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Bachelor's studies

General admission requirements

People holding a secondary school leaving certificate or a corresponding qualification have access to higher education. The results of state/final examinations passed in a general secondary school are accepted as the basis of admission, additionally some faculties may require entrance examinations.

Candidates are ranked according to their state/final examinations' results and entrance exams (exams are not required for most of the curricula/specialisations).

For international applicants, the results of their state/ final examinations are converted into the Estonian national system and competition points are calculated by the university. For some curricula taught in Estonian, international applicants also have to take entrance exams, which usually take place in Tartu, Estonia, in the Estonian language.

Please check: entrance requirements of the first cycle curricula for 2013/2014

Language requirements

There are two Bachelor's programmes taught in English: Medicine and Business Administration.

The language of instruction in the rest of Bachelor's programmes is Estonian.  Applicants who have graduated from secondary school outside Estonia need prove at least B2 level in Estonian. Applicants who have a good command of the Estonian language, but who do not have a certificate of the language proficiency, need to take an exam prior to their studies in August (note the exception below).

International students who have been admitted to an Estonian-language programme, but do not have B2 level in Estonian at the time of admission need to complete the Intensive Estonian Language Course first. The courses are offered on the basis of English and Russian. Applicants who would start to learn Estonian on the basis of English also have to meet the English language requirements.

Exception: In the Estonian group of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy studies and the programme of Estonian and Finno-Ugric Linguistics (specialisation in Estonian language in multilingual environment) students are required to be sufficiently fluent in Estonian at the time of admission to the university. The knowledge of Estonian must correspond to the level of B2, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Upon applying to programmes listed above, applicants must submit a result of the Estonian language proficiency test (please ask for further info which tests are recognized or acceptable from the International Student Service).

 

Application Forms and Requirements

Medical Studies
Bachelor's Level Studies in English
Bachelor's Level Studies in Estonian

Upon application please make sure what documents need to be submitted and when. All copies of educational documents (diplomas, exam certificates and grade lists) must be officially certified: bear an original seal and a signature of an authorized official of the issuing school/university. Official documents must be provided from the institution awarding the secondary school certificate or certified with an Apostille. Some country-specific requirements also specify the way documents must be certifed.

Students accepted to the university cannot postpone the beginning of their studies to the next academic year.

Only complete application packages will be considered by the Admissions Commission.

Important Information for Non-EU Applicants

Applicants Who Graduate in Spring

Applicants graduating in spring and having their diplomas issued later than application deadlines (in July, for example) should send in the rest of the application package the most recent official Transcript of Records by the indicated deadline. Please inform the International Student Service when the final diploma will be issued. For detailed information contact the Service.

Announcement of Admissions Results

Applications can be submitted from December until the deadlines indicated above. The university's Admissions Commission will announce final admissions results:

Bachelor's programmes in English
by June 3rd, at latest

Bachelor's programmes in Estonian
by July 17th

Admissions notifications will be sent by an e-mail. All admitted students must inform the university of their decision to accept or cancel its offer by the deadline indicated in their admissions notification.

Note to non-EU applicants to Estonian-language programmes: as admission results for the Estonian-language programmes will be announced by 17 July 2013, non-EU applicants might not have enough time to apply for the Estonian residence permit. Getting the permit may take 2-3 months and academic year starts on 2 September 2013.

 

After Admission

Upon arrival to the university, all international degree-seeking students must come to show their original education documents at the International Student Service. The documents must be brought to International Student Service in the first week after arrival to Tartu.

If a student has been admitted, but it appears later that education documents submitted were either fraudulent or did not grant access to the particular level of higher education, the university has the right to exmatriculate the student, i.e. delete the student from its matriculation register.