University of Tartu

Founded in 1632, the University of Tartu (UT) is the only classical university in Estonia. More than 14,000 students are studying at UT (incl. 1600 international students), and UT has 3500 employees (incl. 2000 academic employees (220 professors)). To support and develop the professional competence of its students and academic staff, the university has 66 partner universities in 26 countries. UT is also an active member of prestigious research networks such as ENLIGHT, the Coimbra Group, and LERU.

UT includes 4 faculties. Most of UT is in Tartu, the second biggest city in Estonia; however, parts of the university are located in Pärnu, Narva, Viljandi and Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 100,000, and a fifth of its residents are students.

Tartu is a lively student city. Each academic year starts with freshman days and the highlights of each semester are the Spring and Autumn Student Days, a week-long festival of events especially for students. UT has numerous student clubs and associations, ranging from professional organizations to informal groups. For international students, ESN Tartu is the main organization that focuses its attention on international students’ well-being.

UT offers a wide selection of programmes and unique disciplines for students. UT also participates in several Erasmus Mundus and other joint master's programmes delivered in cooperation with the world's leading universities. UT follows the Bologna process in the organization of its teaching and Bachelor-Master (3+2) system of study modules. The length of PhD studies is 4 years. The academic year starts at the beginning of September each year.

The University of Tartu (UT) is Estonia’s leading centre of research and training. It is the only university in the Baltics ranked in the top 1.2% of the world’s best universities (QS World University Rankings 2021).