Lower tuition fees are available for EU students in the University of Tartu’s international master’s curricula

From the 2026/2027 academic year, many international master’s curricula at the University of Tartu will offer tuition waivers or reductions to students from the European Union. Students arriving from outside the European Union will have to pay tuition fees.

Previously, a small number of tuition waivers were available in the University of Tartu’s international master’s programmes to international students from both the European Union and other countries. From the next academic year, international master’s studies will be fee-based for citizens from outside the European Union who are starting their studies. In several curricula, tuition fee reductions will be available. Studies in the Erasmus Mundus joint programme, Excellence in Analytical Chemistry, remain tuition-free.

Citizens of the member states of the European Union, the European Economic Area, and the Swiss Confederation, as well as persons holding long-term residence permits in these countries, can have a tuition waiver or pay a reduced tuition fee set for EU citizens in the curricula where tuition waivers are not available.

A similar tuition policy is used by other higher education institutions in Estonia and the Nordic countries. This system gives applicants to the University of Tartu a clear and consistent overview of tuition-free and fee-based study opportunities. “The aim of this change is to recruit more students from the European Union, especially from neighbouring countries, and to make English-taught studies financially more sustainable,” said Aune Valk, Vice Rector for Academic Affairs.

EU citizens and persons treated as such can study

• tuition-free in the international master’s curricula of the Faculty of Science and Technology and in most international master’s curricula of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities;
• in both tuition-free and fee-based curricula of the Faculty of Social Sciences, while the tuition fee is at half the regular price for them in most programmes;
• for a tuition fee in the English-taught master’s curricula of the Faculty of Medicine.

For the 2026/2027 academic year, the university will admit international applicants to 25 master’s curricula, of which 16 (including the Erasmus Mundus joint programme) are tuition-free for EU citizens and persons treated as such. More detailed information about the programmes is available on the admissions webpage. Students from outside the European Union, the European Economic Area, and Switzerland will be required to pay tuition fees.

As a new measure to support successful studies, a tuition fee reduction will be available to fee-paying students in non-Estonian-taught curricula at both bachelor’s and master’s levels. The reduction may be a partial or full exemption from the tuition fee and is granted for one semester at a time.

In some English-taught curricula, a limited number of tuition fee reductions of 25%, 50% or 100% are offered to students admitted in the 2026/2027 academic year. The reduction is awarded for one semester, starting from the first or the second semester.

Further information can be found under “Admission requirements” in the each curriculum webpage. All the curriculums can be found on university webpage. Admissions for international applicants to international master’s curricula opened on 2 January in DreamApply. Applicants from Estonia can submit their applications via SAIS from 1 February.

Cost of tuition Master's programmes