Student Union Membership Fee

All basic degree students (bachelor’s and/or master’s degree students) are automatically members of the Student Union and therefore have to pay the Student Union membership fee when enrolling as attending students. The enrolment period is every year from May 2 to August 10, and the university gives instructions for enrolment. For others than basic degree students, the Student Union membership is not mandatory but very recommendable: Doctoral students, exchange students who attend Uniarts Helsinki for a minimum of 3 months, and students who are completing either non-degree pedagogical studies for teachers or in some cases supplementary studies can join the Student Union at any point in the academic year by paying the student union membership fee.

You should keep in mind that the Student Union membership fee is not a tuition fee, but something completely different. ArtSU, just like any other student union, is a society under public law, and its task is to serve as a link between its members and act as the supervisor of their interests. The Student Union is not a part of the University of the Arts’ administration, but operates completely independently in terms of financing and administration, and its operations are funded through membership fees. The amount of the membership fee is annually decided by the Student Union Council, and the ArtSU membership fee is one of the most inexpensive student union fees in Finland.

The FSHS health care fee to paid separately

As of 1 January 2021, the FSHS health care fee will no longer be charged as part of the student union’s membership fee. In addition, basic degree students will have to pay the mandatory FSHS fee separately from spring to Kela. More information: Healthcare fee for students in higher education.

The change is based on a change in the law, which will also give polytechnic students access to FSHS services, but unfortunately at the same time exchange students will lose their right to use them. The change will not affect doctoral students’ membership fees or services in any way.

Membership fee for Doctoral Students

For doctoral students, the Student Union membership is not mandatory but very recommendable. Doctoral students are not entitled to use the services of the Finnish Students Health Service and are only entitled to some of the discounts that degree students get, which is why the membership fee is significantly lower for doctoral students. Paying the membership fee entitles doctoral students to use all of ArtSU’s own services (grants, legal advice, Artist Directory etc.) and to order a student card, with which also doctoral students get discounts in student restaurants and many cultural facilities, among others. All the student discounts and benefits offered by Frank, which can allow you to save a lot of money, are also available for doctoral students that join the student union. Furthermore, the student union includes doctoral students in its interest advocacy work.

Instructions for paying the Student Union membership fee

In the academic year 2020–2021, the membership fees for the University of the Arts Student Union are as follows:

• Basic degree (bachelor/master) student, for the whole academic year: €62,00
• Basic degree (bachelor/master) student, for autumn/spring term: €31,00
• Doctoral student, for the whole academic year: €42,00 (voluntary)
• Doctoral student, for half a year (autumn/spring term): €21,00 (voluntary)

The easiest way to pay is Peppi. Registration for the academic year is done 3-10 August.

The easiest way to pay the student union membership fee is via Peppi: at the same time, you can enrol as attending and, after that, no other enrolment process is necessary. If paying and enrolling on Peppi is not possible for you, you can pay the membership fee by bank transfer to the account mentioned below or in cash or by card to the Student Union office (contact information). Please note that if you pay the membership fee by bank transfer, by card or in cash, you must submit a receipt for your membership fee payment and an enrolment form to your academy’s study services in order to ensure your registration as attending.

If you pay the membership fee by bank transfer instead of Peppi, use the following banking details:

Recipient: Taideyliopiston ylioppilaskunta (University of the Arts Student Union)
Account number (IBAN): FI77 5780 3820 1287 90
Reference number: 20132 (remember to use this!)
SWIFT (when paying from abroad): OKOYFIHH
Bank address (when paying from abroad): OP Financial Group, PO Box 308, 00101 Helsinki, Finland

N.B. 1: If the membership fee is paid from an account other than that of the student, include the words “membership fee” and the student’s name in the message field.
N.B. 2: If you have forgotten to enrol in time and need to pay a re-enrolment fee when enrolling, please note that it must be paid to a different account than the Student Union membership fee! The re-enrolment fee (€35) must be paid to the account FI16 1745 3000 1578 77 (recipient: University of the Arts Helsinki).
N.B. 3: Remember that your bank may charge extra fees for paying from abroad and that they cannot be taken from the Student Union membership fee! The amount received by the Student Union must be no less than the sums mentioned above.

Development cooperation fee is paid separately to SYL’s account!

ArtSU encourages all students to make a donation of at least 5 euros to the fundraising campaign organised by the National Union of University Students in Finland (SYL) at the same time as they’re registering for the academic year in an effort to promote the educational environments in developing countries (more information at syl.fi/syl/kehitysyhteistyo). It is not possible to pay the development cooperation fee together with the student union membership fee and instead, the fee must be paid separately to SYL’s fundraising account. That’s why we encourage both those who register as attending and those who register as non-attending to pay a development cooperation fee directly to the account Danske FI04 8000 1501 1968 45 (Recipient Suomen ylioppilaskuntien liitto ry, message ”Kehitysyhteistyölahjoitus”).

Refund of the membership fee

If a student retrospectively changes their enrolment status from attending to non-attending, cancels their enrolment, renounces their right to study, or graduates before the beginning of a new academic term that they had already registered for, they can apply for a refund of the paid Student Union membership fee for the time period in question. The refund must be applied for by 30 September for the autumn term and by 31 January for the spring term.

When applying for a refund, you must return the application form (below) to the Student Union office. You must also show a receipt of the payment and your student card (the term sticker will be removed). When applying for a refund, the new enrolment status must already be visible in the student register. For more information, please contact the Student Union office.

You can download the application form for a refund of the membership fee in English here: Refund of membership fee 2022-23