Quantitative Economics
2 January
15 March
30 April
2 September
- The University of Tartu is ranked in the top 250 universities in the world in business and economics (Rankings and Surveys).
- The programme gives training in solving real-life economic problems via the application of state-of-the-art economic analysis techniques with a special focus on micro-and macroeconomic theory.
- Cooperation with the Bank of Estonia and Swedbank provides internship possibilities, an award for the best thesis and job opportunities after graduation.
- Graduates can follow a career as analysts in banks, public sector organisations, consulting firms and international companies. 80% of our alumni work in Estonia.
- Study at the University of Tartu Delta Centre, which brings together a vibrant community of students, researchers and innovators in the fields of computer science, business and economics, mathematics and statistics.
The English-taught master's programme in Quantitative Economics gives students strong preparation in contemporary economic theory and econometric analysis methods, enabling them to analyse and forecast economic processes. The master's programme is taught by top specialists in their field in an international environment. It is an excellent springboard for doctoral studies in economics or following a career as an analyst in banks, public sector organisations, consulting firms and international companies.
The programme offers internationally competitive master's-level economic education. The teaching staff will involve graduates of the high-standing international economics doctoral programmes and leading economists of Estonia. Due to close international contacts and active research activities at the national and international levels at the faculty, students can get actual research experience or apprenticeship training in Estonian financial and public sector institutions.
What will you get from this programme?
After completing the programme, you:
- know the main concepts in economics and have acquired the skills of making critical assessments of the applicability of these concepts;
- have acquired the ability to apply both micro-and macroeconomic models for analysing the problems which arise in economic practice;
- know how to verbally, graphically, mathematically and empirically analyse and forecast both the behaviour of economic agents and also the impact of governmental policies;
- have gained experience conducting scientific research and solving real-life economic-related problems in practice.
The programme aims to bring the international dimension into academic studies and develop students’ skills in quantitative economic analysis. Thus the curriculum is incredibly beneficial for Eesti Pank (Bank of Estonia) and other institutions (primarily ministries) involved in economic analysis and surveys.
Study environment
- Several seminars and lectures on various economic topics by visiting lecturers from Estonia and abroad
- Various activities supporting start-ups and entrepreneurship organised by the University of Tartu sTARTUp Lab and others
- Increasingly very international study environment – as of 2023, there are 59 international students from 20 countries: Ukraine, Azerbaijan, USA, Germany, Brazil, Kazakhstan, China, Argentina, Italy, India, Costa Rica, Vietnam, Turkey, Ghana, Nigeria, Pakistan, Algeria, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Russia.
- Tartu has an active student life – many events every week throughout the semester.
- Grants to participate in professional conferences, seminars or courses abroad.
- The University of Tartu offers many exchange programmes.
- Neat and modern dormitories
Partnership with Swedbank and Bank of Estonia
The programme is delivered in cooperation with the Bank of Estonia and Swedbank, the biggest bank in Estonia. These are the benefits to students:
- high-quality study programme
- lecturers from the Bank of Estonia
- internship opportunities
- job opportunities after graduation
- an award for the best thesis
Our vision is to be a bank that supports the sustainable development of people, businesses and society. All this can only be based on well-educated people. As the economy and society change fast, the future will bring us a lot of challenges in terms of the attainment and availability of skilled people. We see that our future competencies in both Swedbank and many other businesses are related to IT, mathematics, statistics and economics.
We believe that the cooperation with the University of Tartu and the Quantitative Economics master’s programme contributes to the implementation of our vision in a way that benefits both students, the university and Swedbank.
Further information
- Follow the programme on Facebook.
- Watch the programme director talk about the master's programme in Quantitative Economics and the discussion round of master's students in the economics and mathematics field during the Online Open Doors Week 2022.
- Watch 10 questions with a Quantitative Economics student.
- Watch Alumni Talks: Firms' corporate political activities by Irakli Barbakadze (MA in Quantitative Economics)
- Get to know the School of Economics and Business Administration.
The curriculum comprises the following modules:
- Quantitative Methods in Economics (38 ECTS);
- Economic Models (38 ECTS);
- Elective module (15 ECTS): there is a possibility to take an elective module from this curriculum Special Topics in Economics, or to take an elective module from the curriculum Actuarial and Financial Engineering;
- Optional courses (6 ECTS);
- Master's thesis (23 ECTS).
Part of the studies is compulsory practical training (internship) (6 ECTS).
Is an internship mandatory? What kind of internships is it possible to get
Internship is an integral part of the studies at the MA Quantitative Economics programme. There is a compulsory internship, but several students have taken also additional internships on top of the compulsory one, either during studies or sometimes even after graduation.
The aim of the practical training is to gain economic research experience by applying the theoretical knowledge obtained during the coursework to the empirical or theoretical study of a specific economic problem. The internship may comprise very different kinds of activities: economic analysis in central bank research department, work in a data analytics company, work in a ministry or other public sector organization, helping to establish a start-up company. In the practical training, some linkage with quantitative analysis and economics is expected, i.e. we do not expect academic economic research in narrow sense, but internship may include e.g. 1) writing applied reports; 2) collecting information; 3) making data accessible for research; 4) statistical data analysis; 5) collecting literature and writing literature reviews.
When do students generally do their internship?
Most of the master students have taken internship in the summer month after the 1st year of the studies. It is logical to apply for internship after the basic skills in economic theory and econometric analysis have been acquired in the courses of the 1st year of the master studies. Yet, we encourage the students to take internship also outside of the summer months, e.g. in the Fall or Winter of the 2nd year of the master’s studies. A few students have been offered a permanent position at the end of the internship.
How do students find internships? Does the university help with that?
Yes, the University of Tartu helps the students to find internship. In particular, we have provided to the students list of possible places (companies and other organisations) for practical training in Estonia and the other Baltic States – see the file over here. There has been created also the internship mediation webpage FUTULAB. However, students have to apply to the internship themselves. The internship can be taken in any country given that it matches the profile of the study curriculum. When taking internship abroad, one can apply for funding from the Erasmus+ programme. University of Tartu has offered some internship opportunities also itself, either as part of the work for some research projects of the School of Economics and Business Administration, or at the University of Tartu Centre for Applied Social Sciences.
Examples of companies where students have done their internships during the last few years:
- Central banks: Eesti Pank (central bank of Estonia), Center for Excellence in Finance and Economic Research (CEFER), established by the Bank of Lithuania and Vilnius University
- Think-tanks: CENTAR (Estonia), PRAXIS (Estonia), BICEPS (Latvia), PMCG (Georgia), CASS (Estonia)
- Financial institutions – Swedbank (Estonia), Bigbank (Estonia), Redgate capital (Estonia), Friendly Finance Group (Estonia), Scorewise (Estonia), Dataminer (Estonia), LHV Bank (Estonia)
- Public sector institutions – Estonian Unemployment Insurance Foundation, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, Foresight Centre of the Riigikogu (parliament of Estonia), Estonian Development Fund, Enterprise Estonia (Estonia)
- Universities: University of Tartu (Estonia), CERGE-EI (Czech Republic)
The following structure of the programme applies to the current academic year. To view the most updated version, please visit the University of Tartu Study Information System and choose the next academic year (if available).
People
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Jaan Masso
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Andres Võrk
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Lenno Uusküla
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The full list of teaching staff is available here.
Facilities
The studies take place at the University of Tartu Delta Centre. Opened in 2020, the Delta Centre comprises academic and research and entrepreneurship buildings and brings together more than 3000 students, lecturers, researchers, and company development employees.
The academic and research building accommodates the Institute of Computer Sciences, the Institute of Mathematics and Statistics, the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and some laboratories of the Institute of Technology.
The objective of the curriculum is to prepare highly qualified analysts for the government agencies, banks, international organisations and consultancy firms, filling top positions that require a detailed understanding and application of economic models and econometric methods.
Graduates are competitive as analysts in the public sector, financial sector, multinational companies, consulting firms etc.
Part of the studies is a mandatory internship that helps students make career choices after graduation.
Alumni stories
Kateryna Adermann
Nationality: Ukrainian
Previous education: Mathematics, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine
What did you get from MA Quantitative Economics?
It gave me valuable international experience, abilities and competencies to solve applied economic problems as well as team-working skills. I am proud to be a graduate of the best Estonian university and have a speciality that is very valuable on the market. I am grateful to university teachers for supporting me during my studies, always answering questions and eagerly sharing knowledge.
Exchange, Research and Internship Experience
Erasmus exchange in Kiel University, Germany (1 year) and internship at Central Bank of Estonia, Economics and Research department.
Current position: Senior Risk Analyst, Scorewise, Estonia
Mykola Herasymovych
Nationality: Ukrainian
Previous education: Economics, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Ukraine
What did you get from MA Quantitative Economics?
It gave me a good technical background, as well as opportunities to get professional and practical experience by going to seminars and conferences, doing internships and exchange studies. All the knowledge and skills received there made it possible for me to publish my first academic paper, enter Estonian job market and excel in my career.
Exchange, Research and Internship Experience
Internship in the Central Bank of Estonia; exchange semester at the College of Charleston, the US; seminars, such as "Introduction to Bayesian Econometrics" held at the Central Bank of Estonia.
Current position: Head of Data Science, Creditstar Group Ltd, Tallinn, Estonia
Elizaveta Lebedeva
Nationality: Russian
Previous education: Finance, Moscow State University of Economics, Statistics and Informatics, Russia
What did you get from MA Quantitative Economics?
A wide range of programming and statistical courses helped me to step into the Data Science world. Also, the advanced level of quantitative courses gave me a strong background which helped me to better understand the Machine Learning field. The great thing is that students have a wide range of open doors after graduation, both in academia and in industries (different positions as an economist, analyst, Data Scientist, product managers, etc.)
Exchange, Research and Internship Experience
Exchange Semester at University of Mannheim (one of best German Universities in Business and Economics) and Delta Conference at University of Tarty, 2018 gave a talk related to topic of Master thesis
Current position: Data Scientist, Bolt, Tallinn, Estonia
Daria Tykhonova
Nationality: Ukrainian
Previous education: Economic Theory, National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy, Ukraine
What did you get from MA Quantitative Economics?
It has developed my analytical skills, understanding of quantitative methods and how to work with data. It gave me a good background for my current position as a business analyst.
Exchange, Research and Internship Experience
Erasmus exchange in Bologna University (Rimini campus) and Internship at Praxis. I was working on research focusing on absenteeism and presenteeism, which involved building multilevel models.
Current position: Business Analyst, Finnair Business Services, in Tartu, Estonia
Diana Gabrielyan
Nationality: Armenian
Previous education: Informatics and Applied Mathematics, Yerevan State University, Armenia
What did you get from MA Quantitative Economics?
This programme opened many opportunities for me. Not only I learned a lot about economics, but I also had the chance to do an internship at the Bank of Estonia, where I gained invaluable practical experience. In addition, I took part in many extra-curricular activities, which expanded my horizons and made contributed to my success. I also had the opportunity to do the Erasmus exchange semester in Italy.
Current position: I am a PhD student at the University of Tartu and at the same time I am working as Insights Analyst at Finnair in Helsinki, Finland
Youjun Shin
Nationality: South Korea
Previous education: BSc Economics and Trade, Kyungpook National University, South-Korea
What did you get from MA Quantitative Economics?
I got all good things from MA Quantitative Economics programme;
Upgrade myself through high-quality lectures;
Higher knowledge for higher education;
Good opportunity for work experience;
A different perspective from the international environment;
The best ever classmates.
These 2 years are the best school experience among all my education periods.
Current position: I am a PhD student at the University of Tartu and Working as a Data analyst at Nordea Bank in Tallinn, Estonia.
Ketevani Kapanadze
Nationality: Georgia
Previous education: BSc Economics, Marmara University, Turkey
What did you get from MA Quantitative Economics?
During my bachelor's studies, I gained theoretical knowledge about Economics, but MA Quantitative Economics gave me the opportunity to put my theoretical studies into practice.
Current position: PhD student in Economics, CERGE-EI
Contact: ketevani.kapanadze@cerge-ei.cz
Ana Burduli
Nationality: Georgian
Previous education: Business Administration and Economics, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Georgia
What did you get from MA Quantitative Economics?
QE programme gave me a good knowledge of economics and useful practical skills. That made me confident in every aspect of academic and professional life.
Exchange and Research Experience
Under the Erasmus traineeship programme, I served as a Research Assistant at the Bank of Lithuania in its Center for Excellence in Finance and Economic Research (CEFER) working on DSGE models. Through the same traineeship programme, I also worked as a Mentor for the Masters of Applied Economics Programme at CERGE-EI in Prague.
Current position: Senior Researcher, ISET Policy Institute, Tbilisi, Georgia
Contact: ana.burduli@iset.ge; anaburduli92@gmail.com
Anastasia Sinitsyna
Nationality: Russian
Previous education: Finance and Credit, Moscow State University of Technology "STANKIN", Russia
What did you get from MA Quantitative Economics?
It gives me an opportunity to develop very special skills in economics. There are great opportunities for challenging yourself.
Exchange and Research Experience: Erasmus student at Kiel University
Current position: Junior Research Fellow and PhD student, School of Economics and Business Administration, University of Tartu, Estonia
Michael Gurmessa
Nationality: Ethiopian
Previous education: BA Economics, Wolaita Sodo Univeristy, Ethiopia
What did you get from MA Quantitative Economics?
QE is a great tool to unlock the complexity of the modern world. It helps me to be very competent in the job market and for my future career. I recommend everybody who wants to join the life of Economics discovery :)
Current position: Senior Travel Consultant, Sutherland Global Services, Tallinn
Admission requirements for Quantitative Economics
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bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification (must be obtained by the end of July) – please see our country-specific document requirements
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prerequisite courses that the applicant has to have passed during earlier studies on higher education level: mathematics in the value of 9 ECTS and probability and mathematical statistics in the value of 6 ECTS completed in the previous study level. The bachelor's programmes offered at the School of Economics and Business Administration of the University of Tartu (both in Estonian and English) provide the required number of credit points in mathematics and statistics
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English language proficiency – please see our acceptable tests and exempt categories
NB! Citizens of the Russian Federation who, under the legislation of the Republic of Estonia, cannot apply for a long-stay visa or residence permit to study or do not have a valid legal basis to stay in the Republic of Estonia until the end of the curriculum’s standard period of study are not eligible to apply to the University of Tartu in the 2024/2025 academic year.
According to the current legislation, citizens of Belarus can apply for Estonian long-term visa or temporary residence permit for studies and are therefore eligible to apply to the University of Tartu.
Applications are evaluated based on
- the score of the motivation letter (yields 60% of the final score)
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the average grade of the previous study level (yields 40% of the final score)
The motivation letter must be submitted with your application in DreamApply by March 15 at the latest.
The motivation letter consists of two parts: a written part (essay) and a video recording.
Written part (essay)
The essay should be written in English, and contain approximately 3000-3500 characters with spaces based on the following points:
- Explanation on which economics research topics are attractive for the student to write the master's thesis. The applicant should propose a potential master's thesis topic and
a) explain the research topic;
b) motivate why it is interesting and essential to study this topic;
c) discuss how to explore this topic and what would be the methodology. - The description of the career that the applicant would like to follow, which
a) explains what attracts the applicant to this career path;
b) discusses how the Quantitative Economics programme (courses and topics in the programme) would help to achieve this career goal;
c) argues what would be the biggest challenges in achieving this career goal.
Short video CV
The applicant should record a video of up to 5 minutes in length, where the applicant's face is clearly visible, and voice clearly audible. The video should be in the "pitch" format: thoroughly thought out, covering the catchiest attributes of the applicant. The video does not have to be done professionally – for example, it can be produced with a smartphone camera or webcam of the computer.
NB! The applicant must include a link to the video file in the motivation letter. When submitting the video link, make sure the video can be accessed by anyone reading the motivation letter.
The video should address the following aspects:
- highlights from the applicant's CV, including how the applicant's background (previous studies and work experience) is related to the Quantitative Economics programme; describe especially your experience in economic research (if any);
- previous studies in quantitative analysis subjects (statistics, econometrics, mathematics, programming, data analysis), knowledge and experience in using various software packages (e.g., R, Python, SPSS, Stata);
- describe any of your studies abroad or extracurricular studies on top of the formal programs, e.g., participation in student conferences, workshops, student competitions, online courses taken, etc.;
- describe how your various other capabilities and qualifications enable you to complete the studies in Quantitative Economics successfully and to achieve the career goals stated in the motivation letter;
- explain why you have chosen to apply to the University of Tartu.
Evaluation criteria:
- In the essay:
a) the ideas for a potential master thesis (defined a research problem, discussion on how to solve and explore the research problem) (max 20 points);
b) clearly defined career goals and aspirations and how the Quantitative Economics program is expected to contribute in achieving these (maximum 15 points);
c) the skills of argumentation and discussion as presented in the written text, including logicality of the structure of the letter, the relevance of the information and arguments presented, and abilities of self-expression in the written form, grammatically fluent and correct English (max 15 points).
- In the short video CV:
a) comprehensive description of the capabilities enabling the study of Quantitative Economics, especially the skills obtained in mathematics, statistics, econometrics, and quantitative analysis skills (maximum 20 points);
b) previous experiences in the field, like practical work experience, voluntary work, internships undertaken or any other experience with economic research or quantitative analysis, e.g., in the bachelor thesis (maximum 15 points);
c) the content, presentation skills (fluency, naturality, and organization of the presentation), and understanding of the Quantitative Economics programme will be assessed (max 15 points).
The maximum score for the motivation letter is 100 points and the result is positive only if the applicant gains 51 points or more.
In case of need, the Admissions Committee may ask some applicants to be available for a follow-up interview during April 2024.
Only those applicants who score 66 points or higher (out of 100) as a combined score from both the motivation letter and average grade of the previous study level, will be considered 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:
Application system opens on 2 January and closes on 15 March. The following documents must be submitted electronically via DreamApply by 15 March:
- online application
- motivation letter
- official certified copy of the bachelor's diploma or its equivalent and Diploma Supplement (transcript) in the original language (must include 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 (including also the grades/results for the last autumn semester) 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 certified translation of the bachelor’s diploma and Diploma Supplement (transcript) into English. As certified translations we consider 1) official translations made by the issuing institution (university) bearing their original signature, stamp etc, or 2) translations certified by a sworn translator or notary.
- 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.
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 those receiving a fee-based study 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/residence permit at an Estonian embassy.
Once the admission letter is issued, accepted students may proceed further with arranging their arrival. All non-EU students should first consult information on the process of visa and temporary residence permit application to be sure, as where and when the relevant documents need to be applied. Note that housing at the UT dormitories can be applied during a limited period of time, unless specified otherwise on the website.
NB! Admitted students who are not citizens of an EU or EEA country or Switzerland need to make sure they obtain the Estonian long-term visa on time in order to be able to participate in the orientation programme for international students held in the last week of August. They are also required to visit the Admissions Office in person to complete their arrival registration by September 2, 2024, at the latest. Failure to do so will result in the revocation of their admission decision and visa.
For housing alternatives please find further information on Tartu Welcome Centre website.
Travel information can be found 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.
