Flexible right to study

Published 16.2.2023 | Updated 19.12.2024

Universities are withdrawing from the JOO agree­ment. JOO study rights already granted to students are valid until the end of their duration. Students may also be granted new study rights under the current JOO agreement during the academic year 2024–2025. JOO study rights granted in the academic year 2024–2025 must expire at the end of the academic year 2025–2026 (by 31.7.2026) at the latest. Read more here.

Who can apply for JOO studies?

Students completing a bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree at a Finnish university can apply for the flexible right to study if their home university has approved their plan for studies at a different university. By granting their approval, the home university commits to paying for the student’s JOO studies (€50 per credit). The right to study is granted for no more than two academic years. 

You must be an attending student at your home university to be able to apply for the flexible right to study and to complete JOO studies. A student completing JOO studies does not have the right to complete a degree at the host university. 

The content and scope of the JOO studies must be included in the student’s degree and promote their professional competence and increase their knowledge and skills. The studies must be integrally included in the student’s personal study plan (PSP). Discuss JOO studies in good time with your PSP adviser or professor. 

The JOO right to study is only granted for students who want to complete studies that are not available at their home university. 

Departments and degree programmes grant approvals for JOO study rights if their resources allow it. 

I am applying as a JOO student at Uniarts Helsinki

The application process for JOO studies has two phases

In the first phase, you must apply for your home university’s approval for the studies by using Uniarts Helsinki’s JOO application form. You must submit the form to Uniarts Helsinki no later than a month before the end of the JOO application period of the host university. 

Fill in the JOO application form in Lyyti and share a link to your studies via the My Studyinfo service. You can create the link by following these instructions: 

• login to Studyinfo
• select “My studies” from the green navigation bar, after which click on “jaa suoritustietoja” (share data”) 
• select the studies you want to share and click on “jaa valitsemasi opinnot” (“share the selected studies”). The system creates a link that you can share with others. Copy the link in the correct field in the application form. 

You will be sent a copy of your application to your email. The contact person for JOO studies will forward the application to the correct department or degree programme. 

A department or a degree programme that gives their approval for JOO studies commits to paying for the student’s JOO studies. This is also when the university makes sure that the studies in question are included in the degree. Students are notified of the approval by email. 

Validity of the right to study

In principle, the approval for the right to study is granted for the academic terms when the teaching that the student applies for takes place. The right to study can be granted for no more than two academic years. The host university determines how long the right to study is valid. 

The right to study only applies to specific courses. The right to study will expire at least by the time that the student graduates. 

Apply for the JOO right to study from the host university

After receiving Uniarts Helsinki’s approval for your application, you can apply for the right to study at the host university by following the instructions and application schedule of the university in question. The approval notice is forwarded to the host university by the home university, and the student does not have to submit a separate proof of the approval to the host university unless specifically requested in the application instructions of the host university. The host university will make the final decision on granting the JOO right to study. Students are notified of the decision by email. 

Universities have two different application procedures for JOO studies:

• two application periods each year, one ending on 30 April and the other on 31 October (if the last day of the application period falls on the weekend, the application period will end on the first weekday after the weekend) 
• a rolling application procedure, in which case applications are processed throughout the year. 

Submit your application to the host university by the end of the application period. You need to have been granted the approval by your home university before submitting the application. 

If the host university follows an application period schedule, students can apply for studies starting next autumn by submitting their application by 30 April and for studies starting next spring by submitting their application by 31 October. 

If the host university has a rolling application procedure, students should apply for the home university’s approval in good time and make sure that the approved application reaches the host university early enough before the beginning of the studies. Students are advised to apply for studies starting in the next academic term during the previous academic term. Also take holiday periods into consideration in the schedule. 

Check the application periods and practices for language centre courses by reading the university’s instructions or contacting a coordinator. 

Registration of credits at the home university

Students are personally responsible for making sure that credits for their studies are registered in the student register of their home university. Ask for the official transcript of records from your host university and submit it to the academic affairs office of your home academy for credit transfer. 

JOO application coordinators

Academy of Fine Arts

Henrik Laaksonen
henrik.laaksonen@uniarts.fi 

Sibelius Academy

Planning officer of your department 

Theatre Academy

Hannele Ylönen 
hannele.ylonen(at)uniarts.fi 
tel. 040 079 2002 

Aalto ARTS

The Theatre Academy has signed a cooperation framework agreement with the Aalto University’s Department of Film. The department offers courses in scenography and film studies for the Theatre Academy’s degree students. 

You can find the application form and course instructions in connection with the course list. 

I am applying to study at Uniarts Helsinki as a JOO student

You can apply for the right to study if you are registered as attending and are a bachelor and master level student or a doctoral student at a Finnish university. Read more about how to apply below.

complete a minor study module or to take individual courses. By applying for JOO studies, you have the opportunity to include studies suitable for your degree from the Uniarts Helsinki’s course selection.

You can apply for the right to study if you are registered as attending and are a bachelor and master level student or a doctoral student at a Finnish university. Read more about how to apply below.

Application periods

­Applications for JOO studies at the Uniarts Helsinki are submitted during separate application periods. Applications for autumn studies are submitted on 1-31 May and for spring studies 1-30 November.

In the case of postgraduate students, a continuous application process is underway. Applications must be submitted at least four weeks before the start of the desired course.

How to apply for and start JOO studies

First you need to apply for an endorsement for JOO-studies from your home university. The endorsement will be submitted to Uniarts Helsinki by your home university after the application period has ended. You will be informed of the decision before the start of the studies you have applied for. 

As a rule, studies can be started as soon as the right to study has been granted or at the beginning of the course granted.

Course selection and criteria for admission

We offer JOO studies from our selection of joint studies as well as from each academy’s own course selection. See academy-specific criteria below.

Joint studies of Uniarts Helsinki

You can apply for the JOO study right  for joint studies at our university.

We can grant the right to study if there are vacancies in the teaching group and you have sufficient skills and reasons for participating in teaching (if necessary, we ask you to take a placement test or perform a preliminary assignment).

Academy of Fine Arts

As a rule, you can apply for the JOO study right to theoretical studies and individual art studies at the Academy of Fine Arts.

Sibelius Academy

As a rule, you can apply for the  JOO  study right to lecture and group teaching at the Sibelius Academy. The courses to which you can apply for the right to study are listed below.

Arts Management, Society and Creative Entrepreneurship

As a JOO student, you can apply for all studies with a few exceptions.

As a JOO student, you do not have the opportunity to apply for modules:

• Personal development
• Arts management Research and Methodologies

You can also apply for the JOO study right for elective studies, excluding:

• S-AMT27 Production la?
• S-AM22 Work experience
• S-AM23 Project
• S-AM20 Current issues

We accept master level students as JOO students.

Music Technology

You can apply for the JOO study right to group teaching in music technology. It is important for those applying for a right to study to read the pre-course requirements in the study guide carefully. If they are not met, it is unlikely that the right to take the course will be acquired.

You can search for interesting courses in the study guides of the bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes in music technology and in the secondary subject modules we offer:

Courses and secondary subject modules:

Additional information on admissios

Sibelius Academy

When admitting students to courses, we give priority to our own degree and exchange students. There is a separate participant quota of courses in Arts Management for applicants to the Open University of Uniarts Helsinki. We can grant the study right for a JOO applicant if the course can accommodate the students.

Theatre Academy

As a rule, you can apply for the JOO study right to the course selection of the Theatre Academy’s Centre for Joint Studies. The course selection for the autumn term 2024 will be published on 15 May 2024. The course selection for the spring term 2025 will be published on 1 Nov 2024.

Only exceptionally, the right to study may also be granted for other teaching of the degree programmes. The course selection for the autumn term 2024 will be published on 15 May 2024. The course selection for the spring term 2025 will be published on 1 Nov 2024.

Unfortunately, we cannot offer individual study counselling to those applying for a JOO study right. Applications are processed on a case-by-case basis.

We can grant the right to study if there are vacancies in the teaching group and you have sufficient skills and reasons for participating in teaching (if necessary, we ask you to take a placement test or perform a preliminary assignment).

Credit transfer to the home university’s register

Having completed the  studies, you must order a  formal transcript of records from the academy’s study services after receiving the grade and the credits for the course (four weeks after the end of the course). You are responsible for submitting the transcript of records to your home university.

Invoicing of JOO studies

Invoices are primarily requested as e-invoices.

Electronic invoices: EDI ID: 003725003056

E-invoice operator: CGI/OpusCapita Solutions Oy

Operator ID: E204503?

Paper invoices: University of the Arts, P.O. Box 775, 00074 CGI/01051 INVOICES

As an e-mail attachment in PDF format to: talous@uniarts.fi 

Business ID: FI2500305-6

Please send the attachments to the invoice by email with the name of the contact person on the invoice: Sini Hytönen, Open campus.