Information regarding the war against Ukraine

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.

Ukrainian students currently enrolled at the Ukrainian universities can study at the University of Tartu (UT) as exchange students in the spring semester of 2022/2023 and there is no tuition fee. 

We no longer admit short-term students for the autumn semester of 2022/2023.

Please see the full list of courses offered in English next semesters 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.

The application process is described here. The application deadline for the spring semester of 2022/ 2023 is November 1. 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.

UT has limited number of Erasmus+ scholarships for exchange students (approximately 1000 euros per month). The scholarship 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.

Please see the academic calendar of the University of Tartu. 

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.

• University of Tartu Academic Sports club offers free sporting activities for Ukrainian children and adults.
• The City of Tartu provides practical guidance for people arriving from Ukraine.

If you want to apply for an academic position at the University of Tartu, please write to ukraine@ut.ee.

See more:

• Academic job opportunities at European research institutions
• All Estonian job opportunities, incl. support staff positions
• Estonian Labour Inspectorate information sheets for Ukrainians arriving from Ukraine

• For Ukrainian university family members, the first point of contact of emergency is the Head of International Cooperation Kristi Kerge (+372 529 7677). Please send written enquiries to ukraina@ut.ee.
• People arriving from Ukraine are kindly asked to contact the Tartu Welcome Centre for assistance with administrative formalities.
• The City of Tartu provides practical guidance for people arriving from Ukraine.
• MTÜ Ukraina Maja (NGO Ukrainian House) brings together the Ukrainian community in Tartu and elsewhere in Estonia, and helps create links between the local and newly arrived Ukrainians. The NGO provides information support to the Ukrainian community in Estonia, and coordinates cultural and social initiatives aiming to support Ukraine and Ukrainians.
• Please send media enquiries to avalik@ut.ee.

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.

• Humanitarian aid and helping refugees.

  • 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. 

• Estonian universities decided to halt cooperation with Russian and Belarusian universities. The decision concerns institutional cooperation between universities. In the 2022/2023 academic year, citizens of the Russian Federation or Belarus who do not have a residence permit or a long-stay visa of a European Union member state or who are not studying in Estonia are not eligible to apply to the university.
   
• On 30 July, an amendment to the regulation of the Government of the Republic came into force, restricting Russian citizens from applying for temporary residence permits or visas for studying in Estonia. Previously, the same regulation had also restricted the citizens of Russia and Belarus from obtaining a temporary residence permit or a visa for employment or business activity in Estonia. As an exception, the residence permits of students who are due to complete their studies at an Estonian institution of higher education will be extended for one year. Further information.
• On  30 March a webinar “Ukrainian Cities at War: From Conspiracy Theories to New Urban Realities” took place on Worksup. Watch the recording. This continued the Ukraine-related discussion that started at the fundraising event on 24 March. The webinar series about Ukraine goes on until the end of May. Everybody is welcome to listen and think along.  
• On 27 April a webinar on Ukrainian language and culture took place on Worksup. Watch the recording. 
• European cooperation for developing Ukraine’s education system continues, defying military action
• Article by Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Aune Valk
• The University of Tartu Senate’s address to the people of Ukraine
• Public address (in Estonian) by the Department of Slavic Studies
• A list of reliable information channels compiled by researchers of the University of Tartu Institute of Social Sciences
• Antiwar declaration (in Russian) from the participants of the international congress "Juri Lotman's semiosphere"
• An appeal by The Guild network to European governments and the European Union  
• A statement by the University of Tartu Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies 
• Rector Toomas Asser's address to the Ukrainian members of the university and the entire university family