The University of Oulu Scholarships 2027 provide international students with opportunities to reduce their tuition costs while pursuing bachelor’s or master’s degree programmes in Finland. The University of Oulu offers program-specific tuition fee discounts and scholarships for eligible students admitted to selected English-taught degree programmes for the 2027–2028 academic year.

The university’s funding options include Early Bird discounts for selected programmes, partial tuition-fee waivers for eligible continuing students, and a limited number of Nokia Scholarships for students admitted to certain master’s programmes related to System-on-Chip and Radio Frequency studies.

These opportunities are particularly relevant to international applicants who are required to pay tuition fees. Scholarship availability, award percentages, and academic requirements vary by degree programme.

The University of Oulu does not offer a general fully funded scholarship covering all tuition fees and living expenses. Students should therefore arrange sufficient funding for accommodation, food, transportation, insurance, and other personal expenses.

Degree Level

The University of Oulu scholarship and tuition-fee discount opportunities apply to selected:

Bachelor’s degree programmes
Master’s degree programmes

The available benefits depend on the programme and the student’s admission year. Applicants should consult the official tuition-fee and scholarship information for their intended degree.

Available Subjects

Scholarships and tuition-fee discounts are available for selected English-taught degree programmes. The university’s published list for the 2027–2028 academic year includes programmes in the following areas:

Computer Science and Engineering
Software Engineering and Information Systems
Electronics
Wireless Communications Engineering
Sustainable and Autonomous Systems
Biomedical Engineering
Environmental Engineering
Chemistry of Sustainable Processes and Materials
Biochemistry
Business Analytics
Finance
Financial and Management Accounting
International Business Management
Sustainable Marketing
Responsible Economics and Finance
Architecture
Education for Global Futures and Leadership
Learning, Education and Technology
Mineral Resources and Sustainable Mining
Mining Engineering, Mineral Processing and Geophysics
Interdisciplinary Product Innovation and Creation
Epidemiology and Biomedical Data Science

The availability of a scholarship or tuition-fee discount differs by programme. Not every programme offers the same funding opportunities, and some awards are restricted to particular master’s programmes.

Benefits

The benefits available through the University of Oulu’s scholarship and discount system include:

Early Bird tuition-fee discounts for selected bachelor’s and master’s programmes.
Partial tuition-fee waivers for eligible students from the second year of study onwards, subject to programme-specific academic requirements.
Tuition-fee reductions that vary according to the degree programme.
A limited number of €3,000 Nokia Scholarships for eligible students in selected master’s programmes.
An opportunity to study at a Finnish research university with international academic and research opportunities.

The university’s published information for programmes beginning in autumn 2027 lists different tuition-fee discounts and waiver percentages depending on the programme. For example, selected master’s programmes offer Early Bird discounts of up to 30%, while some continuing-student tuition-fee waivers reach 40%.

These percentages are programme-specific and should not be interpreted as a universal scholarship award. The Nokia Scholarship is also separate from the tuition-fee waiver system and is available only to a limited number of eligible students.

Eligible Nationalities

Tuition-fee rules and scholarship eligibility depend on citizenship and residence status.
Tuition fees generally apply to students admitted to English-taught bachelor’s and master’s programmes who are not citizens of an EU/EEA country or Switzerland and who do not hold a qualifying Finnish residence permit that exempts them from tuition fees.
International applicants from countries outside the EU/EEA, including applicants from Asia, Africa, and other regions, may be required to pay tuition fees and can consider the funding options available for their chosen programme.
Applicants should check the official tuition-fee exemption rules to determine whether they are required to pay tuition fees. Being exempt from tuition fees is different from receiving a scholarship.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility requirements depend on the degree programme, admission criteria, and type of financial support.

Applicants should generally meet the following conditions:

Meet the academic admission requirements for their selected bachelor’s or master’s programme.
Meet the English-language proficiency requirements specified for the programme.
Submit the required application and supporting documents within the relevant application period.
Check whether their citizenship or Finnish residence status makes them liable for tuition fees.
Review the Early Bird discount conditions applicable to their selected programme.
For continuing-student tuition-fee waivers, meet the academic progress requirements and complete the required credits during the preceding academic year.
For the Nokia Scholarship, apply to an eligible master’s programme and meet the scholarship’s requirements once the university publishes the relevant details.

For tuition-fee waivers from the second year onwards, the university specifies a requirement to complete at least 60 ECTS credits during the preceding academic year in accordance with the approved study plan, including the required Finnish-language studies. The precise Finnish-language credit requirement varies between programmes.

Meeting the admission requirements does not guarantee a scholarship or discount.

Required Documents

Applicants should prepare the documents required for admission to their selected programme. Depending on the degree level and educational background, these may include:

Completed online application form.
Previous educational certificates or degree certificate.
Academic transcripts.
Proof of English-language proficiency, if required.
Passport or other accepted identification documents.
Official translations of educational documents, where necessary.
Additional programme-specific documents requested by the university.

Applicants whose degrees have not yet been completed should follow the official instructions regarding conditional admission and the deadline for submitting final documents.

Early Bird discounts are associated with payment conditions after admission results are published. Applicants should check their admission offer and the official payment instructions to confirm the applicable discount and deadline.

For continuing-student tuition-fee waivers, the university assesses academic progress according to the applicable rules. The official page states that students do not need to submit a separate scholarship application for these waivers; faculty study services check eligibility.

How Winners Are Selected

Admission and scholarship decisions depend on the relevant programme and type of financial support.

Applicants are first assessed against the academic and language requirements of their selected degree programme. Admission decisions may depend on the programme’s selection criteria, the number of available places, and the applicant’s qualifications.

Early Bird discounts depend on the programme offering the discount and the applicant meeting its payment conditions.

Continuing-student tuition-fee waivers depend on successful academic progress and the completion of the required credits and Finnish-language studies. The university’s faculty study services check eligibility under the applicable rules.

The Nokia Scholarship is limited in number and intended for eligible students in selected master’s programmes. Applicants should consult the university’s official announcements for further information.

Application Procedure

Follow these steps to apply for the University of Oulu Scholarships 2027:

Visit the official University of Oulu website and explore the English-taught bachelor’s or master’s programmes.
Select a degree programme and check its admission requirements, tuition fee, Early Bird discount, and continuing-student scholarship options.
Confirm whether you are required to pay tuition fees based on your citizenship and residence status.
Prepare your educational documents, English-language evidence, and other required application materials.
Apply through the official application system during the relevant application period.
Submit all required supporting documents by the specified document deadline.
If admitted to a programme offering an Early Bird discount, follow the university’s tuition-fee payment instructions and pay within the stated period to qualify.
If you are a continuing student, complete the required credits and Finnish-language studies to be considered for an available tuition-fee waiver.
If you are admitted to an eligible master’s programme for the Nokia Scholarship, check the university’s official announcements for application details.

Scholarship conditions differ across programmes, so applicants should not assume that a separate scholarship application is required or that all applicants will automatically receive a tuition-fee reduction.

Application Deadline

The application deadlines depend on the degree level and programme.

For the University of Oulu’s international master’s programmes, the 2027 joint application period is scheduled as follows:

Application opens: January 7, 2027, at 08:00 Finnish time (UTC+2).
Application closes: January 21, 2027, at 15:00 Finnish time (UTC+2).
Supporting document deadline: January 28, 2027, at 15:00 Finnish time (UTC+2).
Deadline to confirm the study place: July 13, 2027, at 15:00 Finnish summer time (UTC+3).

The university notes that the schedule may change. Bachelor’s programmes have their own application routes and deadlines, so applicants should check the relevant admissions page rather than relying on the master’s timeline.

Early Bird discounts also have a separate payment deadline, generally within three weeks after admission results are published for programmes offering the discount. Applicants should follow the deadline stated in their admission and payment instructions.