Apply for student exchange outside the EU/EEA region for the academic year 2027–2028 or year 2028
Would you like to study abroad for one semester or one academic year?
The application period for student exchange destinations outside the EU/EEA region begins on Wednesday October 7th and ends on Wednesday October 21st, 2026
- Eligibility for application and criteria for selection
- Students from all faculties are welcome to apply.
- If there are more applicants than places available for an exchange destination, places will be allocated by lottery.
- Students who have previously been on an exchange programme outside Europe through the University of Helsinki cannot be selected again for an exchange programme outside Europe
- Exchange destinations open for application: Asia, Middle East and Africa, Australia and New Zealand, USA and Canada, Latin America. North2North (arctic area). Destinations in the UK are not open in this application round. Information about available exchange destinations will be updated until 23rd of September. Individual destinations may still be updated until the 7th of October.
- For most destinations the application round concerns the academic year 2027–2028. Exceptions:
- Africa: please check each destination's available semesters from the destination university's information.
- Latin America: one-semester exchanges either autumn 2027 or spring 2028; full-year exchanges usually refer to spring + autumn 2028. Please check for destination-specific semester details from our destination pages.
- You can apply to a maximum number of 4 universities.
- Applicants are required to have completed at least 25 ECTS credits of university studies prior to the application deadline. Bachelor's degree students must have 25 ECTS on the University of Helsinki transcript prior to the application deadline.
- The exchange placements are open for undergraduate or graduate (seeking Master’s) students.
- Language skills in the host country’s language are required for some of the universities, but there are possibilities to study in English as well. First check the language information for the destination you wish to apply to via our Exchange opportunities page. If you need further information after that, please see the Instructions for proving your language skills.
- The last day to supplement your application is October 28th.
If you are not chosen to any exchange destination you applied to, you can still be offered the possibility to be selected for an exchange with an offer for available places left over, without having to send a separate application. This opportunity is only available to applicants who have applied to at least three universities.
The application is done in the Mobility Online system. Check the instructions of the application process and the required attachments here. The attachments must be uploaded to the Mobility Online system by the application deadline.
The decisions of placements will be sent to applicants via email in the first week of December. Note! If you are offered a place, you must accept it on Mobility Online within 7 days of receiving the offer.
If you do not accept the place you have applied for or cancel it, you may be excluded from the lottery in future application rounds. If the reason for the cancellation is beyond your control, this criterion will not apply. Please note that places that are left unused cannot be given to anyone else.
More information
Would you like to go on exchange? Info session on student exchange
Would you like to go on exchange? events Finnish event on zoom (has slides in English and you can ask questions in English) 30.9.2026 14.15-16.00.
Exchange info fair
You are also welcome to visit our exchange info fair on campus!
At the autumn Exchange info fair, you can come to hear from UH students who have been on exchange, learn about our exchange destinations and meet exchange students who have come to study at UH from all over the world.
Tue 6.10.2026 12.00-15.00, Main Building, Agora.
If you are interested in student exchange, you can come to the fair for a low-threshold chat and questions.
Application support clinic
If you need further support in planning your exchange, come to the application support clinic! There will be no presentation, but you can ask any questions you may have.
Wed 7.10.2026 13.15–15, Centre campus, Metsätalo, B214 (room 4)
Application clinics
Once you've decided on the destination(s) you will apply to, you can come and work on your Mobility Online application with the assistance of International Education Services specialists. You can also ask questions related to the application.
Tue 13.10.2026 14.15–16, Centre campus, Main building, U4075.
Wed 14.10.2026 13.15-15 Meilahti Biomedicum, kok.2. (The room only fits 16 students, so this is event is mainly for Meilahti students)
Thu 15.10.2026 10.15–12, Kumpula Exactum, BK114.
Thu 15.10.2026 13.15–15, Viikki Infokeskus kok. 4024.
Read more on our Information sessions page