Admission to Finnish higher education institutions’ English-taught programmes, University of the Arts Helsinki and Tampere University's Theatre Arts programme offered to 8,100 applicants

There were a total of approximately 9,000 study places in approximately 440 programmes available in the programmes of Finnish higher education institutions that are taught in English, University of the Arts Helsinki’s degree programmes and Tampere University's Theatre Arts programme. 

The number of applicants fell by just under a fifth compared to the previous year. The total number of applicants was approximately 21,800, almost half of whom were non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss nationals. 

While the number of applicants decreased, the acceptance rate rose: approximately 37% of applicants were now offered admission, compared to 33% in the previous year. The acceptance rate to universities of applied sciences (UAS) was 36%, while the acceptance rate to universities was 31%.

The number of applicants to University of the Arts Helsinki’s programmes was over 3,500, of whom 11% were offered admission. The number of applicants to Tampere University's Theatre Arts programme was just under 1,000, of whom 1% were offered admission.

Proportion of accepted Finnish applicants increased

Applicants from a total of 137 countries applied in this joint application round, and applicants from 120 countries were offered admission. The acceptance rate of Finnish applicants was 34%. The acceptance rate of applicants from the EU, EEA and Switzerland was 40%, while the acceptance rate of applicants from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland was 39%. 

Finnish citizens accounted for 39% of those offered admission, while applicants from the EU, EEA and Switzerland accounted for 11xx% and applicants from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland accounted for 50%. In the previous year, the corresponding shares were 29%, 9% and 62%, respectively.  In addition to Finnish, the most common nationalities among the accepted applicants were Pakistani (9%), Bangladeshi (8%), Indian (5%) and Nigerian (5%).

Students from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland are required to pay tuition fees at Finnish higher education institutions. Since last year, they have also had to pay an application fee of €100, which last year led to the number of applicants being halved from the 2024 figures. 

Fiercest competition in the field of culture and arts 

Once again, the competition was fiercest in the field of culture and arts, where only 15% of applicants were offered admission, as well as the field of  social sciences, journalism and information with 19% being offered admission. The easiest fields to gain admission to were information and communication technologies as well as business, administration and law, with an acceptance rate of 34%. 

Of the applicants who were offered admission, 43% were offered admission to bachelor's degree programmes, while 57% were offered admission to master’s degree programmes.

Offers of admission must be accepted by 9 July 

The applicants have been informed of the results of the joint application on 27 May at the latest. The offers of admission must be accepted by 9 July at 15.00 Finnish time (UTC+3). Applicants can be admitted from waiting lists until 4 August.

The higher education institutions can organise supplementary application rounds to fill study places left vacant in the joint application. The higher education institutions will independently decide if they will organise supplementary application rounds, and the programmes and instructions on how and when to apply will be published on the Studyinfo service and the institutions’ own websites once the decisions have been made. 

All of these programmes are applied to via the Studyinfo service maintained by the Finnish National Agency for Education. The Finnish National Agency for Education is responsible for the national implementation of the joint application to higher education and for organising the national provision of information related to the application and admission process.

Higher education institutions have two separate joint applications in the spring. In the first joint application, you can apply to degree programmes taught in English and to programmes offered by University of the Arts Helsinki. In the second joint application, you can apply to degree programmes taught in Finnish and Swedish. The studies begin the following autumn.
Finnish higher education institutions can also organise their own separate application rounds outside the first spring joint application. The majority of these are also implemented in Studyinfo.

Study voucher pilot to offer young people new pathways into higher education

The Ministry of Education and Culture is preparing the introduction of the study voucher. According to the Government proposal, the study voucher would be available to young people who have completed their first upper secondary qualification in Finland under the age of 29 between 1 December 2025 and 31 July 2028, and who have applied in the joint application to higher education institutions but have not been offered or have not accepted a study place. 

The study voucher would be a payment method worth 30 ECTS credits that you can use to pay for Finnish- or Swedish-language open higher education studies.

The legislation concerning the study voucher has not yet been confirmed, so changes are still possible. The laws are intended to enter into force on 1 August 2026 and would remain in force until 31 July 2030. The study voucher could be activated in the opin.fi service from 5 August 2026 onwards. More information and detailed instructions on the study voucher can be found at opin.fi.

More information

• Senior Advisor Ilmari Nokkonen, ilmari.nokkonen [at] oph.fi, tel. +358 29 533 8687
• Senior Advisor Mikko Eronen, mikko.eronen [at] oph.fi, tel. +358 29 533 1485