Scholarships in Finland for Indian Students: 2027 Tuition Waivers Compared

  • Last Updated on: October 16, 2026 by
  • Ananya Nallagalla
Scholarships in Finland for Indian Students
Scholarships in Finland for Indian Students

Scholarships in Finland for Indian students are tuition-fee waivers that each university gives out on its own, because Finland has no government scholarship for bachelor’s or master’s study. For autumn 2027 entry, Aalto and the University of Helsinki are the only universities of the 11 compared below that offer new master’s students a 100% waiver. Helsinki’s list is still the 2025-26 one. No waiver pays your rent. Most Indian students pay tuition on English-taught degrees, so they can apply for these waivers. Below, each university’s 2027 award sits next to its fee and the rule for keeping it, so you can work out your real cost before you apply.

Written by
Ananya Nallagalla
Senior Counsellor
Ananya Nallagalla, Senior Counsellor for Nordic Countries at AOEC India (Hyderabad), has 7 years of experience in Nordic admissions and has counselled 113 students at AOEC India, specialising in Sweden and Finland.
95% visa success rate
Reviewed by
Sridhar Kongara
Managing Director
Mr. Kongara Sridhar, Director of AOEC India, has over 12 years of experience in overseas education consulting, admissions, and student visa guidance.
Over 12 years Experience

Key Takeaways

  • Finland has no government scholarship for bachelor’s or master’s study; universities give tuition waivers instead.
  • Only Aalto and Helsinki give new master’s students a 100% waiver, and most Helsinki awards are 50% (its 2025-26 categories).
  • A two-year 100% Helsinki waiver is worth €26,000-36,000 (₹27.70-38.35 lakh).
  • LUT, Turku, Oulu, UEF and JYU give no first-year scholarship, only an Early Bird discount for accepting or paying quickly (at Oulu, some programmes).
  • You ask for a waiver when you apply: Aalto closes on 5 January 2027, Helsinki on 19 January, the joint round on 21 January.
  • Migri, Finland’s immigration service, wants €9,600 (₹10.23 lakh) in your own account for living, plus any unpaid first-year tuition.
Table of Contents
Finland scholarship routes for each type of Indian student Scroll here ↓ Finland university scholarships and tuition waivers for 2027 master’s entry Scroll here ↓ Bachelor’s scholarships in Finland after Class 12 Scroll here ↓ How to apply for a Finland scholarship from India Scroll here ↓ How a tuition waiver changes the money you show Migri Scroll here ↓ Cash scholarships in Finland: Erasmus Mundus and PhD funding Scroll here ↓ Frequently Asked Questions Scroll here ↓

Finland scholarship routes for each type of Indian student

Your route depends on two things: the degree you’re applying for, and whether you need help with tuition or with monthly living money. English-taught degrees in Finland charge Indian students a fee, so most help comes as a cut to that fee. Our study in Finland guide covers admissions and student life around it.

Your profileBest routeWhere you ask for itDeadline for autumn 2027
Final-year BTech or graduate with strong marksHelsinki 50% or 100% waiver (2025-26 categories); Aalto 100% waiverWaiver option in the admission formAalto 5 Jan 2027; Helsinki 19 Jan 2027
Graduate on a tight budgetEarly Bird discount, then a year-two waiverStudyinfo.fi or the university’s own form21 Jan 2027 for the joint round
Class 12 studentEarly Bird discount or Haaga-Helia’s SAT waiver (ten a year)Studyinfo.fi joint application21 Jan 2027
Wants monthly cash, not a discountErasmus Mundus joint master’s scholarshipThe programme’s own websiteUsually October to January
PhD applicantPaid doctoral position; no tuition feeThe university departmentEach position’s own date

Choose the course first. At Aalto each programme decides how many waivers to give, and a programme may give none at all. An Early Bird discount is a cut you get for accepting your place or paying the first-year fee within a few weeks.

Finland university scholarships and tuition waivers for 2027 master’s entry

Most of these universities give an Early Bird discount in year one and keep their waivers for year two.

UniversityTuition a yearYear-one awardTo get itYear-two awardTo keep or earn it
University of Helsinki€13,000-18,000 (₹13.85-19.17 lakh)50% or 100% waiver; most are 50% (2025-26 categories)Ask in the admission formSame waiver continuesAt least 55 ECTS a year, full time
Aalto University€15,000-20,000 (₹15.98-21.30 lakh)100% Excellence waiver; very fewAsk in the admission formSame waiver continuesFull-time study on your study plan
Tampere University€12,000 (₹12.78 lakh)50% waiver (nine university-wide in 2026) or €2,000 (₹2.13 lakh) offWaiver: nine awarded in 2026; Early Bird: accept and pay in 21 days50% waiver continuesNo condition stated
LUT University€15,000 (₹15.98 lakh)€5,000 (₹5.33 lakh) Early BirdAccept and pay €10,000 within 21 days€5,000 (₹5.33 lakh) LUT scholarshipAt least 60 ECTS in year one
University of Turku€10,000 or €12,000 (₹10.65-12.78 lakh)€2,000 (₹2.13 lakh) Early BirdAccept and pay within 28 days50% merit scholarship55 credits, average grade 3.0 of 5, 4 Finnish credits
University of Oulu€8,500-14,000 (₹9.05-14.91 lakh)5-30% Early Bird, some programmesPay within three weeks10-40% waiverAt least 60 ECTS, including required Finnish courses
University of Eastern Finland€10,000-12,000 (₹10.65-12.78 lakh)30% Early BirdAccept and pay by the letter’s deadline30% waiverAt least 55 ECTS in year one
University of Jyväskylä€10,000-16,000 (₹10.65-17.04 lakh)€1,500 (₹1.60 lakh) Early BirdAccept your place within 14 daysPartial JYU ScholarshipApply after year one, on track with your plan
Åbo Akademi University€12,000 (₹12.78 lakh)€4,000 (₹4.26 lakh) early commitment cutAccept and pay by the letter’s deadline€4,000 (₹4.26 lakh) cutGiven to every admit, no application
Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences€12,000 (₹12.78 lakh)€2,000 (₹2.13 lakh) Early BirdAccept in 7 days, pay in 14None listedNone listed

LAB University of Applied Sciences prices its master’s for the whole degree instead: €18,000 at the 2026 rate, or €15,000 if you pay within three weeks.

The full waivers are hard to win. Most Helsinki awards are 50%, and the 50% and 100% options it lists are from the 2025-26 round, so the 2027 mix could change. Aalto gives very few, and Tampere gave nine 50% awards in 2026 across all its programmes. At Tampere you get either the waiver or the €2,000 Early Bird discount, not both.

When a waiver does come through, it’s worth a lot. Over a two-year master’s, a 100% Helsinki waiver is worth €26,000 to €36,000, and Aalto’s is worth €30,000 to €40,000. A 50% Tampere award saves €12,000 across two years. Even so, plan to pay the fee after the Early Bird discount, and if a waiver comes, treat it as a bonus. No waiver? Most universities still give the Early Bird discount, and year-two awards reward good grades.

Keeping a waiver depends on credits. Helsinki wants at least 55 ECTS a year (ECTS are the European study credits every course carries), and Turku and Oulu also ask for Finnish language credits. Renewing your residence permit with Migri, Finland’s immigration service, also needs at least 45 ECTS a year, so a weak first year can cost you the waiver and the permit together. For fees and entry rules beyond scholarships, see our guide to a masters in Finland.

Bachelor’s scholarships in Finland after Class 12

Bachelor’s applicants get less help than master’s applicants. Helsinki gives no tuition waiver at all on its English-taught bachelor’s degrees, and at most other universities your first-year help is a cut for paying quickly.

UniversityTuition a yearFirst-year helpLater years
University of Helsinki€13,000 (₹13.85 lakh)NonePossible €1,000 (₹1.07 lakh) award for good grades
Aalto University€12,000-15,000 (₹12.78-15.98 lakh)Excellence waiver (very few), or 25% off if paid in 21 daysExcellence waiver continues
Tampere University€10,000 (₹10.65 lakh)50% waiver (very few) or €2,000 (₹2.13 lakh) off50% waiver continues
University of Turku€10,000 (₹10.65 lakh)None50% off years two and three with 55 credits a year, grade 3.0 and 4 Finnish credits
University of Eastern Finland€10,000-12,000 (₹10.65-12.78 lakh)30% Early Bird30% off years two and three with at least 55 ECTS
Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences€11,000 (₹11.72 lakh)30% for SAT above 1400 (ten a year), or €2,000 (₹2.13 lakh) offSAT waiver continues
LAB University of Applied Sciences€11,000, 2026 rate (₹11.72 lakh)€9,000 (₹9.59 lakh) for year one if paid in three weeks€3,000 (₹3.20 lakh) off a year with 60 ECTS

In Class 12, a SAT score above 1400 is the one waiver you can win with a test score. From 2027, Haaga-Helia gives ten of these 30% waivers a year, four for January entry and six for August, and each lasts the whole degree if you finish within 3.5 years. It can’t be combined with the Early Bird discount, which lasts one year only. Our guide to study in Finland after 12th covers entrance exams and the Class 12 route.

How to apply for a Finland scholarship from India

At Aalto and Helsinki you ask for the waiver in the degree application form itself; there is no separate scholarship form. For autumn 2027 entry, the joint application on Studyinfo.fi runs 7-21 January 2027, and applicants from outside the EU or EEA pay a €100 (₹10,652) application fee.

That makes your waiver deadline the same as your admission deadline, and Aalto’s comes first. Work in this order:

  1. Shortlist up to six programmes, since one joint application form takes six choices.
  2. Tick the waiver option for each programme that offers one. At Aalto you can’t apply for it after the application period.
  3. Submit by the deadline: Aalto master’s 5 January 2027, Helsinki 19 January 2027, other joint-round programmes 21 January 2027.
  4. Upload your transcripts, English test proof and motivation letter before the document deadline, which is 12 January 2027 for Aalto master’s.
  5. At Aalto and Helsinki, you’ll hear about the waiver with your admission result.

Helsinki judges waivers on your past grades and your motivation letter, so write the letter for that one programme, not from a template. Applying to several programmes usually improves your odds, because each programme decides its own awards.

English rules differ by programme, so check the requirements to study in Finland before you book a test.

From our counselling desk: a common reason we see an otherwise strong Finland file miss the scholarship round is an IELTS or TOEFL score that isn't ready by the upload deadline. Book your test date before you finish your shortlist, or read our guide to study in Finland without IELTS to see if you can skip it.

How a tuition waiver changes the money you show Migri

For a first student residence permit, Migri requires at least €800 (₹85,218) a month for living costs. For a course of a year or longer, that means €9,600 (₹10.23 lakh) in the student’s own bank account, plus any first-year tuition not yet paid. A tuition waiver shrinks only the tuition part.

Parents: this is how much must be in the student’s bank account. For 2027 entry, take a €13,000 Helsinki programme whose first-year fee isn’t paid yet when you apply.

Your waiverTuition still unpaidTotal to show Migri
No waiver€13,000 (₹13.85 lakh)€22,600 (₹24.07 lakh)
50% waiver€6,500 (₹6.92 lakh)€16,100 (₹17.15 lakh)
100% waiver€0€9,600 (₹10.23 lakh)

Money set aside for living can’t be counted towards tuition, and the whole amount must sit in the student’s own account; a sponsorship agreement from a parent or relative isn’t accepted. A scholarship that pays living costs, such as Erasmus Mundus, does count towards the living money.

Plan on €900 to €1,200 a month in practice, depending on the city, rather than the minimum; our guide to the cost of studying in Finland breaks it down. When you’re ready to file, our Finland student visa guide walks through the six-month bank statement.

Cash scholarships in Finland: Erasmus Mundus and PhD funding

An Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s scholarship pays €1,400 (₹1.49 lakh) a month for the whole programme. A 24-month master’s is therefore worth €33,600 (₹35.79 lakh), and scholarship holders pay no tuition. Some of these programmes include a Finnish university, such as Åbo Akademi University.

It’s the one route that pays you rather than discounting your fee, and it’s hard to win. Erasmus rules tell each programme to give no more than 10% of its scholarships to one nationality, so Indian applicants compete for a small share. You usually apply straight to the programme between October and January, through the European Commission’s Erasmus Mundus catalogue.

  • PhD study: there’s no tuition fee, but you pay your own living costs unless you win a paid doctoral position.
  • EDUFI Fellowship for PhD students: closed in October 2025, so it is no longer an option.

A post offering a “fully funded Finland government scholarship” for tuition, travel and living is not real. No such government award exists for bachelor’s or master’s study.

Get in Touch

Frequently Asked Questions

Apply for a master’s at Aalto or Helsinki and ask for the waiver in the application form. Both are scarce: Aalto gives very few and a programme may give none, while most Helsinki awards are 50% (its 2025-26 categories). Apply to several programmes, because each one decides its own awards.

Not for an English-taught bachelor’s or master’s. Tuition typically runs €9,000 to €20,000 (₹9.59-21.30 lakh) a year, and a 100% waiver is rare. Doctoral study has no tuition fee, but you still pay your own living costs unless you hold a paid doctoral position.

No. The national Finland Scholarship ran from 2022 to 2024 and isn’t granted in new admissions. At Aalto it paired a two-year 100% waiver with a one-off €5,000 (₹5.33 lakh) relocation grant. For 2027, university waivers and Early Bird discounts are what’s on offer.

Rarely. You can work up to 30 hours a week on average during term, but part-time pay won’t cover both tuition and living costs. Work income also can’t secure your first student permit. Our guide to part-time jobs in Finland shows typical hourly pay.

With your admission result. Aalto publishes master’s results from 30 March 2027 at the earliest, and Helsinki puts the waiver decision in your acceptance email. Early Bird discounts then need payment within two to four weeks, so keep the first-year fee ready.

Ardent Overseas has guided Indian students on overseas admissions since 2014, from offices in Hyderabad and Tirupati, and has processed more than 12,000 visas. For Finland, we line up each programme’s waiver rule, deadline and funds proof in one plan, so your family knows the real first-year cost before you accept an offer.

Sources

Official sources first, then university pages.

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