Study for Free in Finland: Myth or Reality

If you are dreaming of studying abroad for free? Congratulations, your dream may become a reality. Now you can study for free in Finland, as it is distinguished among many European and Western countries by free education in higher education stages in Finnish universities.

This is rare to happen, as many countries apply tuition fees to be paid every year or at the end of each semester for international students.

Therefore, this helped in making Finland a destination for many students from all over the world, in addition to various advantages offered to study an academic degree in a university in Finland.

So is there a way for international students to study for free in Finland? What are the options to get undergraduate, masters and PhD degrees for free in Finland? Here are some answers and tips.

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Who has to pay tuition fees to study in Finland? Can international students study for free in Finland?

International students who are not citizens of a country in the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland have to pay tuition fees in Finland.

Also, Finland has recently joined the countries that apply tuition fees which are somehow high for one academic year in the university.

Helpful Articles : Costs of studying and living in Finland, which includes all tuition fees details in the top universities in Finland

However, only students who want to study Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees in English pay tuition fees.

The reason is that Finnish Universities offer more than 400 study programs, which are so few compared to the programs available in Finnish and Swedish. Generally, most public universities in Finland teach bachelor’s degrees in these two languages.

Helpful Article : How to Study Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees in English in Finland?

Study in Finnish or Swedish without tuition fees

The opportunity to study in Finland for free never ends, as all study programs available in both Swedish and Finnish are all taught for free and students do not have to pay any tuition fees. You can then study for a masters in Finland for free, as long as the program you enroll in is in Swedish or Finnish.

On the other hand, International students who want to study for free, have to be good in either Finnish or Swedish. For those who are not proficient in these two languages, there are many schools teaching them.

It is only enough to apply and take intensive lessons in order to get the opportunity to enroll for free in one of the universities in Finland. Besides, the student will only cover the costs of housing and studying (books, printing …).

Finnish Universities never offers to teach in Finnish nor Swedish in the preparatory year of the students who are not proficient in the official language of the country.

To study and learn the two official languages in Finland, you must contact the Finnish Consulate in your country. It will give you all the information regarding courses in Finnish or Swedish.

Also, you can learn them through the following website and study Finnish from the beginning. As it explains in English in order to understand more.

Apply for scholarships to study for free in Finland

Applying for full-funded scholarships is the best way for international students to study for free. And if there are some institutions that are tuition-free for UE/EEA students, there are, on the other hand, other universities who provide to cover the students’ expenses through generous grants and scholarships.

There are many scholarships available in Finland that Finnish universities offer. Besides, these scholarships cover the tuition fees, and they are for excellent students. The degree of student excellence is often evaluated during the university entrance examination. Therefore, only excellent students benefit from free studying for one academic year.

Also, the scholarship can be continued in case the completion of the academic year is successful.

Besides, the student must get the grade determined by each university. It depends on the criteria of each university for each major or course of study.

Learn more about Scholarships in Finland.

PhDs are tuition-free

Doctorate programs (PhDs) are usually tuition-free. Therefore, those who want to study PhD’s degrees for free in Finland have to apply in one of the majors offered by Finnish Universities.

You can follow the same steps mentioned in the article on how to apply for Finnish university. Here are some examples of available majors in Finnish Universities.

Helpful Article How to apply for Finnish university.
Available Majors in the University of Helsinki.

You should consider the fact that Universities of Applied Sciences do not have a PhD, while the University of Helsinki has 4 private schools for doctoral degrees. Majors are as follows:

Law
Economics
Language Studies
Philosophy, Art and Society
Applied Physics and Comprehensive Sciences
Mathematics and Statistics
Bio-medicine
Sanatorium research
Biology
Mind and Brain
Community Health

These are only examples of doctoral study programs at the University of Helsinki in Finland. For more available study programs, please read the top 10 universities in Finland.