Apply for a student grant or a studio grant – check the application deadlines and instructions

Student grants are awarded for study-related purposes.

You can find more information about the grant criteria and a link to the Aspicore grant application system in the following links:

Graduation scholarships

The scholarship application period for Sibelius Academy students will run from 2 December 2024 to 24 January 2025. No application period is set for students of the Academy of Fine Arts and Theatre Academy.  

The University of the Arts Helsinki Foundation continues to support graduates who complete their master’s degree in the target duration of studies in 2024 and 2025. Graduation scholarships for Academy of Fine Arts and Theatre Academy students are awarded without a separate application process in the academies’ respective graduation ceremonies. 

The Sibelius Academy’s bachelor’s and master’s graduates who completed their degree in the target duration can apply for a graduation scholarship from the Sibelius Academy Foundation. A student is eligible to apply for the grant if they graduate within the normative timeframe by the end of December of the year in question. Students can apply for the scholarship from 2 December 2024 to 24 January 2025 by submitting an application via the Aspicore system.

Suomenlinna studio grant for Academy of Fine Arts students

Each year, the University of the Arts Helsinki Foundation awards a studio grant for a young, talented artist who is a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts. Priority is given to students who graduate within the 2024–2025 academic year. The grant will cover the rent, electricity and water of a studio (35 m2) and the residency services by the residency organisation HIAP for one year. The studio is located in Suomenlinna, at HIAP’s studio complex. The studio can only be used for working, not living. 

The grant will be awarded from 1 June 2025 to 31 May 2026, and the grant period cannot be extended. 

The University of the Arts Helsinki Foundation has an established cooperation with HIAP – Helsinki International Artist Programme, which aims at supporting the work of young, talented artist graduates of the Academy of Fine Arts and their networking in the international arts scene. The cooperation gives a recently graduated artist the opportunity to work in the HIAP residency programme, in Suomenlinna, for a one-year period. Previous grant recipients include Joonas Siren (2014), Eveliina Hämäläinen (2015), artist collective Harrie Liveart (2016), Raimo Saarinen (2017), Karoliina Hellberg (2018), Anikó Kuikka (2019), Timo Viialainen (2021), Anna Broms (2022), Verneri Salonen (2023) and Sirkku Rosi (2024). 

Application instructions

Write an application cover letter where you explain why you need the studio. Also describe how you would take advantage of the international HIAP networks. 

Enclose the following in your application: 

  • work plan for the duration of the residency 
  • CV 
  • portfolio of your work (a single PDF file with a maximum size of 500 MB) 

Send the application and the appendices by 15 December 2024 to Foundation Officer Anni Pokki anni.pokki@uniarts.fi.  

The decision on the recipient of the grant will be made in the foundation’s board meeting in February 2025 at the latest, and the recipient will be personally notified of the decision.  

More information is available from Foundation Officer Anni Pokki, tel. 050 476 69 61, anni.pokki@uniarts.fi.

University of the Arts Helsinki Foundation

The University of the Arts Helsinki Foundation was established in 2018, and its goal is to support Uniarts Helsinki and its academies, their operating conditions and students.  

HIAP is one of the most extensive international residency programmes in the Nordic countries and the Baltic Sea area. The core activities of HIAP include offering professional artists the time and space for creative work in interaction with the local and international arts sector.  www.hiap.fi