How to apply?

Application Process

If you want to be an exchange student at Åbo Akademi University, you must contact your home university in order to be nominated for the exchange period. The nomination is based on exchange agreements (can be limited to specific subject areas and a specific campus), or a student exchange programme. Please note that we don’t accept free movers.

Once you have been nominated, you will receive an e-mail from Åbo Akademi University with a link to the online application for exchange students.

Nomination & Application Deadlines

The nomination e-mail must be sent to exchange@abo.fi by the nomination deadline. Åbo Akademi University accepts exchange students on both campuses: Åbo (Turku) and Vasa (Vaasa).

Please note that the e-mail address of the student, provided in the nomination by the home university coordinator, is the one that will be connected to the online application. Thus, the acceptance letter will also be sent electronically to this same e-mail address.

Upload the required documents in English as PDFs:

Complete your exchange application online via the link that was sent to you after you were nominated

You should complete the online exchange application in the SoleMove portal. We do not accept applications that are send via email. Complete all parts as well as upload the necessary documents that are needed for your application. More information below:

1. A Learning agreement/study plan:

Use the course information of the current academic year found in our Study Handbook. The course information for the next academic year will be available no later than 1 August. Plan a full time course load, 30 credits for one semester, 60 credits for an academic year. The study plan must be approved and signed appropriately by your home institution. Åbo Akademi does not need to sign your learning agreement when you submit your application. We will check all learning agreements and study plans after the deadline. Only your home university needs to sign you learning agreement for you to submit your exchange application. You can use the study plan/learning agreement form of Åbo Akademi University; Erasmus students should use the Erasmus+ learning agreement of their home university. Please contact your home university to get the Erasmus+ learning agreement.

2. An official transcript of records in English,

Your transcript of records should include all the courses you have taken at your home university, with the credits and grades, from all your previous years of study. if you are a Masters level student you should upload both your Bachelor and Master transcript of records.

3. A certificate of English proficiency.

In the interest of a meaningful and useful study abroad experience, we require that incoming students, who are not native speakers of English, have a good knowledge of the English language, both written and spoken, so that they will be able to follow lectures, read English-language textbooks, participate in small-group coursework, and write their assignments and examinations without undue difficulty.

The required level of English language should meet at least one of the following:

• B2 in CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages), verified by a certificate issued by the home university’s language center’s (or similar). 
• or a min. 78 points in TOEFL iBT (540 TOEFL PBT)
• or a min of 6.0 in IELTS
• or at least 62 points in PTE Academic (Pearson’s Test of English).

Test results must be submitted with the application.

OLS results can not be used.

Please note that the language test must be taken before the application deadline, and the certificate should not be older than two years.

4. A copy of your passport (or your European National identity card).

Acceptance information

Provided that your application is approved, you will receive a letter of acceptance as an e-mail attachment from Åbo Akademi University within two weeks after the application deadline (remember to also check the spam folder). In case of any issues, we will contact the applicant.

If you are unable to accept your exchange period at Åbo Akademi University, please inform International affairs (exchange@abo.fi) in writing, as soon as possible.