The semester will be considered “studied” as of 10 November

By 10 November, we will be halfway through the 2025/26 autumn semester and it will count as a “studied” semester. This is particularly relevant to those planning to go on academic leave during this semester!

A student who goes on academic leave on or after 10 November must be aware that this semester will be considered a completed (“studied”) semester. This means the required number of ECTS credits must be earned for this semester to meet study requirements.

Students’ progress towards the completion of the curriculum is measured on the basis of completed (studied) semesters, the standard volume for each completed semester is 30 ECTS credits.

Students admitted as of 2024/2025, who interrupt their studies on their own initiative from 10 November, must pay the tuition fee for the courses to which they have registered but have not completed. Tuition fee is paid based on the credit point price. This applies to the students of both Estonian and English taught curricula, who do not pay for their studies (have tuition fee waived).

Refresh your knowledge about cybersecurity

Below, you will find nine recommendations for ensuring information security, keeping all of us better protected from scam and cyberattacks.

How to use AI applications in your studies?

The university encourages the use of AI, including text-based AI tools, to enhance teaching and learning, supporting both education and the development of students’ academic and professional skills. When using AI applications, it is crucial to emphasise purposefulness, ethics, transparency, and a critical mindset. Please refer to the updated guidelines for using AI in academic work.
➔ Read the full news.
➔ Read the guidelines.

AI products in UT
➔ IT helpdest instructions about Azure OpenAI API, GitHub Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft Copilot Chat and Sharepoint agents.

Important changes in the rules for using email service and IT services

To increase flexibility in opening and closing university user accounts and using email inboxes, the university has amended the procedure for using email service and the rules for using IT services as of 17 October. 

Opening and closing of university user accounts

Since learners must plan and prepare for learning already before the studies begin, they require timely access to study information and learning environments. This is why the principle now applies that user accounts for students, visiting students, resident doctors, external students and continuing education learners taking degree study courses will be opened seven days before the start of studies. Accounts for staff members continue to be opened on the first working day, and for other users, on the date indicated in the request for creating the account.

Learners’ user accounts will now be closed after a longer period. This enables them to progress smoothly to the next level of study without the account being closed, helps avoid problems accessing personal data, and allows time to reconfigure accounts. Students’ accounts will be closed 90 days after the end of studies; accounts for international students, resident doctors, external students, and continuing education learners taking degree study courses will be closed 30 days after the end of studies. Accounts for all other users are closed on the last day of employment or other relationship.
Students’ and resident doctors’ email inboxes and their contents will be archived for one year from the date the inbox is closed; for all others, they will be archived for two years. After the end of the archiving period, the inbox and its contents will be deleted.

Email inbox protection

The second important amendment lays down explicit conditions under which the university has the right to read a user’s documents and data, and access their email inbox. The university can only see a user’s data and documents to the extent and if necessary for preventing and resolving a cyber incident. The user must be informed of this and, where possible, the required action should be agreed with them. The user does not need to be notified only if the cyber incident can be resolved using the logs. In the updated procedure for using the university’s email service, the definition of ‘cyber incident’ has been aligned with that in the Cybersecurity Act.

Granting access in exceptional cases

The third substantive change concerns the possibility of gaining access to documents and files necessary for work when an employee is unable to share them during an extended period. In such cases, the head of the structural unit may be granted access to the relevant documents based on the decision of the chief information security officer. When an employment relationship ends, the files on the employee’s network drive (except personal files) are transferred to the structural unit’s drive to ensure continuity of work processes. All personal files are deleted. To distinguish between personal and work files, all employees are asked to label their personal files and folders (including in the inbox) as “Personal”.

The amendments were prepared by the Information Technology Office, the Office of Academic Affairs and the Rector’s Strategy Office and approved by the rector’s decree.

Further information:

IT helpdesk  

The tuition payment deadline is 20 October

The students of the second study year and onwards, the deadline for paying the tuition fee is 20 October as described on the page of tuition fee.

Estonian ID code submission for first-year international students

First-year international students who have received their Estonian ID code outside of Tartu are requested to send it to studentvisasupport@ut.ee so it can be added to their Study Information System (SIS) profile. Students who obtained their ID code in Tartu Welcome Centre do not need to send it, as it has already been received from the Centre.

It is essential to have the ID code in SIS for your study data to be accessible in the Estonian Education Information System (EHIS).

Students applying directly for a temporary residence permit (TRP) without first obtaining an ID code should wait for their ID code until a decision regarding their TRP application has been made.

International student support

All services listed on the UT Counselling Centre website are available to international students. In addition, we provide tailored support to address the specific needs of international students.

Visa and Residence Permit Support 📧 studentvisasupport@ut.ee

• Assistance with applying for a visa or residence permit upon arrival
• Understanding and complying with visa and residence permit requirements during your studies

 International Student Counselling 📧 internationalstudent@ut.ee

• Arrival and welcome information
• Guidance on who to contact for various concerns or issues during your studies

Visit Us

📍 University of Tartu main building (Ülikooli Street 18), room 131
(right wing, entrance from the courtyard)

🕒 Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00–12:00 and 13:00–16:00
Please book an appointment in advance by emailing internationalstudent@ut.ee

The tuition payment deadline is 20 October

The students of the second study year and onwards, the deadline for paying the tuition fee is 20 October as described on the page of tuition fee.

Check your contact data in SIS

Please check, add or update, if needed, your contact data in Study Information System (SIS). Your SIS profile must include a valid and active email address, an Estonian mobile phone number, a home phone number, and your address in Estonia. It is for your benefit to ensure that in the case of need, the university can contact you immediately. Please also insert your bank account number in order to receive the stipends/allowances. It is student’s responsibility to guarantee that personal contact data is always updated throughout studies at the University of Tartu.

Check your contact data in SIS

Please check, add or update, if needed, your contact data in Study Information System (SIS). Your SIS profile must include a valid and active email address, an Estonian mobile phone number, a home phone number, and your address in Estonia. It is for your benefit to ensure that in the case of need, the university can contact you immediately. Please also insert your bank account number in order to receive the stipends/allowances. It is student’s responsibility to guarantee that personal contact data is always updated throughout studies at the University of Tartu.

Proof of enrolment

If you need proof of enrolment at UT (for example for the employer), it can be requested from the respective dean’s office, institute, or college.
➔ Contact details for different study related matters.

Estonian ID code submission for first-year international students

First-year international students who have received their Estonian ID code outside of Tartu are requested to send it to studentvisasupport@ut.ee so it can be added to their Study Information System (SIS) profile. Students who obtained their ID code in Tartu Welcome Centre do not need to send it, as it has already been received from the Centre.

It is essential to have the ID code in SIS for your study data to be accessible in the Estonian Education Information System (EHIS).

Students applying directly for a temporary residence permit (TRP) without first obtaining an ID code should wait for their ID code until a decision regarding their TRP application has been made.

International student support

All services listed on the UT Counselling Centre website are available to international students. In addition, we provide tailored support to address the specific needs of international students.

Visa and Residence Permit Support 📧 studentvisasupport@ut.ee

• Assistance with applying for a visa or residence permit upon arrival
• Understanding and complying with visa and residence permit requirements during your studies

 International Student Counselling 📧 internationalstudent@ut.ee

• Arrival and welcome information
• Guidance on who to contact for various concerns or issues during your studies

Visit Us

📍 University of Tartu main building (Ülikooli Street 18), room 131
(right wing, entrance from the courtyard)

🕒 Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00–12:00 and 13:00–16:00
Please book an appointment in advance by emailing internationalstudent@ut.ee

Proof of enrolment

If you need proof of enrolment at UT (for example for the employer), it can be requested from the respective dean’s office, institute, or college. Contact details are HERE.

Use your university email address for all study-related communication

The University of Tartu expects all study-related communication to take place via your official university email address. For this purpose, every student has a University of Tartu email account with the format firstname.lastname[at]ut.ee. This is the official address to which all study-related correspondence is sent. Through this account, the university ensures that all information related to studies reaches every student without interruptions.

How to access your account? 
You can access your university email account via email applications (Outlook, Thunderbird) or through the web interface (kiri.ut.ee). See the email user guide for more details.

Your UT account gives access to digital tools needed for studies

Through the university account, all students can make full use of the university’s information systems and Microsoft 365 web applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. OneDrive for Business is suitable as a personal cloud storage for study-related work, while SharePoint Online is intended for teamwork and file sharing. Microsoft Teams makes it easy to study and hold meetings online. In addition, students can use the AI-based chatbot Copilot Chat for free, now running on OpenAI’s latest model GPT-5. When you log in with a university account, Microsoft guarantees data security, and the data you enter will not be used to train AI models.

Use your university email address for all study-related communication

The University of Tartu expects all study-related communication to take place via your official university email address. For this purpose, every student has a University of Tartu email account with the format firstname.lastname[at]ut.ee. This is the official address to which all study-related correspondence is sent. Through this account, the university ensures that all information related to studies reaches every student without interruptions.

How to access your account? 
You can access your university email account via email applications (Outlook, Thunderbird) or through the web interface (kiri.ut.ee). See the email user guide for more details.

Your UT account gives access to digital tools needed for studies

Through the university account, all students can make full use of the university’s information systems and Microsoft 365 web applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. OneDrive for Business is suitable as a personal cloud storage for study-related work, while SharePoint Online is intended for teamwork and file sharing. Microsoft Teams makes it easy to study and hold meetings online. In addition, students can use the AI-based chatbot Copilot Chat for free, now running on OpenAI’s latest model GPT-5. When you log in with a university account, Microsoft guarantees data security, and the data you enter will not be used to train AI models.

Tuition fees in academic year 2025/26

📄 Download the PDF of tuiton fees.

Course registration deadline for the first-year students is 15 September

Please note that the SIS planner is a helpful tool for drawing up your autumn semester’s timetable; the planner helps to register for all selected courses at once. If needed, you can also contact your peer tutor with questions related to registration and using the planner.
🌐 Read guidelines for course registration.
🌐 Read how to use the planner.
🌐 Read about how a peer tutor can help you.

Requesting adaptations in studies

The University of Tartu Counselling Centre is updating the system for requesting adaptations in studies. According to the new system, the special needs adviser will prepare a letter outlining the recommended adaptations and send the student a digitally signed document. The student will then forward this document to the teaching staff (including the teaching staff in charge) for all courses in which adaptations are required, as well as to the academic affairs specialist. The document remains valid until the end of the 2025/2026 academic year. If there is no need to make any changes to the recommended adaptations, the student may send the same document to the lecturers at the beginning of the spring semester, without needing to contact the adviser again.
🌐 Find more information about the support and services available to students with special needs.

Completion of curriculum

Students are required to complete the curriculum they have registered for and the university checks their progress.
🌐 Read more about completing the curriculum.

Tuition fees in academic year 2025/26

📄 Download the PDF of tuiton fees.

Orientation course materials & feedback request

International students can now access the slide presentations and photos from the 2025/26 orientation course. We would really appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to share your thoughts on the orientation course by 14 September. Your feedback helps us improve future programs. Two students who complete the feedback form will be randomly selected to receive a UT hoodie on 15 September! Thank you for being part of our international student community!
🌐 Give your feedback here.
🌐 Get the orientation course materials.
🌐 Do not forget to check out the photo gallery!

Completion of curriculum

Students are required to complete the curriculum they have registered for and the university checks their progress. Read more about completing the curriculum.

Course registration deadline for the first-year students is 15 September

Read the guidelines for course registration. Please note that the SIS planner is a helpful tool for drawing up your autumn semester’s timetable; the planner helps to register for all selected courses at once. Read how to use the planner.
If needed, you can also contact your peer tutor with questions related to registration and using the planner.

Requesting adaptations in studies

The University of Tartu Counselling Centre is updating the system for requesting adaptations in studies. According to the new system, the special needs adviser will prepare a letter outlining the recommended adaptations and send the student a digitally signed document. The student will then forward this document to the teaching staff (including the teaching staff in charge) for all courses in which adaptations are required, as well as to the academic affairs specialist. The document remains valid until the end of the 2025/2026 academic year. If there is no need to make any changes to the recommended adaptations, the student may send the same document to the lecturers at the beginning of the spring semester, without needing to contact the adviser again.
More information about the support and services available to students with special needs can be found on the University of Tartu Counselling Centre´s website.

Changes in the organisation of studies in the 2025/26 academic year

Read more about changes in the organisation of studies in the next academic year.

Opening ceremony of the 2025/26 academic year

For new first-year students

Newly admitted students can log in UT’s Study Information System (SIS) already on 26 August – one week before the official beginning of the 2025/2026 academic year. The academic year begins on 1 September. By today, all of you should have received your login credentials, check emails sent by arvutiabi@ut.ee. The students, who have studied previously at UT and start in a new programme this autumn will not get new login credentials but need to use their former ones. If you have forgotten your password, follow the password recovery instructions.

In the SIS, you can plan and register for courses. The guidelines for course registration are given here. The SIS planner is a helpful tool for drawing up your autumn semester’s timetable: it helps to register for all the selected courses at once. The guidelines for using the planner.

The deadline for course registration for the first-year students is 15 September.

If needed, you can also contact your peer tutor with questions related to registration and using the planner. As there will be info sessions for newly admitted students, delivered by the UT academic units, we advise you to wait with registrations and get more detailed instructions in those sessions.

Course registration deadline for the students of the second year and above

The course registration deadline for the autumn semester is 31 August (2nd year students and above). The course registration deadline for first-year students is 15 September.

Extension of studies

The students, whose end of studies is approaching (check SIS for the final date of your studies), need to submit an application for extension before the final date of studies to the respective dean’s office, institute, or college.

Changes in the organisation of studies in the 2025/26 academic year

Read more about changes in the organisation of studies in the next academic year.