Erasmus+ is the most extensive European student exchange programme funded by the EU. This page contains more information on the programme, along with a list of host universities by academic departments. University of Eastern Finland also has bilateral agreements with some European universities. In addition, the Nordic Countries are available through the Nordplus programme.
You can find Erasmus+ host universities sorted by faculty and subject via the links at the bottom of the page.
NB! Students must be registered as “present” in a degree programme at UEF throughout the exchange period. It is not permitted to graduate before or during the exchange and studies completed during the exchange must be included into degree studies at UEF. It is also not possible to go abroad for student exchange after graduating. This rule applies to all exchanges, i.e. long term (semester/full academic year) exchanges and short term exchanges in all exchange programmes. Exception: Erasmus+ traineeships for recent graduates are possible after graduation, as long as the traineeship grant is applied for a minimum of one (1) month before graduation and that the traineeship both starts and ends within a year of graduation.
Erasmus+ student exchange
Students can apply for student exchange, international traineeships or short-term exchanges through Erasmus+ programme. Student exchange is based on bilateral agreements concluded between academic departments at the participating universities. The countries participating in the Erasmus+ programme are the EU Member States and Iceland, Liechtenstein, Northern Macedonia, Norway, Serbia and Turkey. You can find more information on the Erasmus+ programme on the website of the Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI) (the link opens up to a new window). UEF’s partner countries in the Erasmus+ programme are United Kingdom and Switzerland. Read more about partner countries below.
For whom
The Erasmus+ student exchange program is open to Bachelor’s/Master’s/Doctoral level students of all fields. You can go for an exchange during your second year of study, but you can start the application in your first year. The Erasmus+ program includes numerous universities across Europe. Please find the field-specific host universities through the links at the bottom of this page.
List of Erasmus+ exchange options for doctoral students. NB! Changes are possible, always check the up-to-date list on the faculty/subject-specific pages.
NB! Students from outside the EU/EEA are advised to discuss with their study programme coordinator if exchange studies would extend their studies and/or affect their tuition fee.
NB! If you have an employment contract with UEF (for example as a 10 % grant researcher, trainee, research assistant etc.), your contract must expire well before your student exchange period begins. You cannot go abroad for student exchange as a member of staff – see instructions regarding staff exchange. It is permitted to apply for student exchange during a valid employment contract, but the contract must end/expire before the exchange period begins. Student mobility grants cannot be paid during a valid contract of employment, so the contract must end before the grant can be paid.
Duration
Erasmus+ student exchange lasts one semester or full academic year (usually 3–10 months, depending on the semesters of the host university). Physical exchange should be minimum 2 months in Erasmus+ student exchange. Completely virtual exchanges are not possible. NB! The actual dates and duration of the exchange depends on the host university’s academic calendar, not UEF’s.
Applying
The annual first call for applications for the following academic year is 1–15 February (autumn semester, spring semester, or full academic year). A second call for applications may be held on 1–15 May and a third call on 1-15 September if there are still places and grants available after the first call for applications. During supplementary calls, students can apply for exchange only for the following spring semester.
The application process has two stages: firstly, students apply for exchange internally to be accepted as UEF’s candidates for exchange (home department/school supports the applications); secondly, the selected candidates apply for the exchange to the host university according to their application process. The final decision on the acceptance will be made by the host university. For more information, see the section on applying for student exchange and training abroad. The UEF application is made in the SoleMOVE system. You can find the link to the system and instructions for completing the UEF application in the section SoleMove online application system.
Funding
The Erasmus+ grant is EUR 490/540 per month in the academic year 2025-2026, grants for the academic year 2026-2027 will be confirmed later (in May 2026). The precise amount is determined by the duration of the exchange and the host country. Grant will be only paid for physical exchange period. In addition, students will receive travel support for their mobility and two grant-funded travel days.
Students who have fewer opportunities on participating in the exchange (e.g. students with family, family carers, students with health problems, disabled students, migrant background) or who have special needs due to physical or mental health can apply for additional support for the exchange.
In Erasmus+ programme, student can also apply for green travel support, if most of the travelled journeys to host country and back home or at least one direction of journey is travelled with low emissions (bus, train, carpooling) – ferry/ship is not considered as a form of green travel. When traveling green, the student is entitled to increased travel support and up to six grant-funded travel days.
More detailed information on additional support and the amount of travel support can be found from the section Funding your studies abroad.
12 months per degree level
Students may complete more than one Erasmus+ student exchange or traineeship during their studies. However, the total maximum duration is 12 months per degree level (Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctorate). Once the 12-month limit at a certain degree level is reached, the student can no longer participate in an Erasmus+ mobility period at that degree level. It should also be noted that the student must have enough months available when leaving on an Erasmus+ mobility period, meaning that the 12-month limit cannot be exceeded during the mobility period. The 12-month limit also includes the months that the student has used in previous studies at the same degree level and the time as a recipient of the Erasmus Mundus scholarship.
Please note
Erasmus+ student exchanges are based on field-specific Erasmus+ agreements between departments/schools. Some agreements only cover Bachelor’s or Master’s studies (see the level of studies in the list of host universities 1=bachelor, 2=master, 3=doctoral). The number of students accepted each year depends on the individual agreement.
As a rule, students apply for exchange through the agreement of their major or minor subject. Students applying through minor subject agreements should be aware that students majoring in the subject are prioritized in selections. If applying through a minor, the minor should be started (i.e., the applicant should have completed courses in the registry for the subject) and the minor should be included in an approved PSP. It should also be noted that most universities do not accept students from outside the agreed field and the available exchange studies are limited to the field or faculty specified in the agreement. In addition, students majoring in the subject will take precedence if the number of applicants exceeds the number of available places.
Exceptions apply in these subjects:
- Education – students in education fields (applied educational sciences and teacher education, educational sciences, adult education and career counselling, special education) may apply for all host institutions of all study fields in education as major subject students
- Logopedics – students may apply for host universities in the list for Finnish language and Cultural studies, and as minor subject students for linguistics and psychology
- Sustainable technologies – students may apply for host universities in the lists for chemistry, forestry, and computer science
OLS language courses and language test
Students selected for exchange can take Erasmus+ OLS-online language courses and language test before the exchange. The results of the language assessment will not prevent student from taking part in the mobility. In general, students cannot use the OLS language test result to prove their language skills to the host university in their application process. Students need to consult host university in case they want to use the OLS test result as a prove of their language skills.
Digital Learning Agreement
All students need to make a digital study plan, Digital Learning Agreement (DLA), for the exchange period before their study exchange period begins. According to the host universities processes, Learning agreement might be required in the second stage when submitting the application to the host university. Digital Learning Agreement can also be called as an Online Learning Agreement (OLA).
UEF Erasmus ID Code: SF KUOPIO12
UEF Erasmus Charter Number: 101011365
UEF Erasmus Charter (PDF file available below)
UEF European Policy Statement (PDF file available below)
Erasmus+ partner countries at the University of Eastern Finland
The Erasmus+ programme includes programme countries and partner countries. Partner countries are countries that are not a part of the EU and the Erasmus+ programme, but with which Erasmus+ cooperation may occur.
The University of Eastern Finland has currently prioritized United Kingdom and Switzerland as partner countries in the Erasmus+ programme. The university can select which countries to prioritize cooperation with and how funding is allocated. This is why each university may have different partner countries they have cooperation with.
At the moment, International Mobility Services is not allocating Erasmus+ funding for student exchange or traineeships to other partner countries except United Kingdom and Switzerland. The Erasmus+ programme has limited the amount of funding that can be allocated for partner country functions. In order to receive mobility grants for student exchange at host universities located in UEF’s partner countries, there must be an inter-institutional agreement between universities, so Erasmus+ grants are not available for exchanges without an agreement.
If you wish to apply for exchange to any university that does not have a bilateral agreement with UEF or is not among UEF’s partnership networks, students may apply for Freemover or Visiting Student exchange. In these exchanges, the student must arrange the exchange independently. For more information about Freemover exchanges, see Kamu.
