FAQ about tuition fees and scholarships

No, your annual tuition fee is fixed upon the year of entry for the degree programme you were admitted to.

No, it is not possible to pay in multiple instalments. The tuition fee must be paid as a single instalment for each academic year.

You will get a receipt of the paid tuition fee as soon as your payment has cleared, usually within a week from the payment. The receipt is sent to the same email address as your invoice. 

Please note that you will be sent a receipt only after the tuition fee has been received in full.

You can use this receipt as confirmation of the paid tuition fee when applying for a residence permit from the Finnish Immigration Services (Migri). More information on Migri's webpage.

These are not included in the tuition fee. If you are awarded a Finland Scholarship, you can use the 5000 € relocation grant to cover some expenses.

You must ensure that you have the financial means to pay your rent, personal expenses, transportation costs, meals, insurance etc. Please note that the costs of living are higher in the capital region (Espoo, Helsinki and Vantaa) than elsewhere in the country. Thus, you should prepare to have about 800 euros per month to cover your living costs in the capital region of Finland. 

As a degree student in a Finnish higher education institution, you are entitled to a significant discount in student meals and costs of public transport. You are also provided free or affordable general, mental and oral health care services by the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS). However, please remember to check that you have a valid health insurance, as the FSHS only provides basic health care services and does not perform extensive medical operations or have its own accident and emergency service unit. A valid health insurance is also one of the requirements for a residence permit. Please see the Finnish Immigration Service website for more information on health insurance requirements.

Yes, you can go on an exchange period or do an internship abroad. Please note that you have to pay the tuition fee to Aalto University even if going for exchange studies or for an internship abroad, as you will have to be registered as attending.

If you are required to pay a tuition fee, you are also eligible to apply for a scholarship when you apply for admission. There are also some scholarships you can apply for in the middle of your studies, if you are a fee-paying student.

Aalto University does not offer any scholarships that cover living costs in Finland. However, the Finland Scholarship includes a grant of 5000 € for relocation and other costs for the first year of studies. The 5000 € grant is paid once and only during the first year of studies.

The costs of living are higher in the capital region (Espoo, Helsinki and Vantaa) than elsewhere in the country. Thus, you should prepare to have about 800 euros per month to cover your living costs in Finland as Aalto student. In order to be granted a residence permit, the Finnish immigration authorities require you to have sufficient means of financial support during your stay. For information on the requirements for a residence permit, please check the Finnish Immigration Service website.

Aalto University does not offer any early bird scholarships or discounts to fee-paying students. In order to register as attending, you have to pay the tuition fee in full.

If you are a citizen of an EU/EEA country, you are not required to pay tuition fees for your degree studies at Aalto University and consequently are not eligible to apply for Aalto University's scholarships. Aalto Scholarship Programme is only available for students who are required to pay tuition fees for their studies.

The number of available scholarships is limited in each programme and they are awarded to the very best applicants. Applicants are ranked according to the admission criteria, which can be seen on the admissions website. As defined in the Universities Act, the scholarship decision cannot be appealed to.

Please keep in mind that as a fee-paying student, you are eligible for the Aalto Incentive-Based Scholarship if you complete 60 ECTS or more during one academic year, according to your approved personal study plan. The scholarship is 1,500 EUR and can be applied for more than once. 

You can also look for other possibilities to fund your studies outside Aalto's scholarship programme. There are different ways to finance your educational expenses, e.g. through scholarships offered by organisations or funds, or governmental support. We have compiled quite an extensive list of external scholarships suitable for international students liable to pay tuition fees at Aalto University. The page also contains tips on how to apply for such scholarships.

Aalto University Scholarships are granted for two years (Master's degree programmes) or three years (Bachelor's degree programmes). These tuition fee waivers cannot be applied for in the middle of studies. In addition, if you have been granted an Aalto University Scholarship upon admission, please note that the scholarship type cannot be changed, e.g. a 50 % tuition fee waiver cannot be changed to a 100 % tuition fee waiver.

As a fee-paying student, if you complete 60 ECTS or more studies from your approved personal study plan during one academic year, you are eligible for the Aalto Incentive-Based Scholarship. The scholarship is 1500 EUR and can be applied for more than once. Please note that 100 % tuition fee waiver recipients are not eligible for the Incentive-Based Scholarships.

You can also look for other possibilities to fund your studies outside Aalto's scholarship programme. There are different ways to finance your educational expenses, e.g. through scholarships offered by organisations or funds, or governmental support.

Yes, you can go on an exchange period or do an internship abroad during your studies. If you have been awarded a scholarship for your degree at Aalto University, the scholarship covers exchange studies abroad, as well.

However, please note that e.g. course registrations might take some time after an exchange period. This is good to take into consideration when planning when to go on exchange. In addition, the scholarship for one additional term cannot be used to go on an exchange, unless an exchange period is a compulsory part of your studies.

Finland Scholarships are granted during the application process for those who apply directly to master's programmes at Aalto University. This means that Aalto bachelor's programme graduates who continue their studies to master's programmes at Aalto within the same study right cannot apply for a Finland Scholarship. However, you might be eligible to apply for the scholarships for Aalto bachelor's programme graduates continuing in Aalto master's programmes.

Yes, you can apply for the scholarship, even though your tuition fee has been covered by an external scholarship provider. The Incentive-Based Scholarship is available to Aalto students who are fee-paying, i.e. students paying either full or partial tuition fee. As you have not received a 100 % tuition fee waiver from Aalto University, you are considered eligible for the Incentive-Based Scholarship.

If you have funding from different providers to cover your educational expenses in Finland, it is good to keep the taxation of scholarships in mind. More information on scholarships and tax here.

If you are a first-year student, you cannot register as non-attending except in situations specified in the Universities Act Section 39 (e.g. parental leave or Finnish military service – please see the Act for specific details). Otherwise, new students must register as attending for the first academic year of their studies or they will lose their right to study. In order to re-enrol, the student must apply for a readmission and pay a readmission fee.

If you have been granted a scholarship upon admission, and cannot start your studies due to a situation specified in the Universities Act, your scholarship can be postponed by a maximum of two academic terms. Your scholarship can also be postponed if you register as non-attending during your studies due to reasons specified in the Universities Act. 

In addition, your scholarship may be postponed in force majeure situations, in which you can clearly demonstrate that your failure to enrol as attending or non-attending was caused by reasons beyond your control. The same applies if you have to enrol as non-attending during your studies for other reasons than those defined in the Universities Act. 

Aalto University Scholarships may be postponed by a maximum of two academic terms. For more information, please contact the student services.

More information about registering as non-attending here.

You are not able to postpone the beginning of studies or register as non-attending for the first year except in situations specified in the Universities Act Section 39 (e.g. parental leave or Finnish military service – please see the Act for specific details). Otherwise, new students must register as attending for the first academic year of their studies or they will lose their right to study. In order to re-enrol, the student must apply for a readmission and pay a readmission fee.

More information about registering as non-attending here.

It is not recommended that you start your studies late. In some cases, individual arrangements can be made for a late start, but please note that missing the orientation might mean having to catch up with an increased workload or finding it harder to adapt into new academic system. If you need to start your studies late due to e.g. force majeure reasons, make sure that you are comfortably able to catch up with some pre-arranged support and a clear plan approved by the school.

If your residence permit is either denied or delayed so that you cannot start your studies, you are entitled to a full refund of Aalto’s tuition fee.

Please check the regulations for enrolment carefully if it looks like you cannot arrive before the end of the enrolment period. The law requires you to enrol as attending for the first year (with the exception of illness, family leave or Finnish military service) or otherwise you will lose your right to study. You can apply for readmission for later entry, but it is not automatic, and will require a separate application and an administrative fee.

In order to be exempted from tuition fees, you need to have a valid exempting residence permit and send it to the student services before the end of the enrolment period. You cannot be exempted based on application alone. If you don't have a valid exempting permit, you will have to pay tuition fees if you want to register as attending.

If you don't want to pay tuition fees while waiting for your new exempting residence permit, you can register as non-attending. However, you cannot complete any studies during non-attendance. In addition, please note that first-year students can register as non-attending only for reasons defined in the Universities Act (e.g. parental leave or military service in Finland).

When you get the new permit, the exemption will be valid starting from the beginning of the following term. If the process has taken unreasonably long due to reasons unrelated to you, it might be possible to apply for the exemption to be valid exceptionally already for the on-going term. Please note that these decisions based on fairness and reasonableness are always made on a case-by-case manner.

The financial situation of many Aalto students might become more difficult due to the war. For example, Kela has information on available social security benefits.

More information on how Russia's invasion of Ukraine affects Aalto University’s operations. If you have any further questions, please write to [email protected].

Scholarship for new degree students receiving temporary protection

Newly admitted bachelor’s or master’s degree students with tuition-fee liability, who did not receive a 100% scholarship on academic grounds and who entered Finland having received temporary protection, may receive the Aalto scholarship on humanitarian grounds. The scholarship is granted as a 100% tuition fee waiver and is part of the expanded Aalto scholarship system.

If you are a new tuition-fee liable degree student (admitted in 2024) and have received or applied for temporary protection in Finland, please send a message to [email protected] if you would like to start the application process for the scholarship. You will receive detailed instructions on how to apply and the application form as a reply. Note that the reply mail will be encrypted, and it might go to your spam folder. More information on sending and opening encrypted messages.

In case your temporary protection decision is pending at the time of the application, you may still apply for the scholarship and attach a verification of the pending status. A possible approval may be granted on the scholarship on conditional grounds. If the scholarship decision is conditional, you have to present the decision on temporary protection before the end of the enrolment period.

The application period for the scholarship for new degree students (admitted in 2024) receiving temporary protection begins after the admission results are published and continues until 15 August 2024. The application period for students admitted in 2023 ended on 15 August 2023.

Should you have any further questions, please send a message to [email protected]. 

Students liable to tuition fee at Aalto can apply for the 5th (Master's students) or 7th (Bachelor's students) Term Scholarship in case their graduation has been delayed by measures taken by the university to contain the coronavirus outbreak. This scholarship can be granted only once.

If granted, the scholarship covers 100% of the tuition fee for one additional term following the normative duration of the programme.

If the coronavirus measures taken by the university have delayed graduation more than one term, students can apply for an extension of their 5th/7th Term Scholarship.

Any evident, direct impact of the coronavirus measures will be taken into consideration when assessing the criteria for the scholarship and its possible extension.

Any other evident coronavirus impact, such as prolonged personal illness or force majeure circumstance, that has delayed graduation more than one term and would result in unreasonable impact on tuition fees, can be appealed for mitigation on the basis of fairness and reasonableness.

Students liable to tuition fees may also need help in mapping the following issues resulting from any significant delay to their graduation:

• Residence permit may need to be extended.
• Migri may need to see that the student can sustain themselves financially over the additional term and that they have a valid insurance for it.
• The contract for accommodation may need to be extended.
• If the student has an external sponsor (bank, state, parents etc) covering living expenses, they may need to be consulted.
• The thesis topic is usually valid for a limited time. It should be checked beforehand that with any extension it does not expire before the thesis is officially approved. Any significant delay directly caused by the containment-measures of the university will be taken into consideration when assessing the limitation of the thesis topic validity.
• Any third-party measures (such as the student’s thesis-partner or company closing or limiting their operation) that significantly impact the student’s graduation on time will be assessed case-by-case for a reasonable solution.
• Should delays and extensions resulting directly from the coronavirus measures taken by the university impact on specific awards and assessments, the university is prepared to give them due consideration as part of the process to ensure a fair outcome.
• Students must ensure they have a valid health insurance in place at all times for the whole duration of their studies.

The university is committed to ensuring relevant help and support throughout this exceptional situation. If you have a specific question relating to tuition fees or individual circumstance impacting your tuition fees or scholarship, please write to: [email protected].

Students from the UK studying in bachelor's or master's programmes at Aalto University are exempt from tuition fees as long as they have the EU-right-to-residence from Migri in accordance with the Brexit withdrawal agreement – that is, the EU residence status must have been granted on the basis of an application that has a connection to the withdrawal agreement. Residence permit card with the EU right of residence is sufficient proof for exemption. More information on Brexit permits on Migri's pages.

Without the EU-right-to-residence, UK degree students are liable to tuition fees and residence permit requirements like other non-EU/EEA students at Aalto University, with the same exemptions as given in the exemption from tuition fees pages. Full tuition fee liability contains the possibility to apply for Aalto's scholarships.

If you have a question on Brexit and tuition fees, please write to [email protected].