5 Best Medical Schools in Finland
Finland has a high standard of living and places great importance on developing strong, well-prepared medical professionals in its medical schools. As a result, pursuing a medicine degree in Finland ensures that you will be offered the best possible tuition.
A large number of programs in Finland are offered in English, especially at Master’s level. However, undergraduate studies are mostly conducted in Finnish.
There are five medical schools in Finland, and we’ll review them here.
How much does it cost to study medicine in Finland?
For EU/EEA nationals, medical school tuition is free in Finland. However, international students will be expected to pay for tuition. On average, the cost of tuition can be around 13,000 € per year for non-EU students.
You should also consider the cost of living when studying in Finland, as it is a notoriously expensive country for food, for example. On average, food in Finland is 20% more expensive than in the rest of Europe.
How long does a medical school take in Finland?
Medical school lasts six years in Finland. It leads to the degree of Licentiate in Medicine.
Top Medical Schools in Finland
1. University of Helsinki Faculty of Medicine
The University of Helsinki is the oldest and largest academic institution in Finland. It’s been teaching since 1640, and today boasts a multidisciplinary academic community where students come from all over the world to study at various levels and in a multitude of fields. University of Helsinki is also t he home of the best medical school in Finland.
The undergraduate medical program at the University of Helsinki focuses on providing students with knowledge and skills to seek, critically assess and apply scientific information. Graduates go on to work in fields such as medicine, dentistry, psychology and speech therapy.
The University of Helsinki has an excellent team of experts from frequently cited scholars to skilled speakers, who teach a demanding curriculum. The degree program can be pursued in Swedish or Finnish. There is also the opportunity to study for a joint MD/PhD program.
2. University of Tampere – Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology
Dedicated to pursuing world-class research and delivering high-quality education, the Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology (MET) at the University of Tampere is a very prestigious medical school in Finland ranking second only to the University of Helsinki in Finland.
They offer the Licentiate of Medicine program as well as specialist training beyond the undergraduate level for both medical and dental fields. Within the medical school, there is a Center for Skills Training and Simulation which enables students to practice clinical skills safely through simulations during their studies.
The medical school teaches in Finnish so you’ll need to be able to speak the language fluently in order to study here.
3. University of Turku – Faculty of Medicine
The University of Turku focuses on multidisciplinary studies and offers a Licentiate of Medicine or Dentistry program, as well as Master’s level studies. Only 4 specific Master’s degrees are taught in English, otherwise you’ll need to be able to study in Finnish.
The Faculty of Medicine has inherited the history of the university which has been operating since 1640 under the name of Royal Academy of Turku. The new Faculty of Medicine was set up in 1943 to meet the needs of the country during the second World War. They have four departments – biomedicine, clinical medicine, nursing science and dentistry – as well as independent units such as a Functional Foods Forum, research laboratories etc.
4. University of Oulu – Faculty of Medicine
The University of Oulu is one of the largest in Finland, with around 13,000 students in total. It offers lots of international study programs aimed at attracting students from all over the world as part of exchange studies.
The Faculty of Medicine within Oulu University is located right next to the University Hospital of Oulu and forms part of the Kontinkangas Life Sciences Campus. This medical school in Finland has a very versatile curriculum in everything connected with health sciences and offers MD and dentistry degrees, as well as Master’s programs in a range of topics such as nursing science, health management science, teacher education in health science and medical bioengineering.
International programs offered by the University of Oulu include biomedical engineering and epidemiology and biomedical data science. However, for the medical degree, you’ll need to be able to speak Finnish fluently.
5. University of Eastern Finland – School of Medicine
The last school in our list of top medical schools in Finland is the University of Eastern Finland. This university was formed in 2010 through the merger of the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio, following on from tight cooperation between the two universities previously. As a result of this merger, the university operates across two campuses, Joensuu and Kuopio, respectively.
This interdisciplinary university offers a broad range of study options and they focus on global challenges around which disciplines are clustered. They are also the research areas for the university:
- Ageing, lifestyles and health;
- Learning in a digitized society;
- Cultural encounters, mobilities and borders;
- Environmental change and sufficiency of natural resources.
The basic degrees of medicine and dentistry are taught exclusively in Finnish. The Licentiate of Medicine program takes six years to complete. To apply, you must go through the Finnish entrance exams and fill out the university’s application form.
I hope that this article was helpful. If you are interested, visit the Europe Scholarships Page.