There are many speculations that the era of free education in finland has come to an end. I decided to dig deeper into the story and here is what I came up with. Live from the website of study in finland.
Tuition fees
The tuition fee trial period in Finland 2010-2014 is drawing towards its close (see subsection 'Tuition fee trial period 2010-2014'). Officially the trial period ends on 31st Dec 2014, but several Finnish universities that have participated in this trial have already announced that they will not be charging tuition fees from the next student intake onwards. During this trial period, it has been possible for the Finnish universities to charge fees from non-EU/EEA students in selected Master's programmes.
After the trial period is over, its results will be assessed. After that, what decisions will be made based on the result of this assessment, remains yet to be seen. In the light of current information (Oct 2013), this would very likely mean that there are no tuition fees in Finnish higher education degrees starting in autumn 2014, regardless of the level of studies and the nationality of the student.
But please note that this does not completely rule out the possibility that the situation might change at some point in the future.
Recently (November 2013) a working group set by the Finnish Minister of Education and Science has drafted up an action plan to promote education exports. This action plansuggests, among other things, that tuition fees could be introduced for non-EU/EEA students at some stage in the future. No such decisions have yet been made, however, and as yet there is no detailed information available on the suggested tuition fees. See our short news story on the subject .
Recently (November 2013) a working group set by the Finnish Minister of Education and Science has drafted up an action plan to promote education exports. This action plansuggests, among other things, that tuition fees could be introduced for non-EU/EEA students at some stage in the future. No such decisions have yet been made, however, and as yet there is no detailed information available on the suggested tuition fees. See our short news story on the subject .
We will keep you posted!
We will notify prospective students of any possible changes in tuition fee policies officiallyon this Study in Finland website, so keep an eye on the News section on our front page!Also you might be well advised to follow what the individual higher education institutionssay about tuition fees in their programmes by checking the info on their own Admissions pages.
Very important: studying in Finland is not completely "free" even when there are no tuition fees
Remember that even when there are no tuition fees, you still need to plan your finances- you are expected to independently cover all your everyday living expenses during your studies in Finland.
In this connection it is worth noting that the 'institutional scholarships' that have been anintegral part of the tuition fee trial are likely to be discontinued (since they were primarily targeted to aid students from developing countries to cover the tuition fees). There may be some individual exceptions to this - you must inquire your hosting Finnish university whether they offer any scholarship options of their own for international students.
In this connection it is worth noting that the 'institutional scholarships' that have been anintegral part of the tuition fee trial are likely to be discontinued (since they were primarily targeted to aid students from developing countries to cover the tuition fees). There may be some individual exceptions to this - you must inquire your hosting Finnish university whether they offer any scholarship options of their own for international students.
The CIMO / Finnish Government scholarships will, as before, only be available for Doctoral level studies and research in Finland.
Culled from www.studentsmap.blogspot.com
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