Tallinn University Requirements and Procedure for the Admission to Degree Studies regulates admission to Tallinn University study programmes of professional higher education, Bachelor’s studies, Bachelor’s and Master’s integrated study programmes, Master’s studies and Doctoral studies. The Procedure shall be applied to all persons applying to degree studies at the University, i.e. student candidates.

General Principles of Admission

  • An international student candidate is a student candidate who does not have Estonian citizenship, long-term residence permit or the right of permanent residence.
  • International applicants applying for study programmes instructed in a foreign language apply through the online application system DreamApply. Applicants with Estonian citizenship, a long-term residence permit or right of permanent residence in Estonia apply via the online application system SAIS. All feedback as well as a study offer will be given via the online application system.
  • International admission to Bachelor’s and Master’s level programmes shall be organised once a year by way of public competition. Admission to Doctoral studies can be organised more than once a year.
  • The University shall have the right to terminate the admission procedure of a student candidate or cancel the decision as regards admission to the University in case it is detected that the student candidate has committed an essentially indecent act during the admission procedure (including the admission exam). The concept of an essentially indecent act shall be based on Subsections 8 and 9 of Section 30 of TU Study Regulations.

Admission Requirements

  • Persons who have been granted a certificate of upper secondary education or a corresponding qualification and who meet the study programme specific requirements for commencing studies may apply for admission to the first level of higher education. Persons who have finished an International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) School may apply in case they have graduated with a diploma.
  • Persons who have been awarded a Bachelor’s degree or a corresponding qualification and who meet the study programme specific requirements for commencing studies may apply for admission to the second level of higher education.
  • Persons who have been awarded a Master’s degree or a corresponding qualification and who meet the study programme specific requirements for commencing studies may apply for admission to the third level of higher education.
  • The university shall have the right to refuse admission to student candidates for study programmes if the results of their education which was acquired in a foreign country at the previous level or stage make up less than 60% of the required maximum volume.
  • The admission requirement of student candidates for study programmes instructed in a foreign language shall be the proficiency of the language of instruction that corresponds to at least B2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages at the time of commencing studies. Please see a list of acceptable International English language tests and required scores here.

Application Procedure for International Applicants

  • Applications and documents are accepted during the time period announced in Tallinn University’s academic calendar.
  • Student candidates may submit applications to no more than two competitions within one admission period.
  • International student candidates shall submit all the required documents in www.estonia.dreamapply.com by the application deadline.
  • When submitting documents, international student candidates shall consider country-specific requirements published on the website of Tallinn University in case the country-specific requirements apply to the country where the candidates have acquired their education.
  • In case the diploma of previous level/stage of education and the transcript of records / academic transcript are missing, the international student candidate shall first submit a certificate with study results and, no later than on 1 July, the diploma and the transcript of records / academic transcript.
  • The documents to be submitted shall be in Estonian or English. Documents which are not in Estonian or English shall be accompanied by an Estonian or English translation certified by the issuer, sworn translator or notary.
  • International student candidates whose previous level or stage of education required for applying was acquired in a foreign country shall pay an application processing fee of €100 (including VAT) per person. Paying the application processing fee is a prerequisite for processing the documents and it shall be paid by the application deadline. The application processing fee is non-refundable
  • International student candidates who have submitted their application and required documents by the deadline and have paid the application processing fee and whose documents have been assessed to comply with the admission requirements of the University shall be allowed to take the speciality-specific admission exam.
  • International student candidates who have passed the speciality-specific admission exam shall submit within two weeks after publication of admission exam results or no later than by deadline established in the Academic Calendar of Tallinn University for sending the documents to Narva mnt 25, Tallinn 10120 the required documents in paper format.
  • When sending documents, student candidates shall consider country-specific requirements published on the website of Tallinn University in case the country-specific requirements apply to the country where the candidates have acquired their education.
  • For the purpose of checking the application and the documents, the University shall have the right to use the different information databases, make queries to educational and other institutions and send documents proving education for assessment of qualification to Estonian ENIC/NARIC Centre.
  • Copies and/or notarised/certified copies and/or notarised/certified translations of submitted documents shall not be returned to the candidate.

Entrance Exams

  • In order to sit for an admission exam, the student candidates shall present a personal identification document. In case of exams conducted via video bridge, the University shall have the right to require the candidate to show the personal identification document and make a screenshot of the candidate together with the identification document for the purpose of identifying the student.
  • Speciality-specific admission exam may consist of several parts, the descriptions and the proportions of the total result of speciality-specific admission exam shall be published on the website of Tallinn University. The academic unit shall have the right not to allow the student candidate to take the next part of the exam in case the student candidate has failed to take the previous part of the exam or has received a negative result for it.
  • On justified occasions, candidates with physical or psycho-social special needs shall be entitled to adjustments to be able to pass speciality-specific admission exams where the absence of adjustments would, due to their special need, put the candidates at a disadvantage during the exam as compared to other candidates. In order to apply for adjustments to be made due to the candidates‘ special need, the candidates shall have to submit to the admission exam committee a written application accompanied by the document proving the special need no later than by deadline established in the Academic Calendar of Tallinn University for submitting applications.

Filling the Student Places

  • The University shall have the right not to open studies on study programmes for which less than five student candidates have confirmed their intention to enroll after the deadline of registration for studies.
  • International student candidates shall be informed on an on-going basis in DreamApply of the (conditional) acceptance decision after having fulfilled the admission requirements. Non-EU/EEA citizens shall be informed of the acceptance decision after payment of the first semester fee.
  • The first semester fee shall be considered an advance payment and it is not refunded to persons who have not commenced studies but have acquired the right to enter the Republic of Estonia for the purpose of studies.
  • International student candidates who have fulfilled the admission requirements and have arrived in Estonia by the deadline determined by the University, registered their arrival at the Academic Affairs Office and have signed the study agreement (except applicants to the third level of higher education who sign the agreement in accordance with the procedure established by the University) shall be matriculated to the University.
  • The University shall have the right to cancel the acceptance decision in case it is revealed that the stage of education or qualification of the student candidate does not enable access to the requested level of education.
  • The University shall not be held responsible for possible material and non-material damage arising from cancellation of acceptance decisions.