University of the Arts Helsinki Foundation’s student grant for Theatre Academy students
Grants are available for Theatre Acadrmy's bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree students who have registered for attendance.
The next student grant application period will be open from 2 December 2024 to 24 January 2025. The application period will end on 24 January, at 16:00 (Finnish time), and applications submitted after the deadline will not be processed. Applications are sent in an online service. The link to the service is available further down on this page. Decisions on grant recipients will be made by the board of the University of the Arts Helsinki Foundation in February-March 2025. All applicants will be notified of the decision by email.
Read the application instructions below carefully!
Who can apply for the grant?
Grants are available for bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree students who have registered for attendance. Students may apply for the grant either as an individual or as part of a group. When making decisions on grants, students who have not previously been awarded grants are prioritised.
What can the grant be awarded for?
Grants are awarded to support learning. Grants are awarded only for activities that result in ECTS credits. If the student has been awarded a grant previously during the same degree cycle by the foundation, dean or the degree programme/unit, the foundation takes the grant and its size into consideration in the new grant decision.
Grants can be used for the following purposes:
- Studies abroad. Grants can be awarded for such studies abroad that have not been eligible for other international grants, such as an Erasmus+ or a Nordplus grant.
- Participation in a course, seminar, conference, etc., in Finland or abroad (travel, accommodation and participation costs)
- A traineeship in Finland or abroad. The grants aim to balance the economic inequality due to different situations and tasks. In principle, grants are not awarded for traineeships in theatres and dance companies that follow the generally binding collective agreement and the trainee wages defined in the agreement. If you are applying for a grant for a traineeship, your application must also mention the wages or remuneration to be paid for the traineeship or other financial support that has been awarded for the traineeship.
What can the grant not be awarded for?
- Erasmus+ or Nordplus grant-supported studies or traineeship abroad
- Per diem allowances, food expenses, etc.
- Expenses from Theatre Academy productions.
- Participation in teaching, seminars or conferences organised by Uniarts Helsinki.
- Projects that have already been finished.
- An applicant who has already been awarded a significant grant by the Theatre Academy’s degree programme, unit or dean during the same degree cycle.
- An applicant who has previously received a grant from the Theatre Academy but who has not compiled a written report on how the grant was used.
- Expenses incurred after graduation.
- Grants cannot be awarded on social or health grounds, or for purposes promoting them.
The foundation has the right to recover a grant paid to a student if it has been used for another purpose or the student has not provided a report on its use. After the grant has been awarded, the student can use it for another purpose if they provide a justification (e.g., a course has been cancelled) and acquire a dean’s separate decision by contacting teak.apurahat@uniarts.fi.
For which time period can I apply for the grant?
The grant can be used by the end of the year following the year when the grant decision was made, which means by the end of 2026 in this application round. It is not possible to apply for the grant for something that has already been carried out before the grant decision. The grant is returned to the fund at the end of the year when the grant has been awarded if the grant recipient has not notified their payment details by that date. After this, the student is no longer entitled to the grant.
What makes a good application?
A good application is carefully planned and written. It is realistic and presents all the information requested in the form. The budget is presented clearly. It gives the reader a clear understanding of what the grant will be used for and how it will benefit the applicant’s studies.
What is the maximum amount for the grant?
The amount of the grant is determined on a discretionary basis and depends on the funding available for allocation, which is determined each year by the board of the foundation. The average awarded grant is about 100-1,000 euros.
Grant or wage?
The grant recipient may use their grant to hire additional workforce but not for their own wages. Please note that if you apply for the grant to cover remuneration, it is your personal responsibility to take care of the general employer obligations, including withholding of tax and indirect costs. The foundation and the Theatre Academy do not offer guidance in how to pay for employer obligations; the recipient must personally look into them.
Do grant recipients pay taxes for grants?
In principle, income tax is not paid for grants. The University of the Arts Helsinki Foundation is a private foundation, which means that the awarded grants in total are exempt from taxes up until the amount of the annual artist grant awarded by the State (25,547.52 euros in 2023).
If the amount of the grant is at least 1,000 euros, the Foundation will report the grant to the Tax Administration. The information is included in the pre-completed tax return. Grants are regarded as income for the tax year in which they are paid.
If the grant is awarded to a group of people, it is usually only shown on the pre-completed tax return of the person who applied for the grant. In this case, the members of the working group report the grant to the tax authorities themselves.
Read more about grants and taxes here
What happens after the application period?
Heads of degree programmes are asked to give a statement on the applications that concern students of their respective programmes.
The foundation officer will assess the selection of applications in relation to the total amount of grants to be allocated each year by the board. The applications are allocated to the funds of the Theatre Academy and Academy of Fine Arts.
The dean makes the final proposal on grant recipients for the board of the foundation, which then approves the proposal. The board meeting where the grant decisions will be made will be held in February-March. Grant recipients are notified of the decision right after the foundation’s board meeting. They are also notified of the date by which the payment details must be submitted. The grants will be paid in one instalment in spring 2025.
Reporting on the use of the grant and other principles
All grant recipients must report on the use of the grant in the Aspicore grant system no later than by the end of the year following the year when the grant has been awarded. The student cannot apply for another grant before submitting the report, and neglecting the duty of submitting a report may lead to the rejecting of any new grant applications.
The grant must be used for the purpose that it has been awarded for. If the grant has been used for some other purpose than what it was originally awarded for, and the student has not been given a permission to do so, the grant will be recovered. Students can apply for a permission to change the purpose of use by sending a freely formulated application to teak.apurahat@uniarts.fi. Students must provide a new budget and a clear description of why the grant purpose should be changed and how the new proposal would support their studies in their application. Without providing this information, the proposal for changes will be rejected automatically, and the student cannot appeal against the decision. In this case, the sum of the grant must be paid back to the foundation.
Instructions for using the online system for grant applications
Applications are submitted in the online Aspicore system. The application must be submitted by 24 January 2025 at 16:00 (Finnish time). Submit your application in good time to avoid busy traffic in the service!
Register in the service by using your Uniarts email address, which also serves as your username. Your password must contain at least 8 characters, one of which must be a number. If you forget your password, we can send a link to your email address so that you can change your password.
Register in the online system here
Accuracy of information and commitment
The student is responsible for providing all the requested information and for providing only accurate information. Applications that are incomplete will not be considered.
Grant applicants must be committed to following the instructions of the fund and executing the plan that is described in their application.
More information
Purpose of use of the grant and other content-related matters:
Aapo Juusti
Executive assistant, development services, Theatre Academy
teak.apurahat@uniarts.fi
0400 792 099
General information about the foundation’s grants and schedules:
Anni Pokki
Foundation Officer for the University of the Arts Helsinki Foundation
050 476 69 61