Funding your studies

Key facts

• Plan to cover your tuition fees and living costs independently.
• Non-EU/EEA students usually pay tuition for English-taught bachelor’s and master’s programmes.
• Tuition fees are typically €8,000–€20,000 per year, depending on the programme.
• University scholarships are competitive and usually cover tuition fees only, not living costs.
• Doctoral programmes do not charge tuition fees, but doctoral students must fund their living costs.
• Living costs are approximately €900–€1,200 per month.
• Part-time work is allowed, but challenging to find - it should not be your main funding plan.

Getting Started

Planning a realistic budget for your time in Finland is an important part of preparing for the journey ahead. 

You should be prepared to cover all your living costs independently. Additionally, if you are a non-EU/EEA student admitted to an English-taught bachelor's or master's programme, you would be required to pay tuition fees.

Even though students are allowed to work within defined limits (30 hours per week) with a student residence permit, you should note that possible earnings from a part-time job during studies would not be sufficient to cover all your living costs, let alone your tuition fees. Moreover, finding part-time work is challenging - especially without local language skills! Also it's important to remember that your primary goal in Finland is to focus on your studies.

Some universities may offer scholarships or tuition fee waivers both for bachelor's and master's level international students. Funding options also exist for doctoral level.