At the University of Tartu, the number of study places for the 2026/2027 academic year will remain broadly the same as in the previous year.
“Some minor adjustments have been made in the distribution of study places between different curricula,” said Marily Saar, head of admissions at the University of Tartu.
At Tallinn University, there will be more study places this year than last. The number has increased in the natural sciences teacher program, and admissions will also open for two new programs.
Mari-Liis Lind, head of the Academic Affairs Office at Tallinn University, said the increase is also due to several programs that admit students every other year and will reopen next academic year. These include film arts, documentary film, contemporary media, choreography, and youth work organization.
In addition to tuition-free study, the university will offer fee-based part-time study in the psychology bachelor’s program and the youth work organization master’s program.
Public administration and business studies not free
At the same time, Tallinn University has reduced the number of study places in the public administration and business bachelor’s program. Lind said the program was made fee-based because it does not fall within the university’s core responsibility areas and because business and administration curricula are considered among the most duplicated in Estonia.
Tallinn University also closed two English-language master’s programs — anthropology and cinematography. Lind said the anthropology program had not admitted students in the previous two academic years due to a low number of applicants.
At the Estonian University of Life Sciences and Tallinn University of Technology, the number of study places will not change significantly for the upcoming academic year.
“The focus has been on updating and developing curricula rather than increasing the number of admitted students,” said Ina Järve, head of the Academic Affairs Office at the Estonian University of Life Sciences.
Universities revise admission requirements
At the University of Tartu, several programs have changed admission requirements, although no programs were closed this year.
Saar said, for example, that the academic test is no longer mandatory for the undergraduate psychology program.
In psychology, admission will now take into account the results of the state exams in Estonian or Estonian as a second language, as well as mathematics. Applicants may replace the mathematics exam with the academic test if they wish. Candidates must also pass a field-specific test.
For dentistry, applicants no longer need to attend an admission interview.
In informatics, Saar said an option has been added to use the academic test for applicants under special conditions. Some master’s programs in natural and exact sciences have introduced admission interviews as part of the requirements.
Tallinn University has also revised its admission criteria and removed the requirement for a written entrance exam. Lind said alternative methods will be used instead of traditional written assignments.
“For example, a motivation video instead of a motivation letter, or a discussion task instead of an essay,” Lind said.
Applicants at Tallinn University will also be able to take entrance tests on their own devices.
No university-wide changes to admission requirements have been made at the Estonian University of Life Sciences.
New master’s programs to launch
The University of Tartu will not introduce new undergraduate programs next academic year, but several new master’s programs will be added.
Vice rector for academic affairs Aune Valk said one of them is an English-language program in innovation in bioengineering, the first program of a newly established institute.
Other additions include a combined social sciences master’s program, where students can design their curriculum based on their interests, and an additional qualification in mathematics teaching aimed at practicing teachers or those already trained as teachers.
Valk said the goal is to help address the shortage of mathematics teachers in Estonian schools.
Tallinn University will launch a new bachelor’s program in philosophy, politics, and economics, combining philosophy, political science, and economics.
At the master’s level, a teacher education program will also open, offering a flexible path to obtaining a teaching qualification. The program will last 1.5 years and combine educational psychology, pedagogy, and subject didactics with practical experience.
The Estonian University of Life Sciences will introduce several new master’s programs, including industrial engineering, geodesy, spatial data acquisition, real estate and land management, and wood valorization.
Tallinn University of Technology will relaunch the logistics and mobility bachelor’s program and introduce new master’s programs in informatics and artificial intelligence, strategic design and technology, and artificial intelligence in business.
Betra Leesment, director of academic affairs at Tallinn University of Technology, said all these programs fall within the university’s core responsibility areas and are important for the Estonian economy.
Share of fee-based study increases
At the University of Tartu, the two-year master’s program in data science and artificial intelligence has been updated.
“The program is a further development of the data science curriculum and reflects strong market demand for artificial intelligence,” Valk said.
Tallinn University has made substantive changes to several programs. A new track in mathematics and science education has been added to the pedagogy program to increase the number of future science teachers.
A fee-based part-time option has been added to the psychology bachelor’s program. A new major, Eastern European studies, has been introduced in the Estonian studies curriculum.
The public administration and business program has been moved to fee-based part-time study. The youth work organization program will now offer both tuition-free and fee-based part-time options.
At the Estonian University of Life Sciences, several programs have been updated. Järve said the former master’s program in food technology has been redesigned and will reopen as food science and technology.
An integrated bachelor’s and master’s program in water and environmental engineering will also reopen in an updated format. Its goal is to prepare specialists capable of solving complex environmental and resource management issues and contributing to a sustainable living environment.
Järve said employers increasingly seek specialists who, in addition to subject expertise, also have project management and strategic decision-making skills.
At Tallinn University of Technology, two new majors have been added to the building design and construction management program: digital construction and building envelope design.
“Curricula are constantly evolving, and most of them undergo either major or minor updates each year,” Leesment said.
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