Finland Aalto University Scholarships 2027: Subject Choices and How to Apply?
Aalto University scholarships for autumn 2027 can cover the full tuition of an English-taught bachelor’s or master’s degree in Finland. Application windows are announced but have not yet opened for programmes in technology and engineering, business and economics, and art and design. Which means you’ve decent amount of time left to prepare your documentation before applications window for scholarship-based admissions at Aalto university opens.
With master’s tuition ranging from €15,000 to €20,000 annually, the Excellence Scholarship could remove €30,000–€40,000 from a two-year degree. But would that make your move affordable? Living expenses remain, and Aalto’s relocation grants and tuition discounts provide different levels of support.
Start by identifying the funding route that fits you. This guide connects that choice to your remaining budget, admission evidence and application steps, so you can prepare for 2027 with a clear picture of what you need.
Work through your Aalto study-and-funding decision
01 Which Scholarship Route Can You pursue in 2027 at Aalto Finland?
The Excellence Scholarship is the main full-tuition route for new applicants required to pay fees. Most applicants outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland pay tuition for English-taught degrees. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens already have tuition exemption; certain Finnish residence permits also provide it, but a study-based permit does not itself qualify.
If you are fee-paying, your programme, nationality and academic history determine which routes below fit.
| Route | Eligible applicant | Funding and consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Aalto University Excellence Scholarship | Outstanding tuition-fee-liable bachelor’s or master’s applicant. | Full tuition waiver for the normal degree duration: three bachelor’s years or two master’s years. |
| Pekka Mattila Excellence Scholarship | Fee-paying Marketing or International Management master’s applicant, regardless of nationality, age or gender. | €3,000 relocation grant; tuition remains payable. Cannot be received alongside the Excellence waiver. |
| Scholarship for Aalto bachelor’s graduates | Fee-paying graduate of an Aalto English-taught bachelor’s who held the Excellence Scholarship. | Full master’s waiver for two years, requiring bachelor’s completion within three years, a weighted average of at least 3.5 and a direct master’s study right. |
| FUNED–Aalto partnership | Eligible Mexican master’s student receiving FUNED funding. | Up to four recipients may receive a 25% Aalto tuition discount for the normal programme duration. The external funding package includes credit. |
| COLFUTURO–Aalto partnership | Eligible Colombian master’s student receiving COLFUTURO funding. | Four grantees may receive a 25% tuition discount for the normal programme duration, alongside external scholarship-loan funding. |
| Fulbright-Aalto University Graduate Award | U.S. citizens who already applied in the 2027–2028 Fulbright competition; closed to new applicants. | Published support includes tuition coverage, €1,000 monthly for nine months and a USD 1,600 travel allowance. |
New school-leavers and graduates of other universities start with Excellence. The bachelor’s-to-master’s award is a later progression route for eligible Aalto students. Mexican and Colombian applicants can also pursue their country-specific partnerships, accounting for the borrowing involved.
Joint master’s programmes—including CoDaS, CYBERSURE, Re:Play, SELECT, EIT Urban Mobility and Aalto’s EIT Digital options—have their own funding arrangements. Their consortium’s fees govern your budget; the standard Aalto costs below apply to ordinary degree routes.
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02 What would you still need to pay?
An Excellence waiver removes tuition; grants and discounts leave some or all tuition to finance. Annual bachelor’s fees are €12,000 in business and technology and €15,000 in arts and architecture. Master’s fees are €15,000 in business, €17,000 in technology and specified multidisciplinary programmes, and €20,000 in arts and architecture.
If you receive the Pekka Mattila relocation grant, tuition remains payable. A new bachelor’s student without a waiver can instead use the 25% early-acceptance discount, reducing first-year tuition to €9,000 or €11,250 depending on the field. Later years remain at the applicable full rate.
Add living costs to whatever tuition remains: Aalto estimates €800–€1,300 or more monthly, or €9,600–€15,600 or more annually. Allow additional funds for travel, insurance, a housing deposit and settling in. If you can finance that balance, your next task is to establish that your qualifications fit the programme offering the award.
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03 What evidence does your degree route require?
You must qualify for admission before competing for funding through the programme’s academic evaluation. The evidence depends on whether you are entering after school or after a university degree.
Bachelor’s applicants
Your school qualification must allow entry to comparable higher education in its awarding country. Ordinary overseas high-school applicants generally use SAT or ACT results for business and technology. Technology, Business and Design adds a preliminary assignment; Design and Media uses assignments and an interview.
Prepare the evidence for that route: business and science/technology need no separate official English-proficiency proof, while Design and Media does. A general portfolio cannot replace the specified tests or assignments.
Master’s applicants
You normally need a recognised bachelor’s equivalent to at least three years or 180 ECTS, permitting master’s entry in its awarding country. Relevant prior studies must fit your programme; final-year applicants may apply conditionally under the completion timetable below.
Show that fit through the requested documents. Art, design and architecture require portfolios. Business applicants in admission group 2, generally including overseas degree-holders, require GMAT or GRE results. Submit CVs, motivation letters, references or employment evidence where requested.
Alongside academic evidence, provide accepted English proof. IELTS Academic requires 6.5 overall and 6.0 in writing; TOEFL, PTE and Cambridge alternatives are accepted. English-medium degree exemptions depend on Aalto’s country, institution and study-location rules. These requirements give you the checklist for your admission and funding application.
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04 How do you turn that preparation into an application?
Apply through Studyinfo and include your Excellence request in the admission form. You request funding while seeking admission, before receiving an offer.
- Choose and rank programmes. Follow Aalto’s master’s guide or bachelor’s guide. Rank up to two master’s options or three bachelor’s options within an admission round; admission to a higher preference cancels lower choices.
- Prepare your evidence. Assemble qualification documents or evidence of ongoing studies, academic records, identification, translations and programme-specific material. Master’s applicants use Aalto’s English-evidence rules for test or exemption documents.
- Submit the form with your scholarship request. Access Studyinfo through the relevant guide when applications open. Fee-paying applicants select Excellence and retain the confirmation for completing attachments.
- Handle additional grant requests. Marketing and International Management applicants may request both Excellence and Pekka Mattila but cannot receive both. Aalto’s central scholarship page places Pekka Mattila in the admission form; programme instructions still describe an earlier intake’s separate form. Any additional 2027 submission remains unresolved: obtain clarification from [email protected] before treating that request as complete.
- Complete payment and document delivery. Applicants outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland generally pay €100; qualifying Finnish residence documents can provide exemption. Upload compulsory evidence, arrange direct official test delivery where required and save changes by the relevant deadlines.
- Complete separate funding processes. Apply through FUNED, COLFUTURO or the joint programme where applicable. U.S. applicants who already entered Fulbright must still complete Aalto admission and request the tuition waiver.
Excellence decisions accompany admission results. An award lets you proceed by accepting your place and scholarship terms; an unfunded offer brings you back to the budget you prepared. The following distinctions explain how to assess either outcome.
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05 What can affect your Aalto University scholarship outcome?
Admission and funding are separate outcomes within the same process. These rules affect selection, waiting-list offers and support after enrolment.
Does a high SAT score or GPA guarantee funding?
No. Awards depend on programme-specific academic ranking, and programmes may award none. Admission minimums establish eligibility; a previous applicant’s score cannot guarantee a scholarship for 2027.
Can requesting funding hurt my admission chances?
No, Aalto states that requesting a scholarship does not affect admission. Include the request during the application period; waiting for an admission offer is too late.
Can I receive a waiver after waiting-list admission?
No, standard Excellence awards are allocated before results and are not reallocated to waiting-list entrants. You would need separate tuition funding for that offer.
What keeps the waiver valid after enrolment?
Continuation requires progress under your approved personal study plan and approval of the following year’s plan. The award covers the normal degree duration, without unlimited extensions.
Back to your Aalto application decisions
06 Which dates control your 2027 application?
The last date to apply for Aalto University’s standard autumn 2027 master’s admission and request Excellence is 5 January 2027 at 3:00 p.m. Finnish time (UTC+2). Applications will open on 7 December 2026 at 9:00 a.m.; documents and official language results are due by 12 January 2027 at 3:00 p.m. (UTC+2). The later document deadline does not extend the application deadline.
Master’s results are scheduled for 30 March 2027, with acceptance due by 21 April 2027 at 3:00 p.m. (UTC+3). Applicants admitted from 30 March to 4 April with completed degrees must deliver certified educational documents by 13 May 2027 at 3:00 p.m. (UTC+3). Conditional applicants must graduate by 31 July 2027 and deliver their certified degree certificate by 17 August 2027 at 3:00 p.m. (UTC+3).
The last date to apply for Aalto University’s English-taught bachelor’s admission for autumn 2027 and request scholarship consideration is 22 January 2027 at 3:00 p.m. (UTC+2). Applications open on 7 January 2027. Ordinary overseas-school SAT/ACT applicants submit academic documents, identification and official test results by 29 January 2027 at 3:00 p.m. (UTC+2); Technology, Business and Design applicants submit the preliminary assignment by the application closing time.
Where applicable, pay the application fee within seven days of submission. The bachelor’s early-acceptance discount requires binding acceptance and receipt of tuition payment within 21 days of the acceptance letter, respecting any earlier acceptance deadline.
External providers and joint programmes have separate calendars. The 2027–2028 Fulbright competition closed on 6 October 2026. For new standard Aalto applicants, prepare your degree-specific evidence now and include Excellence in your admission application when the window opens.