Scholarships to Study in Finland (2027)

Finland charges tuition only to students from outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland, and only on English taught programmes, where fees run from about 8,000 to 20,000 euros a year. Applications go through the national Studyinfo portal, with the main international round for autumn 2027 entry open from 7 to 21 January 2027, though Aalto and the University of Helsinki run their own separate bachelor's admissions on different dates. Bachelor's admission is usually ranked on the SAT or ACT, or on a school leaving certificate.

Verified 12 Sep 2026 Sources

Finland has no government scholarship programme for international degree students. The Finnish National Agency for Education says so explicitly on its own Study in Finland portal, and warns about advertisements promising fully funded Finnish government scholarships covering tuition, travel and living costs. Those do not exist.

What does exist is the individual university's own scheme, and it is decided as part of admission rather than applied for separately later. The usual form is a tuition fee waiver covering 50 to 100 percent of the fee, awarded to the highest ranked admitted applicants who are liable for fees. The University of Oulu's international scholarship scheme covers 50, 75 or 100 percent. Turku offers a waiver covering 50 percent of the fee, renewed each year if study progresses. The University of Eastern Finland runs waivers of 2,500 euros for proven Finnish language skills and 1,500 euros for studies already completed there. Aalto grants its scholarships for the full three years of a bachelor's degree or two years of a master's, and adds a 1,500 euro incentive scholarship for completing 60 credits in a year.

An early bird discount is a different thing and easier to get. Several universities cut the first year's fee by about 2,000 euros, or by a percentage, for a student who accepts the study place and pays within a short window after results, typically three to four weeks. Oulu's runs at 15 to 30 percent by programme; Tampere, Turku and LUT each publish a 2,000 euro version.

None of these cover living costs. A student who receives a full tuition waiver still has to fund accommodation, food and insurance, and still has to satisfy Migri that they can.