Fees and scholarships

Note: For students starting in the autumn 2026, there will be EMJM scholarships available on a competative basis.

Fees

Consortium fees

Students starting in August 2026 and onwards

Annual consortium fees for non-EU/EEA students are 9 000 EUR. There are no consortium fees for students who are citizens of EU/EEA countries or Switzerland. The consortium fees are to be paid semestrial basis in advance.

Student Union membership fee and Kela health care fee

All admitted students are required to pay the Student Union fee of the University of Eastern Finland for the first academic year and the related fee of the second year host university during the second academic year.  The membership in the Student Union comes with a variety of leisure time activities organised for free. Membership in the Student Union at UEF is mandatory for all degree-seeking students, and the Student Union membership fee is 73.00 EUR euros per academic year 2025-2026 (not included in the Consortium fee). For further information, please see the website of the Student Union.

All students need to pay a student healthcare fee to Kela for each academic term (36.80 EUR/term in 2025-2026). All students who are registered as attending for the current term and are studying for Master’s degree are entitled to FSHS services. For further information, please see Kamu Student Handbook.

EMJM scholarships and programme-specific tuition fee waivers

Erasmus Mundus Joint Master (EMJM) scholarships are available for students on a competitive basis. These scholarships must be applied simultaneously with the study place with the same application form. These scholarships will include student participation costs (including the Consortium fees and full insurance coverage), and a monthly subsistence allowance for the entire duration of the study programme (1 400 EUR/month for a max. of 24 months). These scholarships are available for non-EU/EEA students and EU/EEA students and the total amount of the scholarship is the same for all students. Read more on Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters in the European Commission website.

Individuals who have already benefited from an Erasmus Mundus Master’s Course scholarship are not eligible for a second scholarship in order to follow the same or another Erasmus Mundus Master’s Course. Students benefiting from an Erasmus Mundus scholarship cannot benefit from another Community grant while pursuing their Erasmus Mundus Master’s studies.

In addition, MSc EF Consortium may grant partial or full programme-specific fee waivers for the best applicants without EMJM scholarships.

Contribution to individual needs of students with disabilities

Extra contributions to individual needs may be granted to enrolled students (with or without scholarship) with disabilities (e.g. long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments), such as those related to the acquisition of special items or services (e.g. assistance by third persons, adaptation of work environment, additional travel/transportation costs).

Self-paying students

Accepted self-paying students are highly encouraged to apply for scholarships or a student loan from other sources or to be prepared to fund their studies by themselves. Working while studying is challenging due to the mobility elements of the MSc European Forestry programme and also in general it is very difficult to get a working place. Therefore,  it is advised to start looking for different scholarships and e.g. to contact potential sponsors in one’s home country; forest industry or forest-related organisations and in the ministry of education etc. Check also the scholarship portal.

Accepted self-paying students who are not Erasmus Mundus scholarship holders are also able to apply for an Erasmus+ traineeship grant (300–350 EUR per month) for the applied period and maybe also an Erasmus+ grant for studies (200–250 EUR per month) for conducting studies in one of the MSc EF partner universities outside Finland during the second academic year in case these have not been used already for another master’s degree. Some second-year universities might have some restrictions, however. More information and instructions on how to apply for these will be shared during the first academic year.

In addition, Erasmus+ Master Degree Loans are EU-guaranteed loans with favourable pay-back terms that can help you finance a Master course in an Erasmus+ Programme country.

Living costs and travelling

Studying and living in Europe is relatively inexpensive. Prices for food and accommodation are reasonable and one can live adequately with just 600–700 EUR per month. For example, in Joensuu (Finland) a room in a student flat costs about 250 EUR per month and a warm meal from within the university campus area is about 3 EUR.

One of the distinguishing features of the MSc European Forestry programme is mobility. During the study periods all students get to visit all the Consortium countries in Europe. One might think that travelling around Europe is costly and not suitable for a student budget, but:

Firstly, MSc European Forestry pays for travels during the European Forestry Field Course all the way from Romania through Austria, Germany and France to Spain.

Secondly, there are several budget airlines in Europe and most of the trains and buses provide 50% discount for students.

Insurance

All accepted students need to have proof of adequate health insurance for the whole duration of their studies (also a requirement for the Finnish residence permit). The full insurance coverage is included in the consortium fee.