Educational Technology
Master's
2 January
15 March
30 April
4 August
- The University of Tartu is ranked in the top 300 universities globally in education and training (see Rankings and Surveys).
- Teamwork is a primary emphasis of the programme, allowing you to advance your collaboration skills and help you develop a global social network. Students have the option to do their MA thesis in a small team.
- The flexible 1-year programme is almost entirely online, allowing you to continue working in your current job.
- You can find practical solutions to challenges in your workplace.
The Educational Technology programme is a 1-year online programme designed to provide an opportunity for professional development to people working or planning to work in positions that involve teaching and wish to use educational technology more effectively in their work.
The programme may prove to be especially useful to people currently working at educational institutions (schools, universities, etc.) who did not have a chance to gain digital technology skills and knowledge during their studies (whether because such technological solutions did not exist yet or were only beginning to emerge).
The programme's flexibility and a major focus on e-learning make it especially well-suited to those who work – whether it be outside of Tartu or in another country. In August, there is a ten-day on-site session in Tartu. The exact dates of the August session are usually published by early June. Graduation takes place in June with the possibility of virtual participation.
What is educational technology?
Educational technology is an interdisciplinary field of study which focuses on facilitating learning and improving teaching practices by creating, using and managing appropriate technological processes and resources and providing corresponding training to educators.
Students will be working together in groups of 2–4, supported by their lecturers and mentors, to find solutions to specific problems in their workplace or improve some other aspect of their work (or the work of the teams they are leading in their workplace).
For example, lecturers might want to learn how to effectively implement the flipped classroom approach; school teachers might aim at creating fun and beneficial learning activities where students use their smart devices; heads of schools may want to increase their teachers' digital competence, and trainers in companies might be interested in developing trainings in the form of e-learning that allow the employees to study at home.
Why study Educational Technology?
- The flexible programme is mostly online-based - a good opportunity for those who work, regardless of their location. You do not have to move to Tartu to study.
- Primary emphasis is put on teamwork to foster students’ collaboration skills and help them develop a network of colleagues to rely on in their professional life.
- As a significant innovation, our students are free to do the MA thesis as teamwork in small groups if their topics of interest allow it.
- The programme is characterised by a problem-based approach and a lot of practical training.
- There are no similar programmes in the region.
Programme highlights in video
- Watch the programme director talk about the master's programme in Educational Technology during Virtual Open Day 2024.
- Watch the presentation about International master's admissions by the Head of International Admissions during Virtual Open Day 2024.
- Watch Alumni Talks: The role of the educational technologist in Estonian schools by Dejan Delev (MA in Educational Technology)
- Watch the programme director talk about the master's programme in Educational Technology and the discussion round of master's students in the art and technology field during the Online Open Doors Week 2022.
Two classroom teaching sessions are planned – two weeks at the beginning of the programme and one week in the end. For the rest of the year, studies are online-based – independent teamwork is supported through the Moodle environment, cloud-based solutions and webinars.
The studies are also characterised by an innovative approach to the graduation thesis – we offer the possibility of doing the MA thesis as teamwork in small groups to foster students’ teamwork skills and help them create an international network of alumni for future cooperation.
The programme consists of three main parts:
- General: pedagogical approaches – online interactive lectures and seminars
- Technical: practical coursework in teams, mentoring of others, seminars
- Evaluation (research) – research design (mainly action research and design-based research), publishing.
Curriculum version:
More info: Study Information System
University of Tartu Institute of Education
The University of Tartu Institute of Education provides research-based, pre-service training for teachers, special education teachers, speech therapists, and social pedagogues. There is also an extensive in-service training programme for teachers, heads of schools, and university teaching staff.
The institute's main fields of research consist of teachers' professional development, students' assessment and support in development, educational technology, and special education. Important recent publications deal with phases of inquiry-based learning, students' metacognition, and the interconnection between teaching practices students'nts’ achievements.
People
- Prof. Margus Pedaste is Professor of Educational Technology and the Director of the Institute of Education. For more than a decade he has been involved in many national and international research and development projects.
- Dr Leo A. Siiman is Senior Research Fellow of Educational Technology at the Institute of Education of the UT’s Faculty of Social Sciences. His research focuses on inquiry learning, collaborative learning, assessment of digital competence and spatial thinking. He is currently working on the European Horizon 2020 project Next-Lab.
- Dr Emanuele Bardone is the Programme Director of the master’s programme in Educational Technology and Associate Professor of Educational Technology at the Institute of Education, where he is leading the Centre for Educational Technology. He is the author of several publications in international journals and has a blog (read it here).
Visit us virtually
Explore Tartu, the university and the Institute of Education through the university's virtual tour here.
Graduates are prepared to work as lecturers in universities or teachers in schools (depending on their previous studies and positions), as specialists in the field of education, or various institutions or companies focused on educational research, development or innovation. Continuing in the PhD programme is also possible.
Admission requirements for Educational Technology
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent qualification (must be obtained by the end of June) and at least 5 years' professional experience in a teaching position or in a position in which teaching staff are supervised or advised. The candidates with a master's degree or equivalent qualification do not need to prove their work experience. Please see our country-specific document requirements.
- English language proficiency – please see our acceptable tests and exempt categories.
NB! The restrictions for the citizens of the Russian Federation are specified here.
Applications are evaluated based on
- the score of the motivation letter (yields 50% of the final score)
- the admission interview (yields 50% of the final score)
The motivation letter for the Educational Technology programme (up to 6000 characters with spaces, in English) shall contain:
1) information about what motivates the applicant to enrol in this programme as well as where and how the applicant plans to carry out the practical tasks required in this programme, that is, observe learners and people performing teaching tasks and temporarily perform teaching tasks themselves;
2) the applicant’s preliminary research or development project plan (up to 2000 characters with spaces; shall include the statement of the problem, justification of the problem, plan for solving the problem) - see the list with possible thesis topics;
3) a short (up to 8 min) video clip where the applicant introduces his or her preliminary research or development project to the admissions committee and to the other applicants and elaborates on how the project would contribute to the development of the applicant’s workplace (or, if the applicant is not employed, how the project would contribute to the development of either the institution where the practical tasks will be carried out or a certain field related to education). The video does not have to be professional – for example, it can be produced with the smartphone camera. The applicant should include in the motivation letter a link to the video file.
The following aspects will be assessed in the motivation letter:
1) the applicant’s suitability for the programme, incl. their motivation and ability to perform the practical tasks required in the programme (50%);
2) the applicant’s motivation and ability to carry out a research or development project during the programme that would contribute to the development of the applicant’s workplace, the institution where the practical tasks are performed or a certain field related to education (50%).
The maximum score for the motivation letter is 100 points and minimum positive score 51 points. The applicant needs to receive at least 51 points for the motivation letter, in order to be invited to the interview.
NB! Admission interviews take place on 7-10 April 2025.
The interview will be held in groups of 3–5 and conducted either on site or via Skype. The duration of the group interview will be 45 minutes. The maximum score for the interview is 100 points. The purpose of the interview is to assess the applicant’s
- readiness for MA studies;
- study motivation and motivation to apply the new knowledge in implementing educational innovation;
- familiarity with the topical issues of both education in a broader sense and educational technology in a narrower sense.
The following aspects will be assessed by the entrance exam:
1) the applicant’s readiness for MA studies, particularly their cultural and value competence; social and civic competence; self-management competence; learning to learn competence; communication competence; and entrepreneurship competence (40%);
2) the applicant’s study motivation and motivation to apply the new knowledge in implementing educational innovation, particularly intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (30%);
3) the applicant’s familiarity with the topical issues of both education in a broader sense and educational technology in a narrower sense (30%).
The maximum score for the admission interview is 100 points and minimum positive score 51 points. Only those applicants who score 66 points or higher (out of 100) as a combined score from both the motivation letter and interview, will be considered for admission.
For each assignment, the maximum score is 100 points and minimum score 51 points to be considered for admission. The total admission score will be the weighted sum of the score of the motivation letter and the interview. The maximum number of final points is 100. Only applications which receive 66 points and above as a combined score from both indicators will qualify for admission.
For further information on assessing candidates´ academic performance and calculating admissions´ score see here.
How to apply
The following information applies to international students and Estonian students who graduated abroad:
The application system opens on 2 January and closes on 15 March. The following electronic documents must be submitted via DreamApply by 15 March:
- online application
- motivation letter
- official copy of the bachelor's diploma or its equivalent and Diploma Supplement (transcript) in the original language (must include a description of the grading scale).
NB! Applicants graduating in the upcoming spring/summer and having their diploma and final transcript issued later than the application deadline should electronically submit their most recent official transcript by the application deadline. The transcript should be supplemented by an official statement from the issuing institution indicating current enrollment and expected graduation date. Admitted candidates are required to post certified copies of their graduation documents as soon as these have been issued (must reach us no later than by the end of July). - official translation of the bachelor’s diploma and Diploma Supplement (transcript) into English, translation certified
- proof of English language proficiency
- copy of the passport page stating the applicant’s personal particulars
- confirmation/receipt of application fee payment (if applicable). All international applicants are required to pay the application fee EUR 100, unless they have completed the previous study level in Estonia. An application will only be processed after the fee has been received by the UT.
Submitted applications can not be edited. It is only possible to upload new documents (e.g. graduation certificates). Applicants will receive feedback and notifications through the DreamApply system to their e-mail. Incomplete applications or those submitted by e-mail will not be considered for admission.
Guide to submitting electonic application on DreamApply.
NB: The University of Tartu has no official partnerships with agents or educational representatives. We strongly recommend applying directly to the university without the help of unauthorised third-party entities. Should you use such a service, please ensure that your application's contact information is your personal details (your e-mail, phone number, etc.).
The evaluation of applications will be made based on the electronic copies added to DreamApply. A general ranking list will be formed based on the electronically submitted applications and admission results (including offers) will be announced to all applicants personally via DreamApply by April 30 at the latest. Admitted candidates are expected to accept or decline the offer in DreamApply in 7 days. If the decision is not communicated to UT via DreamApply by the stipulated deadline, UT reserves the right to withdraw the admission offer.
NB! It is not possible to postpone the beginning of studies to the next academic year.
Terms and conditions of the admission offer
Admission offers are conditional. This means that there are conditions in the offer which the applicant needs to fulfil in order to be admitted (e.g. sending application documents by post; obtaining the required level of education). If the conditions are not met, UT has the right to withdraw the offer. Also, UT reserves the right to withdraw or amend any offer or revoke the matriculation of a student, if it becomes evident that the application contains fraudulent information, the qualification does not provide access to the chosen study programme or the student is found to have omitted key information from the application. Should such circumstances occur, UT will not be liable for any material or immaterial loss which the student may suffer as a result.
Once the admission results have been announced, all admitted students are required to send the application documents by post to: Student Admissions, University of Tartu, Ülikooli 18-133, Tartu 50090, ESTONIA.
The documents are expected to be mailed only by those receiving the admission offer (unless instructed otherwise by the admissions staff). The documents must reach the university within 3 weeks from the announcement of the offer. If the application documents do not reach us by the deadline, the university has the right to withdraw the admission offer. Applicants will be informed when their documents have arrived.
Requirements for educational documents
All copies of educational documents (diplomas and Diploma Supplements/transcripts) must be officially certified. By certified we mean that the copies should bear an original signature and seal of the authority certifying that these are true copies of the original document(s). The copies can be certified either 1) by an authorised official of the issuing institution, or 2) by a notary, or 3) with an Apostille attached. NB! Country-specific requirements may also specify the way documents from certain countries must be certified.
Please note that UT does not accept simple copies made on the basis of already certified copies (primary copies are needed).
All admitted students are required to present their original qualification certificates upon arrival (unless these were sent directly from the issuing institution).
Paying the tuition fee (applicable to applicants who receive a fee-based student place offer)
- EU/EEA/Swiss citizens are required to pay the fee for the first semester once they arrive in Tartu (by 20 September at the latest after signing the fee contract, please read more here).
- Admitted students from other countries are required to pre-pay half of the first semester's tuition fee. The invoice along with the pre-payment deadline and payment details will be sent to applicants via DreamApply after they have accepted the admissions offer and the University has received the hard copies of the application documents. Second part of the fee is due on 20 September. NB! The official admission letter (necessary for visa application) will only be issued once the University of Tartu has received the pre-payment.
- NB! Once you have been offered a fee-based study place, be aware that it will not be changed into a fee waiver study place. By transferring the pre-payment to the university, you confirm that you have informed yourself about the process of the visa and temporary residence permit application and you are able to arrive in Estonia by the start of the academic year. If you have any questions please contact studentvisasupport@ut.ee.
The official admission letter will be sent to admitted students electronically via DreamApply only after the admissions office has received and reviewed hard copies of the application documents, and received the tuition fee pre-payment (if a pre-payment was required, please see step 3 for more details).
NB! The electronic admission letter is also sufficient for non-EU students for applying for visa at an Estonian embassy.
Please note that in this programme, students are expected to participate in the contact session in Tartu for two weeks in August 2025 and for one week in June 2026. For non-EU students, short term (Schengen visa or C visa) is sufficient. Please find more information on visa application process here.
Based upon common queries, the most important information has been summarised into a pre-arrival information website UT Getting Started.
Estonian applicants should apply via National Admission Information Systems (SAIS). Further information in Estonian is available here.
