Financing your Studies in Finland
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Educational system
Finland has two parallel types of higher education institution: universities and universities of applied sciences (UAS, also called polytechnics; in Finnish ammattikorkeakoulu or AMK). There are 13 universities and 22 universities of applied sciences under the Ministry of Education. Two further institutions sit outside that count: Åland University of Applied Sciences, in Mariehamn, which is Swedish-speaking, has around 500 to 550 students and is run by the Government of Åland, and the Police University College (Polamk) in Tampere, which comes under the Ministry of the Interior. Finnish higher education institutions are traditionally public and non-profit. Some universities of applied sciences are formally run by foundations or limited companies, but they remain under public regulation by the state and local provider organisations.
More than 600 Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes are taught in English, and Finland hosts over 30,000 international students. For the 2026 intake there were around 28,800 applications from international students to English-taught programmes. The country is known for its expertise in information and communication technology (ICT), biotechnology, design, forestry and environmental sciences, architecture, and art.
The top-ranked institutions include the University of Helsinki, Aalto University in Espoo, and Åbo Akademi in Turku. Aalto University is a leader for technology, business, engineering and design, and offers more than 90 Master’s programmes in English.
How to apply
Most English-taught programmes are filled through joint application rounds. The first joint application round for spring 2026 closed on 21 January 2026 and offered around 9,000 study places across 440 programmes, split roughly evenly between universities and universities of applied sciences. The number of applicants fell by more than a quarter compared with the previous year.
Universities of applied sciences
Universities of applied sciences focus on practical and vocational learning. You can earn a Bachelor’s degree there in a wide range of fields, and a Master’s degree too. A Master’s degree from a university of applied sciences is designed for people who are already working, and requires relevant work experience after the Bachelor’s as a condition of admission.
Universities
At a Finnish university you can earn a Bachelor’s degree, a Master’s degree or a doctorate. Many programmes are taught in English, especially at Master’s level, which is why Finnish universities attract so many international students. When you are admitted to a university, you are usually admitted with the right to complete both the Bachelor’s and the Master’s. Scientific research is a core part of university life.
Bachelor’s degree
At a university, a Bachelor’s degree combines language, basic and intermediate studies with a Bachelor’s thesis. It takes about 3 years and 180 ECTS credits.
At a university of applied sciences, a Bachelor’s degree requires core studies, professional studies, optional studies, practical training and a Bachelor’s thesis. It takes 3.5 to 4.5 years and 210, 240 or 270 ECTS credits, with the required practical training accounting for at least 30 credits.
Master’s degree
Both universities and universities of applied sciences offer Master’s degrees, but they differ. A university Master’s is at least 120 ECTS and takes about 2 years, and can only be started once you have completed a Bachelor’s. A Master’s at a university of applied sciences is 60 to 90 ECTS and takes 1 to 2 years, with admission requiring at least two years of relevant work experience after the Bachelor’s. A Master’s at a university of applied sciences focuses on vocational training and applied research.
Doctorate
Doctoral study is offered by universities and is free of charge for all nationalities. Universities of applied sciences do not award doctoral degrees.
Recently added funding for your studies in Finland
Cost of your studies
Tuition fees
If you are a citizen of the EU, the EEA or Switzerland, you study free of tuition fees at public Finnish institutions, at both Bachelor’s and Master’s level.
If you are from outside the EU, the EEA or Switzerland, you pay tuition for English-taught Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes. Fees for a Bachelor’s run from about €8,000 to €13,000 a year, and for a Master’s from about €8,000 to €20,000 a year, depending on the institution. By way of concrete examples, the University of Helsinki charges around €14,690 a year for a Bachelor’s and €14,690 to €20,340 for a Master’s for the 2026 intake; Aalto University charges around €13,560 to €22,600; and Metropolia, a university of applied sciences, charges around €12,995 to €13,560 for a Bachelor’s and €14,125 for a Master’s. Doctoral study is free of charge regardless of nationality.
From 1 August 2026, tuition fees for non-EU/EEA students must by law cover the full cost of teaching. Students who began their studies before that date keep their original fee arrangements.
Finnish universities are required by law to offer scholarships to fee-paying international students, and these commonly cover 50 % or more of the tuition, in some cases up to 100 %.
From 1 August 2026, vocational upper secondary education also became chargeable for non-EU/EEA students, at roughly €7,500 to €29,200 a year.
Other fees and charges
Studying in Finland is not entirely free even where there is no tuition. Student union membership is compulsory for Bachelor’s and Master’s students (exchange students excepted) and costs about €73 to €85 a year; at the University of Turku, for example, the Student Union handles this. There are smaller charges too, for a student card, a computer lab key and a university sports fee. The student healthcare fee charged through Kela is €35.35 per semester in 2026. Many services, such as buses and trains, offer student discounts.
Cost of living
Expect to spend roughly €900 to €1,200 a month on living costs, excluding tuition. A conservative budget comes in nearer €700 a month, while Helsinki runs closer to €1,100. Costs vary by city, and the larger cities such as Helsinki are the most expensive. The University of Jyväskylä, for example, recommends €900 to €1,100 for your first month. The figure is similar for EU and non-EU residents.
Student housing from the local foundations gives a good benchmark for rent in 2026: in Helsinki, HOAS charges €398 to €485 for a shared studio and €633 to €890 for a studio, with a room in a shared flat at €454 to €584; in Tampere, TOAS charges €212 to €410 and €239 to €590; in Turku, TYS charges €250 to €400 and €393 to €600; in Oulu, PSOAS charges €250 to €380 and €430 to €500.
Residence permit and proof of funds
If you are from outside the EU or EEA, you need a student residence permit, and for that you must prove you can support yourself. The minimum for 2026 is €800 a month, or €9,600 for the first year on studies of at least a year. You must show a bank statement for the last six months, and the money must sit in your own account rather than being sponsored by relatives. Any unpaid tuition fees must be available on top of your living costs, and planned part-time work does not count towards the minimum. Because permits are renewed annually, you need to prove the amount each year.
Funding for a semester or year abroad
Financing your studies
Public support
Public support for higher education in Finland is high. The country has built a strong culture of learning, and the government takes responsibility for a range of social benefits for students, including help with housing, meal costs, childcare and healthcare. The local or national government owns most of the educational institutions. Most of the financial support for living costs comes from Kela, the Social Insurance Institution, a government agency that looks after social security. It offers three main benefits: the study grant, the housing supplement and a state guarantee for student loans.
Beyond Kela, your options for financing your studies include study-abroad grants, loans from your home country, scholarships, and funding from your own academic field. You can also search online for scholarships that apply internationally. The amount and arrangement of any loan depend on your country, your institution and your personal situation.
Study grant (opintoraha)
The study grant helps with general living costs. It is means tested, so what you receive depends on your circumstances. For the 2026-2027 academic year the basic grant is €279.38 a month if you are 18 or over and live independently, and €90.85 a month if you are 20 or over and live with your parents. If you have custody of a minor, the basic grant is €421.01 a month. The study grant amounts were not index-adjusted for 2026 and stay the same as the previous year.
Housing supplement (asumislisä)
The housing supplement helps with rent. It covers 80 % of your accepted housing costs, up to a monthly ceiling that depends on where you live: €296 in Group I (Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen), €248 in Group II (large cities such as Tampere and Turku), and €216 in Group III (all other municipalities). The most that can be counted as housing costs is €370 a month, so even where rent is higher, the supplement is worked out from that figure, and you pay the rest yourself. Since 1 August 2025, students have been moved from the general housing allowance (yleinen asumistuki) into the housing supplement. You cannot claim the supplement to help pay rent on a property owned by your parents.
Student loan (opintolaina) and state guarantee
Kela does not lend money directly. Instead it guarantees loans that banks give to students, so your loan application will not be turned down. The interest and other terms are agreed between you and the bank. For 2026 the state guarantee is €850 a month if you are 18 or over and €400 a month if you are under 18. Higher loan amounts are possible from August 2026 for the autumn semester. Higher education students who receive the study grant get the guarantee decision automatically; upper secondary students have to apply for it through OmaKela. In the 2026 academic year, 143,400 students took out a student loan.
Once you graduate, Kela can pay a student loan compensation (opintolainahyvitys) towards your loan. For a 210 ECTS degree from a university of applied sciences, for example, the compensation can be up to €4,120.
Income limits and repayment of over-paid benefits
The study grant and housing supplement are tied to an annual income limit. For nine supported months (September to May) in 2026-2027 the limit is €20,127. If you exceed it by more than €374 and have not cancelled benefit months in time, Kela recovers the benefits with a 7.5 % surcharge. Support is paid for your active study months: nine full months plus 20 calendar days, for example, can mean ten months of support.
Eligibility and international students
To qualify for Kela support you must meet residency requirements in Finland, be in full-time study, and for the means-tested benefits show financial need. International students do not qualify for Kela study support, including the housing supplement, unless they can prove permanent residence in Finland for a reason unconnected to their studies, such as work or return migration. From 1 April 2026, stricter rules apply: residence-based benefits require a valid residence permit.
If you have a question about student financial aid, Kela’s service agents for students can be reached Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on 020 634 2550. The international-situations line is open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on +358 206340200. You can apply once you have accepted your study place and enrolled as present, most easily through Kela’s e-Services (available only in Finnish and Swedish) or on paper. The housing supplement must be applied for separately; you can estimate it with Kela’s calculator. You can also receive support for full-time summer studies that are part of your degree, but you must apply for the summer months separately.
Scholarships
Because Finland charges no tuition for EU/EEA students, scholarships are not heavily promoted, but several exist. The Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI, formerly CIMO) runs most of them, and they generally target people learning Finnish, doctoral students, or researchers at a Finnish university. The EDUFI Fellowship pays €1,900 a month. The Finland Government Scholarship Pool (EDUFI/CIMO) pays €1,500 a month, but only to visiting researchers; it does not cover tuition, travel or insurance, and is not open to Master’s students. It lasts 3 to 9 months depending on the course of study or research.
Doctoral researchers are often funded through doctoral programmes over four years: the University of Helsinki pays €2,100 to €2,500 a month, Aalto €2,400 to €3,500, and VTT €2,800 to €3,200.
Several universities also take part in Erasmus Mundus, the EU scholarship scheme that runs across Europe. It applies to Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s and doctoral courses and lets you study at at least two universities in Europe. For a two-year Master’s it covers full tuition plus a travel and installation allowance; the non-EU monthly grant is around €1,400, with a total value of roughly €50,000 to €60,000.
Scholarship application deadlines for Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes mostly fall in January; the University of Helsinki’s Master’s scholarship window, for instance, ran from 2 to 16 January 2026.
University grants
Universities run their own grant schemes targeted at particular areas of study or types of student. The value of each award varies, but grants of €1,000 to €2,000 are common. Qualifying criteria differ from one institution to the next, and academic record is often weighed alongside financial need. International students can apply for these university grants even though they cannot get Kela support.
What a Finnish student might receive
A typical Finnish student on a degree course can combine the Kela benefits: up to €279.38 a month in study grant, up to €296 a month in housing supplement, and a loan guarantee of up to €850 a month. Not every student gets the full amount, because the grant and supplement depend on financial circumstances.
Student jobs
Many students work to help pay their costs, though the job market can be tight. If you are a non-EU/EEA student, you may work up to 30 hours a week during term (raised from 25 in September 2022), measured as an annual average, and full time during holidays. EU/EEA students have no hour limit. You need a Finnish tax card before you start work. Entry-level student pay is around €10 to €14 an hour gross.