Studies

We offer our health and social care programmes usually for the entire autumn (1^st semester) or spring term (2^nd semester). Our university recommends full-term mobilities with a workload/scope of approx. 30 ECTS cr per term in order to get the best possible learning experience. 

In the spring term (2nd semester), we also offer shorter mobility periods in nursing, biomedical laboratory science, dental health care, occupational therapy and radiography and radiation therapy. Students from optometry, physiotherapy and social services can only pursue the full-term exchange in spring.

Please check the exact dates for full-term and short-term mobilities:

• For your exchange, you must choose courses for the entire semester or mobility period. The programmes are scheduled to avoid timetable conflicts, but sometimes these conflict depending on your course choices and the timing of practical training, if applicable. 

• All courses offered in programmes are instructed in English. Some courses may be partly taught in Finnish for our degree students. Where this is the case, exchange students will receive English instructions for individual and group work, and participation in collaborative learning activities in English is always guaranteed.
  
• Our nursing programmes are primarily targeted at students in general nursing fields. Therefore, some courses are not suitable for students in more specific nursing fields, such as obstetrics and gynaecology or midwifery. We can involve midwifery students in simulations, but the teaching and materials are in Finnish. Please read the course descriptions and contact us if you have any questions.

• Each programme includes a choice of timetabled regular on-site and online courses consisting of independent studies or collaborative learning and, if available, a small-scale practical training course with limited places and workload. If you will pursue practical training, the Finnish Language 1: Survive! course is mandatory. See also the sections “General Information on, Applying for and Getting Admited to Practical Training”. 

• Some of our courses for exchange students have tailored workloads. Please see the programme lists with further links to course lists and course descriptions. 

• In all our programmes, the International Mobility Orientation and Reflection course is compulsory. This course gives you the opportunity to reflect on your exchange and receive guidance both from the academic/professional and the administrative side.

We believe that practical training in health and social care offers many opportunities for learning and gaining professional experience. You can also compare practices in a Finnish environment with those in your home country or other countries. 

We will do our best to find a suitable small-scale practical training for a limited workload alongside the scheduled courses in the field-specific programme of your choice. 

Please note that due to organisational changes in the health and social care sector, especially in hospitals in the Oulu region, practical training cannot be guaranteed. 

In any case, practical training is usually limited to a certain number of places and workload (e.g. 2 weeks = 3 ECTS cr). 

See our estimation hereafter for field-specific programmes and also consult further information below: 

• Occupational Therapy: 4-6 weeks = 6-9 ECTS cr (2-3 places/term) 
• Physiotherapy: 4-6 weeks = 6-9 ECTS cr (1-2 places/term) 
• Social Services: 4-6 weeks = 6-9 ECTS cr (2-3 places/term 
• Nursing (Oulu): 2-4 weeks = 3-6 ECTS cr (4-8 places/term) 
• Nursing (Oulainen): 2-8 weeks = 3-12 ECTS cr (MHH students prioritised, 2 places/term) 

• Biomedical Laboratory Sciences: 4 weeks = 6 ECTS cr (2 places/term) 
• Dental Health Care: 4 weeks = 6 ECTS cr (2 places/term over a period of 3 months) 
• Optometry: 4 weeks = 6 ECTS cr (1-2 places/term over a period of 4-5 months) 
• Radiography and Radiation Therapy: 2-4 weeks = 3-6 ECTS cr (1-2 places/term) 

You are welcome to apply, but please plan your exchange including also possible substituting courses from our programmes. Please see also the section “Applying for practical training – available fields & workload” below.  

In your application via MoveON, please choose appropriate fields (see below!) and mention these in your motivation letter in the order of your preference, so we can better look for possible places: 

Nursing (Oulu) 

In your application, please choose three (3) fields and mention these in your motivation letter in the order of your preference, so we can better look for possible places.

• Acute Care 
• Intensive Care 
• Mental Health Nursing 
• Paediatric Nursing 
• Surgical Nursing 
• Internal Disease Nursing 
• Home Care 
• Elderly Nursing 
• Obstetric and Gynaecological Nursing 
• Outpatient Care 

Nursing (Oulainen) 

In your application, please choose appropriate fields and mention these in your motivation letter in the order of your preference, so we can better look for possible places. The fields listed below are subject to change due to ongoing organisational change in the health care sector.

• Oulaskangas Hospital (accident and emergency department, surgical ward, medical ward (internal and pulmonary diseases), possibly operating theatre 
• Health Care Centre Oulainen (accident and emergency department, possibly inpatient wards) 
• Possibly elderly care homes and rehabilitation units 

Other fields in Oulu 

In your application, please choose the appropriate field and mention your interests and relevant skills in your motivation letter in the order of your preference, so we can better look for possible places. 

• Biomedical Laboratory Science 
• Optometry 
• Radiography and Radiation Therapy 
• Dental Health Care 
• Occupational Therapy 
• Physiotherapy 
• Social Services 

Scope and workload examples : 

If you are admitted to a practical training in health and social care, kindly note that you must pursue the Finnish Language 1: Survive! course. This will ensure that you can at least get a “sneek peak” in basic communication and can “break the ice” with colleagues, patients or clients and fellow students in the practical training setting and elsewhere during your exchange. 

Last but not least, if you will pursue activities involving patients, clients, children or vulnerable adults, you must meet also safety requirements according to Finnish legislation. 

Please prepare your practical training and check your home university’s requirements for documentation and evaluation before your exchange. 

Our academic staff at Oamk will explain the practical training in detail and answer any questions you may have during the orientation days. If your practical training is with a third party, such as a hospital or another place, you will also receive information from your practical training supervisor shortly before or at the start of your placement.  

Specific instructions and guidelines, for example about clothing, access to facilities and rules for the safe handling of patients/clients, can usually only be given by staff and at the start of your practical training. 

Our dance programmes give you the opportunity to learn new skills in ballet, show dance, ballroom dance and folk dance. The programmes are educational, so dance pedagogy plays an important role. It includes the possibility to take part in artistic productions and projects. 

Our music programmes provide you with the possibility to develop your professional and pedagogical competences in classical or pop/jazz music or music technology. You may also choose to participate in a music production or project. The possibility of specific instrumental or vocal training or music technology orientation depends on our department’s resources.