Tuition fee refund policy of the University of Turku
This tuition fee refund policy of the University of Turku is applicable to tuition fees paid for studies starting or continuing in autumn 2026 and onwards.
The refund policy is a decision of the Vice Rector 12.12.2025. The decision and the attachment can be found here.
According to the Universities Act (558/2009) a student must pay the tuition fee in order to be allowed to register as attending. If the student has registered as an attending student, the student is allowed to start studies and the tuition fee has been used for the semester in question. If a student has registered as attending and therefore has started their studies they can no longer receive a refund.
Refunding the tuition fee
The tuition fee can be refunded if certain conditions are met, but all possible refunding of the fee is always decided on a case-by-case basis. The tuition fee cannot be refunded partially, the refunds are always for the full academic year or for one semester depending on the reason and schedule of the refund request. The tuition fee cannot be refunded retrospectively after the student has registered as attending and the registration period has ended.
The tuition fee can be refunded in the following cases:
If you have paid for a full academic year and graduate before the start of the spring semester (by 31 December) you can receive a refund for the spring semester.
The process of the refund and the deadlines are detailed below.
If you have paid for a full academic year, but register as non-attending for one semester (autumn or spring), you can receive a refund for the semester you are registered as non-attending. If you wish to change the attendance status later to attending, you must first pay the tuition fee for the semester(s). A first year student can only register as non-attending for legislative reasons.
The process of the refund and the deadlines are detailed below.
The tuition fee can be refunded if you are unable to arrive to Turku and start studies in the degree programme due to reasons outside your own control. Such reasons can be that you cannot begin studies due to being incapacitated by personal illness or injury or you are not granted a residence permit to study in Finland.
The process of the refund and the deadlines are detailed below.
The tuition fee can be refunded if you fall seriously ill or are injured so that you must drop out of studies, but refunds can only be done for semesters during which you have not been an attending student. E.g. you fall seriously ill during the autumn semester and must drop out of studies you can get a refund of the spring semester tuition fee.
The process of the refund and the deadlines are detailed below.
If your residence permit status changes and you are no longer required to pay tuition fees, you can receive a refund for the next full semester after you have informed the university and provided a new permit card for verification.
The process of the refund and the deadlines are detailed below.
Refund process and deadlines
The refund process is initiated by the student. You must provide the university documentation that provides sufficient information on the specific reason(s) for not being able to begin or continue studies at the University of Turku.
The deadlines for requesting refunds
- Attending students: 31 August for autumn semester and 15 January for spring semester.
- Non-attending students or students who have not registered: 31 September for the full year or autumn semester and 31 January for the spring semester.
If you have registered as attending you must apply for the refund before the end of the registration period for the semester in question (31 August for autumn semester and 15 January for spring semester). If you apply for a refund after the end of the registration period you can get a refund for the second semester (spring), but not for the first semester regardless of the reason for the refund.
The Student Union fee paid during registration can be refunded only if you send the request for the refund to the Student Union by 30 September for the autumn semester or full year fee and 28 February for the spring semester fee. Late requests will not be considered.
If you have not registered or are registered as non-attending you can apply for a refund until the end of September for the full year or autumn semester and before the end of January for the spring semester.
The sum refunded to you is the sum received by the University of Turku with a deduction of an administrative fee of 100€. The possible bank fees connected to the payment and refund will also be deducted from the sum paid to you. The refund will be done using the same payment method you originally used when paying the tuition fee and will be refunded to the same account or credit card that was originally used for the payment.
The refund is requested by sending an e-mail to the Admission Services at admissions@utu.fi and including all the relevant documentation regarding the reason for the refund.
If you have requested a refund of your tuition fee for one or more semesters, you can continue your studies at a later date, if you wish. You must then pay the tuition fee for the semesters you are planning to study. If you have a valid study right at the University of Turku, you can continue your studies also in cases where you have not registered during the first study year. If you have study time left and have paid the required fees, you are allowed to register as attending. The fees you must pay include the tuition fee, Student Union fee and the re-registration fee.