International students

Studies at the School of Science for exchange students

At the School of Science, most of the courses offered in English are on Master level. However, Bachelor’s degree students on the final stage of their degree can take master level courses provided that they fulfill the prerequisite skills and knowledge required for the courses.

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The School of Science offers courses for exchange students in the following fields of study:

  • Computer, Communication and Information Sciences
  • Industrial Engineering and Management
  • Engineering Physics
  • Mathematics and Operations Research
  • Life Science Technologies, Biomedical Engineering, Human Neuroscience and Technology

Course list for exchange students

Note that the course list for academic year 2024-2025 will be published in beginning of April. There will be updates to the current course listing.

Note that there are two tabs: first tab lists all available courses and the second tab includes courses that are not available for exchange students.

Please read the course info in Sisu and check the prerequisites carefully.

Instructions for planning your courses

How many courses should I take?

Exchange students to Aalto are expected to study full time while at Aalto and pass the courses with good grades. Full workload is equivalent to 30 ECTS credits per term or 60 ECTS per academic year.

Which courses can I take?

Please select at least 2/3 of the courses (amount of credits) from one field of study at the School of Science:

  • Computer Science (course code starts with CS-)
  • Industrial Engineering and Management (course code starts with TU-)
  • Engineering Physics (course code starts with PHYS-)
  • Mathematics and Operations Research (course code starts with MS-)
  • Biomedical Engineering and Neuroscience (course code starts with NBE-)

The rest 1/3 of courses may include:

  • Courses from other fields of study offered by the School of Science
  • Courses from other technical schools (the School of Chemical Engineering, School of Electrical Engineering and the School of Engineering)
  • Language and communication courses, including Finnish courses for international students
  • Interdisciplinary courses, such as:
    • Aalto Ventures Program (AVP) courses - AVP courses cover important aspects of entrepreneurship; leadership, design thinking, finance, innovation, start-ups, prototyping, storytelling and much more.
    • Aaltonaut courses - Aaltonaut is Aalto University’s Bachelor’s Minor Programme on Interdisciplinary Product Development. Aaltonaut courses rely on problem-based learning as well as interdisciplinary team-work in hands-on projects. The general goals of the Aaltonaut programme are creating collaboration between different disciplines, refining teamwork and communication skills and reinforcing the entrepreneurial attitude.
    • Creative Sustainability courses - Creative Sustainability programme offers courses which approach sustainability from different perspectives and disciplinary angles. Most courses are open to Aalto University exchange students. Important: Courses are popular and of limited size. Please make sure to enroll as early as possible and make alternative study plans.
  • University Wide Studies -courses
  • School of Business -courses, if the course is available for all Aalto students according to the course description available in sisu.aalto.fi

What other things should I take into account?

  • Please note that courses from the Aalto University the School of Arts, Design and Architecture cannot be selected due to very limited intake. School of Business -courses can be selected only if it is mentioned in the course description that the course is open for all Aalto students.
  • When choosing courses, please check carefully the prerequisite skills, language of instruction and the period when the course is offered.
  • When you choose courses for your learning agreement / study plan, the detailed course information might not be available yet. In this case, the study plan is made according to the course information of the previous academic year.
  • Please be prepared to modify your study plan upon arrival. You might have to remove some courses due to conflict in schedule, difficulty level of the course, limited availability of places in the course or other reasons, and respectively select new courses. Study plan / learning agreement is not a course registration! You will register for courses in Sisu before or upon arrival. For course registration you need Aalto username and password, which you will receive upon enrolling.
  • In some cases, there may be restrictions in participation for certain courses (e.g. the amount of students can be limited or priority given to degree students).

Instructions for submitting the online application

In the online application form, under “Studies”, you are asked to select the “Stay opportunity”. Sometimes there are several options for your home institution and the following options may be included in the list of possible study programmes, so select which one is the programme at Aalto University School of Science you are applying for:

  • SCI (CS): School of Science, Computer Science
  • SCI (IEM): School of Science, Industrial Engineering and Management
  • SCI (PHYS): School of Science, Physics
  • SCI (MATH): School of Science, Mathematics
  • SCI (LIFE): School of Science, Life Science Technologies / Bioengineering

If you are unsure, please don't hesitate to ask us at [email protected]

Studies for incoming exchange students
How to apply for exchange studies?

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