If you want to apply transfer to Savonia UAS, please fill in the application form at Studyinfo.

There are two application periods:

• 1 April –31 August
• 1 October – 31 December

Please note that

• if you are applying during 1 April – 31 August and your application is accepted, your studies begin in autumn term
• if you are applying during 1 October – 31 December and your application is accepted, your studies begin in spring term.

Application fee

Applicants from outside the EU, EEA or Switzerland are required to pay an application fee in order to apply to higher education studies. Please, read more information about the application fee on Studyinfo.

Attachments

Please attach to your application form a copy of your student certificate and transcript of records. If your studies are available at My studyinfo -service, you may share a link to your study information.

Also, please attach to your application form a copy of your passport. If you have a residence permit in Finland, also attach a copy of the residence permit card to the application form.

In addition, you must prepare a study plan, that is compare those studies you have completed earlier to the curriculum of the degree programme you are applying to.

• You will find the curricula from Savonia UAS Study Guide. Search the correct degree programme on the basis of the education mode and field. Then choose the newest curriculum of the degree programme, which you are applying to.
• Save the study plan form on your computer, fill it in and attach to your application

When applying to master’s degree, please attach to your application form also certificates which prove your eligibility to apply to master’s degree in question (a suitable background degree and after graduation at least 24 months of working experience from the field of the degree programme you are applying to). 

Decision on transfer application

Your application form will be processed within one month from receiving it. Follow your email as you may be asked for more information to support your application.  Please note, that applications are not handled during holidays (summer, week 10, week 42 and Christmas time). 

The decision will be sent to you by email. The transfer is possible, if there are free study places and your studies can be accredited for the new degree programme and you are able to graduate within the regulated study time. If you are applying to master’s degree, you must also fulfill the eligibility criteria to that degree programme you are applying to.

In case the transfer is possible, you will have 7 days’ time to confirm the study place. If you confirm the study place at Savonia UAS, Savonia UAS Student services will inform your previous UAS/university about your transfer and ask them to resign you. You must take care, that all of your uncompleted studies have been registered study register before you accept the transfer study place at Savonia UAS. 

• In the transfer application, applicant’s current study right will be transferred to the new degree programme at Savonia UAS and the study right in the previous education institution and degree programme will end. Starting time of the new study right at Savonia UAS is determined in the Personal Study Plan (PSP).
• The number of free study places vary. In some degree programmes and groups there might not be any study places or there are only few places available
• It is possible to apply transfer from a Finnish degree programme to an English degree programme or vice versa. In case the language of the new degree programme is different from the language of applicant’s current degree programme, applicant’s language skills can be assessed as part of the application process.

The one study right rule refers to the legislative amendments that entered into force on 1 August 2026. Under these amendments, a student’s study rights at the same or lower level will be terminated if they accept a new study right leading to a degree.

The one-study-right rule applies to application rounds that begin after 1 August 2026 and in which students are admitted to programmes starting on or after 1 January 2027.

The provisions are not retroactive: if a student has multiple study rights when the law enters into force, they do not need to give them up. The new provisions do not automatically terminate a student’s existing study rights. A student’s previous study rights will only be terminated when they accept a new study place after the legislation has entered into force. This also applies to study rights that were granted before the legislation entered into force.

The rule applies only to study rights at Finnish higher education institutions.

The aim of the legislative changes is to provide the opportunity to complete a higher education degree to as many people as possible who do not yet have a degree or a previous study right.

You can read more about the one study right rule on Studyinfo. 

Savonia UAS collects tuition fees from non EU/EEA students who study in a degree programme conducted in English. If the transfer applicant is obligated to pay the tuition fee, the transfer is possible only in the beginning of semester. The smallest amount, which is possible to charge, is one semester tuition fee.

The tuition fee and the scholarship

The amount of the tuition fee and the possible scholarship, as well as the requirements for receiving the scholarship depend on the starting time of the study right in the previous university or university of applied sciences.

Bachelor students:

• starting time during years 2017 – 2020
• starting time during year 2021 – 2022
• starting time during year 2023-2024
• starting time in 2025 or after

Master students:

• starting time during years 2017 – 2020
• starting time during year 2021 – 2022
• starting time during year 2023-2024
• starting time in 2025 or after

Savonia UAS grants scholarships only for the tuition fee. The scholarship is not paid to the student but is deducted directly from the tuition fee.

The tuition fee is paid in two installments, in the autumn semester and in the spring semester. If you transfer to Savonia for the autumn semester, autumn semester tuition fee is paid fully, without scholarship deductions. Scholarships are being applied during autumn semester, and they are deducted from spring semester tuition fee.

The scholarship can only be granted for the statutory study time. If a student continues his/her studies after the statutory study time, he/she must pay the full tuition fee.

Statutory study times for different extents of study programmes are:

Bachelor’s degrees

• 210 credits  – 3,5 years
• 240 credits  – 4 years

Master’s degrees

• 60 credits – 2 years
• 90 credits – 3 years

Scholarship based on humanitarian reasons for Ukrainians

As an exception to normal scholarship scheme, Savonia UAS grants scholarships to Ukrainian degree students in Finland. These students will get a full scholarship based on humanitarian reasons and need for protection, so that they do not need to pay the tuition fees. The scholarship is granted based on a valid passport or other ID, which indicates, that the student is a citizen of Ukraine.

Exemption of the tuition fee

Student is exempted for paying the tuition fee if she/he has one of the documents mentioned below:

• Passport or identity card to indicate the citizenship of EU/EEA/Switzerland
• an EU blue card in Finland
• EU Family Member’s Residence Card in Finland
• Continuous (type A) residence permit in Finland IF it is granted on the basis of employment AND if the applicant’s first residence permit in Finland was not granted on the basis of studies
• Continuous (type A) residence permit in Finland based on family ties IF the first residence permit of the applicant or family member was not granted on the basis of studies*
• EU residence permit for third-country citizens with long-term residence permit card in Finland (Type P-EU)
• Brexit residence permit card, Type SEU = Right of residence under the withdrawal agreement, or P SEU = Right of permanent residence under the withdrawal agreement
• Permanent (type P) residence permit card in Finland
• a residence permit based on temporary protection in Finland

*If your continuous residence permit (type A) is based on family ties in Finland, and your family member is a Finnish citizen or is staying in Finland with a permanent residence permit, you will be exempted from tuition fees.

Please note, that the residence permit in another EU/EEA country is not sufficient grounds for exemption, only residence permits in Finland can be considered.

The residence permit must be valid when the study right begins: 1 August (spring application period) and 1 January (autumn application period). Please check Studyinfo.fi for more information.