Spring Semester)

2. After nomination

All nominated students will receive an email containing the instructions on how to fill in the online application form. The email will be sent from the address intl.info(a)laurea.fi with the title “Instructions for filling in your Exchange Application to Laurea”.

If possible, you will be notified (in a separate email) the preliminary information about which campus you will be selected to. Please note that your possible campus choice cannot be guaranteed due to the limited amount of incoming students we can accept per campus.

3. Online application to Laurea:

Fill in the application form in SoleMove portal by the given deadline.

• April 30 (Fall Semester or the Academic Year)
• October 31 (Spring Semester)

You need to attach a motivation letter to your application. In the motivation letter you  should write at least about the following things:

• What kind of studies or working tasks have you planned to complete during your exchange?
• Are you applying mainly for studies in your own field or in some other field?
• What are your expectations regarding the exchange?
• Why are you applying for exchange?
• How will the exchange support your personal learning and career prospects?

4. After you have been accepted to Laurea

• you will be notified which campus you will be studying at
• you will receive information about how to activate your Laurea student account
• you will receive instructions on how to enrol for the studies offered in the semester. An activated Laurea account is required in order to enrol for studies at Laurea!

Other important

5. Accomodation:

Apply for accommodation as soon as possible. Please  note that Laurea does not have its own student dormitories!

If you are selected to study in the Laurea Leppävaara, Tikkurila or Otaniemi campuses, you can apply for furnished exchange student housing via HOAS. HOAS is an independent student housing organization and has only a limited number of student apartments available, so apply for HOAS housing as soon as you know you have been accepted by your home university!

If you are selected to study at Laurea Lohja, Hyvinkää or Porvoo, for an exchange semester, they will get detailed information on applying for housing by email. In case of any questions contact international services (intl.info@laurea.fi)

Each exchange student is responsible for applying for their accommodation independently!

Read more about housing

6. Enrollment

Enroll for the studies during the enrollment period  (make sure you have activated your Laurea account!)

Study unit and project implementation plans and schedules are available online at latest two weeks before the enrolment period begins.

Enrollment period for spring studies is November 27 - December 3.

You can choose studies up to 30 ECTS per semester + a Finnish course (5 ECTS). Approximately 27 hours of student's work is expected per 1 ECTS credit.

Please note that some of the studies available for exchange students are online courses. Normally, you should select a maximum of 10 ECTS of online courses.

7. Learning agreement: Prepare your Learning Agreement according to the studies you enrolled for.

Instructions for completing the Learning Agreement are sent to you in a separate email after you have received the acceptance message (step 4). Please read the email carefully as the name of the academic coordinator responsible for your Learning Agreement is provided in it. This email as well as the acceptance message will come to you after the application deadline.

After your Learning Agreement has been approved at your home institution, send it to the person who is responsible for receiving the Learning Agreement at Laurea.

It is recommended that you keep a copy of the Learning Agreement for yourself.

Your Learning Agreement will be accepted by Laurea after your enrolments have been checked.

8. Check the orientation dates for incoming exchange students and arrange your arrival accordingly. Exchange students are advised to arrive a couple of days before the orientation days to ensure that arriving is as smooth as possible. All Laurea incoming exchange students will have a possibility to apply for a student buddy tutor who we recommend keeping in contact with about intended arrival dates.

9. Other preparations: Prepare for the exchange well. Read about Finnish culture and customs. Read carefully through the information about living in Finland.

More information: