Tuition fees and scholarships

Most non-EU/non-EEA citizens studying in English in Master's or Bachelor's degree programme are liable for tuition fees.

 Studies are free of charge for the following groups  

• Citizens of an EU/EEA country or Switzerland 
• Students of a PhD programme
• Exchange students
• Students of a Bachelor's or Master's degree programme with Swedish as language of tuition.  
• Students of a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree studies in English as language of tuition for non-EU/EEA degree students who hold specific residence permits as listed below.   

Residence permits exempting from tuition fees  

This information about documents exempting from tuition fee liablity is valid starting from 1 December 2024 due to amendments to the Universities Act.

The following residence permits issued in Finland exempt citizens of a non-EU/EEA country from paying tuition fees:

• Permanent residence permit card (type P permit)
• EU residence permit for third-country nationals with long-term residence (type P-EU permit)
• Residence card in Finland of a family members of an EU citizen (you must hold the permit yourself; being a family member of someone with an EU residence permit does not exempt you from tuition fees)
• EU Blue Card
• Brexit residence permit card (type SEU-sopimuksen 50 artikla or P SEU-sopimuksen 50 artikla)
• Residence permit based on temporary protection under the Aliens Act

Additionally, a continuous residence permit card (type A permit) may exempt you from tuition fees if it was granted on grounds other than studying. However, you are required to pay tuition fees if:

• Your first residence permit in Finland was for studying, even if you later received a continuous residence permit (type A) for other reasons.
• You have a continuous residence permit (type A) based on family ties, and your family member originally came to Finland on a residence permit granted for studying.
• Your continuous residence permit (type A) is for studying.

For more details, visit the Finnish Immigration Service website.

Validity and requirements concerning the residence permits  

For a permit to be accepted as a ground for exemption from tuition fees, the residence permit needs to be valid be valid when each academic semester starts as follows:  

• 1 August for the Autumn semester, and on  
• 1 January for the Spring semester.  

Note that it is not sufficient to have a card renewal in process, but the student needs to hold the sufficient residence permit on the above listed dates. The tuition fee exemption is tied to the validity period of the residence permit. If the permit's validity period runs out during the studies and the permit is not renewed, full tuition fee liability will normally start from the beginning of the next academic semester following the expiration date of the permit.

The validity of residence permit when applying

• If you are exempted from tuition fees on the grounds of your residence permit, upload copies of both the front and back sides of your residence permit card to your application form.   
• If when applying for admission your residence permit expires before the 1st January the following year, you will be considered liable for tuition fees. First year students must register as present for the whole first academic year according to the Universities Act and hence must either hold a residence permit which exempt from tuition fees and which is valid for both the Autumn and Spring semester, or they are required to pay the tuition fee for the term the permit is not valid. 
• Applicants liable to tuition fees can apply for a scholarship when applying to the university.
• If you receive a document that exempts you from tuition fees after the application period, you must submit a copy of the document to the university as soon as possible.
• See Studyinfo.fi for more information about determining your liability to pay tuition fees and about tuition fee exemptions.

The tuition fees for studies starting on 1 August 2024 and later are the following:  

• Bachelor’s degree studies: 12 000 euro/academic year  
• Master’s degree studies: 15 000 euro/academic year  

The tuition fee covers educational expenses such as courses, academic supervision, exams, counselling and university support services such as student services, library services and IT services in accordance with the university regulations.   

The tuition fee does not cover living costs, personal study related costs such as study materials or other costs that may be charged according to the university rules or national legislation. The tuition fee does not cover the compulsory Student Union membership fee or the Student Health Care fee.

No, if you are liable for tuition fees, you can neither register as present nor start your studies before you have paid the tuition fee for the academic year.

There are fees in connection with applying (GMAT/GRE, language test, possible application fee). In addition, there are immigration costs and naturally you must be able to cover your living costs in Finland. Read more under the Fees and living costs page. 

You can apply for scholarships if

• You are eligible for the programme you are applying to.  
• You are liable for tuition fees: citizens of non-EU/EEA countries who do not have permanent residence status in Finland are liable for tuition fees.
• You meet the requirements for obtaining an entry visa and residence permit for Finland.  
• You have obtained excellent study results in your previous studies and your studies are relevant for the programme you intend to apply to.

Scholarships – Admission phase   

Hanken Premium Waiver  

• Tuition fee waiver of 50 % of tuition fee for duration of first degree at Hanken.
• Validity: 3 years for Bachelor’s degree and 2 years for Master’s degrees  
• Selection of recipients: the scholarship is awarded to excellent students based on academic success and/or points in the admission method during the admission stage.  
• The requirement during the studies is to complete at least 60 ECTS by the end of each academic year, that is by 31st July, for the scholarship to continue the next academic year.  
• If the student fails to complete 60 ECTS/academic year they will lose the Hanken premium waiver scholarship.
• Scholarship recipients are allowed to be registered as absent during their study time without the absence influencing the total validity of the scholarship. During the first year of enrolment, only absence due to legal grounds is allowed.

Hanken Waiver  

• Tuition fee waiver of 25 % of tuition fee for first academic year of enrolment.  
• Validity: first academic year of enrolment only.  
• Selection of recipients: the Scholarship is awarded to very good students based on academic success and/or points in the admission method in the admission stage. 
• Scholarship recipient of the scholarship are allowed to be registered as absent due to legal grounds during their first academic year.

Hanken Premium GBSN Scholarship  

(available for Master programmes only)  

• Tuition fee waiver 100 % for duration of first degree at Hanken and 8000 EUR/year for living expenses.  
• Validity: 2 years.  
• Selection of recipients: the scholarship is only awarded to students currently studying at or alumni of GBSN member schools from specific developing countries.  NOTE! No other applicants are eligible for this scholarship.
• The requirement during the studies is to complete at least 60 ECTS and achieve a GPA of 3.0 by the end of each academic year (31 July) for the scholarship to continue the next academic year.  The recipient commits to contributing to a limited amount of student recruitment activities during their studies at Hanken.  
• Note that the scholarship is only awarded to eligible applicants within the Master’s Main Admission round.  
• Read more about the very specific requirements to be eligible for the scholarship.

Scholarships – continuing students

Hanken honor waiver  

• Tuition fee waiver of 25 % of tuition fee for  
• Bachelor’s degree students: 2nd and 3rd year of enrolment  
• Master’s degree students: 2nd year of enrolment  
• Granted annually (for 2nd year of enrolment onwards)  
• Validity: maximum 1 year  
• Selection of recipients: all students liable for tuition fees who have completed 60 ECTS during the preceding academic year and applied for the scholarship timely, will be awarded the scholarship.  
• Continuing students must apply separately for the scholarship for continuing students in Spring semester.

• You apply for scholarships directly on the application form for admission.   
• You cannot get a scholarship if you have not applied for it during the application period.  
• Applying for a scholarship will not affect your application to the degree programme.  
• The scholarship decision is given simultaneously with the admission decision.
• According to the Universities Act, scholarship decisions cannot be appealed. 

No, scholarships are study-option-specific. For example, if you have been granted a scholarship for your second study option within the Master’s admission, it is not possible transfer the scholarship to your first study option if you are admitted to that study option as well. You lose the scholarship if you do not accept the study place bindingly to your second study option.   

Applicants admitted off the waiting list are not offered scholarships. The number of scholarships is limited and is only granted to applicants ranked the highest.   

Students who are liable to tuition fees and are admitted off the waiting list must cover the tuition fees and living expenses from their own financial resources.  

If you do register for the academic year timely you will lose your scholarship. First year students must be registered as present for the whole first academic year according to the Universities Act. The only exception is if you have legal grounds for registering as absent, in this case the scholarship can be transferred to the year when you start your studies.   

If your liability to pay tuition fees changes, you will also lose the right to the scholarship. If you are a GBSN Scholarship recipient, you can lose the scholarship if you do not fulfil the annual requirement for completed ECTS and GPA.