A total of 379 students were accepted into English-language Master's Programmes. 1,606 applications came in for the Master's Programmes in January, which is about 30 percent less than the previous year. 57 percent, or 927, of the applications came from outside the EU and EEA, whereas last year this number was 73 percent.
"Tuition fees are now charged from all students from outside the EU and EEA, whose studies in English-language Master's Programmes start in the autumn of 2017 or later. This is likely to have contributed to the decrease in the number of applications" states Director of Development Susanna Niinistö-Sivuranta.
132 students from outside the EU and EEA were accepted into the Master's Programmes beginning in the autumn. 65 of them have accepted the study place so far. Their tuition fees vary from €13,000 to €18,000 depending on the degree programme. 26 students were granted a scholarship.
"University of Helsinki's goal is to increase the number of international students. In the future, we will invest heavily in growing the university's level of recognition. We believe that in the coming years we will get more and more international students, including those from outside the EU and EEA", Niinistö-Sivuranta says.
Roughly three quarters of applicants from outside the EU and EEA applied for a scholarship in connection with applying for a Master's Programme.
The most popular programmes are the Master's Programme in Global Politics and Communication, Master's Programme in International Business Law and Master's Programme in Agricultural, Environmental and Resource Economics.
The number of international students cannot directly be compared to previous years, because University of Helsinki reformed all of its Master's Programmes beginning in the autumn 2017. Several of them are now shared between different disciplines. The number of degree programmes was reduced from 48 to 28. The application process and application times have also changed from last year, which means that the corresponding figures are only approximate.
Helsinki Summer School – a gate to university
The international Helsinki Summer School, which was on a one-year break during the reform of the degree programmes, returns this summer. The summer school is usually organised annually in August and it has become an important channel for attracting new students and integrating them into life in Helsinki.
"In the years from 2009 to 2014, 150 summer school participants have later continued their studies in the University of Helsinki", states Student Recruiting and Marketing Manager Pauliina Mikkonen.
This year, over 250 students from over 50 countries are expected to attend the courses. In addition to University of Helsinki's own students, the largest number of students come from China, the UK, Germany and the USA. Auditory Cognitive Neuroscience, Introduction to Conceptual History and The Welfare City seem to, yet again, be among the most popular courses this summer. Popular new courses include Populism in Europe and Beyond, Faith and Globalisation and 21st-century Digital Storytelling.