Why is Higher Education Free of Tuition Fees in Finland?

Many potential international applicants are wondering why our programmes are free of charge. What's the catch...?

As with everything in Finland, there is no catch. No hidden fees, masqueraded as something else. Education is actually free, Government-funded. What you see is what you get.

But how... why...?

In brief, Finland has a long history of delivering all levels of education, including higher education, free of charge, as one of the main national principles is equality of access to high-quality education and, therefore, even the idea of charging money for education causes a lot of heated debate.

Furthermore, Finland as a nation needs work-based immigration, well educated tax payers to contribute to the small, aging nation.

Maybe the following publication on the report by The Government Institute for Economic Research VATT and CIMO about the economic impact of international students could shed a little light on this:“What do we know about the economic impact of international higher education students?”

The above Facts Express looks into what we know about the economic impact of international students on the basis of the preliminary report and other studies carried out in Finland and other countries.

Hey, why don't you have a look at the "Strategy for the Internationalisation of Higher Education Institutions in Finland 2009–2015" by the Ministry of Education yourself! I'm not making this up :)

If you want to know more about the real cost of studying in Jyväskylä, have a look at the Faculty's information for Prospective Students.