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Nordics: Nordplus and Nordlys

Via the Nordplus exchange programme, students can go on exchange to the Nordic Countries and the Baltic region. Some Nordic and Baltic universities are also available through the department-specific agreements under the Erasmus+ programme.

NORDPLUS programme

NORDPLUS is a student exchange programme for Bachelor’s and Master’s level students that is funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers. Doctoral level students and members of staff (i.e. teachers, admin, 10% grant researchers) cannot apply for student exchange via NORDPLUS. All the Nordic countries and Baltic states are included in the programme.

The NORDPLUS programme includes subject-specific networks and the Nordlys network. On this page, you’ll first find information about the Nordlys network, followed by information about the subject-specific Nordplus networks.

Nordlys network

In addition to the subject-specific networks, the Nordplus programme includes the Nordlys network. Nordlys exchange is available for students of all study fields whose subject has no subject-specific network or in whose network the UEF is not a member, whose subject-specific network is inactive, or who wish to study a different subject than their major during the exchange. Nordlys exchanges are coordinated at UEF International Mobility Services.

For whom

Nordlys exchange is available for Bachelor’s and Master’s students of various fields. 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. The student exchange can be started no earlier than in the second year, but you may apply during your first year of academic studies.

Duration of the exchange

The duration of a Nordlys exchange is 1 or 2 semesters. Physical period of an exchange should be minimum 2 months. Completely virtual exchanges are not possible. NB! The duration of the exchange is determined by the academic calendar of the host university. The student is not able to decide the exchange duration by themselves, but they must follow the host university’s instructions and academic calendar.

Applying

Students apply for Nordlys exchange via the online application system SoleMOVE during an application period. The annual first call for applications is 1–15 February. If there are places and grants left after the first call, supplementary calls for applications will be organised on 1–15 May and 1–15 September.

Funding

Students going on Nordlys exchange may receive a mobility grant from the Erasmus+ programme. The mobility grant paid to UEF students going on Nordlys exchange is EUR 540 per month in the academic year 2024-2025. In addition, students will receive travel support and two grant-funded travel days for their exchange. The Erasmus+ mobility grants are funded by the Erasmus+ programme.

Students going on Nordlys exchange to the Faroe Islands may receive a mobility grant from the Nordplus programme. The Nordplus mobility grant consists of the Nordplus student mobility funding (max. EUR 200 per month) and UEF student mobility funding (min. EUR 340 per month).

The mobility grant is paid for the full exchange study period. The grant will only be paid for the duration of physical exchange period.

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.

Short-term mobility grants in the Nordlys network

Mobility grants will be made available in spring 2025 for short-term courses (e.g. summer and winter schools) arranged at Nordlys network partner universities. More information about is available in the short-term Nordlys grant page in Kamu.

Please note

The Nordplus programme requires the studies completed at the host university to be fully transferred to the degree at the home university. Many Nordlys universities have subject-specific restrictions that are listed under the list of the Nordlys member universities.

To be noted when applying for Nordplus exchanges: application form

Most of the exchanges within the Nordplus programme and Nordlys network are funded from the Erasmus+ programme. Due to this reason, the Exchange study information tab in the application form may offer only Erasmus+ as the exchange programme when selecting host university to the application even though the student is applying for Nordplus exchange.

Erasmus+ program rules

Most Nordlys exchanges are funded by Erasmus+ program. In the Erasmus+ program, students have 12 months of exchange time available 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).

When participating in an Erasmus+ exchange, students can take OLS language courses (Online Language Support) and the OLS language test. The Erasmus+ program also includes a digital learning agreement for the exchange period, which must be completed before the exchange period begins. This may be required as an attachment when applying to the host university, depending on host organisation’s instructions.

The following Nordic universities are members of the Nordlys network (listed by country):

Sweden

Norway

Denmark

Iceland

the Faroe Islands

Fróðskaparsetur Føroya (new tab)

Greenland

University of Greenland (new tab)

Subject-specific restrictions and details at Nordlys member universities (updated 4/2024)

Denmark

Aalborg University: Medicine, Sociology, Social Work and Psychology are not available for Nordlys students.
Aarhus University: The following fields of study are not available for Nordlys students: Business, Economics, Political Science, Law, Psychology, Medicine. Please check this page for information on general prerequisites and restrictions (new tab).
University of Copenhagen: Nordlys students cannot take courses in Medicine and Dentistry. Plenty of other subject-specific restrictions – please contact UEF International Mobility Services for more information. TOEFL or IELTS is required if you apply for Nordlys exchange to study the following fields: English/American Language and Culture, Political Science, Film & Media Studies, Philosophy, Economics. For more information, please visit The University of Copehagen website (new tab).
Roskilde University: Journalism is not available to Nordlys students.
University of Southern Denmark (Odense): Medicine is not available to Nordlys students.

Iceland

University of Iceland (Reykjavik): The following fields of study are not available for Nordlys students: Medicine, Psychology, Nursing Science, Pharmaceutical Sciences, MBA. The following do not accept Bachelor’s level exchange students: Law, Economics. Courses in the English Language Programme are only available to students majoring in English. Students are required to take at least 60% of their courses from their major – if the major is not offered as a subject at the University of Iceland, it is not possible to apply there as a Nordlys student.
University of Akureyri: Nursing and occupational health are not available to Nordlys students.

Norway

NTNU University (Trondheim):The following fields of study are not available for Nordlys students: Medicine, Architecture.
University of Bergen: The following faculties are not open for Nordlys students: Medicine; Dentistry; Fine Art; Design; Music (Performance/Composition).
University of Oslo: The following fields of study have restrictions for Nordlys students: Medicine, Health Sciences, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Geo Sciences. In addition, the following fields offer some courses that are very popular and thus may not be available: Psychology, Biosciences. Check the availability of Health Economics courses from the faculty.
University of Stavanger: MBA is not available for Nordlys students. The following do not accept Bachelor’s level exchange students: Law, Economics.

Sweden

University of Gothenburg: Faculty of Fine, Applied and Performing Arts is a very popular faculty amongst exchange students and those applying for studies there must be flexible with their choice of courses. The following fields of study are not available for Nordlys students: Business, Law.
Linköping University: Only the courses offered by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences are available for Nordlys students.
Lund University: Students of the following fields must take half of their courses from another subject: Economics, Management, Business. Journalism is not available for Nordlys students. Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Performing Arts, the Malmö Art Academy do not normally accept Nordlys students for their courses.
Mid Sweden University: Acceptance for the following fields is considered on a case-by-case basis: Nursing, Teacher training, Industrial Design.
Stockholm University: Law students need to have 120 ECTS completed to be able to apply for Nordlys exchange in Stockholm. There is competition for courses in the following: Stockholm Business School, Department of Law.
Örebro University: Medicine and Culinary arts are not available to Nordlys students.

More information on the Nordlys network is available at UEF International Mobility Services and the network’s website (new tab).

Subject-specific Nordplus networks

The duration of NORDPLUS student exchange via the subject-specific NORDPLUS networks varies from 1 to 12 months. The mobility grant will primarily be paid by the subject-specific network. To get additional information on the application periods and student exchange options of the subject-specific networks, please contact the network’s contact person at UEF.

The actual dates and duration of the exchange will be according to the host university’s academic calendar, not UEF’s.

UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN FINLAND IS A MEMBER OF THE FOLLOWING SUBJECT-SPECIFIC NORDPLUS NETWORKS:

Nordplus Law Network / Law

UEF contact person: Mia Kilpeläinen
Member universities:

Aalborg University, Denmark
Aarhus University, Denmark (Aarhus is currently not accepting students from UEF)
University of Copenhagen, Denmark (Copenhagen is currently not accepting students from UEF)
University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
Karlstad University, Sweden
Lund University, Sweden
Stockholm University, Sweden
Umeå University, Sweden
University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Uppsala University, Sweden
Örebro University, Sweden
University of Oslo, Norway
University of Bergen, Norway
UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Norway
Riga Graduate School of Law, Latvia
Mykolas Romeris University, Lithuania
University of Iceland, Iceland
Reykjavik University, Iceland
University of Tartu, Estonia

Medicin i Norden/Clinical Medicine

UEF contact person: Tarja Koponen
NB! There may be a limited number of exchange placements available at the host universities.
Member universities:

Aalborg University, Denmark (courses taught in Danish, exchange is only possible in the 3rd and/or 4th semester of the Master’s)
Aarhus University, Denmark (limited availabilities in the clinics, contact international@uef.fi before applying)
Linköping University, Sweden
Lund University, Sweden
NTNU – Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway (Exchange is only possible during the spring semesters, NTNU does not offer individual clinical rotations)
The Karolinska Institute / Läkarprogrammet på svenska, Stockholm, Sweden
UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
Umeå University, Sweden
University of Bergen, Norway
University of Copenhagen, Denmark
University of Gothenburg – Sahlgrenska Academy, Sweden
University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
University of Oslo, Norway (spring semesters have more availability for exchange placements)
University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
Uppsala University, Sweden
Örebro University, Sweden

Nätverket för de nordiska litteratur-, kultur- och språkinstitutionerna NORDLIKS/Swedish language

UEF contact person: Satu Pirhonen
The following universities are members in the network:

University of Southern Denmark (Odense), Denmark
Aalborg University, Denmark
Vilnius University, Lithuania
University of Agder, Norway
University of Oslo, Norway
NTNU – Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
UiT The Arctic University of Norway (Tromsø), Norway
University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Dalarna University, Sweden
Stockholm University, Sweden
Uppsala University, Sweden
Linnaeus University, Sweden

GeoNord “Nettverket av nordiske geografer”/ Geography

UEF contact person: Moritz Albrecht
The following universities are members in the network:

Tartu Ülikool, Geograafia teaduskond, Estonia
Latvijas Universitate, Faculty of Geography and Earth Sciences, Latvia
Umeå universitetet, Department of Geography and Economic History, Sweden
Universitetet i Bergen, Institutt for geografi, Norway
Háskóli Islands, Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, Iceland

NOVA/BOVA Nordplus Network / Forestry

UEF contact person: Marjoriitta Möttönen

Member universities of the network (new tab)

Atmosphere-Biosphere Studies / Applied physics and Environmental Science

UEF contact person: Siru Kaartinen
The following universities are members in the network:

Aarhus universitet, Denmark
Danmarks tekniske universitet, Denmark
Eesti maaülikool, Estonia
Göteborgs universitet, Sweden
Háskóli Íslands, Iceland
Helsingin yliopisto, Finland
Ilisimatusarfik, Greenland
Københavns universitet, Denmark
Landbúnaðarháskóli Íslands, Iceland
Lunds universitet, Sweden
Stockholms universitet, Sweden
Tartu ülikool, Estonia

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