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. The tuition fee must be paid as a single instalment for each academic year.

You will get an automatic receipt 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 after the tuition fee has been received in full.

Aalto University Scholarship covers 50 or 100 percent of the tuition fee. 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. If you are awarded a Finland Scholarship, you will get the 5000 € grant at the beginning of your studies for relocation and other expenses.

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 for a period of exchange or internship abroad. You do have to pay the tuition fee to Aalto even if going for exchange studies or for an internship abroad.

If you are required to pay a tuition fee, you are also eligible to apply for a scholarship when you apply for admission.

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. At the moment, Aalto University does not offer any other scholarships to cover living costs in Finland.

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. More information about the living costs is available from the section 'For Future Student' of this website. For information on the requirements for a residence permit, please check the Finnish Immigration Service website.

No, if you are a citizen of an EU or EEA country, you are not required to pay tuition fees for your degree studies and consequently not eligible to apply for Aalto University's scholarships. Aalto Scholarship Programme is only for students from the outside of EU/EEA required to pay tuition fees.

Aalto University Scholarships are granted for two years (Master's degree programmes) or three years (Bachelor's degree programmes). 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 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.

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

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.

According to the Universities Act Section 39 you are not able to postpone the beginning of studies except in situations specified in the Act (e.g parental leave, Finnish military service or serious illness - please see the Act for specific details). New students must register as attending for the first academic year of their studies, unless exempted for the situations specified in the Universities Act Section 39, or their right to study will be terminated.

As a student liable to tuition fees, it is not recommendable that you start your studies much later than the end of the enrolment period. You are entitled to a full refund of Aalto’s tuition fee if the residence permit is either denied or delayed so that you cannot start your studies.

Please check the regulations for enrolment carefully if it looks like you cannot arrive before the end of the enrolment period, as the law requires you to enroll as attending for the first year (with the exception of illness, family leave or Finnish military service) or lose your right to study. It is possible to apply for readmission for later entry, but it is not automatic, and will require a separate application and has an administrative fee of 35 euros.

In some programmes, individual arrangements can be made for a late start, but please note that missing the orientation is likely to cause a number of issues throughout your studies - such as more difficult social integration, tighter schedule and increased workload for catching up, with possible impact on succeeding well in your studies and your general wellbeing. The study pace at Aalto is very hard and adapting into new academic system takes time, so missing the beginning of your studies is strongly not recommended unless you can ensure that you are comfortably able to catch up with some pre-arranged support and a clear plan approved by the school.

All Ukrainian, Russian, and Belarusian students currently studying at Aalto University have been contacted in early 2022. 

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 2023) 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 2023) receiving temporary protection begins after the admission results are published and continues until 15 August 2023. The application period for students admitted in 2022 ended on 31 July 2022.

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].

Degree students from the UK 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, with the same exemptions as given in the exemption from tuition fees pages. Full tuition fee liability contains the possibility to apply for Aalto scholarships.

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