Study in Finland

Finnish higher education has two types of institutions, with quality monitored by the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC): • Research universities (13): bachelor’s in 3 years, master’s in 2 years, doctorate in about 4 years. • Universities of applied sciences (UAS, 22): practice-oriented bachelor’s degrees of 3.5–4.5 years with strong industry links, and master’s degrees of 1–1.5 years that require two years of relevant work experience after the bachelor’s. Studies use the European credit system (ECTS). The official languages of instruction are Finnish and Swedish, with hundreds of English-taught programmes. The academic year begins on 1 August and teaching starts in late August or early September; some programmes start in January. You can accept only one study place per term in Finnish higher education.

1) Choose your programme on the national portal Studyinfo.fi, which lists admission requirements, fees, scholarships and application dates for every programme. 2) Joint application: most English-taught bachelor’s and master’s programmes starting in August/September 2027 take applications from 7 to 21 January 2027 on Studyinfo.fi, and you can choose up to six programmes. A smaller autumn round covers programmes starting in January (it ran from 31 August to 10 September 2026). 3) Separate or rolling applications: some universities run their own application periods, mainly between December and January or from late 2026, and some accept applications on a rolling basis until places are full. 4) Application fee: applicants from outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland pay €100, in place since the 2025 admission rounds. Requirements: for a bachelor’s, a secondary-school certificate that gives access to higher education in your country; for a master’s, a bachelor’s degree. Admission may include entrance exams, SAT or GMAT scores or interviews, and accepted IELTS, TOEFL or PTE scores vary by university and programme. University scholarships and early-bird discounts are listed below.

Tuition: students from outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland pay fees for English-taught bachelor’s and master’s programmes, typically €9,000–20,000 a year depending on the university and programme. Programmes taught in Finnish or Swedish are free, and doctoral studies are free for all nationalities. Since the Universities Act amendment of 1 December 2024, fees must cover the full cost of education by 1 August 2026, and anyone who first came to Finland on a study permit remains liable for fees even after switching to another permit. Scholarships: there are no government scholarships for bachelor’s or master’s studies; university scholarships are competitive and cover tuition only, partly or fully, never living costs. Living costs: the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) requires at least €800 a month (€9,600 a year), and Study in Finland recommends budgeting about €900–1,200 a month depending on the city, for housing, food and transport. Add the university student union fee of about €50–70 a year and the student healthcare (FSHS) fee of about €35 per term.

Students from outside the EU/EEA need a residence permit for studies from the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) to study for more than 90 days: 1) After receiving your admission letter, apply online through Enter Finland from outside Finland and pay the fee: €600 online or €750 on paper since 1 January 2026. 2) Book an appointment at a Finnish embassy or consulate to prove your identity and give fingerprints; processing starts from the date of that visit. 3) Documents: admission letter, valid passport and proof of €9,600 in a bank account in your own name when you apply (€800 a month), plus proof that the tuition fee is paid or that the fee is also in the account on top of the living funds, or a scholarship certificate. 4) Health insurance: medical cover of at least €40,000 for studies of two years or more, or €120,000 for studies under two years; travel insurance is generally not accepted. The permit is granted for the full length of your studies, and you can request a D visa with the application if you can travel within two weeks of the decision. Do not buy flights before the decision.

With a residence permit for studies you may work in any field for an average of 30 hours a week (about 120 hours a month or 1,560 hours a year), so you can work more in some weeks, such as holidays, as long as the yearly average stays at 30. A required internship or thesis work that earns credits generally does not count. Finding a job is hard without Finnish or Swedish, so do not rely on work to pay tuition or living costs. After graduation: you can get a residence permit to look for work or start a business for up to two years, applying within five years of graduation even from abroad, with unrestricted work rights. Since 8 January 2026 the residence period for permanent residence is six years as a rule, but there is no residence-period requirement for holders of a Finnish master’s or doctorate or a Finnish university bachelor’s, though other conditions such as language skills and work history apply. Family: family members of degree students receive a continuous residence permit, provided the family shows sufficient funds.