University of Tartu

UT owns over 100 university buildings, the “Physicum”, “Chemicum” buildings are among the top education facilities in Northern Europe.

Since 2020, students can study at the “Delta Centre” - one of the most modern centres of digital technology, analytical and economic thought in the Nordic region.

The University of Tartu boasts:

• Library
• UT Academic Sports Club (3,000-capacity venue)
• Tartu Observatory
• Botanical garden (10,000 species of plants)
• Four museums (University of Tartu Art Museum, Old Observatory, Natural History Museum, University of Tartu Museum)
• 10 halls of residence

Students choose to study at the University of Tartu as it has the only teaching hospital in Estonia.

UT provides a wide range of support services for students. The Admission office (alongside UT faculty departments) provides support for students in admission-related questions. The study abroad centre consults students in visa-related issues, health and safety, study abroad opportunities, organizes orientation courses, etc.

The accommodation office provides housing services for students in UT dormitories. Counselling center includes career counselling, psychological counselling and counselling students with special needs. There are also Students to Students Services such as tutors, international student ambassadors, buddies, ESN, UT Student Council.

The University of Tartu is the biggest university in Estonia with 13,000 currently studying. There are 1,600 international students (12 percent), coming from 100 countries. 97 percent of Tartu international students would recommend UT (I-Graduate ISB 2019).

There are numerous student clubs and associations for UT students to enjoy, from professional organizations to informal groups like ESN, International Student Ambassadors, sTARTUp Lab.

UT students can enjoy many student events in Tartu including concerts, festivals, exhibitions, movie nights, international and cultural days, sports competitions, etc.

Students can travel around Estonia and European countries (Estonia belongs to the Schengen Area) during the holidays. UT has a sports complex equipped with gyms and fitness clubs, and boasts 14 competitive sports.

UT students live in apartment-style dormitories located right in the center of Tartu, Estonia, 10-15 minutes’ walk from the main campus. Two students live in the same room and six share the common area. The University of Tartu dormitories have WIFI, bike parking, laundry, etc. Dormitories at UT cost up to €150 per month, depending on the season. UT students can also rent rooms in private accommodation or whole apartments – where rent would cost between €150-400.

All UT campuses offer a university cafeteria, and students can enjoy the many restaurants and cafes in Tartu.

Students are admitted once a year in spring, with the academic year beginning on the first week of September. Everyone, regardless their country of origin, who has completed their previous level of education (secondary school for bachelor’s studies, and a bachelor’s degree for master’s studies) can apply for degree programmes at UT. If you graduate later in spring or summer you can still apply for the programme with your latest grade list or transcript of records from your school.

In order to apply, candidates should submit the online application with electronic copies of all the required documents via Estonia.Dreamapply.com before the deadline. All international applicants are required to pay the application fee EUR 50, unless they have completed the previous study level in Estonia. With one application fee, applicants can apply for two programmes. The admission criteria is different for each certain programme. Find out more here.

The required documents:

• previous education documents with supplements (with official certified translation into English if the document is in other language than English) - see country-specific document requirements here.
• copy of valid international passport page stating the applicant’s personal particulars
• proof of English language proficiency (TOEFL, IELTS, etc.)
• motivation letter 
• Skype / portfolio /  SAT / etc. depending on each particular study programme 

It might be required to have an interview, submit a writing sample or a portfolio - it depends on the specific programme.

Almost every international degree programme at UT offers tuition-waiver scholarship for the best applicants based on a ranking admission list. Everybody applying for international bachelor’s and master’s studies will be automatically considered for the scholarship, thus there is no need to apply for it separately. Students receiving this scholarship do not have to pay the tuition fee if they complete a full-time study load of 30 ECTS per semester. Additionally, students can apply for the stipends covering the costs of living in Estonia. Find out more here.

• Bachelor's programmes: January 2- April 15 (there is an extended deadline until 30 June available for EU/EEA/Swiss citizens applying for fee-based study places in the BBA programme).
• Master's programmes: Excellence in Analytical Chemistry: November 11 - January11, Contemporary Asian and Middle Eastern Studies: January 2 - March 15 (extended deadline until 30 June for EU/EEA/Swiss citizens) and for all other master's programmes: January 2 - March 15.
• PhD programmes: May 1- May 15 (there are separate calls for certain programmes throughout the year).

According to the 2019 survey, many of University of Tartu graduates got a job during their studies (Bachelor’s graduates – 54%, Master’s graduates – 67%, Doctoral graduates – 73%), the rest two months after graduation (Bachelor’s graduates – 26%, Master’s graduates – 20%, Doctoral graduates – 13%) or within the period of 2 to 6 months (Bachelor’s graduates – 7%, Master’s graduates – 7%, Doctoral graduates – 6%). 

UT provides career-counselling services and has a big network of UT alumni. Most alumni contribute to UT activities – offering traineeship opportunities, supervising graduation papers, or answering professional questions. Many UT alumni are willing to mentor students too. The University of Tartu also has the International Student Ambassadors alumni that help prospective students get to know the university and share real experiences of living and studying in Tartu.