Studies and Courses

When you apply for exchange studies you will need to submit a Study Plan / Learning Agreement with your application. In this Study Plan, you are required to choose the courses you would like to take during your exchange. This is a preliminary plan and does not guarantee you a place on the course even if your exchange application is accepted, as the final registration to courses takes place right before the start of studies. Therefore you will need to be prepared to make changes to your preliminary study plan once you start your studies and get more information on the current course availability. Most of our courses are subject to limited or prioritized admission. Therefore, you should be flexible in your choices and discuss this flexibility also with your home university. 

The students accepted for exchange will get a chance to discuss course choices with the major's staff before the start of the semester. 

Most of the courses lectured in English at the School of Arts, Design and Architecture are on Master level. On Bachelor level the courses in English are very limited. They are mainly available in the Bachelor's Programme in Design. Please note that you can only apply to this programme if it is included in the agreement with your home university. 

Exchange students at Aalto University are expected to study full-time while at Aalto. A full workload is equivalent to 30 ETCS credits per semester (autumn or spring semester) or 60 ETCS credits per academic year. Please also check with your home university how many credits they require you to complete during your exchange. 

Which courses should I choose?

Please make sure you know which major you have been nominated for/accepted to at Aalto University, and choose courses in that major. Please ask if you are unsure. 

Please then check the  Course lists for exchange students at the School of Arts, Design and Architecture. You will find the course lists with the curriculum for the current academic year 2024-2025 as well as comments on their availability for exchange students linked below each major. Please note that we are currently updating the course lists, and some majors are still missing from the lists. All courses are subject to changes.

When planning your studies, note that the teaching periods I and II are during the autumn term, and the teaching periods III, IV and V during the spring term. 

Please choose courses mainly in the major you have been nominated for. In addition to these courses, you are able to choose among courses that are open for all exchange students at Aalto. You can choose 1-2 of these courses. Please keep in mind that the preliminary study plan that you submit with your application will reflect your interest in the courses offered by the major and the motivation to study in the major you are applying for, and it will influence the decision of the major on whether your application is accepted or declined. 

You can find further information about each course in our study management system Sisu. Please choose continue without logging in, and search for courses. 

The general information of every major/programme is available at Academic catalogues 2024-2026.

Please note that the study plan/learning agreement is not a course registration. The final registration for courses takes place right before the start of the studies. You will receive more information about course registration directly from your exchange coordinator.