There’s a piece of advice that circulates constantly in Finland-bound student forums: “just get an MOI letter, every Finnish university accepts it.” It’s not quite true, and treating it as gospel is how applicants end up scrambling for a last-minute IELTS booking three weeks before their document deadline. The real picture is more useful, if slightly less tidy: Finland has no single national policy on this — each university decides individually, and a handful of them have simply become known for being flexible about it.

First, a Correction Worth Making

A lot of scholarship-hunting sites still list the EDUFI Fellowship as a live option for doctoral funding. It stopped accepting new applications in late 2025. If you see it listed elsewhere as an active scholarship for 2027, that’s outdated information circulating without anyone checking the source. Doctoral study in Finland is tuition-free regardless of nationality anyway, so PhD applicants aren’t competing for the kind of tuition-waiver scholarships this list focuses on — their funding situation is a different conversation entirely.

There’s also no unified Finnish government master’s scholarship. What exists instead is a shared naming convention: many universities independently call their own tuition-waiver program a “Finland Scholarship,” which understandably confuses people into thinking it’s one national scheme. It isn’t. Each university runs its own, with its own budget, its own criteria, and — relevant to this list — its own language policy.

Where the Flexibility Actually Sits

Six Finnish universities have built a genuine reputation for accepting something other than a fresh IELTS score: a medium-of-instruction letter, transcripts from a prior English-taught degree, an alternative test, or in some cases a university-run English interview. That’s the group this list centers on, though a few smaller institutions round it out.

Before getting into individual scholarships, here’s the mechanical reality worth understanding: your university decides your English requirement during admission, and by the time the scholarship committee reviews your file, that question has already been settled. There’s no separate scholarship-level English test layered on top anywhere in Finland.

The 10 Scholarships

University of Helsinki Scholarship Programme
100% tuition waiver plus a €5,000 relocation grant for the first year, renewable into year two with 55 completed ECTS credits.
🔗 helsinki.fi/en/admissions-and-education/apply-bachelors-and-masters-programmes/tuition-fees-and-scholarship-programme
Helsinki accepts a previous degree taught in English, or a statement from your former institution confirming your language ability, as valid alternatives sitting alongside IELTS and TOEFL — not a fallback option buried in fine print, but a listed route.

Aalto University Scholarships
Tuition-fee waivers tied directly to admission at Finland’s second-largest university, spanning technology, business, and the arts.
🔗 aalto.fi/en/admission-services/scholarships-and-tuition-fees
Aalto is one of the institutions most frequently cited for accepting MOI documentation in place of a standardized test, particularly for applicants coming from English-medium bachelor’s programs elsewhere.

University of Turku Scholarship
Covers between €2,000 and €12,000 of tuition, awarded to up to 30% of tuition-liable admitted students across bachelor’s and master’s programs.
🔗 utu.fi/en/study-at-utu/scholarships-before-2025
Note that Turku changed its scholarship structure for the 2026 intake onward — if you’re applying for 2027, check the university’s current admissions page directly rather than relying on this or any older description, since the mechanics may have shifted again.

Tampere University Scholarship
Up to full tuition coverage, plus a separate Early Bird discount for students who settle their tuition fee within three weeks of receiving an admission decision.
🔗 tuni.fi
Tampere is one of the six universities most consistently named as accepting alternative English proof rather than insisting on IELTS specifically.

University of Oulu International Scholarship
Covers 50–100% of tuition depending on the program, plus a minimum €5,000 relocation grant on some tracks, applied for through the same portal as your program admission.
🔗 oulu.fi/en/apply/university-oulu-tuition-fees-and-scholarships-for-international-applicants
Oulu’s own scholarship page lists “approved methods of demonstrating language proficiency” as a category distinct from a single fixed test — worth reading in full on their admissions portal before assuming only IELTS qualifies.

University of Eastern Finland (UEF) Tuition Waiver
Full tuition waiver for top applicants, with 50% and 30% tiers for others, renewed based on first-year academic progress.
🔗 uef.fi
UEF is regularly grouped with Helsinki, Aalto, Turku, Oulu, and Tampere as one of the universities that “most consistently” accepts alternative proof of English proficiency rather than a fixed test requirement.

LUT University Scholarship Programme
Covers 50% or 100% of tuition fees for master’s and doctoral-track applicants in technology, business, and environmental sciences, renewed annually based on performance.
🔗 lut.fi
LUT’s scholarship sits on the same admission-linked structure common across Finland — apply to the program, and scholarship consideration happens automatically as part of that same review.

Åbo Akademi University Scholarship
Tuition-fee reductions for non-EU/EEA students at Finland’s Swedish-language university, which also runs several English-taught programs.
🔗 abo.fi
Because Åbo Akademi teaches in both Swedish and English depending on program, confirm your specific track’s language policy directly — its structure differs somewhat from the six universities above.

University of Jyväskylä Scholarship
Tuition-fee waivers for admitted non-EU/EEA master’s students, following the standard Finnish pattern of merit-based, admission-linked funding.
🔗 jyu.fi
As with several universities on this list, confirm current-year scholarship terms directly on JYU’s own site, since Finnish universities revise their scholarship percentages and criteria on a fairly regular cycle.

University of Lapland Scholarship
Tuition support for international students at Finland’s northernmost university, located in Rovaniemi near the Arctic Circle.
🔗 ulapland.fi
A smaller program than the flagship universities above, but a genuine option worth checking if your field — Arctic studies, tourism, or law — aligns with Lapland’s particular strengths.

How to Actually Use an MOI Letter Here

  1. Contact your previous institution’s registrar and ask for a letter confirming your degree was delivered entirely in English — get this at least two months before your target university’s document deadline
  2. Check that specific university’s admissions page for the exact phrase they use (some say “medium of instruction,” others describe it as “a statement from your former institution”)
  3. Don’t assume this transfers between universities — a letter Helsinki accepted doesn’t automatically satisfy Oulu’s requirements, since each sets its own policy independently
  4. If your target university doesn’t list an MOI-style alternative anywhere on its admissions page, budget for IELTS or TOEFL rather than hoping an exception will be made

Timing and What Comes After the Scholarship

Most Finnish universities run their master’s application round in January, with scholarship decisions folded into the same admission review rather than a separate later process. There’s no single national deadline — each university publishes its own, so cross-reference the specific programs you’re targeting rather than assuming a shared date.

Scholarships here overwhelmingly cover tuition only. Living costs, health insurance, and the financial proof required for your residence permit application sit entirely outside what any of these ten programs pay for — Finland’s Migration Service expects proof of roughly €560–800 per month in living funds depending on the year’s guidance, and a transfer service like Wise is worth using to move that money without a heavy bank markup.

Two Things People Ask

Does Finnish immigration re-check my English separately from the university?
No. Your residence permit application looks at your acceptance letter, financial proof, and insurance — the English question was already settled during university admission, and nothing in the immigration process revisits it.

If my university doesn’t list an MOI alternative, is there a cheaper test than IELTS?
TOEFL is broadly accepted across Finnish universities as an equal alternative to IELTS. Beyond that, acceptance of Duolingo or Cambridge exams varies genuinely program by program, so this is one to confirm directly rather than assume.

Quick Pre-Application Checklist

  • Confirm whether your specific target university (not “Finland” generally) publishes an MOI or alternative-proof policy
  • Request your MOI letter or transcripts early if it applies to you
  • Note that University of Turku changed its scholarship structure for 2026 — verify current terms before applying for 2027
  • Don’t rely on the “EDUFI Fellowship” — it’s no longer accepting applications
  • Budget separately for Finland’s residence permit financial-proof requirement and health insurance
  • Re-check each university’s current deadline directly, since Finland has no single shared national date

A Fair Warning

Some of the guidance circulating about “Finland without IELTS” is genuinely a year or two stale — scholarship structures here get revised more often than in some larger systems, and a few widely-shared claims (the EDUFI Fellowship chief among them) are no longer accurate. Treat any list, including this one, as a starting point for your own direct check on each university’s current admissions page rather than a final answer.

Scholarships Without IELTS