Finland autumn joint admission 2026 for higher education recorded 34,700 applicants, marking a significant decline from the previous year. The application period ended on 11 September, and the numbers show a 23 percent drop compared to 2024 when 44,900 people applied.
The decrease is closely tied to the introduction of a new application fee that came into effect on 1 January 2025. The fee applies to non-EU and non-EEA applicants and has already changed the profile of those applying to Finnish institutions.
In 2024, international applicants made up 31 percent of the total. Of those, 97 percent were from outside the EU or EEA. In the Finland autumn joint admission 2026, the share of international applicants fell sharply to 12 percent. Of these, 90 percent came from outside the EU or EEA, confirming that the new fee has had a clear impact.
Universities of applied sciences received 98 percent of all applications, making them the main destination for students. Only 1 percent of applicants chose traditional universities, while another 1 percent applied to both sectors.
The most popular study fields continued to be business, administration and law, followed by health and welfare, and engineering, manufacturing and construction.
In total, more than 10,900 study places were available. Around 29,500 applicants targeted Bachelor level programmes, while a further 2,100 study places were offered at the Master level across both universities and universities of applied sciences.
Most of the programmes in the joint application were taught in Finnish, but 10 percent of the programmes were in English. Even with this smaller share, English-language programmes stayed highly competitive.
Each applicant was allowed to choose up to six study options. On average, applicants selected 3.1 programmes.
Admission results for Finland autumn joint admission 2026 will be finalised in stages. Some results are expected to be published in October, while all final outcomes will be available by 20 November.
Applicants can follow their status on the official Studyinfo website. Successful candidates will also receive admission notifications by email directly from Studyinfo.
