How to apply for exchange studies at Tampere University
If you are interested in student exchange at Tampere University (city centre campus, Hervanta campus or Kauppi campus), you should start by contacting the International Office at your home university as you have to be officially nominated for student exchange. Exchange students do not pay any tuition fees for their studies. Studies completed at Tampere University will be counted to your home university degree, but remember to discuss the credit transfer with your home university first.
Application instructions for exchange students
COVID-19 updates: Latest instructions by the International Mobility Services can be found now in the Student's Guide: COVID-19 information for incoming exchange students, spring semester 2022.
Autumn semester 2021: Tampere University Rectorate has decided to suspend incoming exchange student mobility. All* nominations and applications for the academic year 2021-2022 (autumn semester, full academic year and spring semester) on Mobility-Online will be cancelled by Tampere University. Nominated exchange students can either postpone their exchanges or take part in online studies or Tampere Summer School from their home countries. Exchange students are not allowed to arrive in Tampere in autumn 2021.
*Some double degree and doctoral level (PhD) exchange students are eligible to continue their application process according to the received instructions.
Spring semester 2022: We are preparing to welcome exchange students again in Tampere in the spring semester 2022 (January - May 2022). All exchange students must be re-nominated by their home universities or sending exchange programmes during our next nomination window.
You are eligible to apply if you are studying as a degree student at a university which has a valid agreement on student exchange (such as Erasmus+, Nordplus, ISEP, north2north, QSEP, Erasmus+ ICM, or bilateral student exchange) with Tampere University (including active agreements with the former University of Tampere, UTA, and Tampere University of Technology, TUT).
Our Erasmus+ code is SF TAMPERE17.
Once we have received nominations from our partner universities or exchange programmes, we will send the link to the online application form by email to the nominated students. We will not publish the link to the online application on our website and cannot consider paper applications.
Special restrictions:
Studies within the Degree Programme in Architecture on the Hervanta campus are almost exclusively on master's degree level. Applicants should therefore have completed their bachelor's degree (or be at least in their 4th year of study) when starting their exchange study period at Tampere University.
For studies within the Degree Programme in Languages, specialisation in English Language on the city centre campus, the English language proficiency requirement is C1. In addition, all students are required to take and pass a language proficiency evaluation test organised by the Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences (ITC) at the beginning of the semester.
For other restrictions and studies in other languages, please see the special requirements on the Courses for exchange students at Tampere Universite website.
Visiting or non-degree freemover students:
You can participate in an exchange only if there is an official agreement between your home university and Tampere University. Unfortunately Tampere University does not accept students outside of these agreements (usually known as visiting or non-degree freemover students). If your university does not have an agreement with Tampere University please inquire your own International Office about what other universities your university has agreements with, or about developing an agreement with Tampere University.
More information: International Tampere University / Tampere Universities
Students need to fill in the online application form and submit it with all the required application documents before the deadline.
Please note that the application is complete and will be processed only after you have followed all the steps of the application system and entered all the required information. Before filling in the online application form, please read carefully the list of required documents and language requirements.
Student exchange application periods:
1 April - 15 May (extended) for autumn semester and whole academic year applications- 16 September - 15 October for spring semester only
The nomination deadline is two weeks before the application deadline. For detailed nomination instructions, please see the information provided below in the Nomination instructions section.
All required documents have to be submitted in English, Finnish or Swedish, or an official translation into one of these languages must be included. All required documents must be uploaded into the online application portal by the application deadline. For programme-specific requirements, please read the Eligibility criteria.
Exchange students must upload the following documents:
- An official academic transcript of your university records issued by your home university. The document should be signed and stamped by a university official and cover the the full length of your studies. If you have completed your bachelor's degree and you are applying for master's level studies, please upload your bachelor's degree transcript as well.
- A motivation letter (max. 1 page). Describe why and what you wish to study at Tampere University. Write about your knowledge in the subjects you have taken in your previous studies with reference to the studies you are applying for. Write about your objectives for studying at Tampere University and about your goals after your study period in Tampere. Provide any further information that you feel may be relevant to your application. The language of the motivation letter is English, however, if you apply to the study module of Finnish Language and Culture, please write your motivation letter in Finnish. If you apply to the Degree Programme in Languages, specialisation in Scandinavian Languages, please write your motivation letter in Swedish.
- A preliminary study plan. Please list the courses you are planning to take at Tampere University in the application portal. Your final admission to the courses can be confirmed after your arrival only. Exchange students are expected to select the majority of their courses from the hosting faculty and campus. Acceptance to courses of other fields of studies and faculties cannot be guaranteed, and usually some prior studies in these fields are required. More instructions: Preliminary study plan for exchange students.
- A proof of knowledge of English according to the language requirements of Tampere University.
- Other documents (if applicable). Students of architecture on our Hervanta campus need to attach a portfolio (.pdf) to the online application. The portfolio should give a clear and concise summary of your skills. Your portfolio should start with the most recent project and include projects in a variety of scales, preferably from urban planning or design to architectural details. Building design projects should have clear plans and sections in addition to perspectives or other visualisations. The portfolio layout should be legible on most common computer screens.
The required level of knowledge of English at Tampere University is B2 on Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and C1 in the Degree Programme in Languages, Specialisation in English Language.
How to prove my knowledge of English?
No proof of knowledge of English is required if you have taken or you are studying for:
- A bachelor's degree in English in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States, excluding online degrees, with having stayed in the respective country when studying for the bachelor's degree
- Secondary education in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States.
Also those applicants who are not required to take a language test must have a knowledge of academic English corresponding to the level of our language test score limits.
All Erasmus+ and other exchange students must submit certificates by the application deadline as follows:
- a certificate of knowledge of English (B2-C1) written by university staff, preferably your English teacher
OR
- a score report of one of the following language tests:
- TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) - 92/iBT (incl. Special Home Edition),
- IELTS Academic (International English Language Testing System) - 6.5 with no individual score below 5.5 (incl. IELTS Indicator)
- Duolingo English Test (DET) - 115
Copies of the test scores are accepted. Please keep in mind that test results are valid only for two years.
If you apply to the Degree Programme in Languages, Specialisation in English Language or a non-English degree programme on the city centre campus (Finnish, Swedish, Russian, French or German), please see the additional requirements.
Tampere University offers support to students who need special arrangements to make effective progress towards their studies. Our special arrangements policy promotes equality of opportunity by enabling reasonable adjustments to be made to help all students undertake and demonstrate learning. If you have a diagnosed illness, learning difficulty or disability, please include this information in your application form. For more information on available services, please see: Accessibility and special arrangements.
Students coming to Tampere University through the Erasmus+, Nordplus or north2north programmes also have the opportunity to apply for an accessibility grant. Please contact your Erasmus+, Nordplus or north2north coordinator of your home university for more information.
Students coming to Tampere University through the Erasmus+ ICM programme, are eligible for a special needs grand awarded by the Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI). Read more: Special Needs Grant in Higher Education Exchange Programmes.
If you come to Tampere University through an other agreement, please inquire about the possibility of applying for an accessibility grant from your home university.
If you have special requests concerning student housing, please contact directly the Tampere Student Housing Foundation (TOAS).
All applicants must be officially nominated by their home university or student's exchange programme coordinator in the Mobility-Online nomination form. Emailed nominations are not accepted anymore.
We will send our nomination instructions and a link to our online nomination form to all partners a few days before our nomination period starts. If you have not received the link or you need more information, please contact us at mobility.tau [at] tuni.fi.
Erasmus+, Erasmus+ ICM, Nordplus, Nordlys and faculty-level bilateral agreements: please nominate students to study in the field of study included in the agreement. Exchange students have a host unit, which means that they need to select at least 50 % of their courses from one faculty or study field specified in the agreement.
The link to the online application form will be sent to the nominated students by email.
Nomination periods:
- 1 March - 15 April for autumn semester and whole academic year applications
- 16 August - 30 September for spring semester only
Spring nominations will be processed during the autumn semester.
The decisions on acceptance of exchange students are made by the hosting faculty or by the International Mobility Services. The admission process takes approximately one month after the application period has ended.
Successful applicants will receive an electronic Letter of Acceptance from the University. Accepted students will be able to download and print the Letter of Acceptance themselves from the Mobility-Online, an application portal, we will not send hard copies (nor official invitation letters) unless requested.
A letter of invitation from a representative of your study programme is not sufficient to grant you the right to study as an exchange student at Tampere University. Unsuccessful applicants will be notified by email.
The academic year at Tampere University is divided into two semesters consisting of two teaching periods each. All new exchange students are required to attend the Welcome Week programme.
Autumn semester 2021* (August - December 2021)
- Tampere Summer School 2021: 2 Aug - 13 Aug
Arrival period: 16 Aug - 22 AugWelcome Week: 23 Aug - 29 Aug- Teaching period I: 30 Aug - 24 Oct
- Teaching period II: 25 Oct - 22 Dec
Spring semester 2022 (January - May 2022)
- Welcome Week: 3 Jan - 7 Jan (tentative)
- Arrival period: 1 Jan - 3 Jan (tentative)
- Teaching period III: 10 Jan - 6 Mar
- Teaching period IV: 7 Mar - 31 May
Tampere Summer School 2021 will be organised in August 2021, please see: Tampere Summer School. Summer school courses are free of charge for exchange students of Tampere University.
*Autumn semester 2021: Tampere University Rectorate has decided to suspend incoming exchange student mobility. Some double degree and doctoral level (PhD) exchange students are eligible to continue their application process according to the received instructions. All other exchange students can either postpone their exchanges or take part in online studies or Tampere Summer School from their home countries.
Tampere University has three campuses: the city centre, Hervanta and Kauppi in Tampere. The city centre campus in the city centre is a hub for education, business and management studies, natural sciences, life sciences, politics, communication and social sciences. The Hervanta campus and the surrounding area constitute a major technology hub and is a main campus for engineering students. The Kauppi campus is located near the Tampere University Hospital. It is the home base for medicine and health sciences.
Exchange students can choose courses from different faculties according to their own interests, provided that they meet the course prerequisites. However, exchange students are expected to select the majority of their courses from the hosting faculty and campus.
- Faculty of Built Environment (BEN) - Hervanta campus
- Architecture (limited acceptance)
- Civil engineering
- Faculty of Education and Culture (EDU) - City centre campus
- Early childhood education
- Life-long learning education
- Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences (ENS) - Hervanta campus
- Automation engineering
- Chemistry and engineering physics
- Environmental, energy and bioengineering
- Mechanical engineering
- Materials science
- Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences (ITC) - City centre campus
- Communication studies
- Journalism
- Information studies
- Media studies
- Computer sciences
- Languages, translation studies
- Mathematics and statistics
- Theatre studies (limited acceptance)
- Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences (ITC) - Hervanta campus
- Computer sciences
- Electrical engineering
- Faculty of Management and Business (MAB) - City centre campus and Hervanta campus
- City centre campus
- Business
- Administration
- Politics
- Hervanta campus
- Industrial engineering and management
- Information and knowledge management
- City centre campus
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology (MET) - Kauppi campus
- Biotechnology and biomedical engineering
- Biomedical sciences and engineering
- Biomedical technology
- Medicine (limited acceptance)
- Faculty of Social Sciences (SOC) - Kauppi campus
- Health sciences
- Faculty of Social Sciences (SOC) - City centre campus
- History
- Literary studies
- Logopedics
- Philosophy
- Psychology
- Social sciences
- Social work
If you are applying to Tampere University's Pori unit (UCPori), please see: UCPori Interdisciplinary Exchange Programme.
Quick instructions can be found below. For detailed instructions with screenshots, please see:
- Please start your application with the registration link you have received by email
- Once your nomination has been accepted by the International Mobility Services, your first step is register to the application system Mobility-Online by creating a login name and a password through the link you have received by email
- After registration, you will receive a new email with the personal login link to the Mobility-Online application portal (at the bottom of the email). Please save this email, as it includes a link for future access to Mobility-Online
- If you do not receive the email with your personal link within a few minutes, please check your junk email folder
- Your next step is to login to the Mobility-Online application portal with the personal login link and your username and password
- Your second step is to go through the Application Workflow and complete your application by following all the necessary steps in your application workflow
- Please, upload required application documents to the Mobility-Online application workflow
- For more details about the required application documents and language certificate requirements, please see the Required application documents section above
- For more details regarding your preliminary study plan, please go to Preliminary study plan for exchange students
- Submit your application
- The last step is to submit your application, after you have completed all the steps and uploaded all the required documents before the given deadline. It is recommended to submit your application as early as possible, if you have to apply for residence permit for studies
- After submitting your application, we will check your application and your preliminary study plan
- You will receive comments to your study plan, if some changes are required. All changes must be made in the Mobility-Online portal only by logging in and updating your study plan
- The admission process takes approximately 3-6 weeks after the application period has ended
- Successful applicants will receive an electronic Letter of Acceptance from the University, which you will be able to download and print from the Mobility-Online's portal. Rejected applicants will be notified as well
Contact us
If you did not find answers to your questions on these pages, please contact us:
International Mobility Services
mobility.tau [at] tuni.fi
+358 294 5211 (switchboard)