Recommended time for exchange studies is the second or third year of your studies. You must have studied at least one year before the exchange and have about 30 ECTS per semester completed.

Your tutor teacher will help you to figure out the best timing for the exchange. Bring the topic up as early as possible, when you know, you would like to apply for exchange.

Further criteria about applying for exchange here.

Also note that the semester timings are not the same everywhere, so this issue should also be considered when you are choosing your destination. The best source to check the semester timings in a specific institution, is the institution’s website.

Normal success and progress in studies are sufficient. In our internal application the grade point average and progress may be significant if there are more applicants to one institution than we can accept.

You must select the institution and the courses so that they support your studies at LAB. Select courses that can be included to your degree at LAB. Your tutor teacher will help you with this.

You must complete about 30 ECTS per semester at the host institution. Possible online courses to Finland are NOT included.

An exchange for one semester might be possible. The options vary from year to year and LAB International Mobility Services must check the situation with each master’s student personally. Please contact outgoing@lab.fi as early as possible if you are a master’s student and are interested in going on an exchange.

All the destinations and host institutions are at our portal. Click on Agreements at the top of the page, select the correct academic year and make other optional selections. The results show all the institutions that match your selections. Click the handshake icon on the row of the institution you are interested in and select the correct study field or option and click the i-icon to get more information about the institution and the studies. Pay attention to all the details given and the Fact sheet of the institution if there is one. Also visit the website of the institution for more information.

At this page there are also the reports from previous LAB students who did their exchange at the institution. If there is not any reports, you can check if there is some at the old LAMK portal and if even there is no reports, you can ask the old SAIMIA reports from outgoing@lab.fi.

Study all the information given about the institutions at the portal and at the institutions’ websites. You should also discuss the options with your tutor teacher or the Departmental Coordinator of your study field before applying. Also consider the language and culture of the destination countries. Where would you like to spend a few months studying? Also pay attention to the living costs. Where can you afford to live? In addition to the grant you get, you need to have some savings or incomes during your exchange.

If you have questions about the institution, try to find answers from the portal or the website of the institution. If you can’t find the answer, please contact outgoing@lab.fi, your tutor teacher or the Departmental Coordinator. You can contact the institution you have been selected to only after you get the permission from the LAB International Mobility Services, not before that.

In theory it is possible but in practice it may be tricky (depends on the study field). Both exchanges must be included in your degree at LAB and your graduation cannot be postponed because of the second exchange. Please contact your Departmental Coordinator if you wish to have two separate exchange periods. Please note that in the Erasmus+ programme you can receive a grant for only 12 months per study level.

Discuss the matter with your tutor teacher. Some of the partner institutions offer a possibility to include a placement to the exchange period. At the portal you can find information if the institution offers placements and/or studies. These details may change and often the type of the placement is not known beforehand, it will be confirmed later on in the process.

You can also search a placement yourself but then it is not considered as an exchange study but a placement abroad. Instructions for placements can be found here.

Health and Social Welfare Unit students find more detailed information regarding international opportunities in Moodle course "Health and Social Welfare Unit Students International Info" (No course key needed).

You can see the study fields of the institution at our portal. There may be more study fields at the institution, but the portal shows the study fields LAB has an agreement with the institution. The course catalogue can be found on the website of the institution. Note to check the courses for exchange students. Often the catalogue for the next academic year has not been published during our application period. Check the catalogue for current academic year to get a general idea about the course offering in the institution.

Also check the reports of the previous LAB students who studied in the institution. You find the reports in the portal and the information about the courses on page 4 in the report.

The situation varies from year to year in our internal application. Sometimes there is more applicants to some institutions that we can send. In these cases, students with better grade point average or more ECTS will get selected, but we also need to consider the balance between study fields, if there are agreements in more than one study field and applicants for them.

Students of Institute of Design and Fine Arts: note that after being accepted in the internal application process at LAB you still need to apply to the host institution usually with your portfolio and rejections from host institution are possible.

All the partner institutions of LAB are good institutions. The best institution for you is the one that meets your needs and wishes and is in the language and cultural environment you wish to go to. Your tutor teacher or the Departmental Coordinator may be able to advise you, which institutions would be good/best for you considering your studies.

You can, but in that case, you’ll make all the arrangements yourself, you won’t get any financial support and you’ll pay the tuition fees of an international student (several thousand euros). Many institutions do not accept short term international students outside of partner institutions. The recommendation is to find the host institution from the partners of LAB. The partner institutions are listed at the portal.

This is sometimes complicated to find out. At our portal the city mentioned is the location of the main campus of the institute. That is not necessarily the campus you are going to study at (cf. LAB Lahti and Lappeenranta). Most of the times the information about the campuses and study fields can be found on the website of the institution but if not and you want to know the location, please contact outgoing@lab.fi.​​​​​​​

There are two application periods a year. The main period is in January-February, when it is possible to apply for exchange for the next fall, spring, or the whole academic year. The supplementary application period is in late April for all the remaining places from the previous application round for the spring semester .

Read more about the application process here.

Then unfortunately applying is not possible anymore. You can apply at the next application period if an exchange still fits in your studies.

First, you fill an internal application form to LAB. On this form you choose three institutions you wish to go to, in order of preference. After sending the application, you receive an email with a link to the Mobility-Online system. You login there and finish your application by uploading the appendices required (a photo, the transcript of records and an English CV). All this need to be done and submitted before the application period ends.

After that you wait to be informed which institution you were selected to or if your application is rejected for some reason. You’ll get the answer by March 15 (spring application period) or September 30 (fall application period). After that you’ll apply to the institution LAB selected you to, carefully following their guidelines given to you. Before LAB International Mobility Services gives you a permission, you are not allowed to contact any institutions.

During the application period there is help and guidance available at Zoom info sessions and question hours. There are also pop-up stations at campuses for questions. Schedule for all these you find here.

Everyone accepted to the exchange are obliged to participate in the Kick off meetings at Zoom for information and guidance on how to proceed.

Please note that the application is an official process and by sending an application you commit to go on an exchange. No cancellations. If you are uncertain about going, do not send an application at that point.

Read more about the application process here.

Wait for LAB’s decision on which institution you are selected to. LAB International Mobility Services officially nominates you to the institution and only after that you get the permission to apply to that institution following the instructions and guidelines given. Pay attention to the instructions and make sure to take all necessary measures. You are responsible for completing the process.

You must participate in the Kick Off meetings at Zoom to get instructions on how to proceed and you can ask questions if something is unclear.

When you know your host institution, you will investigate their course catalogue on their website. Probably the catalogue for the next semester has not been published yet, so some changes are possible. Make a preliminary plan on your courses at the host institution. After that discuss with your tutor teacher and make your Learning Agreement (LA) in the Mobility-Online system. You must create and sign the LA before going on an exchange and applying the grant. The LA will also be signed by your tutor teacher and a contact person of your host institution, but they can sign it later.

Sometimes the Learning Agreement requires changes due to the changes in the course offering, for example. This is OK. Remember to update your LA to match the courses you have taken, but don't make any changes before the host institution has either signed or rejected the LA. Changes before that leads to technical issues. All three signatures are required also to the updated LA. Non-Erasmus exchanges are an exempt to this updating. On Non-Erasmus exchanges the LA is done once before the exchange and no updating is done.

In some cases it is possible, depending on your study field. Discuss this matter with your tutor teacher or with the Departmental Coordinator.

You must choose three institutions on the form, otherwise the application cannot be sent. Write the institutions in the order of preference.

Sometimes this happens in our internal application. In that case students with better success and progress in their studies will get selected. Though, the balance between study fields must be also considered if the institution has more than one study field. The students not selected to their first option will be selected to the second or third one. It is rare that a student is not selected to any of their options.

This is rare, but not impossible. Practically this can happen mostly to the student of the Institute of Design and Fine Arts who apply to the host institution with their portfolios and for some reason it is rejected. In other study fields rejections should not happen at this point anymore.

If a student of the Institute of Design and Fine Arts gets rejected, it is possible to check if there is another institute with later deadline and applying is still possible. Contact LAB International Mobility Services (outgoing@lab.fi) if this happens in your case and you still wish to try another option - we will help you!

To the internal application you attach a regular English CV. After being selected to a host institution you’ll apply to that institution following their instructions. Often then you apply with your portfolio. Prepare your portfolio early enough so that it is finished and ready to be sent when needed. Note to check the guidelines for the portfolio and the means to send it.

No! You only apply in the internal application first. After you are selected, LAB officially nominates you to the institution and only after that you’ll get the permission to apply and contact that institution. Before that contacting or applying is not allowed. You’ll get the information about the selection by March 15 (spring application period) or June 15 (fall application period).

To the internal application you need to attach a photo of yourself (no need to be an official passport photo), the transcript of records (download from Sisu) and an English CV. You don’t need these in the very first step. First you fill the application form and send it. After that you’ll receive an email with a link to the Mobility-Online system where you finish your application with the documents and submit the application. Also this step needs to be completed during the application period. If only the first step is completed, the application is not valid.

Later when applying to the host institution you probably need more documents. Carefully read their instructions and start preparing the documents early, some of them may take time to get!

The exchange programme tells which kind of a contract LAB has with the partner institution. To a student this is significant because of the grant he/she gets. The programmes have different grants. The programmes are Erasmus+ (most of the European destinations) and Nordplus (some Scandinavian and Baltic destinations). In addition to this, LAB has Bilateral contracts with institutions outside the EU/EEA countries. Switzerland does not belong to the Erasmus+ programme but they offer a grant for international exchange student from the state’s money.

At the portal the programmes are mentioned in the information about the institutions.

Information about the grants here.

The exchange itself does not cost anything. You’ll pay your flights, accommodation, insurances and living yourself. At some institutions you’ll pay some administrative expenses but in LAB’s partner institutions you don’t need to pay any tuition fees. The partner institutions are all the institutions you find at the portal.

To cover the expenses you’ll get a grant for your exchange, given that you go to a partner institution and select and complete enough courses (around 30 ECTS) there.

In addition to the grant, you should have some savings or incomes during the exchange. There are also some other ways to finance your exchange.

Yes, it is, given that you go to a partner institution and select and complete enough courses (around 30 ECTS) there. The partner institutions are all the institutions found at the portal.

The amount of the grant depends on the contract LAB has with the partner institution. The contract type=program is mentioned at the portal in the information about the institution (Erasmus+ / Nordplus / Swiss Mobility / Bilateral). The grants in the programmes can be checked here.

At Erasmus+ destinations you’ll get an additional grant for special needs and inclusion. Special needs and inclusion grants are intended to enable study exchange or placement in circumstances when a special need causes additional costs that are not covered by other sources. Special need can be an injury, impairment, physical or psychological illness or learning difficulty. 

Another additional grant is awarded for parents with underaged children even if the children stay in Finland. There are some other special situations where an additional grant could also be possible.

If you go to an Erasmus+ destination and can travel 50 % of the round trip with environmentally friendly means, you are awarded with a special grant.

More information about all the Erasmus+ additional grants here.

Please note that if you interrupt the exchange or don’t complete enough credits, you need to pay the grant, or part of it, back. Also note that the grant is only awarded for physical studies abroad. Online studies are not supported.

In addition to the grants applied from LAB there are some private organisations awarding grants for studying abroad. These you need to find and apply yourself. You can apply for a grant from as many organisations you can find. Here you can find some examples of the organisations.

If you are a Finnish student studying at Lappeenranta, note especially Otsakorpi foundation!

You’ll also need some savings or incomes during the exchange! Some destinations may require information about sufficient funds for the visa.

The same rules about KELA student financial aid apply to students, whether they study in Finland or abroad.

The grant you receive from LAB for your studies/placement abroad will not be taken into consideration to your annual income in KELA.

If you receive study aid from KELA, you have to inform KELA about your stay abroad early enough. The notification of a change in circumstances is made electronically via KELA's electronic system (“olosuhdemuutosilmoitus”).​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

This depends on the destination. Usually, the student looks for an apartment themselves and rents it. In some cases, the institution may offer a dorm or other housing type. Many institutions give advice to international students where to look for an apartment if they cannot provide one. This information can be usually found in the institution’s Fact sheet at our portal or the website of the institute. Note to check also the reports from the previous exchange students at the portal for housing information.

You can apply to the same three institutions in the same order, but we cannot guarantee that you will be selected to the same one. You can add information about your wish to the “Any other remarks” box on the application form.

Note to check the teaching language of the studies. Apply only to studies that are taught in a language you have at least a B2 level proficiency. In most cases the teaching language is English but there are some exceptions. Study also some basics of the local language to integrate better to the community.

The Erasmus+ programme provides students language training which you should take full advantage of. When you go on an Erasmus+ exchange, you will take an OLS language test in the study / working language before the exchange. If the result of the language test falls below the required B2 language level (CEFR), you will automatically be invited to a language course so that you can practice your language skills to better cope with the exchange.

In case your working language is your native language, or you have made with previous Erasmus+ exchange already a language test in the study / working language with good results, LAB International Mobility Services will invite you to make the language test in the local language.

Most of the institutions do not require any certificates about language skills. Some institutions may require a certificate but one with a signature of a language teacher of LAB is sufficient. A few institutions (for example in the US) may require an official language certificate which needs a test you need to pay yourself (about 300 €). Note that it may take time to get the test done so start the preparations early enough.

Follow closely all the information given to you by LAB International Mobility Services and your host institution! You personally are responsible for taking care of all the necessary measures. Participate in the mandatory Kick off sessions where you receive a lot of information and guidance on how to proceed.

Here are some important matters to take care of:

• Make sure to complete all the required steps in Mobility-Online. Apply for the grant when all the previous steps are completed.
• Investigate the regulations about entering and staying in the destination country on the website of the embassy or the ministry for foreign affairs of the country. Especially when going outside of EU it is important to pay attention to these matters early. It takes time to apply and receive a visa, for example. Also investigate the need of vaccinations or health certificates and make sure you have the required insurances.
• Rent an apartment. You can get information about the housing from the institution’s Fact sheet or the website. Also, the reports of previous exchange students may have some valuable information about the housing.
• Book yourself flights or other tickets when you know the dates you need to be present at the host institution.
• If you receive study aid from KELA, you have to inform KELA about your stay abroad early enough. The notification of a change in circumstances is made electronically via KELA's electronic system (“olosuhdemuutosilmoitus”).
• If you go to an EU country and are an EU citizen, apply for a free of charge European Health Insurance Card from KELA for the possible visits to a doctor.

There is no reason that prevents this. If you go on an Erasmus+ exchange, you’ll be awarded an additional grant for parents with underaged children whether they are coming with you or staying in Finland. More information about this additional grant here.

At least you need a travel insurance and a health insurance. If you complete a placement abroad you also need a liability insurance and an accident insurance.

Please make sure that the travel insurance cover is valid for as long as your exchange lasts and covers all essentials (eg leisure time and luggage unless they are insured in possible home insurance if your home insurance remains valid during the exchange). Note that if for example you decide to hike to the tip of Kilimanjaro, most likely your insurance does not cover this and you need to buy an extra coverage for these kinds extreme sports.

Read more about insurances during the exchange.

If you are an EU citizen and study in another EU country, you can use the health care services paying the same fee as the locals. Order the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) from KELA before your departure. In some cases, you will have to pay all the costs first, and then you will apply for reimbursement from the health insurance institution of your place of residence.

The EHIC does not cover exceptional transport to Finland due to illness or accident, nor the costs of treatment by a doctor or hospital that is not part of the public health care of that country.

Read more about health and safety during the exchange.

If your life situation is in balance, your mental health is good and you have some savings or other incomes, there is no obstacles for an exchange. Make sure to closely consider, if you are ready to move to another country alone and study there. If all of these are in order and you are interested in internationalisation, an exchange is absolutely a good idea!

It is common to get home sick or have some feelings of anxiety during the exchange. At first the situation may feel intimidating, and you may regret the decision to go on an exchange. Usually, these feelings pass quite quickly. It is a good idea to contact your close ones to get support and relieve the anxiety. When the life and new environment becomes more familiar, also the anxiety usually vanishes.

Many institutions offer tutors for the exchange students. You can also share your feelings with them to get support for integrating and getting to know the culture. Try also bond with other exchange students for peer support!

If the anxiety does not vanish, you can next contact your tutor teacher. All at LAB want you to succeed on your exchange but sometimes no amount of support is enough, and the student wants to return. In that case it is possible that the student needs to pay the received grant back.

Read more here.

It depends on your destination country and your citizenship. It is on your responsibility to find out and take care of early enough. To some destinations you’ll need a visa or a residence permit that you need to apply early enough. Find out the measures needed from the website of the ministry for foreign affairs or the embassy of the destination country.