Tuition fees – bachelor's programmes

Who is required to pay?

All higher education institutions in Finland charge tuition fees for degrees taught in English. The fee applies to applicants from countries outside the EU/EEA.

There are, however, exemptions that can free a non-EU/EEA citizen from paying the fee. For example, the fee is not charged from those who are equated with EU area citizens, those who have an EU blue card or a residence permit type P or type A (restrictions apply). 

Please note that even if the status of your residence permit would change from a residence permit granted for studying to another type of residence permit, you are still obligated to pay tuition fees. If you are unsure as to whether you need to pay or not, please see the guide on Studyinfo .

Application fees 

There is an application fee of €100, which needs to be paid by applicants from outside the EU, EEA or Switzerland. The fee is collected by the Finnish National Agency of Education and is to be paid when filling in the application form on Studyinfo. Visit Studyinfo for more information.

If you have already paid the application fee in another application round, with studies starting in the same academic term, you do not need to pay the fee again.

Tuition fees (studies starting in autumn 2026)

The tuition fees for studies starting in 2026 are as follows:

The tuition fee may be subject to changes during a student's study time.

Scholarships and discounts (studies starting in autumn 2026)

Arcada offers an early-bird discount and SAT or OMPT reduction on the tuition fee of the first year.

Scholarships

Arcada does not offer scholarships. Instead, the Arcada Award of €1,500 based on non-academic activities is awarded to a few students per academic year. The Arcada Award is only available to bachelor-level students starting from their second year. Nursing TopUp students are not eligible to receive the Arcada Award. 

Online path students who are admitted as degree status students to International Business or Mechanical and Sustainable Engineering starting from January 2026 will follow the scholarship rules for 2025 (see below). 

Early-bird discount

An admitted student can receive an early-bird discount of €1,500 on the tuition fees for the first academic year by bindingly accepting the study place offered by Arcada and paying the tuition fee within 14 days. Restrictions may apply. The early-bird discount does not apply to the Nursing TopUp programme. 

SAT discount on first year's tuition fees (studies starting in 2026)

Arcada provides a €100 deduction on the first year's tuition fee for students who are admitted based on the SAT test and interview, and accept their study place offer. This deduction is applied automatically without any action needed from the student and is only applicable to tuition fee-paying students. This deduction is made on top of the early-bird offer.

OMPT discount on first year's tuition fees (studies starting in 2026)

Arcada provides a €230 deduction on the first year's tuition fees for students who are admitted based on OMPT test and interview, and accept their study place offer. This is to cover the costs associated with one test attempt. This deduction is applied automatically without any action needed from the student and is only applicable to tuition fee-paying students. The amount cannot be increased, regardless of how many attempts or tests the applicant has taken. This deduction is made on top of the early-bird offer.

Tuition fees (studies starting in 2025)

The tuition fees for studies starting in 2025 are as follows:

The tuition fee may be subject to changes during a student's study time.

Scholarships and discounts (studies starting in 2025)

Bachelor's degree students can apply for scholarships. Arcada also offers an early-bird discount and OMPT reduction on the tuition fee of the first year.

Scholarships

Scholarships are awarded to bachelor's degree students who have studied at least one academic year at Arcada. Students who have completed an average of 55 ECTS per academic year with a grade point average of 4.5 during their studies at Arcada can, upon request, be granted a scholarship corresponding to 30 percent of the tuition fee for the upcoming academic year. A student in the Nursing TopUp programme cannot apply for scholarships.

The changes came into force on 1 January 2025 and affect students who start their studies in 2025. Students who have started their studies in 2024 or earlier are not affected by these changes. For more detailed information about Arcada's scholarships, please visit our student portal Start .

Arcada also offers a scholarship to asylum seekers, refugees and persons who have applied for temporary protection in Finland and who would otherwise be liable to pay tuition fees. The scholarship covers the entire tuition fee for the first academic year without any requirements for academic performance. To be granted the scholarship, the fee-paying students must provide documentation of their status to Arcada's admissions service. Thereafter, to maintain the scholarship, students only need to show that their status has not changed for each new academic year.

Early-bird discount

An admitted student can receive an early-bird discount of €2,000 on the tuition fees for the first academic year by bindingly accepting the study place offered by Arcada and paying the tuition fee within 14 days. Restrictions may apply. The early-bird discount does not apply to the Online path to International Business, Online path to Mechanical and Sustainable Engineering or the Nursing TopUp programmes. 

OMPT reduction on first year's tuition fees (studies starting in 2025)

Arcada provides a €230 deduction on the first year's tuition fees for students who are admitted based on the OMPT test + interview and accept their study place offer. This is to cover the costs associated with one test attempt. This deduction is applied automatically without any action needed from the student and is only applicable to tuition fee-paying students. The amount cannot be increased, regardless of how many attempts or tests the applicant has taken. This deduction is made on top of the early bird offer. The tuition fee for the first year of studies for students admitted based on the OMPT test and interview is thus €8,770 if the payment is made within the early-bird timeframe or €10,770 if the early bird criteria is not met.

Payment of tuition fees

Admitted students who are required to pay tuition fees will receive information about the payment process in their acceptance email. Below is a short summary of the tuition fee payment process.

When you are admitted to Arcada, you will receive a secure link through which you can accept your study place offer. You will also receive another email with instructions on how to pay the tuition fee and how to register for the academic year. Please note that you cannot register for the academic year or receive a study certificate until you have paid the tuition fee. Failure to pay tuition fees on time leads to a loss of study right.

The tuition fee is paid online through Flywire . Flywire provides a secure global payment network that simplifies paying your fees from different countries around the world. Payment options can include bank transfers, credit cards, e-wallets and more, depending on your country of choice, and typically in the local currency.

The first year's tuition fee is always paid in one instalment for the whole academic year. Please check the due date in the instructions on how to pay the tuition fee sent via e-mail.

For more detailed information about Arcada's tuition fees, please visit our student portal Start .

Tuition fees (studies that started in 2024 or earlier)

Information regarding the tuition fees for studies that started in 2017–2024 can be found on our student portal Start .