Top 5 Best IT Universities in Finland (2026-2027 Complete Guide)
Finland has quietly become one of Europe’s strongest tech education hubs right now, we would say, and it is considered our top destination for higher study for students across the world. The reason that we say this is that the country not only offers you a world-class degree with research, etc., but also helps you to start your professional career in Finland, as you have the option to apply for a post-study visa, which is valid for a longer time than other Schengen countries, which we can say that… If you want to know about IT degrees in Finland at some highly recognized university with fees, requirements, and courses in one place, then this blog is for you to go through, as we will explain everything for you here so you can choose the university that matches your requirements. These are the universities worth your time and application fees.
So basically, in this blog, we have at least 5 of the best IT universities in Finland, including tuition, requirements, deadlines, and program options. Let’s start one by one.
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Aalto University
Aalto University is one of the top universities in our list due to its Best Overall for Computer Science & Engineering degree, but our topic is IT, so we can fairly say that it is the best university for IT studies.
Top IT Programs at Aalto University
They have these main IT programs, both for bachelor’s and master’s, that you can consider applying to or choosing for your further study.
- Computer Science (BSc, MSc)
- Artificial Intelligence
- Software and service Engineering
- Computational Engineering.
- Master’s in game design and development,
- Master’s in data science, ICT innovation.
- Cyber security and assurance.
- Human-computer interaction and design, etc.
Author’s note about the program
Aalto University offers you a lot of courses that you can consider for your studies. If you have already completed your bachelor’s in your home country and have a solid IT background, then you can choose any of the above programs that suit your area of interest. Find more master’s courses in IT.
Tuition-free for (Non-EU/EEA)
For a bachelor’s, it’s around €12,000 per year.
For a master’s, it’s between €15,000 and €17,000 per year, but our main area is IT, so you can consider 17 thousand euros in your mind for a master’s program in IT.
Requirements at Aalto University in Finland
- Strong math background, of course.
- Your Secondary diploma (Bachelor’s) or relevant bachelor’s (Master’s)
- English proficiency test. Remember that they accept IELTS with 6.5, TOEFL, and even the Cambridge test as well. So you can consider any of these options while applying for admission to this university.
- Some programs consider SAT/ACT or entrance exams.
Author note about Deadline at Aalto University
For the September 2026 intake its typically early mid-January mean. If you want to know the exact date, then it starts from December to 2nd January. So their September 2026 deadline has passed already, but if you want to consider this university for your studies, you have to consider applying for the 2027 session. Remember that the date for admission in 2027 will be almost the same. You can prepare your application as soon as possible because their time period for admission is short.
Author’s note about admission
As this university is the topmost university in Finland, you have to keep in mind that Acceptance is also competitive. That means it’s not that easy to get admission in this university, so if you are an Average applicant, then I don’t think it will be easy for get accepted in this school. I would say This University and its IT degree are for highly intellectual students across the world. Remember that for some courses the university asks you to give exam for the GRE, which is of course organized by the university itself. So I can say this, if you have strong mathematics with great IQ, then apply for this school. Although the course fee is higher, if you are smart enough, you can easily get a scholarship at this university.
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University of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki is the 2nd university in our list that we can consider the second-topmost IT university in Finland due to the fact that it has a strong academic reputation and, no doubt, heavy research in data science and AI, which is your topmost concern as an IT student.
Top IT Programs at Helsinki University
- Data Science
- Computer Science
- Artificial Intelligence
- Software Systems
These are the main courses that the university offers you as an international student. Learn more about their master’s program.
Tuition fee at Helsinki University
It’s between €13,000 and €18,000 per year, but we can be more specific for you. If you are a non-EU citizen, then a master’s in IT, e.g., data science, etc., is around 15 thousand euros.
Admission Requirements at Helsinki University
- High academic GPA, e.g., around 3.5 or more, because they will link to your points that you have to have to get admission, which we will discuss below for you for your understanding.
- Relevant background subjects, e.g., if you apply for a master’s in data science, then you have a related course in your bachelor’s degree.
- Language tests, e.g., IELTS, TOEFL, etc., with standard scores like 6.5 and 92. They also accept Cambridge English and PTE Academic.
Deadline for Admission
Their joint application is from early January to 16 January 2026. So you can apply next year until mid-January 2027, because for 2026 the date is finished, but you can start applying around August 2026 for the 2027 intake.
Author’s note about the university and admission
The University of Helsinki is also the best option in my view as its top ranked university in Finland and is located in the capital of Finland, so more opportunities for you in the future. As the university itself helps you and guide for your future career, which is not a common mean support for developing your career after completing your degree.
However you have to keep in my that the admission is not that easy to take as they have 2 round or stages mean in first stage they have selected candidates based on their acadmanic performance then select half of them in the stage tow mean if they select 400 then in the next level they will select 200 and still make further evaluation based on their point system which is around 15 points. So to get admission, you have to have at least 8 points; otherwise, it will be difficult to get admission in data science and other IT-related courses.
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Tampere University
Tampere University is third in our list of top 5 IT universities in Finland that offer you various IT courses for both bachelor’s and master’s studies as an international student.
Top IT Programs at Tampere University
- Software Engineering
- Computer Science
- Cybersecurity
- Data Analytics
- System-on-chip design
- Human-technology interaction
- Software, web, cloud, and much more
Author note about courses
If you are looking for a bachelor’s study then you don’t have many options as only one program is mainly offered by this university, but if you are looking for a master degree then you will find a verity of courses in IT field with different specialization based on your interest e.g. signal processing, information security, smart gird and embedded system etc. Learn more about their master’s program.
Tuition fee at Tampere University
Their fee range is between 8,000 and 12,000 euros per year.
Author note about the fee
If I make it more specific for you, especially in the context of 2026, then for the bachelor course its 10 thousand and for master courses it’s 12 thousand euro mean two thousand more for the master program, which is comparatively lower than Aalto University and the University of Helsinki.
Author note about scholarship
However, you can also have an option to apply for a scholarship as well, which will help you to reduce around 50 percent of your fee. If your fee for a master’s is 12 thousand, then you have to pay 6 thousand, but only if you are not selected based on your past performance and academic records, of course. They also offer an early bid, which is 2 thousand less in your fee. Apart from that, you can also find more scholarship opportunity offer by EC. Learn more about scholarships and grant by EU.
If you are a Tampere University graduate, then you can get a Fulbright scholarship, which covers almost everything like monthly expenses, residence application fee, and other related cost e.g., travel, and much more.
Requirements at Tampere University
- As usual, your Relevant academic qualification
- English proficiency, e.g., IELTS 6.5, TOEFL 92, and PTE 62 as well.
- They also do entrance evaluations as well in some cases, so keep that in mind too.
Admission Deadline at Tampere University
Joint application period in January, but for most of the master’s programs in IT, you have to have a separate application between 15 December and 5 January. E.g., if you want to be part of the next upcoming year, then your deadline for 2027 will be between 15 December 2026 and 5 January 2027. Because mostly their program starts on these dates, meaning between December and January every year.
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University of Oulu
The University of Oulu is another university in Finland that offers you IT-related courses. Although this university is globally recognized for wireless communications and networking research, and if we say it more openly, then it is included in the top 300 universities in the world, but in our list, we put this in fourth place.
Top IT Programs at the University of Oulu
- Information Technology (bachelor’s and master’s)
- Computer Science (bachelor’s and master’s)
- Wireless Communications (master)
- Sustainable and Autonomous Systems (master). Read more about their international program
Tuition fee at the University of Oulu
Their fee for both bachelor’s and master’s is around 10,000 euros per year for most of the master’s programs, and they don’t always offer scholarships, especially for bachelor’s programs.
Admission Requirements at the University of Oulu
Admission requirements are the same as those of the other 3 universities that we mentioned. e.g.,
- High school or bachelor’s degree
- English proficiency
- Academic transcripts
Author’s note about admission
The University of Oulu have specific number of applicants that they have to accept after thorough evaluation of your application, e.g., if you are looking for admission in software engineering, then you have to keep in mind that they have a maximum number of students for the upcoming year, which is around 85. To make it simpler for you, remember that to get in, you need to pass three specific courses with good grades first. Then, you make a short 5-minute video about yourself and your skills (scored 0-10, need at least 5 points). If your video score is good enough, they will check your previous degree grades (also scored 0-10, need at least 5 points). If you are included in their best candidates from these two rounds, then you will get invited to an online interview (scored 0-10, need at least 5 points). They add up all your points, and the top 55 people are accepted. Just make sure to submit everything on time. Although this university is ranked fourth, the admission process is still not that easy, as I say, due to that fact, I choose 5 best universities in Finland for an IT Degree.
Admission Deadline at the University of Oulu
The January application cycle is just like the standard time period in Finland for all universities, but if we make it more specific for you, then the admission deadline for 2027 will be 7-21 January 2027. So you can be part of the upcoming year in 2027.
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LUT University
LUT is in fifth place in our list, and it’s also another option for you to consider for your bachelor’s and IT studies in Finland. They also offer many IT courses that you can consider applying for.
Top IT Programs at LUT University
- Software product management and business (master)
- Computational engineering (bachelor’s and master’s)
- Software Engineering (bachelor’s and master’s)
- Digital Systems and service development (master)
- Responsible information systems development (master)
- Information Systems Development (master)
Tuition fee at LUT University
They’re mostly bachelor’s programs in IT; the fee is 12 thousand euros, and for the master’s program, the fee is around. For a master’s program, it’s around 15 thousand euros for most IT programs.
Author’s note about scholarship
The university offers scholarships to international students after the first semester, meaning the second and third, but not the first, which is around 3 thousand euros less than the total fee. Apart from that, you can also have the option of an early bid, which is 5 thousand, as we explained earlier. Apart from that, they also offer an additional 5 thousand scholarships too, but of course not in the first semester, but only once you complete your first year at this university.
Admission Requirements at LUT University
- Academic qualification means mastering your bachelor’s degree with a high grade in a relevant field.
- English proof, e.g., IELTS 6.5, TOEFL 92, PTE, and Cambridge tests, is also acceptable, just like at other universities.
- Supporting documents, e.g., your cover letter and other documents, e.g., internship, project, etc.
Admission Deadlines at LUT University
For bachelor’s, it’s between Nov and Mar; e.g., for the September 2026 intake, you can apply till 31 March 2026.
However, for master’s, it’s 15 December 2026 to 21 January 2027, just like other universities in Finland, as we already explained that this is the standard time period for master’s admission in Finland between December and January every year.
Author’s note about admission
The admission process is not that difficult if I compare it to Aalto University, Helsinki University, etc. That means you can get admission without going through a hard evaluation, but still, you must complete the standard requirements that you need to fulfill when you apply abroad to any international university.
Admission Strategy for you in Finland
If you want to succeed, then you have to have a strategy, not just blindly start applying everywhere. Here we have some simple steps for you to consider. e.g.,
- Pick programs matching your academic background.
- Apply to 1 top university plus 2 mid-level ones, but also 1 safe option as well.
- Prepare documents at least 3 months early, e.g., now most of the master deadline for 2026 is finished, so for 2027 you have to read your documents around September and outnumber.
- Submit before the deadline week; the earlier you submit, the earlier your application will be reviewed by the admission department of that university.
- Apply for the early bid discount too, which will reduce your fee from two to five thousand euros, which we think is not a small amount of money.
- You have to keep in mind some expected monthly living expenses, e.g., housing is around 300–600, food is around 200–250, and transport, etc., is around 100–200 euros.
Other Related Blogs to Read
Top 5 IT Universities in the Netherlands,
Top 5 IT Universities in France
Top 5 IT Universities in Germany
Top 10 IT Universities in Poland
Top 5 IT Universities in Belgium
Top 5 IT Universities in Italy
Disclaimer: This blog is only for informational purposes. For exact information, we encourage you to visit the official source.
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