Frequently Asked Questions

Your home university's coordinator must nominate you for exchange studies. The nomination should be made directly in SoleMOVE or sent by e-mail to incoming(at)ulapland.fi. See further details here.

 

Currently we only accept exchange students from our partner universities. Without an inter-institutional agreement we unfortunately cannot welcome you as an exchange student.

As an exchange student, you can take courses from all the faculties, except for Art and Design. The courses at the faculty of Art and Design are reserved for (exchange) students of the faculty of Art and Design only. 

Notice that the faculties have some specific instructions related to the courses. You can find those here. 

The full study offer can be found in our study guide. Here we collected the courses for exchange students (in English).
Keep in mind that you can only study the courses in English (unless you are very proficient in Finnish). 

 

At the University of Lapland we require you to take a minimum of 25 ECTS per semester. Even if your home university requires less, you must take a minimum of 25 ECTS. 

A normal workload is 30 ECTS for a semester or 60 ECTS for a full academic year. Because of that we ask you to limit yourself to 35 ECTS per semester. In case you want to deviate from this, please contact the international office beforehand at incoming@ulapland.fi 

Yes there are. We require you to have at least a B2 level (CEFR) in English for both the passive (reading & listening) and active (writing & speaking) skills. 

You have to prove the language skills in your application with one of the following pieces of evidence: 

- A transcript of records showing prior studies in English at B2 level or higher. 
- An official language test certifying you have a B2 level or higher in English for writing, speaking, reading and listening. 
- A signed letter from your home university that specifically states you are proficient in English at the B2 level or higher.

This is an absolute criterium. Any indicating that you do not have the required level in English will result in a rejection of the application. 

Your home university's coordinator must nominate you for exchange studies. The nomination should be made directly in SoleMOVE or sent by e-mail to incoming(at)ulapland.fi. See further details here.

You will need: 

• A learning agreement/study plan 
• A letter of motivation 
• A transcript of records
• A proof of language proficiency 
• For art and design, an artistic portfolio 
  

 

Once received, your application will be reviewed by the relevant faculty. Successful applicants will be sent a letter of acceptance by e-mail 15th June for autumn semester and the whole academic year or 15th November for spring semester. The e-mail also includes a welcoming letter with a lot of practical information. The e-mail is sent from the SoleMOVE system and occasionally it might end up in your trash mail, please check that also if you don't hear from us on the 15th. If you haven't received our e-mail by the given date, contact us through incoming(at)ulapland.fi.

You will be informed by e-mail within one month after the application deadline: mid-June/mid-November.

We will sign the Learning Agreement as part of the application process and provide you with it at the time of acceptance. 

If we have comments regarding the Learning Agreement, first we will reach out to you through the messages in SoleMOVE. 

ULapland endorses Erasmus+ Online Learning Agreement (OLA) and Erasmus+ Mobile App applications. If your home University is using OLA, we sign them online. If your home university does not use OLA, we will sign the PDF version. In both cases you need to upload to PDF for review. 

If you have done OLA, you will receive it back through the Erasmus+ Mobile App.
In all other cases we will sign and upload your LA in SoleMOVE, your application enclosures subpage. Basically you can find it exactly the same place where you uploaded it yourself for your application.

1) Confirm your study place in the SoleMOVE system.

2) Apply for a student flat on the website of the Domus Arctica Student Housing Foundation (DAS). Please make sure to do this in good time. Late applications do NOT receive an apartment offer. 
(Note that there is never a 100% guarantee you will receive an apartment from DAS. The places are not always sufficient for all exchange students.) 

3) Make the necessary arrangements to travel to Rovaniemi (flight/train tickets) and, if you are a Non-EU/ETA citizen, apply for a residence permit. Note: Do not postpone making such arrangements, especially applying for residence permits, as this could cause inconvenient delays in your study plans.

4) Once your travel (and possible residence permit) arrangements are settled, enter your arrival information in the SoleMOVE system. Note: In Finland, July is the most popular summer holiday month and answers to inquires will take extra time.

If you are an EU/ETA citizen or citizen of Liechtenstein and Switzerland you don't need a residence permit. However, you must register your right to reside in Finland if the stay is going to last longer than three months.

If you are a non-EU citizen, you have to apply for a residence permit in advance. The permit must be applied for in the country of which the student is a legal resident.
Check out here:
www.infofinland.fi/en/frontpage
www.migri.fi/studying_in_finland
https://enterfinland.fi/eServices

There are several options. 

The fastest is to come by plane. In August there are several planes from Helsinki coming to Rovaniemi and in January there are many direct flights! 
If you prefer to travel green, the train connections and busses from Helsinki might be just for you! Did you know you can get a top-up for your grant if you travel at least 50% of your trip using green travel methods? 

Read more on the different travel methods on our Arrival information webpage. 

You can pick-up your key from the DAS housing office during their office hours.

If you arrive outside the office hours, you can authorize your tutor to pick up the key. Your tutor will then meet you at your apartment upon arrival if you agreed so. 

DAS also offers a key service at a charge. 

Yes. It is very important that you tell your exact time of arrival, so that she/he can meet you upon your arrival to assist you with practical arrangements.

You can register for courses according to your Learning Agreement after you have been registered as a student and received your username and password. If you arrive late we will have to identify you in a different way to get you the credentials. If that is the case, please contact incoming@ulapland.fi so arrangements can be made. 

No. You can get a student card once you’ve joined the Student Union and paid the membership fee. For exchange students and doctoral students the membership is voluntary. See more on the LYY webpages.

You can find the programme on our webpages. 

The best option is to apply from an apartment from DAS, the local student housing foundation. They offer furnished apartments for exchange students for a reasonable price. 

Information on how and when to apply will be provided upon acceptance. Keep in mind that applications send after the deadline set by DAS are not considered. Additionally, please note that there is not enough availability to house all the exchange students from the beginning of the semester. 

In case you did not receive an apartment from DAS, you will have to search for housing on the private market. There are many webpages to search on such as:
Vuokraovi.com
https://qasa.fi/fi

The university does not provide housing for students. 

All accepted students are eligible to apply for student housing through the local student housing foundation Domus Arctica (DAS). Apply for housing via www.das.fi.

You can apply for a flat on the DAS website after you have received confirmation of being accepted to the University of Lapland as an exchange student. DAS only considers the application of those who have submitted their housing applications on time, i.e., by early July/November. The deadline for housing applications varies each year, so please ask DAS for the exact dates if you are unsure whether you are submitting your application on time.

The best place to check the available courses is the Student Information System called Peppi. You can also have a look at our “Plan" page to see all the courses available to international students.
The study guide also has all the courses in English collected. 

Please note that the studies at the faculty of Art and Design are open only for the students who applied for the faculty. They have been accepted based on their artistic portfolio and study plan. 

We aim to have all courses on campus and therefore do not offer only online exchange studies at the moment. You can however take some online/self-study courses of course. 

Lapland is the northernmost province of Finland and the European Union. The seasons are very pronounced here. During the six months of winter there is a lot of snow. Summers can be very warm and there is 24 hours of daylight. The University is located in Rovaniemi, on the Arctic Circle. Rovaniemi is a dynamic, growing city with a strong, diverse business base and international expertise. It's also the official hometown of Santa Claus.
For more information see here.
Everyday Life in Lapland
Life is exactly like this all year round in Rovaniemi  : )
Check the ESN Lapland guide.pdf for new students in Lapland for good advise on how to live in Rovaniemi. 

Before getting an extension to your exchange, you must

1) contact your home institution’s coordinator and ask if your home university allows you to extend your exchange. If your home institution agrees,

3) consult your ULapland coordinator (Art and Design) for suitable studies for an additional semester. If you are an exchange student of the Faculty of Education, Law or Social Sciences, prepare a study plan for the new semester.

4) Send your home university's consent and your new study plan to incoming team incoming(at)ulapland.fi by 15 November (15 May) 

4) Incoming team will inform you, if accepted by the dean. If the decision is positive,

5) you should register as a student for the following semester at the Student Services office in the E-wing. Also keep in mind that you might need to

6) contact the student housing foundation (DAS) to extend your rental agreement.

Confirmation of Attendance - stating the period of stay of your exchange
Many of you have this document from your home university. Prefill it and send it to be signed to incoming(at)ulapland.fi. If you don't have the form from your home university, you can just order our version of it.
We need to verify your physical presence in Rovaniemi before we sign the confirmation document. Please come to the international office in the E-wing to do so! 

Transcript of Records - list of courses you completed during your exchange
You can order an electronic Transcript of Records from Peppi.

Learning Agreement - final updated version of Learning Agreement that matches your Transcript of Records
If you still need to make changes to your learning agreement, do them and have it signed by Incoming team representative.
Erasmus students should do this in OLA - Online Learning Agreement - dashboard.

If your Transcript of Records needs to be corrected, please ask the teacher/tutor of the course to update your grade/credits in Peppi. After the correct grade/credits have been entered into Peppi, you can download the transcript directly from Peppi. 

1.    Update your contact information: e-mail and postal address into Peppi for future contacts e.g. by your teachers.
2.    Send your Finnish PIC to opinto(at)ulapland.fi, if you have not already done so.
3.    Do necessary actions for moving out from DAS. See DAS instructions.
4.    Return the electronic key of the university to the care takers.
5.    Recycle. Return your extra stuff to ESN recycling room.

You can return your key to DAS during the opening hours or you can put it in an envelope with your name on it and leave it in the post box at the DAS office. Never leave the key in your apartment and never give it to your roommate or friends. See DAS instructions on moving out and returning keys.