No tuition fees for EU/EEA citizens, even on English-taught programmes, while students from outside the EU/EEA usually pay €8,000–20,000 a year. Finland has 13 universities and 22 universities of applied sciences, with over 600 English-taught programmes and more than 30,000 international students. Discover when the joint application opens, what a room in student housing costs and how many hours you can work.
How long: a doctorate takes about 4 years of full-time study; there is also a licentiate degree (about 2 years) on the way. Most universities run doctoral programmes in graduate schools.
Your status: it varies. Many doctoral candidates are employed by a university or a research institute and receive a salary; others are funded by grants or do their doctorate part-time alongside work.
How to get in: a master's degree. Universities select candidates themselves, looking at your study results, language skills, the quality of your research plan and whether supervision is available.
Where to look: doctoral positions and calls are published on the websites of universities and their doctoral schools and on EURAXESS. Programmes in Finland in our database: Finland – 113 doctoral programmes (as of September 2026) »
Sources: Eurydice – national description of third-cycle (PhD) programmes (updated 27 November 2023). As of October 2026.
Sources: European Commission – Study in Europe (education.ec.europa.eu/study-in-europe), Eurostat, official national study and residence portals and authorities, Eurodesk, enic-naric.net, studentnews.eu. As of September 2026.
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