Tuition Free Universities

If you fail to qualify for fully-funded university scholarships, consider enrolling in universities that are tuition free or charge low tuition fees or those offering tuition fee waivers. Countries like Norway, Austria, Germany, Finland, and Sweden offer different types of free/low tuition schemes and tuition waivers for international students.

Tuition Free Universities in Norway

According to Studyinnorway.no:

Norwegian state universities and university colleges as a rule do not charge tuition fees to all students including international students. This applies to all levels, including undergraduate studies, Masters programmes and Ph.D. programmes. However, students will have to pay a semester fee of NOK 300-600 each semester.

Note that some state universities and university colleges may have tuition fees for a few specialized programmes which are typically at the Masters level.  Most private institutions have tuition fees for all their programmes and courses. But the fees are usually significantly lower than those of comparable studies in most other countries. Also, foreign students don’t pay higher tuition fees than Norwegian students.

Cost of Studying in Norway: You should take into consideration that living expenses in Norway are higher than in many other countries.  Living expenses would amount to NOK 90,000-100,000 per year.

See the list of Universities and Colleges in Norway

Tuition Free Universities in Austria

According to studyinaustria.at

If you are an non-EU/EEA student, federal/public universities in Austria only charge about 363.36-726.72 Euros per semester for tuition fees plus 17.50 Euros for the Student Union membership fee and .50 Euros insurance fee per semester.  If you are a citizen of a least developed country, you may be exempted to pay tuition fees at public universities in Austria and only need to pay the Student Union membership fee and insurance.

Cost of Studying in Austria: The cost of living for students in Austria is approximately 800 Euros per month which covers accommodation, food, and personal expenses.

See the list of Higher Education Institutions in Austria

Tuition Free Universities in Germany

According to internationale-studierende.de, study-in.de, and research-in-germany.org:

As of October 2014, all Universities in Germany will not charge any tuition fees for undergraduate studies for all students including international students.  In some Federal States, Universities will charge a semester contribution (about 50 euros) and/or administration fees (about 50 euros). This tuition fee structure can change in the future, you should check this page for updated information on tuition fees in different federal states in Germany.

Unlike undergraduate studies, most Master’s studies in Germany come with tuition fees, but they’re not as high as in other countries.

On the other hand, doctoral studies at German universities are in principle free.   PhD students are charged tuition only after completing their first six semesters but they are  required to pay a semester contribution of approximately 150-200 euros per semester.  Doctoral students  usually work on a research project (paid PhD position) or receive a scholarship.

Cost of Studying in Germany: On average, German students spend about 500-800 Euros for accommodation, transport, food, and miscellaneous expenses.

See the list of German Universities and Colleges. 

Tuition Free Universities and Scholarships in Finland

According to studyinfinland.fi:

Tuition fees for non-EU/EEA students has been introduced from autumn 2017 onwards for English-taught Bachelor’s or Master’s programmes. Only Doctoral level studies will remain free of tuition fees,  regardless of your nationality.

Finnish universities and UAS’s offer scholarship options for gifted non-EU/EEA students admitted to their fee-charging Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes. CIMO Scholarships are available to cover living expenses for Doctoral studies.

Cost of Studying in Finland: Estimated living expenses of a single student in Finland average around 500-800 Euros per month.

See the list of all Finnish institutions of higher education 

Tuition Scholarships in Swedish Universities

According to studyinsweden.se:

Application and tuition fees apply for those who are not citizens of an EU/EEA/Nordic country or Switzerland studying at the bachelor’s or master’s level. The Swedish Institute and a significant number of Universities offer full and partial scholarships in the form of tuition waivers for international students.

PhD positions in Sweden are usually offered as paid positions by universities or external funding bodies. This means that if you are offered a position as a PhD candidate, you will not pay fees and will receive a monthly salary.

Find the list of Universities in Sweden that offers scholarships/tuition waivers 

Online Tuition-Free Universities

There are now a number of Universities offering online degrees/courses for free.  The first such University is University of the People which is a tuition-free, non-profit, accredited online university dedicated to opening access to higher education globally.  University of the People offers online Associates and Bachelors Degrees in Business Administration, Health Science, and Computer Science, as well as an MBA program

This was followed by an initiative of MIT and Harvard called edX which is a learning platform that gives students from any country the opportunity to take free online courses offered by three premier Universities in the US – Harvard, MIT, and UC Berkeley and about 50+ Universities and institutions. Following this trend, Coursera was introduced which is an online learning platform that partners with the top universities in the world to offer online courses in many fields of study for anyone to take, for free.