Student's Guide

Welcome to the Espoo School of Art! Before applying, please read the instructions on this page where you can find information on the school year, rules, work during lessons and other practical matters. You will accept these conditions in the application form in Eepos. Here you will find instructions on how to apply.

School Year 2024–2025

Autumn semester: August 19 – December 14, 2024
Spring semester: January 7 – May 24, 2025

Download the preliminary schedule for the school year 2024–25 here.

The groups meet for 16 lessons in the autumn semester and 18 lessons in the spring semester.

School Year 2023–2024

Autumn semester: August 21 – December 16, 2023
Spring semester: January 8 – May 25, 2024

Download the schedule for the school year 2023–24 here.

Autumn holiday: 16–22 October 2023 (week 42)
All Saints’ Day: Saturday 4 November 2023
Independence Day: Wednesday 6 December 2023
Christmas holidays: 17 December 2023–7 January 2024
Winter holiday: 19–24 February 2024 (week 8)
Easter: 29 March–1 April 2024
May Day: Wednesday 1 May 2024
Ascension Day: Thursday 9 May 2024

Teaching sessions that are not held due to holidays will be rescheduled for students to some other time, which the teachers will inform their groups about.

Tuition fees 2024

The tuition fees 2024 for Espoo School of Art are:

Basic Arts Teaching Groups

• Early childhood education 5-6-year-olds, 2 lessons per week (90 min): €280
• Basic groups 7–10-year-olds, 2 lessons per week (90 min): €280
• Basic groups 11-year-olds, 3 lessons per week (135 min): €304
• Periodic groups 12–13-year-olds, 3 lessons per week (135 min): €315
• Workshops 14–20-year-olds, 3 lessons per week (135 min): €337
• Printmaking workshop 14–20-year-olds, 4 lessons per week (180 min): €407

Please find more information about discounts on tuition fees at the end of this page.

One lesson lasts 45 minutes.

The tuition fee includes high-quality art supplies and professional teaching. In addition, the fee covers student exhibitions, the Eepos portal user account (e.g. student evaluations) as well as final work seminars, exhibitions and certificates.

Art clubs

Art clubs at school premises: 
• 60 min art club: €208/semester
• 90 min art club: €235/semester

Other courses: Please visit the Course pages (in Finnish) and Eepos to see the prices of the currently available courses.

1. Payment Policies

Up-to-date information on tuition fees can be found in the Tuition Fees 2024 section of the Student’s Guide page.

The tuition fee is paid twice a year. The invoice is sent to the primary guardian's e-mail at the beginning of the semester. The sender is the Eepos mailing system (billing@eepos.fi).

Payment of the tuition fee by the due date is a prerequisite for maintaining the student place. Make sure to always use the reference number so that the payment is connected to the right student. The invoice can be paid in two instalments: 50 % on the invoice due date and 50 % one month after the first instalment. Use the original invoice information for both payments.

The invoice is enforceable without a court ruling. Unpaid tuition fees are transferred for collection. Failure to pay the invoice will result in the immediate loss of the student place.

2. Cancellation conditions and suspension of studies

The student place can be cancelled free of charge by the due date of the tuition fee. The cancellation must be made by e-mail to the school's office (toimisto@espoonkuvis.fi).

If a student place is cancelled less than 30 days after the tuition fee due date, the school will charge 50 per cent of the tuition fee. If a cancellation occurs more than 30 days after the invoice due date, the school will charge the tuition fee in full.

The moment of cancellation or suspension of studies is the day on which the notification arrives at the school's office.

If the student interrupts their studies during the academic year or at the end of the academic year, this must be notified in writing to the school's office. Teachers do not accept cancellation notifications. The School of Art can take a new student to the vacant student place.

Detailed cancellation conditions for short courses (summer courses, colour baths, family courses) can be found in connection with course enrolment forms in Eepos. For those who cancel less than 7 days before the start of the course, the school will charge 50 per cent of the course fee, and after the start of the course, the course fee will be charged in full.

3. Discounts on tuition fees

You can apply for a discount on the tuition fee for basic education in the arts on a semester-by-semester basis.

Fill out and print the electronic (PDF) application here. Paper application forms can be obtained from the teaching facilities and the office of the School of Art. Completed applications and required attachments should be delivered to the office of the School of Art:
Espoo School of Art, PO Box 6670, 02070 Espoon kaupunki
Visiting address: WeeGee Exhibition Centre, Ahertajantie 5, Espoo
Or by email to the school's financial manager: marju.pohjola@espoonkuvis.fi.

Applications for discounts must be submitted by 15 September for the autumn semester and by 31 January for the spring semester. Late or incomplete applications shall not be processed.

The family’s income and the size of the family are taken into account when considering the discount. A discount or exemption from the tuition fee can only be granted to one child per family. This is to ensure that as many families as possible can benefit from the discounts.

The discount is granted for the second installment of the tuition fee, so it is advisable for the person applying for the discount to pay the invoice in two installments.

No discount can be claimed for payments for short courses (summer courses, colour baths and family courses) and school’s art clubs.

A low-income family can also apply for the SOS-Lapsikylä "Unelmista totta" hobby grant. Hobby support is intended primarily for children and young people who do not yet have a meaningful hobby of their own. Search the hobby "Espoon kuvataidekoulu" and apply for support. Applying for support requires registration.

Support for a hobby can also be applied from the following:
Hope - Yhdessä & Yhteisesti ry
Pelastakaa Lapset ry
Tukikummit
Minela Säätiö
Supplementary and preventive social assistance for children's hobbies (the Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County)

4. Reporting absences

Students or guardians are asked to inform teachers of absences via e-mail or a text message. The School of Art does not compensate for a missed lesson if the student is, for example, sick, on a holiday trip, late or has forgotten about the lesson.

If the lessons are cancelled due to an obstacle encountered by the teacher, the lessons will be compensated to the students at another time.

For the safety of the student, guardians are asked to ensure that the school has up-to-date address information as well as the guardians' phone numbers and e-mail addresses. The information can be updated in Eepos. If you have forgotten your ID or password, please get in touch with the office.

5. Taking a gap year

A gap year can be taken from the studies of the School of Art for health reasons or if the student moves temporarily to another place. A written notification of the gap year is made to the school's office.

6. Responsibilities and insurances

The School of Art has insured the students for accidents. The student's accident insurance is valid during the activities organised by the school and during immediate trips. Immediate trips mean trips by the most direct route from home or school to the School of Art and back home. In the event of an accident, treatment is sought and the school's office is contacted as soon as possible.

Teachers are responsible for their students during lessons and school trips, but not on the way to school.

The School of Art uses a wide range of materials and tools that can contaminate and damage clothing. The school is not responsible for damage to clothing. The teaching points have aprons for shared use, but the student can also wear their own protective clothing.

7. Changes to the schedule

The School of Art reserves the right to temporary and permanent changes in lessons and teachers. Groups may need to be merged in the middle of the academic year if their number of students is too low.

A group that can be selected during the application period will not be created if not enough students apply for the group. This may also affect the schedule of other groups. Guardians are informed of any changes.

8. Student register Eepos

The Espoo School of Art's student register Eepos is used confidentially in invoicing, sending student bulletins, registering study credits of basic education in the arts and other student matters, as well as sending feedback questionnaires. Those entered into the register have the right to check their data and correct it. The data is stored as long as it is appropriate, unless the Personal Data Register Act provides otherwise.

The Espoo School of Art processes personal data in accordance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, which entered into force on 25 May 2018. The register and privacy statement can be read here. The accessibility statement can be read here.

Eeposta is maintained by Oksidia Oy (https://oksidia.fi/).

9. Informing guardians and students

The School of Art sends out information on, among other things, the sending of invoices, re-enrolment and exhibitions via an electronic newsletter (E-maileri) and the Eepos student management tool.

The lesson changes and exhibition visits of the groups are communicated by e-mail, text message or a bulletin distributed to the students.

The guardian or the student over the age of 18 is responsible for updating their contact information in Eepos. If you have forgotten your ID or password, please get in touch with the office.

10. Student works, photographs and their publication

The works completed at the School of Art during the academic year are distributed to the students at the end of the semester. Uncollected works are not stored.

The School of Art organises exhibitions of student work and lends student work to the exhibitions of the Finnish Association of Art Schools and the Finnish National Agency for Education. Photos of the student works are used in the school's own publications and on the school's website. The activities of the School of Art are also recorded with the help of documentary material recorded in working situations.

Photos of the School of Art's student work, as well as pictures of teaching situations and exhibitions, are published on the School of Art's social media channels, bulletins, publications, websites and YouTube channel. The School of Art does not publish inappropriate or offensive material.

The names of students may be published by good practice unless it is specifically prohibited. Permissions and prohibitions are defined in the Eepos application form and can be modified in the student's Eepos.

Student work is collected in the school's archive, and the author is asked for an archiving permit for each work.

11. Rules

Safe and comfortable work at the School of Art requires respect for common rules.

• Follow the instructions given by the teacher, and study in a focused and goal-oriented way. Appreciate your own work and the work of others.
• The school does not tolerate bullying or discrimination, and you agree to follow CultureEspoo’s principles for a safer space.
• Take care of tools, facilities and materials. If you intentionally lose or damage tools or other school property, you are obligated to compensate or repair the damage you have caused.
• Participate, under the guidance of a teacher, in the cleaning and arrangement of the premises, as well as in the maintenance of the equipment.
• Do not bring animals to the school premises due to allergy risks. We want the School of Art to be a pleasant and safe place for everyone to learn and teach.
• Do not leave the school premises during the lesson without the teacher's permission. Student insurance does not cover any accident that may have occurred to you.

Infringement measures:
1. You will participate in a discussion where your parents and teacher are present.
2. You will speak with the principal.
3. Your matter will be discussed by the School of Art’s Board of Directors who will decide on further steps.

12. Curricula and the structure of teaching

The structure of teaching and the current curriculum are presented on the Basic Education in Visual Arts webpage.