The University of Joensuu and the University of Kuopio merged on 1 January 2010 to constitute the University of Eastern Finland. With approximately 15 500 degree students and 2800 members of staff, the University of Eastern Finland is one of the largest universities in Finland. The university has campuses in Joensuu and in Kuopio. The distance between the two cities is about 140 km and it takes about 2 hours by car.
See more on general information on UEF at UEF website (opens in a new tab).
Degrees and study rights
The University of Eastern Finland offers degrees and postgraduate degrees in the following fields: pharmacy, dentistry, humanities, education, economics and business administration, natural sciences, medicine, forest sciences, law, psychology, theology, health sciences and social sciences. The complete educational offering is presented on Study at UEF site.
The main language of instruction at the University of Eastern Finland is Finnish and therefore most of the degree programmes are available only in Finnish. Students who wish to complete a degree in a degree programme taught in Finnish at the University of Eastern Finland should therefore have an excellent command of the Finnish language.
In degree programmes offered in Finnish, undergraduate students receive rights to study for both lower and higher level university degrees. The students first obtain a Bachelor’s degree, followed by the Master’s degree. In medicine and dentistry, Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees are integrated into a Licentiate’s degree in medicine or dentistry. It is also possible to be granted study rights solely for a higher university degree if the student has already obtained a Bachelor’s degree or another degree of equivalent level.
It is possible to continue studying at the University of Eastern Finland after obtaining your Master’s degree to obtain a doctoral degree. Some fields also offer professional postgraduate degrees, such as the medical physicist’s and chemist’s degrees. More information about doctoral education and applying for a study right for doctoral studies.
You can see the selection criteria if you go to Study-page and select a study field and continue through the link to studyinfo.fi.
International Bachelor’s Degree Programmes
The University of Eastern Finland offers four Bachelor’s degree programmes taught in English. Fluency in the English language is a prerequisite for the programmes. It typically takes three years to complete a Bachelor’s degree. Applicants will be selected on the basis of their application documents. You can find more information on the International Bachelor’s degree programmes on the UEF website.
International Master’s Degree Programmes
All UEF Faculties offer Master’s degree programmes in English. Students who have already obtained a Bachelor’s degree from a 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 intended Master’s degree. International students are accepted to pursue Master’s degree programmes taught in English on the basis of their admission documents (Bachelor’s degree certificate, transcript of academic records, English language proficiency test, motivational letter and references). You can find more information on the International Master’s degree programmes on UEF site.
Doctoral Degree Programmes
Students who have completed a Master’s degree can apply for postgraduate studies leading to a Licentiate or a Doctoral degree at the University of Eastern Finland. All doctoral education is arranged as Doctoral Programmes. They cover all scientific fields of UEF and all doctoral students will complete their studies in Doctoral Programmes. You can find more information on doctoral programmes in Kamu and on UEF’s website on Doctoral School.
Applying as an incoming exchange student
Exchange students
Exchange students are non-degree students who intend to study at the University of Eastern Finland (Joensuu or Kuopio campus) for one or two semesters. These students participate in bilateral or international student exchange programmes (e.g. Erasmus+, YUFE, FIRST, ISEP, Nordplus/Nordlys, bilateral agreement).
An exchange student must have completed at least one year of studies at their home university in order to be eligible to enrol at the University of Eastern Finland.
Read more on how to apply as an exchange student and about studies for exchange students.
Visiting students
Visiting students are international non-degree students who intend to study at the University of Eastern Finland (Joensuu or Kuopio campus) for one or two semesters. These students do not participate in bilateral or international student exchange programmes (e.g. Erasmus, FIRST, bilateral agreement).
Students are entitled to official student status (e.g. student cards) at the university. Since visiting students are non-degree students, official diplomas or certificates, other than transcripts, are not available after the study period. Please note that studies for visiting students cannot be guaranteed in all departments of the University of Eastern Finland.
Visiting students must be registered at their home university and they also need to be recommended for admission by the home university. They must have studied for at least one academic year in a related study field. They also need to have a good command of spoken and written English.
Read more on how to apply as a visiting student.
Trainees
Erasmus training or Freemover training is suitable for non-degree exchange students who intend to do their traineeship (e.g. clinical placement, research work) in one of the departments of the University of Eastern Finland. The duration of Erasmus Training or Freemover Training is either one or two semesters (or in some cases a shorter period), but always a minimum of two months. Please note that there is a limited number of training options at the University of Eastern Finland, and departments are not obligated to organise training for the applicants. Please also note that according to the Erasmus regulations, the Erasmus trainees are not allowed to complete regular study courses during their training.
Before applying the students have to negotiate the training directly with the department they are interested in. Please also note that Erasmus trainees are not allowed to do regular courses at the University of Eastern Finland.
Read more on Erasmus training and freemover training
Financing the studies
There are no tuition fees for the EU and EEA citizens at the University of Eastern Finland. The non-European citizens studying for a a whole Bachelor’s or a Master’s degree have fees which vary from 8,000 to 10,000 €/year depending on the programme. The fees need to be paid before you can register as a student at the University of Eastern Finland. The university also offers tuition waivers for degree students required to pay tuition fees.
In some cases the students may receive a full or a partial scholarship for the tuition fee. Please note that these fees are for the degree seeking students only, not for the exchange students.
The students must also be able to cover all their own living costs in Finland (minimum of 560 euros per month for a single student). Further information on the average living expenses in Finland (opens in a new tab). It is good the remember that the actual living costs depend greatly on personal lifestyle and habits.
Own finances are also one of the requirements for the Finnish residence permit, and finances need to be available permanently on the student’s bank account for the whole period the permit is applied for. Financing one’s stay and studies in Finland by working is not possible. The University of Eastern Finland is not offering any financial aid for students’ living costs but some programmes may offer those scholarships.
The tuition fees for visiting students are EUR 3500 for a full academic year or EUR 1750 for one semester. The tuition fees will also be collected when the study period is shorter than one semester (e.g. a visiting student staying at the University of Eastern Finland for three months will pay a tuition fee of EUR 1750). Visiting students cannot register before the tuition fee is paid, and proof of the payment is required to be presented upon registration. The University of Eastern Finland does not offer scholarships or other financial support for visiting students. More information on tuition fees of visiting students.
More information: Tuition fees and waivers (opens in a new tab).