Information for exchange students
Since August 2005 the Finnish national higher education system has been following the principles set out in the Europe-wide Bologna Agreement. The degree structure is mainly based on a two-cycle model. The first cycle ends in a Bachelor-level degree (kandidaatti) and the second cycle consists of a Master's degree (maisteri). Teachers of primary and secondary levels need to have a Master's degree to be qualified for a teacher's post. Please see here for information about the undergraduate degrees (BA & MA) offered at the Faculty of Education.
Learning Agreements
Incoming exchange students to the University of Turku are required to fill-in an ECTS Learning Agreement (please see http://www.utu.fi/en/studying/apply/non-degree/index.html) or equivalent document when applying to the University of Turku where they state the courses they wish to take and have their studies approved by both their home university and by the relevant department here in Turku. The students can make their final Learning Agreements upon arrival but there still needs to be a preliminary Learning Agreement before that. For more information about studying at the University of Turku and the application process please see http://www.utu.fi/en/studying .
Courses offered in English at the Faculty of Education
Please see here for courses offered in English at the Faculty of Education during the academic year 2008-09.
Other courses available in English include teaching practise from primary to upper secondary school level at our Teacher Training School in Turku or at the Turku International School (primary level). Normally we offer practise worth of 6 ECTS credits (1 ECTS credit equals to to 27 hrs of student work). The students should have a good command of English. The teaching practise is offered only to the exchange students of the Faculty of Education.
Courses offered by the other faculties
The exchange students of the University of Turku are allowed to take courses from all the faculties of the university. Please see http://www.utu.fi/en/studying/programmes for course information.
Timing and amount of studies
Please do take into consideration that the courses you have chosen might have overlapping timetables. This means that some of the courses might be running at the same time with the other courses you have chosen so you might have to choose which courses to take part in and which not. There is no fixed schedule for the teaching practise. The exchange student negotiates with the teacher of the class or teachers of different classes when to do his/her practise. It might be that because of those overlapping timetables getting altogether 30 ECTS credits during the autumn term is quite a demanding task. Autumn term is also shorter than spring term.