Last updated on 31 March 2023 (information about scholarships under Short-term studies in the academic year 2023/24).
Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the University of Tartu has been actively supporting its Ukrainian staff and students and preparing for the reception of refugees from Ukraine.
This academic year, 205 new Ukrainian students started at the University of Tartu free of tuition, in addition to the 70 Ukrainians already studying here.
The university established a scholarship fund to collect and channel donations to support Ukrainian students' studies at the University of Tartu. In December Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Aune Valk made video address in support of Ukrainian students.
In November University of Tartu scholarship fund for Ukrainian students gave out this autumn’s scholarships. During the year, the fund collected nearly 117,000 euros with the help of companies, individuals and Estonian diaspora in Canada and the US and gave out 113 scholarships to Ukrainian students.
In addition to the possibility of applying for a scholarship from the scholarship fund, all Ukrainian students starting at the first and second level of studies in 2022 receive a one-off stipend of 500 euros. The students have been informed on how they can apply for this one-off stipend.
The senate created the possibility for Ukrainian students to apply for a need-based special allowance in 2022.
The new application round is planned to be opened on 15 February 2023, but this can only happen if the fund has enough resources by then. We invite the entire university family to donate to the University of Tartu scholarship fund for Ukrainian students and share the word about the fund. Make the donation via ut.ee/donate.
The university offers support to its members during difficult times. The university keeps looking for more counselling opportunities, so this list will be updated accordingly.
Students receive psychological support from the university's Counselling Centre. Please register using this webform. Counselling is available in Estonian, English and Russian.
University staff can get psychological support from staff Counsellor-Chaplain Tõnu Lehtsaar at tonu.lehtsaar@ut.ee. You may contact him in Estonian, English and Russian.
Information on other counseling opportunities can be found on the university's website.
We are a large university family and so there may be people around us who are very closely and personally affected by what has happened. In this situation, one of the ways in which each of us can help is to notice another person's concern and offer first psychological support.
The Ukrainian students, admitted before the academic year 2022/2023, do not pay tuition fee in the academic year 2022/2023. All newly admitted students have received tuition waivers for their studies at UT.
The holders of temporary protection can apply for needs-based scholarship, further info here.
Estonian universities decided to halt cooperation with Russian and Belarusian universities. The decision concerns institutional cooperation between universities. The International Cooperation and Protocol Office will compile information on ongoing cooperation projects and organise the informing of partner universities.
As of 7 March 2022, University of Tartu has decided that citizens of Russian Federation and Belarus can submit applications for first and second level programmes offered in the academic year 2022/2023 only if they hold a residence permit or long-term visa of the European Union or are currently studying in Estonia.
The application period for the academic year 2023/24 starts on 2 January 2023.
General admission requirements apply to Ukrainian students. All available international programmes are listed here.
The university offers Ukrainian applicants three tuition waivers for the bachelor's programme in Business Administration and three for the bachelor's programme in Science and Technology. The application deadline for international bachelor's studies is 15 April 2023.
UT has limited number of Erasmus+ scholarships for Ukrainian exchange students for the autumn semester 2023/24.
To be eligible for the scholarship student must be enrolled at Ukrainian university during the full study period at UT and must receive Estonian temporary protection (can be applied for after arrival to Estonia). The scholarship (1050 EUR per month) is sufficient to cover living costs in Estonia. Students need to find housing by themselves (housing in the dormitory cannot be guaranteed). All exchange students will have national health insurance coverage after receiving temporary protection in Estonia.
Application deadline for autumn semester: April 15.
The application process is described here. Exchange students are usually nominated through their home university. Please first contact your home university to find it out if your home university can nominate you as an exchange student (cooperation agreement is not needed). If your home university cannot send the nomination or you cannot contact them, no need to worry, please just contact studyabroad@ut.ee and we can assist you further.
Please see the full list of courses offered in English here. When selecting the courses, please consider your own academic background as much as possible. Please note that for taking classes in English, knowledge of English at the level B1 is required. The students with lower language level should pay attention to learning English at UT, not so much of other subjects.
General information for short-term students and UT academic calendar can be found here.
Please note that it is not possible to transfer to degree programmes at the University of Tartu in order to complete your studies that were interrupted due to the war. You can apply for admission in our degree programmes with a start of studies in September. For more details, please see the info on the admissions above.
Ukrainian citizens can come to Estonia without a visa, including those who do not have a biometric passport or a Schengen visa. However, you need to follow the orders given by Ukraine, so please consult with your local authorities first to find out what documents you need for crossing the border of Ukraine.
Upon arrival to Estonia, please apply for temporary protection (which gives you a one-year residence permit) as soon as possible at the Police and Border Guard Board office.
For the latest updates regarding the arrival and stay of Ukrainians, Estonian public services etc., please follow “information for Ukrainians”.
Please contact first the Tartu Welcome Centre for assistance with administrative formalities.
If you want to apply for an academic position at the University of Tartu, please write to ukraine@ut.ee.
See more:
Victims of war can be supported through a number of initiatives.
Making donations.
The University of Tartu scholarship fund collects donations to support the studies of Ukrainian students. You can donate via ut.ee/donate or by scanning the QR code below.
At ukrainaheaks.ee you can make a donation to help Ukrainians.
On the page Come Back Alive you can support the Ukrainian army.
On the page Voices of Children you can support affected children.
If you want to help the people of Ukraine, you can call the state helpline 1247 (when calling with a foreign calling card: +372-600-1247).
Information on how to provide assistance to the people of Ukraine has been gathered on the website of the city of Tartu.
Through Estonian Refugee Aid, you can support the provision of humanitarian aid in Ukraine.
As a public initiative and with the help of the employees of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, a Facebook group “AITAN KAITSTA – teeme koos varjevõrke” (HELP PROTECT – weaving camouflage nets together) has been set up. The initiative’s aim is to organise a nationwide campaign to produce camouflage nets for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
To support the opportunities for Ukrainian citizens to acquire higher education, the university extended the admission period to non-Estonian-taught curricula for Ukrainian citizens. They could apply to the first and second level of study until 1 June. In addition, Ukrainian applicants are also exempt from the fee for processing application documents.
In cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Research, the university is creating additional tuition-waiver student places for Ukrainian citizens. For the 2022/2023 academic year, the university is ready to create up to 250 additional student places for students from Ukraine. In addition, the university is offering jobs for academic staff arriving from Ukraine.
For updates on the security situation, see the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For information about how to help the Ukrainian people, call the state information line 1247.
Please send media enquiries to avalik@ut.ee.