There’s been a huge rise in students applying for English-taught degrees in Finland this year, up 10,000 from 2021 for those wishing to start in autumn 2022, according to Yle News. The largest increase was seen in Bachelor of Health Care courses, which lead to nursing degrees. At JAMK University of Applied Sciences, in Jyväskylä, there were 2,285 applicants, which translates to 57 hopefuls for every place on the course. It’s even more competitive at Novia University of Applied Sciences near Vaasa, with 70 hopeful applicants for every place on their nursing course.
It’s not just nursing though. The University of the Arts Helsinki had 1,151 applications for the 12 places on its drama course.
Why the massive jump in popularity? It’s probably down to a number of factors, including price. Students from other EU countries or the EEA can study at any public Finnish university for free. And even non-EU/EEA citizens will pay considerably less than if they attend, say a US university, which can be up to four times more expensive. Plus, EU students now have to pay international fees if they want to study at a university in the UK.
Another equally important factor is that you don’t need to know Finnish to live and study there as English is widely spoken with a high degree of fluency. Add to this that there are 135 English-taught bachelor courses taught in Finland and you can see the appeal.
