The undergraduate and graduate students studying at the University of Jyväskylä can pay their membership fee to the Student Union either annually or biannually: most students opt to pay for the whole academic year, but is also possible to pay for one semester at a time. To prove their membership, the students receive a personal student card, which is updated every year by adding a new sticker signifying that year or semester. Once a student has paid the membership fee, he or she is entitled to, for example, student-priced meals, discounts on public transport and the services of Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS).
The membership in the Student Union is voluntary only for postgraduate students. For them, the membership fee is smaller but, in proportion, they aren’t entitled to all the benefits.
Instructions on how to pay the membership fee can be found on the university’s website.
Membership Fees in Academic Year 2011-2012
Degree students
| Total amount | Share of JYY | Share of the FSHS | |
| Academic year 2011-2012 | 92,30 € | 50,30 € | 42,00 € |
| Fall semester 2011 | 45,50 € | 24,50 € | 21,00 € |
| Spring semester 2012 | 46,80 € | 25,80 € | 21,00 € |
In addition, new students must pay 14,60 € to receive their Lyyra Student Card.
Postgraduate students
| Total amount | Share of JYY | Share of the FSHS | |
| Academic year 2011-2012 | 40,00 € | 40,00 € | - |
| Fall semester 2011 | 20,00 € | 20,00 € | - |
| Kevätlukukausi 2012 | 20,00 € | 20,00 € | - |
* The FSHS does not provide health care for postgraduate students.
Refunding the FSHS Fee
If you have paid the membership fee for one and same semester to several different student unions, you may apply for a partial refund. The student union that has received your payment last returns the share of the FSHS to you in exchange to a written application. The deadline for the applications is September 30, if they apply to a fall semester, and January 31, if the payment was for a spring semester.
If you miss these deadlines, refunding the FSHS fee is no longer possible. If you are applying for the refund from JYY, the applications should be delivered to the Central Office of the Student Union (Keskussairaalantie 2, 40600 Jyväskylä) before the deadline, accompanied by the receipts for both membership payments.
- Download the application form (in Finnish)
Lyyra Student Card
The Student Union of the University of Jyväskylä is part of the Lyyra Student Card System. Once you have paid the membership fee, you can order your card at lyyra.fi. The card itself costs 14,60 €.
With Lyyra Card, a student can prove his or her status as a student and thus, his or her entitlement to student discounts, the services of the FSHS and other benefits. In addition, it doubles as a library card to University Library. The card is valid as long as it has a current membership sticker on it. Every time a student pays the annual (or biannual) membership fee, he or she can collect the new sticker at the Student Union’s Central Office or at Student Affairs and Services in building T.
Instead of an ordinary Lyyra Student Card, a student may opt to order an international version of it, a combined Lyyra and ISIC card. This card costs 36,60 € and it entitles its holder to student discounts all over the world. The ISIC side of the card will be valid as long as the holder of the card stays a full-time student.
Postgraduate Students
The postgraduate students that have opted to pay the membership fee of the Student Union can also order a Lyyra Student Card. All the members of the Student Union, including postgraduate students, are entitled to all the services and guidance the Student Union offers. However, postgraduate students are not entitled to the services of the FSHS, student discounts on public transport or the meal subsidy of Social Insurance Institution.
Postgraduate students with Lyyra Student Card can buy student meals in Cafeteria Ilokivi for 4,20 €. There are similar postgraduate discounts in other student cafeterias as well.