Finland is a modern, innovative, safe and equal country in northern Europe. Finland is known for its world-class education system and for being a society that functions well in every way. Finland is a great place to pursue your studies and to build a life rich in new experiences and opportunities and gain personal growth.

With a population of 5.5 million, Finland is a spacious country with people-friendly cities. Traffic is manageable, rush hours are rare and cities are designed for walking, cycling as well as driving. In addition to having a high-class education system and a dynamic innovation environment, Finland also boasts natural beauty with the cleanest air in the world, a lively cultural life and smoothly running public services.

Situated in northern Europe, Finland borders Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east. Its capital is Helsinki and the official languages are Finnish and Swedish with about 90% of the population speaking Finnish as their first language. Almost everybody can speak good English as well. Finland has been a member of the European Union since 1995.

Stunning natural beauty and laid-back cities, a strong focus on research and innovation, a good selection of high-ranking universities - it is easy to see why many international students choose to study in Finland.

Higher Education System

Finland is a Nordic welfare state where equality is the cornerstone of education. Thanks to the high quality of Finnish education, the country has developed into an advanced knowledge and information society.

Finland has two types of higher education institutions: universities and universities of applied sciences (UAS). The higher education system offers English-taught bachelor's and master's degree programmes in 13 universities and 23 universities of applied sciences. Universities provide academic education based on research. The universities offer Bachelor’s (180 ECTS, 3 years), Master’s (120 ECTS, 2 years) and doctoral (240 ECTS, 4 years) degrees. Universities of Applied Sciences (polytechnics) provide vocational education on a higher level and promote applied research. The universities of applied sciences (UAS) offer Bachelor’s (210-270 ECTS, 4-4,5 years) and special Master’s (60-90 ECTS, 1-1,5 years) degrees. Finnish higher education institutions currently offer over 400 bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes in English, so there is a lot to choose from.

Tuition Fee applies for Finnish universities and universities of applied sciences (except on doctoral level). More information about the tuition fee is available on the website of Study in Finland.

There are currently about 20,000 international full degree students in Finnish higher education institutions. Your daily communication will be effortless outside the classroom also as the Finns are fluent in English.

Students who graduate from Finland become experts with transferable skills and often with multidisciplinary competence. International students have particularly appreciated the excellent conditions of the study facilities, the IT services and the support services. They are also guided through their studies by professional student services.

Nine Finnish universities feature in the The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020, University of Helsinki ranking 96th. There are 10 Finnish universities on the QS World University Rankings 2020, led by the University of Helsinki at 107th in the world. With almost 20 000 universities in the world, this makes the Finnish universities listed among the top 3% in the world.