Tallinn University

Tallinn University, as a university in Estonia, offers and develops education and research focusing on the needs of Estonia as a society. Given the new trends in higher education, we also value internationalisation. One in ten academic staff members comes from abroad, we increase the number of foreign students and our contribution to international research yearly.

Tallinn University is a partner in 14 European Union regional programmes, and a coordinator to one of them - Learning Layers. We also coordinate and partner the EU Framework Programme Horizon 2020. We have contracts with 43 partner universities from 21 countries and over 400 Erasmus+ partnerships, we are members of four international higher education networks and our researchers and academic staff participate actively in their professional networks.

Tallinn University is autonomous in its decision process. We are led by the Senate, the Rector gets advice from his Advisory Board and the Collegium. The new University Statute took effect on September 1st 2015, the Development Plan looks toward 2020. The students are represented by the Student Union, the alumni are gathered into the Alumni Association. The budget of the University was 32 million Euros.

Tallinn University is promoting an intelligent lifestyle by valuing the free time of our employees: the University has a literature awards competition for employees, academic staff and alumni, a prizewinning symphony orchestra, internationally acclaimed choirs and dance collectives and many sports teams that compete in top Estonian leagues.

Tallinn University is situated in a compact campus within the city centre. In front of the University there is the "Tallinn University" tram stop, behind the university, only a few hundred metres away, stands the sea gate of Estonia - Port of Tallinn. Only a few hundred metres away you can find the peaceful Kadriorg Park and the Presidential Palace.

An overview of important milestones

• 1552 A library was created in St. Olaf’s Church in Tallinn, which became the first public library in the city of Tallinn. Part of its collection of rarities belongs to the repository of the Tallinn University Academic Library, where it remains today.
• 1919 The Tallinn Teachers’ Seminar was established in Tallinn. The school has had a variety of names throughout its history (e.g. Tallinn Teachers' Institute from 1947-1952; Tallinn Pedagogical Institute from 1952-1992; and Tallinn Pedagogical University from 1992-2005) but its history of teacher training is now carried on by the Tallinn University Institute of Educational Sciences and a number of other units in the university that provide teacher training.
• 1922 The Tallinn City Pedagogical Museum was established. Its aim was to support the work of schools in Tallinn and to lend out study materials but soon the museum widened its scope and started to organize exhibitions, lectures and workshops, create study materials and support school cinemas and radios. Today the museum is part of Tallinn University and is known as the Estonian Pedagogical Archives-Museum.
• 1938 The Tallinn University Terra building was completed.
• 1947 After the Second World War, the Tallinn Teachers' Institute started teaching independent majors and minors of the Estonian language and literature, Russian language and literature, history, mathematics and physics, natural sciences and geography, English, drawing, and physical education. Independent units for conducting research were also created. This transition resulted in the creation of units that focused on specialties. These units eventually evolved into today’s Institutes of: Estonian Language and Culture; Slavonic Languages and Cultures; Germanic and Romance Languages and Cultures; Mathematics and Natural Sciences; and Health Sciences and Sports.
• 1947 The Institute of History was established under the auspices of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, primarily as a research institute. Its research was mainly focused on archaeology, history, ethnology and art history, until it was united with Tallinn University in 2005. History students have pursued regular studies at this Institute since that time.
• 1964 The Tallinn University Ursa building was completed.
• 1965 The first course of lectures in informatics was held, namely "Computers and Programming" and "Mathematical Logics". These innovative courses formed the basis for the current School of Digital Technologies.
• 1965 The teaching of bibliography was transferred from Tartu State University and today this practice is carried on by the School of Digital Technologies.
• 1966 The specialty of Culture Education was created and the following years saw the addition of several other cultural specialties. This specialty is now offered within the Baltic Film, Media, Arts and Communication School.
• 1972 The dormitory on Västriku Street was completed.
• 1973 The department of Psychology and Pedagogy was created and this entity now functions under the School of Natural Sciences and Health.
• 1976 A training centre for educationalists was established. The University now offers additional training in all of its main fields of competence through the Tallinn University Open University.
• 1982 The Tallinn University Silva building was completed.
• 1983 The dormitory on Karu Street was completed.
• 1988 The Estonian Academy of Sciences established the Institute of Philosophy, Sociology and Law. Later, its name was changed to the Institute of International and Social Studies, which was ultimately amalgamated with the Tallinn Pedagogical University in 1998.
• 1988 A group of intellectuals established the Estonian Institute of Humanities. It quickly became an innovative university in its own right, introducing many thinkers from the Western world (e.g. Beck, Bourdieu, Deleuze, Derrida, Eco, Foucault, Kristeva etc.) and developing new curricula, such as Asian studies or anthropology. The university became a counterweight to the state-controlled Estonian universities, which were still dominated by communist ideology and administered according to rigid, Soviet-style programmes at that time. It was the first private university in the eastern part of Europe. The Estonian Institute of Humanities has operated as part of Tallinn University since 2005 and is now named the School of Humanities.
• 1990 The Estonian Academy of Sciences established the Institute of Ecology and Sea Research. It became the Institute of Ecology two years later. Today the Institute for Ecology is part of Tallinn University.
• 1991 The Minister of Social Affairs suggested to the Rector that social workers should be trained at the university because the complexity of the 1990s had introduced serious social issues and more professionals were needed to deal with these challenges. The first students were accepted in 1991. Social work is now taught and researched at the Tallinn University School of Governance, Law and Society.
• 1991 University Nord was established and eventually evolved into the new Tallinn University Law School in 2010. Law is now taught and researched at the Tallinn University School of Governance, Law and Society.
• 1991 The Estonian Institute for Future Studies was created as a citizenship initiative and was incorporated into Tallinn University in 2009.
• 1993 New programmes of Advertising and Media were created. These disciplines are now taught at the Baltic Film, Media, Arts and Communication School.
• 1994 A new programme of Political Science was created within the framework of an international Tempus project of the European Union, with project partners such as the University of Manchester, the University College Galway and the Tallinn Technical University. Today, Political Science is taught and researched within the Tallinn University School of Governance, Law and Society.
• 1994 A chair of Demography was created within the university. This was later developed into the Estonian Institute for Population Studies in cooperation with the Estonian Interuniversity Population Research Centre.
• 1996 Tallinn University Open University was created.
• 1998 Haapsalu College was opened. Its aim was to provide higher education and high-quality additional training for educationalists working in western Estonia.
• 1999 Rakvere College was established.
• 2004 The Student Academy was established in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Research, the Council of Gambling Tax, Swedbank, the Estonian School Student Councils Union and the Tallinn Youth Work Centre. The Student Academy is designed for students of high schools and vocational schools to provide in-depth education in the humanities, social and natural sciences.
• 2005 Tallinn University was founded by an Act of the parliament of the Republic of Estonia.
• 2005 The Baltic Film and Media School was established within Tallinn University. It is the only university college in northern Europe in which it is possible to study film, television and media in English.
• 2006 The Tallinn University Mare building was completed.
• 2006 The first international Tallinn Summer School was held.
• 2007 The series of public lectures entitled Studia Generalia was inaugurated. The aim of the series is to offer lectures by Tallinn University teaching staff, researchers and foreign lecturers that are open to the public.
• 2007 The Tallinn University Language Centre was established.
• 2008 Catherine's College was established as the first liberal arts institution in Estonia. Its aim is to provide students, who have finished secondary education in Russian high schools, a flexible transmission to studying in Estonian and to support these students in their studies of Estonian with bilingual study materials and support seminars.
• 2008 Tallinn Virtual University was opened at virtuaal.tlu.ee. Its aim is to provide webcasts and podcasts of lectures and seminars, conversations with guests of the university, materials of summer schools and conferences.
• 2010 The first international Tallinn Winter School was held.
• 2010 The Confucius Institute was established in Tallinn University. It is a Centre for Chinese language and culture and operates as part of the Office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban).
• 2010 The Institute of Communication was established in Tallinn University, the Advertising and Imagology department from the Institute of Psychology was merged with it. In 2015, the Institute of Communication became part of the Baltic Film, Media, Arts and Communication School.
• 2010 The Law School was established, which is the successor in teaching law to the University Nord. In 2015, the Law School became part of the School of Governance, Law and Society.
• 2011 Tallinn University joined the Green Academic Footprint initiative of the Network of Universities from the Capitals of Europe (UNICA) in order to participate in the process of making the principles of sustainable development part of everyday life at the university.
• 2012 Tallinn Pedagogical College merged with Tallinn University and is now part of the Tallinn University School of Educational Sciences.
• 2012 The Tallinn University Nova and Astra buildings were completed.
• 2013 The Centre for Innovation in Education was established within Tallinn University.
• 2015 The Senate approves the new Development Plan (2015-2020), which sets our goal to promoting intelligent lifestyle.

Application deadlines for the Bachelor's programmes

• Non-EU/EEA applicants (except applicants from Russia, Ukraine and Georgia):

                Deadline for submitting your application: 1 April, 2019
                Deadline for sending your documents by post: 20 April, 2019

• Applicants from Russia, Ukraine and Georgia:

                Deadline for submitting your application: 1 June, 2019
                Deadline for sending your documents by post: 20 June, 2019

• EU/EEA citizens:

                Deadline for submitting your application: 1 July, 2019
                Deadline for sending your documents by post: 15 July, 2019

• Finnish and Latvian citizens who have obtained general secondary education in Finland or Latvia for Bachelor level programmes (except Audiovisual Media BA):

                Deadline for submitting your application: 5 August, 2019
                Deadline for sending your documents by post: 15 August, 2019

Application deadlines for the Master's programmes

• Non-EU/EEA applicants (except applicants from Russia, Ukraine and Georgia):

                Deadline for submitting your application: 1 April, 2019
                Deadline for sending your documents by post: 20 April, 2019

• Applicants from Russia, Ukraine and Georgia:

                Deadline for submitting your application: 1 June, 2019
                Deadline for sending your documents by post: 20 June, 2019

• EU/EEA citizens:

                Deadline for submitting your application: 1 July, 2019
                Deadline for sending your documents by post: 15 July, 2019

Application deadlines for the PhD programmes

Application for the PhD programmes starts in May 13, 2019. 

                Deadline for submitting your application: 1 July, 2019
                Deadline for sending your documents by post: 15 July, 2019

Application Fee

The application fee for applying to Tallinn University is 80 euros. You can apply for two programmes in Tallinn University while paying the application fee once.

Application procedure for EU/EEA students

The following steps outline the application process for the citizens of the member countries of the European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA).

1. Find the programme you are interested in applying for. Make sure what are the general admission requirements for applying for the desired level and see what are the programme specific requirements. The general admission requirements can be found in the description of each level and the programme specific requirements are described on the bottom of the programme information pages. There might also be a country specific requirement for sending your documents, please see here. If your country is not indicated there, then no country specific requirements apply.
2. For PhD applicants – please find a prospective supervisor by contacting the respective unit. All PhD programmes can be seen here and you can find the contact person on the programme page. Please attach your PhD proposal for reviewing to the e-mail.
3. Apply online, submit the written part of the admission exam and pay the application fee. The written part (or an assignment) of the admission exam is described on each programme page.
4. Wait for an initial feedback to your application from the admission specialist.
5. If the documents uploaded to the application system are sufficient and you receive a positive feedback to the written part of the exam (or an assignment) you will be asked to take the admission interview.

   You will be contacted by the study counsellor of the respective unit for arranging a time for the admission interview. Admission exams take place several times a year. Please see the timetable here.

6. If the admission interview has a positive result you will be asked to send your application cover (the application cover is your online application - print the profile, the confirmation and sign the confirmation) and educational documents to the following address:

   Academic Affairs Office
   Tallinn University
   Narva mnt. 25
   10120 Tallinn
   ESTONIA

   Students graduating from upper secondary schools or universities in Spring 2019 who are not able to submit their educational certificates by the requested deadline are asked to contact the International Admission Specialist (admissions@tlu.ee).

7. After the documents have arrived by post, they will be forwarded to Estonian ENIC/NARIC Centre for evaluation. The evaluation results will be published in one month. You will be notified of the result via the application system.
8. Acceptance
   A successful candidate will be informed of the positive decision of the Admission Council after the admission exam via online application system.
9. Right of residence

Application procedure for Non-EU/EEA students

The following steps outline the application process for citizens of Non-EU/EEA countries.

1. Find the programme you are interested in applying for. Make sure what are the general admission requirements for applying for the desired level and see what are the programme specific requirements. The general admission requirements are available in the description of each level and the programme specific requirements are described on the bottom of the programme information pages. There might also be a country specific requirement for sending your documents, please see here. If your country is not indicated there, then no country specific requirements apply.
2. For PhD applicants – please find a prospective supervisor by contacting the respective unit. All PhD programmes can be seen here and you can find the contact person on the programme page. Please attach your PhD proposal for reviewing to the e-mail.
3. Apply online, submit the written part of the admission exam and pay the application fee. The written part (or an assignment) of the admission exam is described on each programme page.
4. Wait for an initial feedback to your application from the admission specialist.
5. If the documents uploaded to the application system are sufficient and you receive a positive feedback to the written part of the exam (or an assignment) you will be asked to take the admission interview.

   You will be contacted by the study counsellor of the respective unit for arranging a time for the admission interview. Admission exams take place several times a year. Please see the timetable here.

6. If the admission interview has a positive result you will be asked to send your application cover (the application cover is your online application - print the profile, the confirmation and sign the confirmation) and educational documents to the following address:

   Academic Affairs Office
   Tallinn University
   Narva mnt. 25
   10120 Tallinn
   ESTONIA

   Students graduating from upper secondary schools or universities in Spring 2019 who are not able to submit their educational certificates by the requested deadline are asked to contact the International Admission Specialist (admissions@tlu.ee).

7. After the documents have arrived by post, they will be forwarded to Estonian ENIC/NARIC Centre for evaluation. The evaluation results will be published in one month. You will be notified of the result via the application system.
8. Acceptance
   A successful candidate will be informed of the positive decision of the Admission Council after the admission exam via online application system.
9. Temporary residence permit for studies

Sports and Culture

Tallinn University values all cultural and sportive activities. We encourage all our members (staff and students) to engage in cultural activities via our Symphony Orchestra, Men's Choir, Women's Choir, or the folk dance group Soveldaja.

Those looking to engage in sporting activities are welcome to use all the opportunities offered by our Sports Club.

International Club

Tallinn University International Club (ESN TU IC) is an organization, which was founded in 2006 as a part of Tallinn University Student Union. International Club is also an Erasmus Student Network (ESN) section, internationally known as ESN TU IC. International Club (IC) is for all international students of Tallinn University to help them during their first months abroad.

Another goal of International Club is to make your stay more fun and enjoyable by introducing Estonian culture. We do it by organizing great trips and fun events, such as Welcome Party, Estonian Evening, International Express, Museum Month, workshops, etc. Therefore, keep an eye on our event schedule and do not miss out on anything!

• Tallinn University Scholarship