Bachelor's and master's degrees
If you have been accepted to school to complete both a bachelor's and a master's degree, you initially get financial aid for the bachelor's degree. You can get financial aid towards a master's degree once you have completed a bachelor's degree. The earliest you can get it is the beginning of the month following the attainment of the bachelor's degree.
You do not usually have to file a new application when you complete a bachelor's degree. Kela is notified of the bachelor's degree by your university. Kela will usually grant you financial aid automatically towards a master's degree, as long as you have remaining entitlement to financial aid.
Remember to tell Kela if you choose not to continue your course of study.
When is it necessary to apply for financial aid for a master's degree?
You must apply for financial aid towards completing a master's degree in the following situations:
- You complete a bachelor's degree within the final months of financial aid entitlement you have left. This means that the payment of financial aid may end before Kela has been notified by your university of your degree. In that case Kela sends you a payment notice with instructions for applying for financial aid.
- You complete a bachelor's degree after your financial aid entitlement has ended.
- Payment of financial aid to you has stopped for some other reason.
How to apply for financial aid towards a master's degree
- Apply for financial aid online, using the notification of changes form. Please note that the e-service is available in Finnish and Swedish only.
- Select “Ilmoitan muusta muutoksesta tai haen lisätukea” (I am reporting some other change or applying for additional financial aid) and “Hakemukseni koskee ylempää korkeakoulututkintoa alemman korkeakoulututkinnon suorittamisen jälkeen” (My application concerns a master’s level degree after a completed bachelor's degree). If the notification of change cannot be selected, select an application for financial aid.
- Visit our e-service to see if your application has been decided, how much you will get and when you will be paid. You can also see any possible reminders concerning, for instance, documents missing from your application. A written decision on your application will be sent to you by post.
Alternatively, you can complete and print out a notification of change for financial aid (OT 15e, PDF). Mail your application along with the supporting documents to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.
The earliest that you can get financial aid is
- the beginning of the month following that in which you complete a bachelor's degree and
- the beginning of the month in which your application is received.