Estonia

Tuition

Degree programmes taught in Estonian are generally free of charge for full-time students, and all doctoral studies are free regardless of nationality; exchange students are also exempt from tuition. Where English-taught bachelor's or master's programmes do charge fees, these typically range from about EUR 1,500 to EUR 15,000 per academic year, with the highest fees in fields such as medicine, law, business administration and some social sciences. Several institutions have offered tuition waivers to top-scoring applicants from both EU/EEA and non-EU/EEA countries, but this is changing: the University of Tartu, for example, stops offering waivers to newly admitted non-EU/EEA students from the 2026/2027 academic year and introduces partial fee reductions instead. Fees are set and revised by each institution, so applicants should always confirm current amounts on the specific programme page. ^{[1] [2]}

Visa

Long-stay (D) visa to enter Estonia for studies of up to about 12 months; for programmes lasting longer than one year, a temporary residence permit for study issued by the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA), valid for the length of the curriculum up to a maximum of 5 years. Permit holders may work without a separate work permit as long as it does not interfere with full-time study. — 30 ECTS credits per semester as proof of full-time study – no statutory weekly-hour cap for student jobs as long as full-time study continues. ^{[3] [4] [5] [6]}

Applications

Most Estonian higher education institutions admit students once a year for studies starting in autumn (late August or September). Application windows for the autumn intake generally run from around January to April, with the earliest programme deadlines in early-to-mid March; non-EU/EEA applicants typically face earlier deadlines than EU/EEA applicants because visas and residence permits take extra time to arrange. Most programmes are applied to through the DreamApply portal, though a few institutions run their own separate admissions process; application fees, where charged, range from 0 to about EUR 120. Exact dates vary by university and programme, so applicants should always check the specific programme page. ^{[7] [8]}

Application portals

• DreamApply (Study in Estonia)

Language

Estonian. Estonian is the only official language of the country, but international study is well established: more than 150 full degree programmes are taught entirely in English at bachelor's, master's and doctoral level, spread across around a dozen public and private Estonian higher education institutions, including universities of applied sciences. ^{[9] [10]}

Health insurance

International students are not automatically covered by the Estonian Health Insurance Fund (Haigekassa) unless they are employed in Estonia or hold permanent or long-term resident status. EU/EEA students should bring a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or a replacement certificate (form E128) from their home country; the EHIC does not, however, replace supplementary travel insurance for private treatment or repatriation. Students from outside the EU/EEA must arrange their own private health insurance contract covering the full validity of their stay, as required both for the long-stay (D) visa and for the temporary residence permit for study under the Aliens Act; proof must be submitted to the Police and Border Guard Board, generally within about two months of arrival, and missing this can put the residence permit at risk. This is general information, not insurance or legal advice. ^{[11] [4] [5]}

Universities

• University of Tartu, Tartu ^{[13] [10]}
• Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), Tallinn ^{[14] [10]}
• Tallinn University, Tallinn ^{[15] [10]}
• Estonian Business School (EBS), Tallinn ^{[16] [10]}

Scholarships

• Estonian Government Scholarships for Degree and Exchange Studies — Merit-based monthly scholarships funded by the Estonian Education and Youth Board (HARNO) for international degree and exchange students from a defined list of eligible countries: EUR 350 per month for bachelor's or master's students, EUR 660 per month for PhD students. Roughly one in ten applicants receives a scholarship each year. ^[17]
• University of Tartu Tuition-Waiver Places — A limited number of study places in selected English-taught master's programmes at the University of Tartu (for example in Computer Science, Bioengineering and Software Engineering) waive tuition fees for the strongest applicants, including EU/EEA and Swiss citizens and permanent residents, from the 2026/2027 academic year. ^[18]