Tuition fees
Tuition fees at Uniarts Helsinki are applicable to bachelor and master students who study in English and who are not citizens of EU, EEA, or Switzerland.
About the tuition fee and other financial requirements
- Tuition fee for students starting in 2025: 12 000 € per academic year.
- Tuition fee for students who started in August 2024 or before: 5 000 € per academic year.
- Who has to pay: Non-EU and non-EEA students studying for a bachelor’s or a master’s degree in English.
- The amount of the fee will stay the same for the statutory duration of your degree studies.
- Collecting tuition fees is a statutory obligation universities in Finland. The fee entitles you to participate in teaching.
- Uniarts Helsinki does not grant scholarships for living expenses.
- In Finland you must take responsibility for supporting yourself financially. Please note that it is often difficult for a student to find work in Finland, especially in the beginning of the studies. Before you come to Finland, make sure that your finances will be sufficient for the entire period of your studies. Read more about the sufficient funds on the Finnish Immigration Service web sites: Income requirement for students.
- You will need private insurance for your residence permit to cover your medical expenses. As a student you will be responsible for your illness-related expenses in Finland.
Tuition fee waivers
- First year students can get a 50% waiver for their tuition fee.
- After the first study year waivers can be awarded to selected students based on the progress of studies and study performance.
- Students can apply for waivers within the target study times
Exemption from tuition fees
You are exempted from paying tuition fees if you have one of the following documents (this Act has been updated 1 December 2024). Please note that temporary permits only exempt you from the payment during the time they are valid:
- Passport (or identity card) to indicate the citizenship of EU/EEA/Switzerland
- EU Blue Card in Finland
- Continuous residence permit in Finland, Type A permit issued for purposes other than studies
However, you are required to pay tuition fees in the following cases:
– If your first residence permit in Finland was granted for the purpose of studying, you are required to pay tuition fees, even if you later obtained a continuous residence permit (type A) on other grounds.
– If you have a continuous residence permit (type A) based on family ties, and your family member originally came to Finland on a residence permit granted for studying, you are also required to pay tuition fees. - EU Family Member’s Residence Card in Finland
- EU residence permit for third-country citizens with long-term residence permit card in Finland (Type P-EU)
- Permanent residence permit card in Finland, Type P permit
- Brexit residence permit card in Finland, Type SEU = Right of residence under the withdrawal agreement, or P SEU = Right of permanent residence under the withdrawal agreement
- Residence permit card on the basis of temporary protection
Temporary permit cards and passports must be valid at least until the studies start.
In addition, the fees will not concern those non-EU/non-EEA students who:
- study in degree programmes taught in Finnish or Swedish (please notice you must demonstrate your language skills)
- have started their studies before autumn 2017
- are exchange students
- are enrolled in doctoral or PhD level studies and research
Who is required to pay tuition fees?
Please check the FAQ of the Studyinfo website whether or not you are required to pay tuition fees. For more information about tuition fees in general, see Finnish Immigration Service.
If you are liable for payment due to your nationality, you must use the application form in the Studyinfo portal to notify whether there are any above-mentioned grounds that would apply and release you from payment. You must provide the necessary documents that prove release from liability for payment and submit them to the admissions office by the deadline confirmed for submitting the attachments related to the joint application procedure. If your liability to pay the fee changes after the application deadline, you must contact the admissions office immediately. The university will determine whether the student is liable for payment based on the student’s citizenship and presentation of a residence permit issued by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri).
What can affect the tuition fees when you’re a Uniarts Helsinki student?
If a student’s residence permit status changes before graduation, the changed status may affect the decision regarding the requirement to pay tuition fees. A student may be entitled to exemption from tuition fees if the new residence permit that they are granted by Migri is one of the permits stated in the Universities Act that warrants an exemption. Students must inform the university without delay if their status changes.
If a student begins studying in Finnish or Swedish, they will no longer have to pay tuition fees. Students may only apply to have their language of studies changed if the degree and instruction of their degree programme is offered also in Finnish or Swedish and they have the necessary proficiency level in the new language in which they will study (language skills must be demonstrated in the same way as in the regular student admissions of the degree programme in question). Students can apply for a change of language that they use in studies for their degree from the academy dean in accordance with the language requirements laid down in the admissions criteria that are valid within the academy at the time of application. Remaining required studies are completed by using the language that was requested as the new language. (University of the Arts Helsinki’s education regulations 35 §).
If a student is no longer obligated to pay the fee due to a change in their status, they will be refunded the amount of payment that would accumulate starting from the date on which their status has changed. If a student is no longer entitled to exemption from payment after a change in their status, the student will be liable to pay the fee starting from the next academic term.
The fee will be refunded starting from the date on which the status has changed, and the refund is calculated by dividing the annual tuition fee by 365 and multiplying it with the days left of the academic year (or other fee period).
The fees that have been paid for previous academic terms will not be refunded retrospectively. Graduating before the end of the academic term does not warrant a tuition fee refund for the academic term in question. Students who wish to apply for tuition fee refunds should contact the Academic Affairs Office.
If the student changes their right to study at Uniarts Helsinki, the amount of the annual tuition fee is determined based on the date when the student’s original right to study became valid.
Paying the tuition fee
You will receive your tuition fee invoice by email. Pay the tuition fee each year before registering as attending. It is a prerequisite for studying at the university. Uniarts Helsinki recommends new students to pay the annual tuition fee as soon as possible after they receive the notification of their admissions. Students are required to pay the annual tuition fee in order to register for attendance, complete studies and to obtain a residence permit.
If you register as attending for the whole academic year, you must also pay the tuition fee for the whole academic year. Students registered as absent do not pay the tuition fee (note it is not possible to register as absent for the first study year without a legal ground for the absence). Registration instructions will be emailed to you before registration for the academic year opens.
If you have completed all the studies included in your degree programme and submitted your thesis for review by the end of the term, you may graduate the following term as absent, and you will not have to pay the tuition fee for that term.
You cannot pay the tuition fee in several installments. The whole fee is to be paid by the deadline.
Contact information for applicants
Contact the Admissions Office of the academy you are applying to:
- Academy of Fine Arts: kuva.admissions@uniarts.fi
- Sibelius Academy: siba.admissions@uniarts.fi
- Theatre Academy: teak.admissions@uniarts.fi
Contact information for Uniarts students and staff
- tuitionfees@uniarts.fi