The fees will be divided into two categories. The fee for programmes in the humanities and social sciences will be €13,000 per academic year, and for programmes in the natural sciences or life sciences €15,000 per year. In addition, three programmes will have a higher fee, €18,000 per academic year.
Bachelor’s degree programmes remain free of charge for all.
The amount of the fees was determined based on the University of Helsinki’s international profile and price comparisons. The University was compared particularly to other Nordic universities. Other factors influencing the fee amounts include the costs accrued from the programmes, as programmes heavy in laboratory work are more expensive to organise.
The tuition fees will be adopted at the same time as the University of Helsinki undergoes its education reform. With the reform, all of the University’s education leading up to a degree will be offered as Bachelor's, Master's and doctoral programmes from autumn 2017 onwards. Multidisciplinary approaches and an impeccable academic standard were central in the plans for the new degree programmes. More than half of the planned Master’s degree programmes will be offered in multiple or non-Finnish languages.
”The University of Helsinki seeks to make its education more international and to double the percentage of international students. We want to attract talented students from all over the world to study in our excellent degree programmes,” explains Keijo Hämäläinen, vice-rector in charge of research and education.
The tuition fees for non-EU/EEA students will be adopted in autumn 2017 at all Finnish universities according to the amendment to the Universities Act. The Universities Act requires that universities establish grant programmes to support students participating in fee-based degree education. The University of Helsinki will determine the details of its grant programme during the coming academic year 2016–2017.
Most of the funds collected as tuition fees will be used to cover the costs of the degree programmes in question. In addition, the fees will support the grant programme as well as international student recruitment.