Here you can find information about salaries and the various funding options for traineeships.
You must negotiate your salary with the employer. The salary of trainees is usually lower than that of employees with regular employment contracts, since the employer is expected to spend more time instructing the trainee.
If a traineeship is subsidized, University of Helsinki requires that trainees are paid at least the minimum wage as defined by KELA, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (€ 1,463 per month in 2026). Trainees may be paid a higher salary than the recommendation for a minimum wage. The University recommends that students do not accept traineeship offers without pay.
There are several ways to fund a traineeship.
The most recommended way to complete a traineeship belonging to your studies is to find an employer who will pay your salary in full. This means that you need not apply for funding from the University, and the University and the employer need not conclude an agreement on the traineeship.
If the employer is unable to pay your salary in full and requires that your traineeship be subsidised in order to cover the salary costs, you may apply for a subsidy from the university. For more information about university funding for traineeships and the support available for traineeships completed abroad, see the page Applying for a traineeship abroad.
A subsidy from the university is one way of acquiring funding for the traineeship. First find out whether your employer will cover your salary in full or in part. If the employer requires that the university subsidises your salary costs, you can apply for this subsidy from the university.
A traineeship can also be unpaid, and you will receive the credits from it normally. However, the University does not recommend doing an unpaid traineeship. So called professional traineeships, which are a compulsory part of your studies, may be unpaid. Always check your programme's guidelines for these.
Students may complete the traineeship included in their studies by working at the University of Helsinki. Traineeships completed at the University of Helsinki are not eligible for the university’s traineeship subsidy, and the trainee's salary is paid in full by the employing department. Traineeships can also be unpaid, e.g. in a research group, but paid traineeships are recommended.
All students that fulfill the eligibility criteria for the University's traineeship subsidy can apply for it. Students can receive the university’s traineeship subsidy only once during their studies. The funding is intended to support students who have not completed their traineeship to find a position.
The funding is meant to be used for the traineeship that is a part of of their own degree program/study track. Please note that if you have already completed the traineeship course of your study programme, you cannot later apply for the traineeship subsidy in order to do another traineeship during the same degree (e.g. during a bachelor’s).
The subsidy per student is € 1800. The subsidy is not paid to the student, but to the employer to cover part of the salary costs incurred to the employer from hiring the student. At the end of the traineeship, the employer can invoice the university for the subsidy in accordance with the traineeship agreement concluded between the university and the employer.
The university’s subsidy system for traineeships does not include the following professional traineeships:
As for the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, the university subsidy for traineeships is not available for the mandatory traineeship required for the degree or clinical work.
Students at the Faculty of Theology apply for traineeship funding from their own faculty following separate instructions. NB! All students in the Master's Degree Programme in Intercultural Encounters (ICE), jointly coordinated by the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Theology, apply for traineeship funding following the below general traineeship guidelines.
Check the funded traineeships courses page to see whether you can apply for centralised traineeship subsidy for your degree programme.
NB! Exceptions where funded traineeships are available only during master’s studies:
NB! Exceptions where funded traineeships are available only during bachelor’s studies:
Please note that traineeships completed at the University of Helsinki are not eligible for the university’s traineeship subsidy.
See below for instructions on how to apply for traineeship funding and eligibility criteria for funding.
Traineeship funding from the University can be applied for a traineeship belonging to a degree. See the list of traineeship courses for which the University’s traineeship funding is available. The list is updated regularly.
If you notice anything missing from it or feel uncertain about whether your course is one of those for which funding is available, please contact Career Services at traineeships@helsinki.fi.
Traineeship funding is applied for through a rolling application process with no specific application period. Funding is applied for when a place in a traineeship organisation has been secured and the employer requires University funding to cover salary costs. Student's employment contract does not need to be ready before submitting the subsidy application as long as they possess all the information needed for the application.
Traineeship funding is applied for with the Into system. The funding must be applied for before the start of the traineeship period, and it will not be granted for an ongoing traineeship.
If an employer requires information about funding for the traineeship period already at the application stage, see the instructions on the Frequently asked questions about traineeships page's section Applying for traineeship funding.
The decision to grant funding for a traineeship will be made when an applicant meeting the eligibility criteria has found a traineeship organisation requiring funding from the University to cover salary costs. Funding will be granted if the traineeship organisation also meets the above requirements.
As a rule, bachelor’s degree students with 60 cr of studies completed when applying for traineeship funding as well as all master’s degree students are eligible to apply for it. It is possible to deviate from this criterion if the degree programme pursued by the student at the time of application does not include a funded traineeship period. Funding for a traineeship is only given for a traineeship that is related to the student’s own degree programme/study track, NOT for a possible traineeship period belonging to a minor subject.
Please note that funding for a traineeship can be granted only for traineeships whose realisation requires funding from the University.
Funding for a traineeship cannot be given retroactively; funding must be applied for before the start of the traineeship period. Funding will not be granted for a traineeship or employment relationship that has started before the student has applied for funding for a traineeship.
The student must be an attending student when applying for the subsidy and throughout the traineeship period. Please note that the autumn semester starts on August 1st and the spring semester on January 1st. In case your traineeship takes place during these changing points, make sure that you have registered as an attending student for both semesters before submitting the subsidy application.
It is also not possible to graduate with a master’s degree during a funded traineeship.
All attending undergraduate students of the University of Helsinki, who meet all the following criteria, are eligible to apply:
*One month refers to one calendar month. A full calendar month is defined as a consecutive period from any day of the month to the day preceding the same date of the following month (e.g., 3 October–2 November).
**You must know the start date and the end date of your traineeship period when you are applying for a traineeship funding. The traineeship subsidy will not be granted if the traineeship period is unconfirmed.
Make sure you meet the criteria for applying for traineeship subsidy.
If an employer requires information about funding for the traineeship period already at the application stage, see the instructions in the FAQ -page.
Remember that in addition to the traineeship agreement between the university and the employer, the traineeship requires an employment agreement between you and your employer. See more information on the traineeship agreements page.
Please remember to register as an attending student for the next semester / academic year before submitting your traineeship subsidy application. Read more about annual registration in the Instructions for students. Note that the autumn semester starts on August 1st and the spring semester on January 1st. In case your traineeship takes place during these changing points, make sure that you have registered as an attending student for both semesters before submitting the subsidy application.
NB! Enrolment for the academic year 2026-2027 is now open, remember to enrol as a current student before applying for the traineeship subsidy.
NB! If you need to register to the traineeship course in Sisu before your traineeship starts, remember to do that as well.
NB! We will not be processing traineeship subsidy applications between July 1, 2026, and July 12, 2026. However, you can submit your application via Into, and we will process it in the order it is received as soon as the holiday period ends.
Are you planning to complete your traineeship outside Finland? You can apply for an Erasmus grant or a travel grant for international traineeships. More information is available in Apply for a traineeship abroad.
Higher education students as well as recent graduates can apply for international EDUFI traineeships (web page in Finnish) through the National Agency for Education. The selected students will receive the Agency’s traineeship grant.
Remember that students can receive only one traineeship subsidy at a time from the University of Helsinki. In addition, you cannot receive traineeship funding from the National Agency for Education and the university at the same time.
The application period for the grants from the University of Helsinki's funds is once a year, usually between January and February. For more information, see Scholarships and Grants.
The Research.fi webpage and the website of the Association of Finnish Foundations can be used for searching for other funding opportunities for traineeships.
You can receive financial aid for students paid by Kela during a traineeship that belongs to your studies under certain conditions and restrictions. Further information on the Kela website.
To complete a traineeship at a Finnish mission abroad, students are required to have obtained funding for the purpose from the University, or alternatively, a scholarship or grant of approximately €2,000. It is the students responsibility to find appropriate scholarships.
The University's traineeship subsidy (1800e/at least 2 months full-time traineeship) is sufficient for all positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regardless of what is mentioned in the traineeship advertisement, including traineeships at Finnish embassies and permanent representations.
If you are not entitled to receive the University’s traineeship subsidy, but wish to apply for funding towards a traineeship at a Finnish mission abroad, you can apply for funding from foundations whose purpose is to award grants (including travel grants). You can search for such grant opportunities from, e.g., Aurora database and the website of the Association of Finnish Foundations.
As the grant must be publicly available for application, usually private persons or companies cannot provide grants. Traineeships at Finnish missions abroad cannot be funded only through the student’s own funding, such as a student loan or other loans.
This regulation only applies to Finnish missions abroad (diplomatic and consular missions). A traineeship at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Finland cannot be funded through a grant or scholarship, but requires a traineeship subsidy granted by the University.