Scholarship for students with special needs
The purpose of a scholarship for students with special needs is to support these students in acquiring a higher education. Students who meet the following conditions can apply for the scholarship from the first semester of their matriculation year:
- the student is an Estonian citizen or staying in Estonia on the basis of a long-term residence or temporary residence permit or a permanent or temporary right of residence, or a visa or on a visa-free basis if a visa waiver agreement has been concluded with a foreign country or the visa requirement has been waived for foreign nationals and they have applied for a temporary residence permit for study purposes;
- the student is studying full-time or part-time (including those on academic leave who attend study);
- the student has special needs (disability is determined by the Social Insurance Board).
The scholarship for students with special needs can also be applied for and received during academic leave (if the student attends study), when studying part-time, and when studying full-time and transferring to the extension year. In these cases, the amount of the scholarship is differentiated. A student in part-time studies receives the scholarship for students with special needs for twice the nominal duration of the curriculum.
The amount of the scholarship for students with special needs is
1) 510 euros per month for a student with a hearing loss that corresponds to a profound or severe disability;
2) 148 euros per month for a student with a mobility or visual impairment which corresponds to a profound or severe disability;
3) 80 euros per month for a student with a profound or severe disability other than those mentioned in clauses 1) and 2);
4) 325 euros per month for a student with a hearing disability which corresponds to a moderate disability;
5) 68 euros per month for a student with a mobility or visual impairment which corresponds to a moderate disability;
6) 60 euros per month for a student with a moderate disability other than those mentioned in clauses 4) and 5).
Students can apply for the scholarship once per academic year. If a student submits an application in the Autumn application round, then the scholarship can be applied for 10 months. If the application is submitted in the Spring application round, the scholarship will be awarded up to the end of the current academic year (i.e. up to 5 months). If a student submits an application in the Autumn application round, he or she will no longer be able to apply in the Spring application round, even if the scholarship in the Autumn round is paid for less than 10 months. The scholarship is paid by the 10th day of the calendar month (scholarships are not paid in July and August, for September the payment will be made retrospectively).
To apply for the Scholarship, the student must submit the application on this page: https://toetused.kul.ee/et/login. Scholarship application deadline for Spring is 22th of February 2024.
The amount of the scholarship for a student on academic leave or for a part-time student depends on the subject registrations made at the beginning of the semester and on the volume of subjects completed. 30 ECTSs in a semester is considered a full-time volume. Therefore, if the student completes 15 ECTSs in a semester, the amount of the scholarship is 50% (=15/30) of the full rate.
If a full-time student is transferred to the extension year the amount of the scholarship is pro-rata with the volume of curriculum subjects that are incompleted. For example a full-time student whose hearing loss corresponds to a profound or severe disability has the right to 2550 euros for the whole semester (5 months x 510 euros). When breaking this down to 30 ECTSs, the price per ECTS is 85 euros. If the student registers for a 3 ECTS subject, the pro-rata amount will be 255 euros for the full semester. This amount will be paid across the whole semester or year depending on the end date of studies (for example when dividing the total by 10 months, the monthly amount of the scholarship is 25.50 euros).
Additional information
Scholarship for students with special needs information can be found on the webpage of the Estonian Education and Youth Board (available only in Estonian).
English guidelines for applying:
The payment and granting of a specialisation stipend is regulated in Estionia by national regulation "Types and Amounts of State Student Scholarships and General Conditions and Procedure for Granting Them" (available only in Estonian).