Financing your studies, tuition fees and scholarships

All degree students at the University of Vaasa are responsible for financing their own studies and living expenses. It is essential to ensure that you have adequate funding to cover both living costs and possible tuition fees throughout your entire period of study. 

The average monthly living costs for students in Vaasa are around 1000-1100€ or even more, depending on spending habits. Lifestyle, housing choices, and family size significantly impact living costs. Here you can find information about the costs of various things in Finland: 

• Cost of living in Finland

International students who have been issued with a residence permit for studies may work in paid employment for a maximum of 30 hours per week. If you work in Finland, you have to pay taxes on your income. Please note that even if part-time work is allowed, you cannot count on financing your studies solely by working. Finding a suitable part-time or temporary position is very challenging especially if you don't know the local languages. In addition, full-time degree students have the responsibility to study actively and to progress in their studies. To ensure good learning results and study-life balance, you need to arrange adequate funding for the entire period of your studies before leaving your home country.

The University of Vaasa offers scholarships in the form of waivers based on the speed of commitment to the offered study place, previous academic performance and progress in the studies. The scholarships can be granted for the target time of the programme, which is three years in the bachelor's programme and two years in the master’s programmes. University of Vaasa reserves all rights to make changes to the scholarship programme.

The scholarship information below applies to students admitted in the autumn 2025 intake.

Scholarships are applied for by choosing the scholarship option in the application form to the programme. Students are informed about receiving a possible scholarship together with the admission results.

Scholarships are personal and linked to the acceptance of the offered study place. They do not transfer to other universities.

Scholarships for Bachelor's programme

First-year scholarships

2 000 EUR waiver for all who pay the tuition fee within 21 days from acceptance offer

The university offers a discount of 2 000 euros from the first year tuition fee to all fee-paying students who pay the remaining 8 000 euros within 21 days from receiving the acceptance email. Please note that the student must also confirm their study place according to the instructions in the acceptance email.

Second- and third-year scholarships

The university offers a tuition fee waiver worth of EUR 5 000 to students who proceed with the studies in the target time, which means that you must complete at least 60 ECTS by the end of your first academic year. The required credits must be registered by 31 July 2026, and the credits must be included in your degree. For the third year of Bachelor's studies, the university offers a tuition fee waiver worth of EUR 5 000 to students who complete 120 ECTS by 31 July 2027.

Scholarships for Master's programmes

First-year scholarships

6 000 EUR waiver for all who pay within 21 days from acceptance offer

The university offers a discount of 6 000 euros from the first year tuition fee to all fee-paying students who pay the remaining 8 000 euros within 21 days from receiving the acceptance email. Please note that the student must also confirm their study place according to the instructions in the acceptance email.

If you do not pay within 21 days, you may still be entitled to a smaller waiver if your previous academic performance has been excellent (see "International Excellence Scholarship" below). Please note that you cannot receive both the 21 days discount and the International Excellence Scholarship. If you do not meet the criteria for the International Excellence Scholarship, you will be required to pay the full sum for your first year after the 21 days have passed.

International Excellence Scholarship

Each Master’s Programme offers International Excellence Scholarships to applicants who have a CGPA of at least 4/5 (Finnish system) or equivalent in their respective international grading. The International Excellence Scholarship is granted as a first year tuition fee waiver as follows:

• EUR 4 000 (in all programmes)

Therefore, if you qualify for this scholarship, you are required to pay 10 000 euros for your first year.

Second-year scholarships

All first-year scholarships include a conditional scholarship for the second year (Academic Achievement Scholarship). Students who do not have a first-year scholarship can apply for the second-year scholarship during the studies. Details about the application for the second-year scholarship will be communicated to the students during their first year.

The second-year scholarships require registering as attending. If a student is non-attending for their second academic year for a reason other than one of the statutory reasons, the scholarship will not transfer to the next year of attendance.

Academic Achievement Scholarship

For the second year (academic year 2026-2027) students may receive the Academic Achievement scholarship worth EUR 6 000. In order to receive the Academic Achievement Scholarship, you must proceed with the studies in the target time, which means that you must complete at least 60 ECTS by the end of your first academic year. The required credits must be registered by 31 July 2026, and the credits must be included in your degree.

If you are granted the scholarship, you will need to pay the remaining 8 000 euros of tuition fee for your second year.

In case you have been registered as attending for only one semester during your first year, you must have completed at least 30 ECTS during that semester to qualify for the award of Academic Achievement Scholarship.

Finnish Language Achievement Scholarship

If you meet the requirements of the Academic Achievement Scholarship, you may be granted an additional Finnish Language Achievement Scholarship worth EUR 1 000. In order to receive this additional scholarship, you must complete at least 60 ECTS by the end of your first academic year and these studies must include all of the Finnish language studies required in your degree.

If you are granted the scholarship, you will need to pay the remaining 7 000 euros of tuition fee for your second year.

Please note that it is not possible to receive the Finnish Language Achievement Scholarship without receiving the Academic Achievement Scholarship.

International students who come to Finland only for their studies are usually not covered by the Finnish social security and thus not entitled to the financial aid for students by the Finnish government. However, you may qualify for financial aid if you meet the certain requirements. More information may be obtained from Kela.

European Funding Guide assists students (EU citizens) who seek financial aid.

You can also take a look at following external scholarship schemes:

• Global Study Awards initiative by StudyPortals
• Postgrad Solutions Study Bursaries for students who are starting a post-graduate course
• Educations.com

Please note that the University of Vaasa is not involved in any of the above listed scholarship schemes. The study programmes offered by the university are full-time programmes and thus working is not an option when it comes to financing the studies in Finland.