Tuition fees and scholarships

Most non-EU/non-EEA citizens studying in English in Master's or Bachelor's degree programme are liable for tuition fees.

Studies are free of charge for the following groups:

• Citizens of an EU/EEA country or Switzerland 
• Students of a PhD programme
• Exchange students
• Students of a Bachelor's or Master's degree programme with Swedish as language of tuition.  
• Students of a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree studies in English as language of tuition for non-EU/EEA degree students who hold specific residence permits as listed below.   

Residence permits exempting from tuition fees from 1 December 2024

This information about documents exempting from tuition fee liablity is valid starting from 1 December 2024 due to amendments to the Universities Act. 

Residence permits which exempt from tuition fees:

• Permanent residence permit card (type P permit)
• EU residence permit for third-country nationals with long-term residence (type P-EU permit)
• Residence card in Finland of a family members of an EU citizen (you must hold the permit yourself; being a family member of someone with an EU residence permit does not exempt you from tuition fees)
• EU Blue Card
• Brexit residence permit card (type SEU-sopimuksen 50 artikla or P SEU-sopimuksen 50 artikla)
• Residence permit based on temporary protection under the Aliens Act

All permits must be valid in accordance with the validty regulations in order to exempt from tuition fees (see below for more info).

Continuous permit, type A:

A continuous residence permit card in Finland, type A permit, may exempt you from paying tuition fees if it is granted on grounds other than studying. All permits must be valid in accordance with the validty regulations in order to exempt from tuition fees (see below for more info).

If your continuous residence permit (type A) is based on family ties in Finland, and your family member is a Finnish citizen or is staying in Finland with a permanent residence permit (type P/P-EU), you are exempted from tuition fees. 

You are however required to pay tuition fees in the following cases:

• If your current residence permit (type A) is granted for the purpose of studying.
• If your first residence permit (type A) in Finland was granted for the purpose of studying, even if you later obtained a continuous residence permit (type A) on other grounds.
• If your current residence permit (or both your first and current permit) in Finland is a continuous residence permit (type A) granted based on family ties, and your family member's first or current residence permit was granted for the purpose of studying. Also, if the family member's first permit was granted based on family ties connected to a continuous A permit granted for the purpose of studying, you are liable for tuition fees.  
• If you currently hold a continuous A permit granted based on other grounds than studies and your first residence permit in Finland was a continuous residence permit (type A) granted based on family ties, your liability for tuition fees depends on which type of permit the family member (the sponsor) held at the moment your A permit based on family ties was issued. If your A permit based on family ties was issued when the family member held an A permit granted for the purpose of studying, you are liable for tuition fees. If your A permit based on family ties was granted when the family member held a permit granted on other grounds than studying, you are exempted from tuition fees.

NB! The liability to pay tuition fees will be decided based on the residence permit history and these cases are always checked from Finnish Migration Services when you have submitted type A residence permit during the application period as an attachment to your application.

More information about the residence permit types is available on the Finnish Immigration Service website (migri.fi).

Students exempted from tuition fees before 1 December 2024 for their current study right at Hanken

If you have been exempted from paying tuition fees for your current study right before the new law entered into force on 1 December 2024, and the exemption period has been marked in your details in the study register Sisu, the tuition fee exemption continues until the end of your current exemption period (as marked in Sisu) for your current study right.

The tuition fee exemption period is tied to the validity of your exempting residence permit card. When renewing your permit, please note the following:

• If your residence permit type and the grounds of your permit remain the same and there is no gaps in the validity of the permit, you will continue to be exempted in your current study right.
• Remember to send copies of your renewed residence permit (both sides of the card), so that the information concering exemption updated accordingly in Sisu. The e-form for sumbitting new residence permits is found on the tuition fee pages for current students.
• If the type of residence permit or the grounds of your permit change, the possible exemption will be determined based on the new law (see above). If you have any questions related to your liablity for tuition fees contact admissions@hanken.fi

Validity and requirements concerning the residence permits  

For a permit to be accepted as a ground for exemption from tuition fees, the residence permit needs to be valid when each academic semester starts as follows:

• 1 August for the Autumn semester, and on  
• 1 January for the Spring semester.  

Note that it is not sufficient to have a card renewal in process, but the student needs to hold the sufficient residence permit on the above listed dates. The tuition fee exemption is tied to the validity period of the residence permit. If the permit's validity period runs out during the studies and the permit is not renewed, full tuition fee liability will normally start from the beginning of the next academic semester following the expiration date of the permit.

The validity of residence permit when applying

• If you are exempted from tuition fees on the grounds of your residence permit, upload copies of both the front and back sides of your residence permit card to your application form.   
• If when applying for admission your residence permit expires before the 1st January the following year, you will be considered liable for tuition fees for the Spring semester. First year students must register as present for the whole first academic year according to the Universities Act and hence must either hold a residence permit which exempt from tuition fees and which is valid for both the Autumn and Spring semester, or they are required to pay the tuition fee for the semester the permit is not valid. 
• If you receive a document that exempts you from tuition fees after the application period, you must submit a copy of the document to the university as soon as possible.
• See Studyinfo.fi for more information about determining your liability to pay tuition fees and about tuition fee exemptions.

The tuition fees for studies starting on 1 August 2024 and later are the following:  

• Bachelor’s degree studies: 12 000 euro/academic year  
• Master’s degree studies: 15 000 euro/academic year  

NOTE! Read more below about the discount on the tuition fee for students who accept the admission offer early.

The tuition fee covers educational expenses such as courses, academic supervision, exams, counselling and university support services such as student services, library services and IT services in accordance with the university regulations.   

The tuition fee does not cover living costs, personal study related costs such as study materials or other costs that may be charged according to the university rules or national legislation. The tuition fee does not cover the compulsory Student Union membership fee or the Student Health Care fee.

If you accept the admission offer and pay the tuition fee within a specific timeframe, you will receive a discount on the tuition fee. You are entitled to the discount on the tuition fee if you:

• Admission to Bachelor's degree studies in English: accept the admission offer and complete the tuition fee payment offer within 21 days after receiving the acceptance letter, you receive a 25 % reduction on the full tuition fee. 
• Main Admission to Master's degree studies in English: accept the admission offer and complete the tuition fee payment offer within 21 days after receiving the acceptance letter, you receive a 25 % reduction on the full tuition fee. 
• Rolling Admission to Master's degree studies in English: accept the admission offer within 7 days and complete the tuition fee payment within 21 days after receiving the acceptance letter, you receive a 25 % reduction on the full tuition fee. 

The exact deadline for the discounted payment will be stated in your tuition fee payment information given upon admission.

The Early Commitment offer is not available to:

• Students who are granted a scholarship for tuition fees
• Students accepted from the waiting list
• Students accepted to a Double Degree programme

The offer may only be used in the academic year when the student was admitted and may not be transferred to any other time.

No, if you are liable for tuition fees, you can neither register as present nor start your studies before you have paid the tuition fee for the academic year.

There are fees in connection with applying (GMAT/GRE, language test, possible application fee). In addition, there are immigration costs and naturally you must be able to cover your living costs in Finland. Read more under the Fees and living costs page. 

You can apply for scholarships if

• You are eligible for the programme you are applying to.  
• You are liable for tuition fees: citizens of non-EU/EEA countries who do not have permanent residence status in Finland are liable for tuition fees.

Scholarships – Admission phase   

• No scholarships are offered in the admission phase (the only exception is the Hanken GBSN Honor scholarship listed below). 
• Students liable for tuition fees are however offered a discount on the tuition fee - an Early Commitment offer (more info above).

GBSN Honor Scholarship

(available for Master programmes only) 

• GBSN Honor Scholarship (2 scholarships only): tuition fee waiver 100 % for duration of first degree at Hanken.
• Validity: 2 years.  
• Selection of recipients: the scholarship is only awarded to students currently studying at or alumni of GBSN member schools from specific developing countries. NOTE! No other applicants are eligible for this scholarship.
• The requirement during the studies is to complete at least 60 ECTS and achieve a GPA of 3.0 by the end of each academic year (31 July) for the scholarship to continue the next academic year. The recipient commits to contributing to a limited amount of student recruitment activities during their studies at Hanken.  
• Note that the scholarship is only awarded to eligible applicants within the Master’s Main Admission round.  
• Check the very specific requirements to be eligible for the scholarship.
• You apply for the GBSN Honor scholarship directly on the application form for admission.You cannot get a scholarship if you have not applied for it during the application period.   
• The scholarship decision is given simultaneously with the admission decision. According to the Universities Act, scholarship decisions cannot be appealed. 

Scholarships – continuing students

Hanken honor waiver  

• Tuition fee waiver of 25 % of tuition fee for  
• Bachelor’s degree students: 2nd and 3rd year of enrolment  
• Master’s degree students: 2nd year of enrolment  
• Granted annually (for 2nd year of enrolment onwards)  
• Validity: maximum 1 year  
• Selection of recipients: all students liable for tuition fees who have completed 60 ECTS during the preceding academic year and applied for the scholarship timely, will be awarded the scholarship.  
• Continuing students must apply separately for the scholarship for continuing students in Spring semester. More info is given to admitted students during the Orientation events at the start of the studies.