Tuition fees

Paying the tuition fee

The Finnish higher education institutions charge tuition fees for students outside the EU/EEA area. The fees concern the study programmes conducted in English. Further information on who is required to pay the tuition fees can be found on the Studyinfo.fi service.

Instructions for paying the tuition fee are given to the admitted student in the offer of admission. The fee can be paid either electronically (online payment from a Finnish bank account or payment by credit cards: VISA, MasterCard or American Express) or by invoice. The due date for the fee is the same than the deadline to accept the offer of admission.

The tuition fee for one academic year is paid in one instalment, it is not possible to pay the fee in parts. For the degree programmes beginning in January, the fee is paid for the first semester separately (50% of the fee), after which the academic year timeline (full fee) is followed.

Exemption from the tuition fee

You do not have to pay the tuition fee if you have one of these documents:

• Passport or identity card to indicate the citizenship of EU/EEA/Switzerland
• EU Blue Card in Finland
• Continuous residence permit card in Finland, Type A permit issued for purposes other than studies
• EU Family Member’s Residence Card in Finland
• Permanent residence permit card in Finland, Type P permit
• EU residence permit for third-country citizens with long-term residence permit card in Finland (Type P-EU)
• Brexit residence permit card, Type SEU-sopimuksen 50 artikla = Right of residence under the withdrawal agreement, or P SEU-sopimuksen 50 artikla = Right of permanent residence under the withdrawal agreement

Please note that

• you upload a copy of the exempting document to your application form on Studyinfo.
• the exempting document must be valid when the semester starts on 1 January or 1 August.
• a residence permit in another EU/EEA country is not sufficient grounds for exemption, only residence permits in Finland can be considered.
• the exemption is not possible based on a residence permit issued e.g. to a family member in Finland, the exempting document must be your own.

Tuition fee and residence permit

The tuition fee is charged by the higher education institution and Xamk notifies the Finnish Immigration Service of the paid tuition fees. However, if you need a residence permit for the studies in Finland, you are required to have sufficient means and funds (6720 euros for one study year) to support yourself during the studies in addition to paying the tuition fee. For more information, see the Finnish Immigration Service website.

Refund of the paid tuition fee

The paid tuition fee can only be refunded in the following cases:

• a residence permit for the studies arranged on campus is not granted.
• your enrolment status is changed to non-attendant after paying the fee but before enrolment deadline.
• you graduate during the autumn semester of the last study year after paying the fee for the whole year, in this case the fee paid for the spring semester is refunded.
• you receive a document that exempts you from the tuition fee during autumn semester, in this case the fee paid for the spring semester is refunded.
• you receive a document that exempts you from the tuition fee after paying the fee but before deadline for tuition fees and exempting documents.

Please note that the fee cannot be refunded if

• the student withdraws the residence permit application, or
• transfers to another higher education institution or
• gives up the study place at Xamk for some other reason during the academic year.

Tuition fees 2023-2024

• Bachelor’s degrees 9700 euros / academic year
• Master’s degrees 11 500 euros / academic year

The Early Bird scholarship is not available during the autumn application rounds. Scholarships for all study years are based on your study progress.

You are also rewarded for studies in Finnish language and culture. If you reach the intermediate proficiency level (B1) in Finnish language during your studies, you can get a scholarship upon graduation that is worth 5 000 euros.

Study progress

During the studies, you can apply for a scholarship after each study year and get 50% of the paid fee back by progressing in the studies well.

The scholarship refund is paid to your own bank account and it cannot be deducted from the tuition fee for the following academic year.

Sufficient progress for the scholarship means completing 55 ECTS credits during the academic year, except in the degree programmes beginning in January where you need 27 ECTS credits from the first semester to qualify for the scholarship. The scholarship is paid yearly based on the studies (credits) completed during the previous academic year.

You are offered at least 60 ECTS credits of studies per academic year (1 August – 31 July), or 30 ECTS credits per academic semester (1 August – 31 December, 1 January – 31 July).

Studies in Finnish language and culture

Additional rewards are paid for studies you complete in Finnish language and culture. If you qualify for the scholarship based on study progress, you can also apply for scholarship based on the Finnish language and culture studies (studies completed during the previous academic year).

The additional scholarship that you can apply for after each study year is worth 200 euros / 5 ECTS credits of studies completed in Finnish language and culture during your studies at Xamk. Students in Bachelor’s programmes are generally offered 5-10 ECTS credits of Finnish language studies during their 1st and 2nd study years. These studies start from the beginner’s level and aim for the basic language proficiency levels A1 and A2. Also students in Master’s degree programmes who are admitted to programmes beginning in 2024 or later can add Finnish language courses into their personal study plan.

If you reach the proficiency level intermediate B1 in Finnish language during your studies, you can get a 5000-euro scholarship upon graduation. Reaching this proficiency level requires you to be active in learning the language also outside the studies at Xamk.

You receive this scholarship upon graduation, when you have completed a national certificate of language proficiency (YKI) in Finnish language on the required proficiency level and attach a copy of the certificate to the scholarship application. Please see further information on the national certificate of language proficiency and the proficiency levels on the website of the Finnish National Agency for Education.

The YKI system is the official language proficiency test of Finland and the certificates serve a variety of purposes, for example to demonstrate your language skills to apply for a job in Finland.

Bachelor’s degree programmes

1st semester (spring)

• Tuition fee for one semester: 4 850 euros 
  • Payment to be made by deadline for accepting offer of admission.
  • Early Bird scholarship is not available.
• Scholarship based on study progress, worth 50% of the paid fee: 2 425 euros
• Additional scholarship for Finnish language studies: 200 euros / 5 ECTS credits of studies
  • Apply for the scholarship after completing the first semester studies but by 31 July at the latest. Both scholarships are applied on the same application.

2nd and 3rd year

• Tuition fee for whole academic year: 9 700 euros
  • Payment to be made before the academic year begins, by 31 July.
• Scholarship based on study progress, worth 50% of the paid fee: 4 850 euros
• Additional scholarship for Finnish language studies: 200 euros / 5 ECTS credits of studies 
  • Apply for the scholarship after completing the second/third year studies but by 31 July at the latest. Both scholarships are applied on the same application.

4th year

• Tuition fee: 9 700 euros (whole academic year) / 4 850 euros (if the last semester of regular study time is autumn)
• Scholarship based on graduation during the regular study time, worth 50% of the paid fee: 4 850 / 2 425 euros
• Additional scholarship for Finnish language studies: 200 euros / 5 ECTS credits of studies 
• Scholarship for reaching the level B1 in Finnish language, 5 000 euros
  • Apply for the scholarship after completing the studies but before the graduation day. All scholarships are applied on the same application.

Master’s degree programmes

1st semester (spring)

• Tuition fee for one semester: 5 750 euros 
  • Payment to be made by deadline for accepting offer of admission.
  • Early Bird scholarship is not available.
• Scholarship based on study progress, worth 50% of the paid fee: 2 875 euros
• Additional scholarship for Finnish language studies: 200 euros / 5 ECTS credits of studies
  • Apply for the scholarship after completing the first semester studies but by 31 July at the latest. Both scholarships are applied on the same application.

2nd year 

• Tuition fee: 11 500 euros
  • Payment to be made before the academic year begins, by 31 July.
• Scholarship based on study progress, worth 50% of the paid fee: 5 750 euros
• Additional scholarship for Finnish language studies: 200 euros / 5 ECTS credits of studies
  • Apply for the scholarship after completing the first semester studies but by 31 July at the latest. Both scholarships are applied on the same application.

3rd year

• Tuition fee: 11 500 euros (whole academic year) / 5 750 euros (if the last semester of regular study time is autumn)
• Scholarship based on graduation during the regular study time, worth 50% of the paid fee: 5 750 / 2 875 euros
• Additional scholarship for Finnish language studies: 200 euros / 5 ECTS credits of studies 
• Scholarship for reaching the level B1 in Finnish language, 5 000 euros
  • Apply for the scholarship after completing the studies but before the graduation day. All scholarships are applied on the same application.