Finland

Tuition

EU/EEA and Swiss citizens pay no tuition for bachelor's and master's degrees. Tuition fees for other international students are set individually by each higher education institution and vary by field and programme (roughly EUR 8,000–20,000 per year); doctoral studies remain free of charge for every student regardless of nationality. Many universities also offer merit-based scholarships or tuition-fee waivers, often covering 50–100% of the fee, which can substantially reduce costs, alongside occasional early-payment discounts. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]}

Visa

Residence permit for studies, issued by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri); required for study stays longer than 90 days. Applicants must show proof of at least EUR 800 per month (EUR 9,600 per year) in available funds. — 30 hours per week (average over the year; unlimited during lecture-free periods). ^{[7] [8] [9] [6] [1] [10] [11]}

Applications

Most English-taught bachelor's and master's programmes use one joint national application round via Studyinfo, which usually opens in January for studies starting the following autumn — for example 7–21 January 2026 nationally for the autumn 2026 intake, or 5–19 January 2027 specifically for the University of Helsinki's autumn 2027 intake; exact opening and closing dates vary slightly by year and institution. Some master's programmes hold an additional application round in spring. Applicants from outside the EU/EEA/Switzerland must pay a non-refundable application fee (EUR 100) when submitting a joint application to English-taught programmes. ^{[12] [13] [14] [15]}

Application portals

• Studyinfo (Opintopolku)

Language

Finnish, Swedish. Finland offers around 600 bachelor's and master's programmes taught fully in English, so Finnish is not required to complete a degree; some fields, such as medicine, are mainly taught in Finnish or Swedish. Basic Finnish or Swedish skills are nonetheless recommended for daily life and can make it easier to find part-time work or an internship. ^{[16] [17] [1]}

Health insurance

Finland's national health insurance run by Kela generally does not cover students who are not EU/EEA, Swiss, or UK nationals with a valid EHIC/GHIC. Non-EU/EEA applicants must show valid private health insurance covering their whole stay before a residence permit for studies is granted. Independently of that, every student registered for a bachelor's or master's degree at a Finnish higher education institution must pay Kela's mandatory student healthcare fee (EUR 35.35 per term / EUR 70.70 per year in 2026) for access to the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS); students covered by an EHIC/GHIC from an EU/EEA country, Switzerland, the UK or Northern Ireland are exempt from this fee. This is general information, not legal or insurance advice — always confirm current requirements with Migri, Kela and your institution. ^{[18] [9] [1]}

Universities

• University of Helsinki, Helsinki ^{[4] [19]}
• Aalto University, Espoo ^{[21] [3]}
• Tampere University, Tampere ^[20]
• University of Turku, Turku ^[2]
• University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä ^[22]

Scholarships

• University of Helsinki Scholarship Programme — Tuition-fee waivers of 50% or 100% for high-achieving, tuition-fee-liable students from outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland who are admitted to a two-year master's programme; the waiver is renewed each year if the student earns at least 55 ECTS credits. ^[4]
• Aalto University Excellence Scholarship — Merit-based scholarship for tuition-fee-liable bachelor's and master's applicants that can cover the full tuition fee for the target duration of the programme (3 years for bachelor's, 2 years for master's), continued each year if study-progress requirements are met. ^[3]
• University of Turku Merit Scholarship — Tuition-fee waiver of 50% of the following year's tuition fee (2nd year, and for bachelor's students also the 3rd year) for tuition-fee-liable students who meet minimum credit and grade requirements, including a minimum number of Finnish-language study credits. ^[23]