Faculty of Social Sciences

Cooperation Agreement (JOO-Studies)

Basic Principles of JOO-Studies

The purpose of the JOO-agreement is to facilitate the mobility of students between universities and in this way to enable students to study meaningful combinations of subjects.

The basic principles of JOO-studies are that

the right to pursue non-graduate studies is granted by the receiving university,
the right to enrol in a study block desired by the student is granted according to the same principles as those which apply to the students of the home university,
the instructing unit can omit part of its instruction, for example on the basis of insufficient resources,
the studies in question are integrated in the degree which is to be taken by the student at his/her own university,
the tutoring of M.Soc.Sc. (MA) theses is excluded from this agreement.

The right to pursue JOO-studies can be applied for by undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students of the Finnish universities.

The agreement is applied for by submitting a special JOO-application. Forms are available on-line at www.joopas.fi.

The closing dates and procedures for applications for admission to different universities vary to some extent. When planning their studies students are advised to discuss their plans with the International Coordinator Marianne Järveläinen.

Studies of Students from the Faculty of Social Sciences at other Universities

In order to be able to submit your application for admission to another university, your application must be approved by the International Affairs Coordinator Marianne Järveläinen for recognition of credits completed at another university.

Applications are treated all year round, but the availability of the courses as well as application deadlines of receiving universities may vary and ought to be checked at the web pages of the receiving university in question.

How to Apply for the JOO Studies; Principles for Admission

If you wish to pursue minor subject studies at another JOO university, please fill in the application form carefully and include the necessary appendices, e.g. a transcript.

In case more applications are submitted than can be covered by the resources intended for the purpose, these principles are followed:

Admission (recognition of credits) can only be granted for study programmes that are not available at the University of Helsinki.
Priority will be given to students who apply for the first time.
Applicants will be ranked primarily on the basis of the stage and success of their studies.
Admission (recognition) can be granted for a maximum of 30-40 credits (15-20 old study weeks). Provided that there is sufficient justification the faculty can support the right to pursue additional studies within the allocation. A prerequisite is that the preceding study block has been completed.
In order to complete your studies you may apply for a time extention. When considering this application the progress of the studies is taken into account.
Studies exceeding 180+120 credits (M.Soc.Sc.) will not be supported.

Although the Faculty approves (or rejects) your application, the final decision concerning admission is made by the receiving university. The admission is valid for one academic year, within which the studies set forth in the agreement will have to be completed.

Recognition of Credits for the Master of Social Sciences Degree

Credits completed under the agreement are registered in the credit record of the receiving university. In order to include these credits in your degree you should submit a transcript of the credit record as well as a form for recognition of credits to the International Affairs Coordinator of the Faculty of Social Sciences.

A study block consisting of a minimum of 25 credits will be regarded as a minor subject in the degree certificate. Studies that total 15 credits and constitute a study block will be mentioned in the degree certificate. Other studies will be considered free-choice studies. .

Studies of Students from Other Universities at the Faculty of Social Sciences

A student from a JOO university may pursue minor subject studies up to intermediate level fairly freely at the Faculty of Social Sciences, with the exception of Communication studies. In practice, however, the right to pursue JOO studies is first granted for Basic studies (25 credits). Even individual study units are possible. The length of the studies will be in accordance with the home university's admission.

Closing dates are April 30 and October 31.

Submit the electronic application form to the Student Adviser of the Faculty of Social Sciences. The applicants will be informed of the decision by letter within one month. Credits completed within the agreement are registered in the credit record of the University of Helsinki.

If the student has the right to take a degree at one of the faculties of the University of Helsinki, the right to pursue JOO studies cannot be admitted. In this case s/he must register at the faculty concerned.

Addresses

Faculty of Social Sciences' International Affairs Coordinator Marianne Järveläinen has consultation hours on Wednesdays from 1 pm to 3 pm or by appointment, tel. 09-191 24807, e-mail marianne.jarvelainen@helsinki.fi
The JOO universities' joint web page http://www.joopas.fi/. You can reach the individual home pages of the JOO universities from this page.

Application Form

Instructions in the Internet http://www.joopas.fi/data/files/JOO/lomakkeet/tayttoohje_english_opiskelija.pdf.
The JOO- application itself and the instructions are in pdf-format, and thus you need the Adobe Acrobat reader to be able to open the file.