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Åbo Akademi University was founded in 1916 to meet the needs of the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland by providing education and research possibilities in Swedish. This means that the language of teaching and administration at Åbo Akademi is SWEDISH. Swedish is Finland's second official language and at present Swedish is the native language of 6.2% of the country's population. The number of students at ÅA is approximately 5.000, of which 20% speak Finnish as their native language and 3% are international students. ÅA consists of the following seven faculties: Arts, Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Economics and Political Science, Chemical Engineering, Theology in Åbo and Education, Social and Caring Sciences in Vasa, 400 km from Åbo along the western coast.
ÅA is situated in Åbo (called Turku in Finnish) a town in the South-West of Finland, about 160 km from Helsinki. Åbo is the oldest town in Finland, with a cathedral and castle dating back to the 13th century. The population is about 160.000, making it the fourth largest in Finland. The Swedish speaking minority in Åbo is about 5%. Åbo Akademi functions in several buildings around the Cathedral, only a few minutes from the centre of the town. The town is a centre for education in the region, with three institutions of higher education and a number of vocational colleges and schools, both Finnish and Swedish speaking. Åbo can easily be reached by ferry from Stockholm, by air from Helsinki, Stockholm and Hamburg, bus and train connections are frequent.
ACADEMIC CALENDAR
Autumn semester from the
beginning of September to mid-December Spring semester from
mid-January to mid-May with a one-week break at Easter.
There are no set examination periods. Each department has an
open examination day once a month and course examinations
are sometimes given separately at the end of each
course.
REGISTRATION AND ORIENTATION
Students registered for
studies at their home university should apply to be accepted
as exchange students at ÅA by November 15 for the
following spring term or by April 30 for the following
autumn term.
An orientation course for new international students is arranged in the beginning of September and January. The four-day course includes information on the university, Åbo, Finland, the system of study, a welcome party at the Students' Union and a reception at the Rector's office We operate a system of student tutors. Local students help visiting students in practical, social and academic matters
ACCOMMODATION
Most international students
get a room in the Student Village which is situated about 15
km from the university and is easily reached on foot, by
bike or bus. Erasmus students are guaranteed housing.
Housing applications should be submitted six weeks before
arrival.
THE STUDENTS' UNION AND MEDICAL
CARE
Exchange students are
recommended to pay the membership fee for the Students'
Union (approx. FIM 250/term), which includes a health care
fee. Membership benefits other than health care at a very
low cost are subsidised lunches at the university
cafeterias, reduction on domestic and international travel,
reductions in many shops and restaurants in town, reduced
prices on tickets to concerts, theatres and museums. The
Students' Union also organises leisure activities such as
concerts, film screenings, parties.
LEISURE ACTIVITIES
Sports activities for
students and staff include aerobics, ice hockey, badminton,
football and many others. Travelling in Finland is easy, the
bus and train networks are good, and being a student you'll
get tickets for a reduced rate (usually 50% of the normal
price). Helsinki is two hours away from Åbo, as is
Tampere. If you want to see Lapland, flying or taking the
train are the travel options. The capital of Sweden,
Stockholm, is across the Baltic from Åbo.
St.Petersburg in Russia and Tallinn in Estonia are also
within easy reach from Finland. Coach and train excursions
are organised by several travel agencies to St.
Petersburg
LIBRARIES, COMPUTER
FAClLlTlES
Åbo Akademi's
university library consists of a main library, departmental
libraries and a course book library which provides several
copies of the text books for required reading assignments.
Catalogues and borrowing are computerised. Borrowing is
free. The libraries of the University of Turku and the
Business School are also available to students from
Åbo Akademi. Students have good access to computers at
ÅA. They can either work on the central computer or on
PCs. Students are also encouraged to get an e-mail address
on the central computer.
COST OF LIVlNG
The cost of living in
Finland is on an average comparable to the rest of Europe.
For basic expenses such as food, rent and transportation a
student will need about 3,000 FlM/month (1 ECU=5.5 FIM).
Personal spending habits will, of course, affect this
amount
LANGUAGE COURSES
For exchange students
studying in English other subjects than Scandinavian
studies, ÅA offers courses to learn the basics of
Swedish:
1. A Summer School for Swedish language and Nordic Culture offering teaching on four levels. Besides language classes, a culture and society programme is given in the form of lectures or study visits. The course fee includes accommodation, full board, tuition, course materials, excursions and extra-curricular activities. If your institution offers an ERASMUS language preparation grant, it can be used to cover the fee.
2. Swedish courses organised by the Language Centre are given during term, free of charge, in two different groups. One is very intensive, 8 hrs./week, the other one, which is mainly intended for exchange students, is 4 hrs./week. Registration for these takes place during the first week of term, when details are also available.
For students who, being in a mainly Finnish-speaking country, want to learn some Finnish, the University of Turku offers Finnish language courses at all levels.
FINNISH HIGHER EDUCATION
The basic Finnish higher
education degree (magister) is considered as being
equivalent to a Master's degree and it usually consists of
160 or 180 credits or 5-6 years of full time studies. Since
1994 a lower degree (kandidat) can be obtained at some
faculties after having completed 100-120 credits. Within a
degree programme, students choose one major subject and one
or more minor subjects. Further studies and research lead to
a Licentiate or a Doctorate. The structure of all degree
programmes consists of general studies, subject studies and
advanced studies. The purpose of the general studies is to
familiarise the student with the basic principles of
scientific thought and research. The students get an overall
picture of the disciplines which form the basis of the
degree programme, as well as multidisciplinary theoretical
and methodological guidance. The students are also
introduced to academic studies in general. In the subject
studies students concentrate on the acquisition of the
skills required in their field of study. They learn the
concepts, theories, methods, results and problems of the
chosen disciplines. The main aim of the advanced studies is
to develop the student's ability to find and apply
scientific knowledge. A large proportion of the advanced
studies is taken up by research work, and the writing of the
thesis is usually the most extensive single study
module.
CREDITS
The quantitative measure of
studies is given in credits, which are called 'studievecka'
in Swedish ("opintoviikko in Finnish). The name translates
literally as 'study week', but has in practice nothing to do
with calendar weeks. The definition of a Finnish credit is
an input of approximately 40 hours of work required of the
student for the attainment of set objectives. Lecture hours,
exercises and other forms of instruction as well as
independent work at home or in the library are all regarded
as work.
USEFUL READING
Studies At Åbo
Akademi University
Information for International Non-Degree Applicants 1995/6
Studiehandbok - beskrivning av kurser och kurskrav enligt fakultet och amne
Courses in English at Åbo
Akademi, The University of Turku,
The Turku School of Economics and Business
Administration
Living in Finland
A practical guide for international students and
trainees,
CIMO Communications
USEFUL ADDRESSES
Ruth Mulvad
Svenska Institutionen
Nunnegatan 4
20500 Åbo
Tel.: +358 21 265 4810
Fax: +358 21 265 4833
Patrizia Hongisto
International Office
Domkyrkotorget 3
20500 Åbo
Tel.: +358 21 265 4790
Fax: +358 21 251 7553