Information for incoming Exchange Students

The School of Social Sciences and Humanities welcomes approximately one hundred international exchange and visiting students each year. Exchange students come mostly form the School’s Erasmus partner universities in Europe, but we also have exchange agreements with universities in North America, Russia and Japan. In addition, the School welcomes a number of students coming through the university-wide bilateral exchange agreements with universities in five continents. We also have the possibility of accepting a limited number of international visiting students from universities with which there are no exchange agreements.

The Guide for International Exchange and Visiting Students offers a good introduction to studying at the University of Tampere. Other source of information to international students is the Studies –section of the university web pages.

Applying

The application deadlines for international exchange and visiting students are:

• for autumn semester arrivals: 15 May at 3 pm (local time)
• for spring semester arrivals: 15 October at 3 pm (local time)

All incoming exchange and visiting students must fill in an online application (available during the application period) and send the required enclosures to the UTA by the deadline given in the confirmation e-mail you will receive after submitting the application. Please note that the application is complete and will be processed only after the enclosures have been submitted.

For more information on eligibility and the application process, please see the Guide for International Exchange and Visiting Students.

Academic calendar

The academic year at UTA starts in September. It is divided into two semesters each consisting of two periods. The first two periods constitute the Autumn Semester. The Spring Semester, which starts in January, is composed of the third and the fourth period. There is a one week break at the end of the first and the third period, and a Christmas vacation of two weeks after the second period. Summer vacation runs from the end of the fourth period until the start of the new academic year.

The four-period system does not apply to the School of Medicine, in which teaching goes by the two-semester system.

Academic year 2012-2013:

Autumn Semester 2012

Period I: 3 September - 19 October
Period II: 22 October - 14 December

Spring Semester 2013

Period III: 7 January - 8 March
Period IV: 11 March - 17 May

Teaching schedule and choosing courses

The teaching schedule for the next academic year is available here. Please note that all courses mentioned in the curricula guide are not available yearly! Not all disciplines offer teaching in English, but book exams or essays are a possible way to take course units also in these disciplines.

Exchange and visiting students get a letter of acceptance from their host school, but they may take course units also in other UTA Schools and in the UTA Language Center. The Language Center offers course units in the Finnish language on beginner's level. Other language courses are primarily for UTA degree students, but exchange students can attend if there is room in the group.

Study module Studies on Society, Culture and History.

International students in the University of Tampere (both exchange and degree students) can take some courses also from Tampere University of Technology and Tampere University of Applied Sciences. The cross-institutional studies are offered by UNIPOLI Tampere. UNIPOLI web pages also offer information on the Finnish way of life and happenings in and around Tampere.

If you are interested in Asian studies, please visit the web page of the Finnish University Network for Asian Studies which organises an interdisciplinary online study programme on East and Southeast Asia. The language of instruction is English.

Accommodation

For information on student housing, please see http://www.uta.fi/admissions/newstudents/accommodation.html

Erasmus administrative contact person in the School:

International Coordinator
Ms Anna Vähämäki
Linna building 6065
Tel: 050 318 6639
email: anna.vahamaki (at) uta.fi