Nursing is fast becoming a sought-after occupation and in recent times the demand for nurses have soared to astronomical heights. One of the problems students, especially English-speaking students seeking to study abroad have in finding the right nursing programmes to apply for is finding affordable universities with English-taught programmes.

In many popular native English-speaking countries, tuition fee for nursing programmes can be as high as 15,000 euros to 40,000 euros or even more per academic year. This amount might be out of reach and discouraging for many students who cannot afford it.

European universities are well recognized and respected all over the world for their high standard of education and getting a degree from a good European university is a right step in your career destination and getting it for a fraction of what it would usually cost in other countries is even better.

These countries listed below are part of the European Union, this means that after graduation, students can freely work in any of the 28 EU countries without writing rigorous licensing exams. Furthermore, the location of these countries as Schengen member states means that students can freely travel to and enjoy holidays in the 26 Schengen member states and other countries in Europe without the need to apply for a visa and this makes student life even more interesting.

Here are 7 European countries with low-cost tuition fee:

Finland

1. Lapland University of Applied Sciences

Tuition fee: 8000 euros (opportunity for a 50% tuition fee scholarship exists)

Programme duration: 3.5 years

2. Novia University of Applied Sciences

Tuition fee: 8000 euros

Programme duration: 3.5 years

3. Arcada University of Applied Sciences

Tuition fee: 5000 euros

Programme duration: 3.5 years

4. Centria University of Applied Sciences 

Tuition fee: 8500 euros (opportunity for a 50% tuition fee scholarship exists)

Programme duration: 3.5 years

International students have right to work 25 hours a week during the semester and full-time during holidays while studying in Finland.

Hungary

1. University of Pécs

Tuition fee: 5800 euros

Programme duration: 4 years

2.  University of Szeged

Tuition fee: 6600 euros

Programme duration: 4 years

3. Semmelweis University

Tuition fee: 7000 euros

Programme duration: 4 years

International students have right to work 20 hours a week during the semester and full-time during holidays while studying in Hungary.

Lithuania

1. Šiauliai State University of Applied Sciences

Tuition fee: 4000 euros

Programme duration: 3.5 years

2. Lithuanian University of Health Sciences

Tuition fee: 4300 euros

Programme duration: 4 years

3. Klaipeda State University of Applied Sciences

Tuition fee: 2800 euros

Programme duration: 3.5 years

International students have right to work 20 hours a week during the semester and full-time during holidays while studying in Lithuania.

Spain

1. Universitat Internacional de Catalunya

Tuition fee: 7500 euros

Programme duration:  4 years

International students have right to work 20 hours a week during the semester in Spain.

Portugal

1. University of Minho

Tuition fee: 6500 euros

Programme duration:  4 years

International students have right to work 20 hours a week during the semester and full-time during holidays while studying in Portugal.

Italy

1. University Of Palermo

   Tuition fee: 156-2400 euros (Tuition fee exemption exists for select low-income international students)

   Programme duration:  3 years

International students have right to work 20 hours a week during the semester and full-time during holidays while studying in Italy.

Poland

1. Nicolaus Copernicus University

Tuition fee: 3500 euros

Programme duration: 3 years

2. WSEI University

Tuition fee: 3400 euros

Programme duration: 3 years

3. Vincent Pol University

Tuition fee: 3500 euros

Programme duration: 3 years

4. Polonia University

Tuition fee: 3500 euros

Programme duration: 3 years

5. Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University

Tuition fee: 3500 euros

Programme duration: 3 years

International students have right to work while studying in Poland.

Tuition fee listed are on per year/session basis and is correct at the time of writing this blog post, in the future it might be higher or lower, always check the university´s official website for up-to-date information.

Note that this is not an exhaustive list

Photo credit: Markus Spiske (unsplash)