Study in Finland

The main joint application round is in January, and it is for studies starting the following autumn — so applying in January 2027 means starting in August or September 2027. This catches people out, because in the UK a January date usually means a January start. A smaller number of English-taught programmes are in the autumn round, which does feed a January start, and some universities run separate rounds of their own, mostly between December and January. A few use rolling admission. Check the exact dates for your programme on Studyinfo.fi rather than assuming the main round applies.

Tuition for English-taught bachelor's and master's degrees is typically EUR 9,000-20,000 a year, set programme by programme, and some sit outside that range in both directions. Degrees taught in Finnish or Swedish charge no tuition at all, and doctoral study is free regardless of nationality. Add a EUR 100 application fee for non-EU applicants, a student union fee of about EUR 50-70 a year, and a student healthcare fee of roughly EUR 35 a term. Living costs are the other half: the Agency recommends budgeting EUR 900-1,200 a month.

No, and you should treat any advertisement saying otherwise as false. Scholarships for bachelor's and master's study in Finland are offered by individual universities only — there are no governmental scholarship programmes. University awards are competitive, usually cover tuition in part or in full, and never cover living costs, which you must fund yourself. The Finnish National Agency for Education publishes its own warning about posts and ads promoting "fully funded Finland government scholarships" that would cover tuition, travel and living costs, because they contain a great deal of false information. We will tell you which of your chosen programmes genuinely offer a waiver, and we will not pretend there is a national scheme.

Migri, the Finnish Immigration Service, sets the minimum at EUR 800 a month, which is EUR 9,600 for a year of study. That is the figure you have to prove, not the figure to live on — the Agency recommends budgeting EUR 900-1,200 a month depending on the city. You must also show you have insurance. Tuition is separate from this and is paid to the university.

Yes, up to 30 hours a week on average across the academic year, and full-time during holidays. Be realistic about it though: the Agency says directly that finding work is challenging without Finnish or Swedish, and that part-time earnings would not be enough to cover tuition and living costs together. Plan your funding as though you will not be working, and treat any job you do find as a bonus and as experience rather than as part of the budget.

For a bachelor's, a school-leaving qualification that makes you eligible for higher education in India. For a master's, a bachelor's degree — and for a master's at a university of applied sciences, two years of relevant work experience as well, which is a requirement people routinely miss. Depending on the programme, admission may also involve an entrance exam, SAT or GMAT, or an interview. English requirements are set per programme rather than nationally, so the accepted tests and minimum scores are on each programme's page on Studyinfo.fi.

Two years, on a residence permit specifically for looking for work or starting a business. It is one of the longer post-study windows in Europe — six months more than Germany offers. Learning some Finnish or Swedish materially improves your chances in that window, and doing a thesis or traineeship with a company during the degree is the route most graduates who stay actually took.