Tuition fees, waivers and scholarships

Fees will be collected from citizens outside the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, starting their studies in Bachelor's or Master’s degree programmes conducted in English.

Tuition Fee Exemption Criteria

Tuition fees are not required if the applicant meets one of the following conditions:

• Is a citizen of a European Union (EU) member state, a country in the European Economic Area (EEA), or Switzerland.
• Holds a permanent residence permit card in Finland (type P permit).
• Holds a continuous residence permit card in Finland (type A permit), based on grounds other than studying, provided the following exceptions do not apply:
  • If the first residence permit in Finland was granted for the purpose of studying, tuition fees must be paid, even if a type A permit is later obtained on other grounds.
  • If the type A permit is based on family ties, and the family member originally came to Finland on a residence permit granted for studying, tuition fees are required.
  • If the type A permit is granted for studying, tuition fees are required.
• Holds an EU residence permit card in Finland for third-country citizens with long-term EU resident status (type P-EU permit).
• Holds a residence card in Finland as a family member of an EU citizen.
• Holds an EU Blue Card in Finland.
• Holds a Brexit residence permit card, either:
  • SEU = Right of residence under the withdrawal agreement, or
  • P SEU = Right of permanent residence under the withdrawal agreement.
• Holds a residence permit on the basis of temporary protection in Finland, provided the permit is valid at the beginning of the study right.

The degree programmes conducted in Finnish will remain free of charge regardless of the student’s citizenship.

Validity of Residence Permit and Tuition Fee Exemption

To be exempted from tuition fees for the academic year, the applicant’s residence permit must be valid at the start of the academic year, i.e. 1 August.

To verify residency status, the following documents must be enclosed with the application:

• Copies of both sides of a valid residence permit card in Finland
• A copy of a valid passport or national ID card indicating citizenship

The tuition fee exemption is tied to the validity period of the residence permit that grants the exemption. If the permit expires and is not renewed, the applicant will normally become liable for the full tuition fee starting from the beginning of the next semester following the end of the exempting permit.

More information about determining your liability to pay and exemptions from tuition fees can be found on Studyinfo (studyinfo.fi).

Information about the changes in applying for a residence permit for studies or research is available on the Finnish Immigration Service website (migri.fi).

A full refund of the paid tuition fee (excluding possible bank-specific payment charges) will be granted in the autumn of the year students were admitted to the university, if one of the following conditions is met:

• The student has registered as absent due to a statutory reason, or has not registered due to a personal force majeure reason. Note: Only reasons directly related to the student are considered. Reasons related to third parties (e.g. family members, friends, or other relatives) are not accepted.
• The student’s acceptance at UEF was conditional, but the condition was not met by the given deadline, resulting in the revocation of the right to study.

• The student's residence permit in Finland was not granted, although the application was submitted before 31 July. In this case, a refund may be issued if the student registered as present but either: Did not complete any studies, or completed no more than 5 ECTS remotely.

  Any costs related to the refund will be deducted from the refunded amount. The university will also withhold a handling fee.

• The student’s residence permit status changes before the start of the academic year (i.e. before 1 August) and the new permit status no longer requires payment of tuition fees.
• The university is unable to offer studies in the degree programme to which the student was admitted.

Kindly note: The application for a refund of the first year's tuition fee must be made by the end of the autumn semester (31 December) in the year in which the students have been admitted to the studies. If the student is late for the given deadline (end of December), the university has no obligation to return the tuition fee.

If there is a change in the student's residence permit, the influence of this change to payments of the student will take effect from the beginning of the following academic term. The student must provide a Finnish residence permit as proof for university's decision-making. The already paid tuition fee will not be refunded.

Refund of Early Bird price:
Students who have paid a reduced Early Bird price may request for a refund of the amount paid if they have any of the above mentioned reasons. Kindly note, that it is not possible to transfer or use the Early Bird price later on.

NB! If the student has paid the Early Bird price and decides to renounce the right to study in writing because they have accepted another student place in another country, the payment will not be refunded. 


Updated on 3 August 2026. 

Early Bird (EB) discount 30 % is available for the first academic year. 

An Early Bird discount is available for students who are liable to pay tuition fees and who are admitted to the 2027 intake. The discount amounts to 30% of the tuition fee (€3000/€3600) for the first academic year.  

To qualify for the discount, students must accept their offer of admission and pay the tuition fee, or the first instalment of the fee, within 21 days of the publication of the admission results. Detailed payment instructions and the applicable payment deadline will be provided in the admission letter.  

Please note that there are no other tuition waivers or scholarships that can be applied for during the application process for the first academic year. 

Please see the table for programme-specific information (PDF)
 

The 30% tuition waiver for the second and third year of bachelor's studies and the second year of master's studies is awarded based on academic progress during the first year of studies.

In programmes where this tuition waiver is available, it is awarded to students who have completed at least 55 ECTS credits during their first academic year (1 August to 31 July). The completed studies must be included in the degree and approved as part of the student's Personal Study Plan (PSP/HOPS). As a general rule, only studies completed while enrolled as a degree student at the University of Eastern Finland can be counted towards the 55-credit requirement.

The tuition waiver (30 %) is awarded at the same rate to all students who meet the eligibility criteria. A separate application period is organized after the first year of studies for students wishing to apply for the tuition waiver.  
 
Please see the table for programme-specific information (PDF)

The Finnish Proficiency Tuition Waivers at UEF are aimed at incentivizing students to immerse themselves in Finnish language and culture studies.  

A student is eligible for the tuition waiver if they complete either of the following during their degree studies at the University of Eastern Finland (UEF). Please note, that beginning with the 2027-2028 academic year, the value of the tuition waivers will be updates as mentioned below:  

Scholarship A (tuition waiver, value €2,500) is awarded on the basis of a certificate demonstrating Finnish language proficiency, and  

Scholarship B (tuition waiver, value €1,500) is awarded on the basis of studies completed at the University of Eastern Finland (UEF).  

Students may apply for a Finnish Proficiency Tuition Waiver (A or B) once during their studies, after they fulfil the eligibility criteria. A separate application period is organized for students wishing to apply for the Finnish Proficiency Tuition Waivers. 
 

For more details, please visit Tuition fees and tuition waivers - UEF Kamu. 

Students are responsible for ensuring that they have sufficient funds to cover their tuition fees and living expenses throughout their studies in Finland. Please note that the University of Eastern Finland does not provide emergency financial assistance or humanitarian scholarships.

Finland has a relatively high cost of living. Although the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) requires non-EU/EEA students to have at least €800 per month to qualify for a student residence permit, we strongly recommend budgeting €900–€1000 per month to comfortably cover essential living expenses such as accommodation, food, local transportation, and other everyday costs.  

Kindly be aware that finding part-time employment in Finland is challenging. Therefore, neither full-time nor part-time employment should be considered a reliable source of funding. This also applies to spouses or other accompanying family members.

Please read the national requirements for student residence permits from the Finnish Immigration Service's website carefully before applying. 

Students who have been admitted to an English-taught bachelor's or master's degree programme at the UEF and are under temporary protection in Finland, and who would otherwise be required to pay tuition fees, are eligible for a 100% tuition fee waiver.

Eligibility Criteria:

• The student must be admitted to an English-taught Bachelor's or Master's degree programme at UEF.
• The student must be liable to pay tuition fees.
• The student must have been granted temporary protection by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri).

Instructions:

• If a student has not yet received a decision on temporary protection, they can still apply by providing proof that their application for temporary protection is pending. In this case, a provisional waiver decision may be made.
• Once the student receives a decision on temporary protection, they must submit it to UEF as soon as possible.
• If the student’s application for temporary protection is denied, student will not be eligible for the tuition waiver.

For Joint Programmes: Students enrolled in joint programmes under UEF’s tuition fee system can apply for the tuition waiver for any semesters during which they are liable to pay tuition fees to the UEF.

Tuition Fee Refund: If a student pays the tuition fee and later receives a decision on temporary protection, the tuition fee will be refunded.

The tuition waiver is subject to the terms and conditions of UEF's tuition fee system.

Tuition waivers for 2026 intake:

Number of scholarships: varies by programme

Coverage: 30 % or 50 % of the tuition fee (a partial exemption from the tuition fee). 

• Tuition waiver is granted to Master's students for two academic years (= 4 semesters)
• Tuition waiver) is granted to Bachelor's students for three academic years (= 6 semesters).

Award Criteria: In most cases, the tuition waiver is awarded to a limited number of accepted students based on their application scores. There is no waiting list. The scholarship is tied to the tuition fee obligation.

Application Process: Apply through the application form when applying to UEF.

Availability: Available for all international Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes, except for Erasmus Mundus programmes. 

30% Tuition Waiver: Available to all accepted students who are liable to pay tuition fees in the following programmes: 

• Environmental Policy and Law
• Research Chemists
• Joint Nordic Master Programme in Environmental Law
• Urban Sustainability Studies (YUFE Bachelor)
• Data Engineering

50% Tuition Waiver: Offered in all other programmes, but only a limited number of students will receive this waiver. For UEF Business School programmes, the 50% waiver is granted to only a very limited number of the accepted students.