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Application periods for Aalto ARTS

• 15 March - 15 April: for the autumn term (Sep-Dec) and full academic year (Sep-Jun)
• 15 September - 15 October: for the spring term (Jan-Jun)

Late applications will not be considered.

Application conditions

All exchanges É«É«À² University School of Arts, Design and Architecture (Aalto ARTS) are based on agreements between institutions. An active student exchange agreement followed by a nomination from the home university is the precondition for applying. You can check the valid agreements from your own university's website or from the personnel working in the international office in your home institution. You can only apply to the Aalto ARTS major your home university has an agreement with. 

Unfortunately we are unable to offer any Free Mover options.

Please also note that not all majors offered at Aalto School of Arts, Design and Architecture are available every semester or academic year. Please therefore first check our limitations to admission below (subject to change):

Application process

To start the application process, your own school will have to select you as their nominee. The international office of your home institution will then send us the nomination. We expect that the nominated students can transfer the credits into their degree studies, and that their English level is sufficient in order to follow the courses in Aalto ARTS (equivalent to B2 on the CEFR scale).

Once nominated, you will receive the application instructions by email. The exchange application is submitted via our . The form is active only during the application period. 

1. When starting to fill in your application for the first time you will have to register to the online system with your name and email address and create a password. Once registered, you can fill in the online application form and submit it by the deadline with all the required documents attached.
2. Make sure that you give your personal, valid email address in the application form (and double check the spelling). It is very important because you will receive all communications to this email address, including the application result.
3. We also ask for your mobile phone number. If your application is accepted, it is later needed for the Aalto IT account activation. Therefore you will need to give your phone number in the international format (+ followed by the country code). Please check the correct international format for your mobile phone number very carefully.
4. When you have submitted the application and the application period has ended, the programme/major you are applying for will review all applications. They will then decide whether they accept them or whether they will need to reject some of them. The decision depends on both the student's suitability and motivation for the specific major/programme based on their application, and on the available places in the chosen major.
5. You will be informed about the application result by email. Accepted exchange students will receive an official Letter of Admission. 

Language requirement

We expect that each exchange student's English level is equivalent to B2 on the CEFR scale, in all aspects (listening, speaking, writing and reading). This is very important in order for you to be able to fully participate in the courses at Aalto ARTS. Our learning process is interactive, students are expected to actively take part in the courses and discussion, and collaborate with other students. Many courses are theoretical and you are expected to read and understand the texts provided, and produce written work. 

We do not require you to submit a language test in the application, but it is very important that you have the required skills in English. If you don’t, you will struggle with the studies and that will also impact our teachers and other students. 

Required documents

The following documents need to be uploaded to the online application (as pdf files):

• Official copy of your Transcript of Records in English: a list of all courses that you have completed so far (Bachelor and Master level)
• Motivation letter: describe your educational goals and interests, tell us why you are applying for the specific programme/major at Aalto ARTS
• CV (Curriculum vitae)
• Portfolio: file (2MB) or a link to your online portfolio
• A copy of your passport or ID card
• A preliminary Study plan (bilateral exchange), Learning Agreement (Erasmus+ exchange) or research plan (Doctoral level). This is a list of the courses you would like to take during the exchange (primarily in the major you are applying for)
  • refer to the instructions regarding Studies at the School of Arts, Design and Architecture
  • you can use your home university's document or the study plan template below (Erasmus+ students can also print their OLA as pdf)
  • We do not necessarily need your home university to sign your learning agreement at this point yet, if you have trouble getting the signature. You are however yourself responsible for ensuring that your home university approves your course choices. At Aalto ARTS we only sign exchange students' learning agreements later when the students have been selected (accepted/rejected).

It's very important to prepare the motivation letter, CV, portfolio and study plan thoughtfully. These documents will reflect your suitability and motivation to study in the major you are applying for, and influence whether your application is accepted or declined.