Study plan and learning agreement
Applying for the recognition of the courses (Study plan)
Before going abroad for exchange or just as a visiting student, you need to have the suitability of the subjects, planned to be studied in a foreign university, assessed for thestudy programme at the University of Tartu. For that you need to submit:
- a study plan to the Dean's office of your Faculty/College along with
- an annex to study plan specifying the subjects to be studied abroad and where these fit in your UT study programme.
You need to add content descriptions of the subjects to be studied abroad to your study plan. You can get information of the subjects taught in the foreign university from the website of the host institution or its contact person (e.g. International Students Coordinator). If, in spite of repeat inquiries, you do not receive any content descriptions of the subjects from the foreign university, you will have to draw up the study plan in the beginning of the semester after arriving at the foreign university. The VÕTA (RPL - Recognition of Prior Learning) committee of the respective Faculty/College will review the study plan and make a decision within 14 days after the submission of the application, approving your application in full or in part or rejecting it. Please contact VÕTA advisors in Faculty/College for further information (this page is in Estonian).
Signing a learning agreement
Learning agreement forms:
- learning agreement for students taking up studies in a foreign university via the Erasmus programme;
- learning agreement for students taking up studies in a foreign university via other channels (incl. summer schools).
Formalisation of a learning agreement
A learning agreement must be drawn up in two counterparts. The agreement is signed as follows:
- the student draws up the learning agreement and signs it;
- the student submits the agreement for signature to the Dean/College Director (enclosing the approved study plan that will remain with the Dean's office/College);
- the student submits the learning agreement signed by the Dean/College Director for approval to the coordinator of the respective programme in the International Student Service (only in the case of the Erasmus programme, ISEP, DoRa 7 or an cooperation agreement between the universities- in other cases directly to the the Dean's office of their faculty or to their College)
- the student sends one copy of the agreement to the foreign/hosting university for signature;
- the student submits the agreement signed by the foreign university to the Dean's office/College (retaining the other copy so it can be taken to the foreign university and possible amendments can be made);
- on the basis of the learning agreement, the Dean's office/College registers the student for study abroad;
- the learning agreement is kept in the Dean's office/College along with the study plan.
If the foreign university does not return the agreement, the student has to take their copy of the agreement with them and ask the coordinator of the foreign university to sign it and thereafter the student has to send it to the Dean's office of their faculty or to their College. The student is registered for study abroad only after the signed learning agreement has been submitted to the Dean's office. The registration cannot be made on the basis of a learning agreement sent by fax or e-mail - the original document is required.
Making changes in the learning agreement
Where necessary, you can, in the beginning of your studies abroad when the subjects to be studied and the timetable have become clear, make changes to the learning agreement.
Adding subjects to the learning agreement: if the student would like to study more subjects than planned in the initial learning agreement:
- The student submits to the VÕTA (RPL) committee an additional study plan, i.e. an application containing only the subjects to be added;
- the VÕTA (RPL) committee of the faculty will make a decision within 14 days after the submission of the application, approving the application in full or in part or rejecting it; - the faculty informs the student studying abroad of the decision of the VÕTA (RPL) committee by e-mail (e.g. sending the study plan to the student in scanned form);
- on the basis of the approved additional study plan the student draws up the changes to the original proposed learning agreement;
Learning agreement annex forms:
- changes to the learning agreement (Erasmus programmme);
- the student asks the foreign university to sign the changes to the original proposed learning agreement;
- the student sends the learning agreement to a International Student Service Coordinator (only in the case of the Erasmus programme, ISEP, DoRa 7 or a cooperation agreement between the universities);
- the Coordinator sends the changes to the original proposed learning agreement to the Dean/College Director for signature after the approval;
- the changes to the original proposed learning agreement and the additional study plan are kept in the Dean's office/College;
Cancelling subjects in the learning agreement: if the student wishes to cancel participation in (a) subject(s) specified in the original learning agreement:
- the student draws up the changes to the original proposed learning agreement, excluding a subject from the agreement and coordinating the changes to the original proposed learning agreement as described above. NB! If you want to cancel subjects specified in the original learning agreement, you do not need to submit any additional study plan, because the change does not need to be approved by the VÕTA (RPL) committee.
NB! The learning agreement along with annexes must match the transcript of records of the studies completed abroad, i.e. the planned and the actual list of subjects must match.
Registration of subjects in the Study Information System (SIS)
After completion of the studies abroad
- the student submits a transcript of records of the studies completed abroad to the Dean's office/College;
- the student specifies the subjects included in the approved study plan, which the student wants to have creditedas part of their study programme at UT and registered in the SIS (min. 12 ECTS/semester);
- the Faculty/College registers the subjects in the SIS (if the subjects specified in the transcript of records match with those specified in the study plan).
Students participating in the Erasmus programme have also to submit the copy of "Transcript of Records" to the International Student Service. More information: Erasmus student exchange