Changes to the Universities Act confirmed: impact on Aalto University’s tuition-fee students

The Finnish Government introduces significant amendments to the Universities Act. These changes will impact international students in Finland, especially regarding tuition fees and scholarships. 

The changes to the Universities Act have been recently confirmed, and the amended law enters into force on 1 December 2024. More information can be found on the website of the Ministry of Education and Culture (in Finnish). The amendments to the Universities Act will have an impact especially on tuition fee exemptions and application fees. 

The amended regulations on tuition fee exemptions will concern all tuition-fee students, including those currently studying at Aalto University, who will apply for possible tuition fee exemptions starting from 1 December 2024. More details regarding the tuition fee exemptions in the Student Guide. The application fees will concern upcoming application rounds, which begin on or after 1 January 2025. 

In addition, as previously communicated, the Aalto President has made a decision in August 2024 regarding tuition fee policies at Aalto University. The changes from the decision concern tuition fees and scholarships for study rights starting on or after 1 August 2025. Changes to tuition fees and scholarships do not affect Aalto’s current students. More information about the Aalto President’s decision on aalto.fi (requires Aalto login). 

All Aalto’s attending and non-attending tuition-fee students have been contacted by email about the upcoming changes. There will also be a webinar for Aalto students regarding tuition fee and scholarship changes on 3 December 2024. You can register to the webinar here. The webinar will be recorded. 

For more information, please see the following pages: 

• Tuition fees and scholarship in the Student Guide 
• Proposed changes in tuition fees and scholarships – effect on Aalto students 
• Scholarships and tuition fees for applicants 

If you have any further questions or need more information, please do not hesitate to contact the Tuition Fee and Scholarship team at tuitionfees@aalto.fi.