Tuition fees and scholarships

There is a tuition fee applicable to students who are not citizens of countries of the European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland. You are exempted from paying the tuition fee if you have one of the documents mentioned below.

Please read more information about tuition fees in general from Studyinfo.fi: https://opintopolku.fi/konfo/en/sivu/tuition-fees and Finnish Immigration Service: https://migri.fi/en/tuition-fees

If you have one of the following documents, you are exempted from paying the tuition fee:

• 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) issued for purposes other than studies. Please note: type A permit granted for studying in Finland (from 15 April 2022 onwards) doesn’t exempt student from paying tuition fee. Also, continuous residence permit card (Type A permit) for work, does not excempt students from paying the tuition fee, if the student has initially entered Finland with a student’s residence permit.
• 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)
• Have a Brexit residence permit card in Finland,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

Only a physical passport, identity card or residence permit card can be considered as proof. Once you have received the residence permit card, you need to send a copy of the front and back side of the card to the Admissions Office of SAMK (admissions@samk.fimail) within 30 days of receiving the decision. Be prepared to present the card in person. Please note that changes in the fee status made in the middle of term do not affect the tuition fee for that term. The revised status will be effective, as a rule, from the beginning of the following term.

Note that you are not exempted from paying the tuition fee if you have applied for a different type of residence permit but have not yet received a decision. A pending application does not exempt you from paying the tuition fee. For example, you are not yet exempted from paying the tuition fee if you have previously had a students’ residence permit and you have now applied for a work permit in Finland, but the application is still pending. If you have a pending application and you expect to receive the decision shortly, please contact the Admissions Office.

If you are unsure about whether you’d be subject to tuition fees, check the ‘Am I required to pay tuition fees?’ section on the Studyinfo.fi application site: https://opintopolku.fi/konfo/en/sivu/faq-about-applying-to-higher-education#tuition-fees

The admission notification e-mail will include the payment instructions for the tuition fee. Your acceptance letter will arrive from e-mail address admissions@samk.fi. Please be careful and do not trust any other e-mails that claim to be from us.

New students are required to pay the tuition fee for the first year of studies in one installment.

Students starting their studies in August: The deadline for the tuition fee payment is in July.

Students starting their studies in January: The deadline for the tuition fee payment is in November.

Satakunta University of Applied Sciences (SAMK) refunds the paid tuition fee to the payer only in the following cases:

1. if you have received a negative decision from the Finnish Immigration Services (Migri) on your application for residence permit in Finland for the academic year in question. In such case, you must request a refund in writing. You are required to deliver the negative decision to the Admissions office of SAMK and once the decision has been verified, a refund may be granted. Please note that:
   
   • If your studies commenced in August, you must submit the negative decision to the Admissions Office by 31 December. If your studies commenced in January, you must submit the negative decision to the Admissions Office by 31 July.
   • If you have completed online studies offered by SAMK during the first semester, you may not be entitled to a refund. Therefore, please revise the terms and conditions of the online studies carefully before enrolling. If you are unsure whether you would be entitled to a refund, please contact the Admissions Office of SAMK.
2. if you have been conditionally admitted but you do not meet the conditions (including any given deadline for submission of documents) and your study place is cancelled.
   
3. if SAMK is unable to offer the degree programme you have been admitted to.
   
4. if your residence permit status changes before the next semester begins (before 31 August/1 January) and you are no longer liable to pay the tuition fees. In such case, you are required to present the new Finnish residence permit card to the Admissions Office of SAMK.
   
   Only a physical residence permit card can be considered as proof. Once you have received the residence permit card, you can send a copy of the front and back side of the card to the Admissions Office of SAMK (admissions@samk.fimail) within 30 days of receiving the decision. Be prepared to present the card in person. Please note that changes in the fee status made in the middle of term do not result in the reimbursement of the tuition fee for that term. The revised status will be effective, as a rule, from the beginning of the following term.

Please note that in all scenarios described above, you are required to request a refund in writing from the Admissions Office of SAMK by e-mail: admissions@samk.fimail. These policies are non-negotiable. If you are unsure of your situation, please contact the Admissions Office in advance. Please note that in case you are granted a refund, the refund is always made to the original payer.

On the contrary, you are not eligible for a refund in the following cases:

• if you have been granted a residence permit in Finland based on your studies at SAMK, but then you decide that you do not want to start your studies after all.
• if you decide to transfer to another school.
• if you quit your studies in SAMK for other, personal reasons.

The Early Bird is a discount of 1,500 € on the tuition fee of the first study year at SAMK.

All new students who have been selected, accepted the study place, and paid the tuition fee no later than 3 April 2025 (for the separate application) or 30 April 2025 (for the joint application for higher education) will be rewarded with an early bird discount of 1,500 €.

The discount will be deducted from the first-year tuition fee. You will receive detailed payment instructions in your acceptance e-mail. This offer is valid only for the first year of studies.

Please note that an early bird has to pay the tuition fee in one instalment.

During the studies students can apply for a scholarship after each study year and get 50 % of the paid fee back by progressing well in studies.

You can apply for a scholarship if you:

• complete 60 ECTS credits per year – academic or calendar year, and
• the weighted average of your studies is at least 3.5., and
• your achievements are among the best fifth compared to other students in the whole degree programme (including all the classes) that same year, liable or non-liable to pay a tuition fee.
  Your performance in the previous years will affect the scholarship application in the later stages of your studies. For example in order to apply for a scholarship after your second year of studies you need to have completed at least 60 ECTS during the first academic year and at least 60 ECTS during the second academic year (120 ECTS credits altogether).

You can find information about the application period and instructions for applying on the student intranet Oiva.launch

• Scholarship: Basic User of Finnish language (CERF level A2.2): 1,500 €
  • This scholarship is evaluated by a written certificate of the exam results by SAMK or other higher education institution Finnish language teacher (completed Finnish studies 10 ECTS credits) with a minimum grade 4, or Recognition of prior learning (RPL).
  • Bachelor´s degree students have the opportunity to gain level A2.2 by taking part in Finnish language studies offered by SAMK. Finnish studies completed at other higher education institutions will be accepted if they provide credits and are assessed numerically.
  • Paid once, after the first academic year at the earliest.

• Scholarship: Independent User of Finnish language (CERF level B1.2): 3,000 €
  • This scholarship is evaluated by National language proficiency tests (YKI 3, level B1.2)
  • Paid once, after the first academic year at the earliest. If the student is awarded with Scholarship 1, he/she can be awarded with Scholarship 2 after the second academic year, at the earliest.
  • The language level assessment is based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment (CEFR)launch
  • The requirements for the CERF levels.launch

You can find information about the application period and instructions for applying on the student intranet Oiva.launch

The Student Ambassador Scholarship is available for the nationals of non-EU and non-EEA countries studying at SAMK in bachelor’s degree programmes taught in English.

The Student Ambassador Scholarship Programme has been created for students who have an interest in becoming involved in international activities in SAMK during their studies. The Student Ambassador Scholarship offers successful students an annual award of 200–500 euros. The Student Ambassador Scholarship can be granted more than once.

You can find information about the application period and instructions for applying on the student intranet Oiva.launch