Scholarships & Tuition fees at JYU

Starting from fall 2017, University of Jyväskylä started to have tuition fees for students outside EU/EEA countries and Switzerland. The tuition fees range from EUR 8,000-12,000 per academic year according to different programs. You can check the detailed tuition fee from the application site of each program.

Although there are tuition fees now, JYU still provides scholarship program and other supports for students liable to pay tuition fees, and they are easy to apply for. The scholarship program covers tuition fee costs and it is awarded for two academic years. You are eligible for applying if you are
* Eligible to apply to study in an international master’s degree program offered by JYU, and
* Liable to pay tuition fees
Starting from 2020, in each program there will be maximum 6 scholarships available. There will be 2 scholarships, which cover 100% of the tuition fee for two years, and 4 scholarships, which cover 50% of the tuition fee for two years. So, if you are applying for a comparatively small program, you will have a good chance to get the scholarship with your nice application.

How to apply?
You don’t have to submit a separate application for the scholarship program. When you apply for an IMDP program offered by JYU, there will be a choice in the same online form for you whether you want to apply for the scholarship. If you get admitted to one of the programs, you will be informed in the same email on admission and on whether you have been awarded a scholarship.

It is possible to be admitted to more than one program at JYU, but the scholarship may be awarded only to one program per person, according to your preference on the application form.

A student must accept the scholarship by accepting the study place and returning a signed scholarship acceptance form within the given deadline.

Selection criteria
Scholarships are granted based on the admissions criteria of the program in question.
Receiving the scholarship for the second academic year depends on your study progress during the first academic year. A minimum of 55 ECTS credits during the first academic year is required in order to receive the scholarship for the second year. (You need to be a hard-working student!)

JYU does not offer other university level scholarships. However, faculties may offer specific field-based additional scholarships for their students.

Scholarship for living expenses in the Faculty of Mathematics and Science
Non-Finnish students in IMDPs of the Faculty of Mathematics and Science, who are NOT eligible for Kela’s student financial aid and starting their studies in 2020, can apply for a scholarship for living expenses. The scholarship for living expenses is 500 EUR/month and granted for two academic years. Check here for more information. If you fit the criteria, don’t miss this opportunity!

We wish all our scholarship applicants good luck!

Haoyi Rong

Student story - Marco, the man of thousand nationalities

Marco, the man of the thousand nationalities. Born in Argentina, raised in southern Chile with a Slovenian passport, lived in New Zealand and Australia and now in Finland. Marco is one of the international students at the Faculty of Mathematics and Science and he is studying on the Biological and Environmental Sciences Department.

Marco! Good to see you! How is life going?

Dude, we live together, you basically know everything at this point!

{ Guille, the interviewer facepalms}

Of course! But can you tell us a little bit more about yourself , for example, how did you end up in Finland and studying here at the Uni of JKL?

Well, a friend of mine from Chile (Felipe a.k.a Boby) got an internship at JYU and when I started to consider options to study an MSc. in Europe he couldn't stop insisting about Jyväskylä and the amazing time he had had here. In the end, he convinced me and I ended up here.

And besides that, did you have other motivations to choose Finland?

Sure! I had always wanted to study on a Nordic country and Finland was, by far, the one with the best reputation concerning its education and the one that had the least expensive cost of living. On top of that, I was interested in studying Aquatic Sciences, especially water treatment and water quality, and Finland is known worldwide as one of the countries with the highest quality standards for drinkable water. That sounded really cool!

Cool! That is good to know for the next time I'm drinking from the sink! And when you came here, How was the transition? What were the first impressions you had as a student of JYU?

I'm going to give you the most obvious answer to that: The weather, it is horrible, there is no way to deny that.

I agree...

But I have to say that, although cold, winters are truly beautiful here. And returning to the point I believe the transition was really smooth, all the student services and benefits made things really easy. In fact, I think that Jyväskylä might be one of the best student cities I've ever been to...

And what are you up to these days? How are your studies going?

Well, as you know, I'm taking part in the Master's Program of Biological and Environmental Sciences in which I am majoring in Aquatic Sciences. At the moment I am working on the experiments related to my MSc. thesis about biochemical profiles of microalgae in aquaculture waste water.

Marco, we agreed that the interview would be English...

It's that complicated! My goal is to see if it is feasible to cultivate microalgae with the waste water coming fish farms basically and what is the value of that microalgae as an end product. The project I'm working on is actually trying to use these microalgae as a food source for other organisms and by doing that minimizing waste, which is something really important considering the state of our planet.

Well, enough of study stuff, What about your free time? How do you spend it?

In Freetime

{ Freetime is a club in the city center }

That was too easy of a joke..

I know, I know...

{ Laughing }

Now seriously, what do you do around JKL?

Well I was a volleyball player so I've always loved to play sports ...

{ Marco is humble about it but he was on the Argentinian national team when he was younger }

...and I was glad to find out when I came here that the university organizes sports activities from students almost daily. For example, if I want to, I can play volleyball twice a week, play basketball and go to the gym as much as I want to for free.

Gym for free?

Yes, I live on the Kortepohja student village and by living there I can access a gym, 1 minute away from my room. Living here is actually amazing since we also have access to a study space and a cantina that is open every day ( even the weekends).

What about the student events?

They are great! Once or twice a month there is always a student event, normally at a bar or club in the city center. In these occasions you have a lot of fun and, on top of that, you can meet new people from all over the world.

And what about sauna? Have you also fallen into the finish stereotype?

I have...I go to the sauna at least twice a week, religiously...

And finally, how do you think your experience here has changed you?

Well, work-wise, at JYU I've had the opportunity to try new things and broaden my CV. Since the university system in Finland gives a lot of freedom to the student I was able to choose subject which in other places I would not have been able to choose. One of the things I've gotten into is marketing and entrepreneurship and I can tell you that it has definitely broaden knowledge and woken up new interests for my career.

And what about at a personal level?

Well, before coming to Finland, I had travelled to many countries and I lived in New Zealand and Australia for a while so, perhaps I didn't have that "Living for the first time on a foreign country" experience that most people would normally have. However, Finland has certainly had an impact on me since, although still a western country, it has a distinct national identity which you can experience every day. In my opinion, the more different cultures you experience the more you grow as a person.

Well Marco! That was great thanks for your time!

My pleasure!

Student Housing in Jyväskylä

Hey everyone!

The application period is approaching and it is time to address some practical issues. “Where am I going to live there?” “Do I have to make a bonfire to stay warm in the winter?”  In this post I will discuss housing in Jyväskylä from the student’s perspective.

Kortepohja. Photo by @NordicArtNetwork

Student housing in Jyväskylä and in Finland in general is extremely well developed. Typically the student is able to rent a shared or private student apartment from the selection of houses across the city. There are at least three primary housing options in Jyväskylä, 2 of which are student-dedicated housing -  Kortepohja (check it here) and KOAS (website), and the third is renting from private individuals. Private options are listed at Vuokraovi aggregator (here). Private renting may be difficult to do  from outside of Finland, so consider this as  “plan B”  in case you didn't get the flat from the first two places.

A typical student dormitory in Finland is an apartment building with shared or single flats. Shared accommodation has a common kitchen and bathroom and own rooms. Apartments are rented unfurnished, except for kitchen and bathroom appliances. If you are an exchange student, there will be furnished  accomodations available. laundry sauna and common lounge area usually available as well as the possibility to rent miscellaneous home stuff. Wifi, electricity, water, etc. are included into the fixed rent. And yes, central heating works well, so keep the wood for barbecue.

The application process is simple, you need to fill in the form about yourself and your preferences and include the letter of acceptance from the university. You will be offered with an option which can be confirmed by paying a rent and maybe a deposit or fee. Declining the option will put you back to the waiting line so fill the application wisely. The months are indivisible, meaning that you have to pay the full monthly rent even if you arrive on, say, 25th.

About companies - one housing provider, Kortepohja,  provides housing in the apartment buildings allocated together in a student village, situated just about 3 km north-west from city center and University main campus area. Kortepohja is a favorite place for students to stay mainly because of the community feel of it. Living in Kortepohja, you will always be close to your fellow students and whatever happens - you will not miss it. The apartments are neat and there is a spacious gym and the student restaurant which serves 7 day/week. Plus, there are spaces for group work and nice yard with grill place. Overall Kortepohja is definitely a great place for outgoing students for whom social interactions are an essential part of studentship.

Pros
* Well renovated apartments
* Spacious gym and student restaurant on site
* Community!!
Cons
* Rent is above average
* Location
* Can be noisy

Student restaurant Rentukka, Kortepohja. Photo by @NordicArtNetwork

KOAS is another provider of student housing. The main advantage of KOAS housing is location diversity. Student houses are scattered all around Jyväskylä in the vicinity of the university. Houses are grouped together into small neighborhoods, each having small local gyms, saunas and laundry. House conditions vary, but generally everything is pretty neat.
Pros
* Many different locations across the city
* Rent is lower
Cons
* Less students around

KOAS Ainola. Photo by Polina Feshchenko (@alienhustle)

The third option is private renting which can be done at Vuokraovi aggregator. It may be tricky to rent a flat from abroad as your presence may be required in the process. However upon arrival this option can be considered, so I had to mention it. 

That is pretty much all you need to know regarding the housing. There is no stress in getting the accommodation as student, the apartments are spacious and cozy and the experience is mostly positive.

Got burning questions - don’t hesitate to ask the ambassadors!

Have a great time!
Alex

University sports activities

Did you know that …

> City of Jyväskylä has approximately 360 sports venues
> Jyväskylä has over 2000 students studying sport-related degree
> There are around 220 local sports clubs
> Every August Neste Oil Rally is organized
> Jyväskylä has the only University for sports in Finland
> There is Research Institute for Olympic sports?

Jyväskylä is a sporting paradise for everyone interested in physical well being and there are many sports halls, stadiums, open fields, nature path around the city. Likewise, the University encourages students to adopt an active lifestyle. University of Jyväskylä offers sport and wellbeing services to student and staff. There are plenty of opportunities for students to engage in sports for affordable price. For example, you can do leisure physical activity or even become an active member of sport club.

Group fitness classes

University Umove offers a large variety of sports you can choose from without regular commitment. Daily there are over 10 group exercise you can attend, such as: Jazz vibes, Foam rolling, Fitness boxing, Zumba, Yoga, Handstand etc. The options are endless and you can surely find something that fits you. You don’t need your own equipment for the class, you can borrow it in the storage room before each class (mats, plates, kettlebells…). Classes are usually held in Finnish, but instructors also give English tips. It is also a good way to improve your Finnish skills while doing exercise, so you can kill two birds with one stone. Nevertheless, this semester is the first time there is also one class held completely in English (Abs & booty in English) which is perfect for international people. There is no pre-enrollment necessary.

Team sport activities

If you are not that much into group-fitness you can also attend team sports activities. You can play ball games such as floorball, futsal, volleyball but you can also do ice hockey, ultimate and American football without additional fee. In academic sports there is no instructor in the session except the Start session where you get feedback from the teacher. If you are advanced player you can join intermediate level team sport session (for example, advanced volleyball).

All you need to attend group fitness classes and ball games is valid student card with sports sticker. It costs only 60 € for academic year, 40 € for one semester (if you are exchange student) or 20€ for summer semester.

Free sessions at the gym and swimming

If you have sports sticker, then you can use 3 gyms unlimited amount of time. There is one gym at the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, gym in Monitoimitalo near university and another one in student village Kortepohja. You can also go for a swim in the pool near University for reduced price.

Sport courses

If you prefer to do sport courses for credits you can choose between:

> Sport courses with credits for all students

For example, you can go canoeing, do kick boxing, learn Finnish baseball.

> Sport courses with fee for students (you don’t need sports sticker for that)

You can learn for example, apparatus gymnastics, aqua aerobics, breast stroke and free style and so much more…

As evident, there are many options one can choose from. Apart from participating, every student has the opportunity to suggest their own physical activity to university sports. More often, if the activity appears to be interesting to many people, it can be added to the schedule. In Jyväskylä there are plenty of options to be active and that is why it is often called to be the city of sports in Finland.

Tjaša Ocvirk

Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences

Master Application: Facebook Live Q&A Seminar on 11th of November

The next application round for our international, two-year, English-taught Master's Programmes is open 8-22 January 2020. Do you have questions about the application process or about the programs offered at the University of Jyväskylä? If so, join us for our Facebook Live session on Monday 11 November! Our student ambassadors and staff from the admission services are there to answer your questions. We hope to see you there!

Check out our English-taught Master's Programmes here.

Check out the Facebook event here.

See you next Monday!