Tuition fees

With the tuition fee you are entitled to participate in studies, take the exams, receive student counselling and use our versatile support services such as library services, IT services and student services. You will have access to our campuses and digital learning environment. Tuition fee does not cover your living expenses or personal study related expenses. These can be for example a rent, food, book or computer related expenses.

As a student you will be able to join a Student Union Poka and participate in various student activities. With Poka student card you are entitled to student discounts provided by companies, stores and public transportation. The activities and discounts are provided only in Finland.

All the students studying in a degree leading education in Finnish higher educational institution are required to pay the health care fee – even you would study online in your home country. You will have access to health care and medical services provided by the Finnish Student Healthcare Services, the fee is 36,80 € per semester in 2024.

More information:
Housing and living costs
Health Care fee
Student union POKA

You are exempted from paying tuition fees if you have one of the documents mentioned below. Please note that you have to upload a copy of the document which you use as a basis for exemption to the application form by a given deadline in the application form or once you receive it.

• Passport or identity card to indicate the citizenship of EU/EEA/Switzerland
• EU Blue Card in Finland
• Continuous residence permit card in Finland, Type A permit. NB: Type A permit granted for studying in Finland (from 15 April 2022 onwards) doesn’t exempt student from paying tuition fee.
• EU Family Member’s Residence Card in Finland
• Permanent residence permit card in Finland, Type P permit
• EU residence permit for third-country citizens with long-term residence permit card in Finland (Type P-EU)
• Brexit residence permit card, Type SEU-sopimuksen 50 artikla = Right of residence under the withdrawal agreement, or P SEU-sopimuksen 50 artikla = Right of permanent residence under the withdrawal agreement

The document exempting from the tuition fee payment must be valid on 1 August for studies starting in autumn semester and on 1 January for studies starting in spring semester.

More information:

Studyinfo / Tuition fees
Migri / Residence permit

The tuition fee will be collected from the student upon receipt of the study place, before enrolling as present. The student will receive payment instructions for the tuition fee in the letter of acceptance.

First year payment

When the student accepts the offered study place at Karelia UAS within 7 days and pays the tuition fee within 20 days from the offer, s/he is entitled for an Early bird -priced tuition fee for the first academic year. Early bird -priced tuition fee means that student gets 20% discount of the full tuition fee payment in the first academic year.

! If the payment is made later, full tuition fee must be paid.
! Payment instructions are sent to the accepted students by email.
! Early-bird priced as well as full tuition fee needs to be paid in one installment.

Continuing students

The payment instructions and schedule for payment’s at the Student Intra Pakki.

Karelia UAS provides fee-paying students scholarships based on performance in their studies.

The criteria for the award of scholarships in the Bachelor’s degrees are the credit accumulation and the demonstration of proficiency in Finnish language skills. In the Master’s degree awarding criteria is the credit accumulation.

The scholarships and the awarding criteria apply to all degree students coming from outside the EU/EEA countries who have started their studies in an English-mediated degree programme at Karelia UAS on 1^st August 2017 or after and have the enrollment status present. Scholarships are not awarded for studies exceeding the set duration of studies for the degree.

Set duration of studies: 

• Bachelor’s degrees: 3.5 or 4 years depending on the degree programme
• Master’s degrees: 1-2.5 years depending on the degree programme

If the student is found guilty of misconduct in his/her studies at Karelia UAS, as stated by Karelia UAS Degree Regulations, Karelia UAS has the right to reject the scholarship. The decision on rejecting the scholarship is made by the President of Karelia UAS during the disciplinary procedure.

Bachelor degrees

For Bachelor’s degree education, a scholarship may be awarded in the autumn of the second and third academic year, provided that the student

• has paid the tuition fee for the following academic year / semester by the 31st of July (31st of December) and

• is registered as a student present for the academic year, and

• during the previous academic year (1.8.-31.7 for students who started their studies in Autumn semester; 1.1-31.12 for students who started their studies in Spring semester) has completed at least 50 credits of studies in the curriculum. If the credit amount exceeds the required 50 credits, the credits exceeding the requirement will be counted in the credits for the following academic year. From complementary / optional studies, only the amount of credits required by the personal study plan is counted to the total credits completed.
  
• following Finnish language proficiency requirements fulfilled:
  • The student has demonstrated by examination that they have reached proficiency level A2.1 in Finnish in the first academic year (grade 3/5 in course Finnish 2).
    
  • The student has demonstrated by examination that they have reached proficiency level A2.2 in Finnish in the second academic year (grade 3/5 in course Finnish 3).
    
  • The student has achieved the Finnish language proficiency level B1 in the YKI test (national language proficiency certificate test) in the third academic year. Students can take the YKI test once during their studies paid for by Karelia UAS. The procedures for taking the YKI test are described in a separate instruction at Student’s Intranet Pakki.
    
    
• Note!  Only the studies completed as a Karelia UAS degree student are accepted to the 50 ECTS.  Replacement and inclusion of higher education level studies completed prior to Karelia UAS degree studies are not considered to the 50 ECTS.

The amount of the scholarship:

• 30% of the annual tuition fee is paid to eligible students in the beginning of the second year
• 20% of the annual tuition fee is paid to eligible students in the beginning of the third year
• 10% of the annual tuition fee is paid to eligible students in the beginning of the fourth year

Master degree

A scholarship may be awarded in the autumn of the second academic year, provided that the student

• has paid the tuition fee for the academic year by 31 July and
• is registered as a student present for the academic year, and
• has made progress in the studies in accordance with the curriculum and has earned at least 30 credits by 31 July during the first academic year.
  
  The amount of the scholarship is 30 % of the tuition fee in the second academic year.
  In other academic years, no scholarships will be paid.