Masters Degrees in Tallinn, Estonia

Located on the Baltic coast, Tallinn is Estonia’s capital and largest city. Combining fairy-tale spires with a burgeoning tech start-up scene, it makes for a compelling postgraduate destination. There are several higher education institutions in Tallinn, including Tallinn University and Tallinn University of Technology.

What’s it like to study a Masters in Tallinn?

First mentioned in the 12th century, Tallinn has a long history that has seen it affiliated with various alliances and kingdoms, from Denmark and Sweden to the Hanseatic League and the Soviet Union. Tallinn’s diverse architecture bears witness to this: the UNESCO-listed Old Town is a beautifully preserved medieval site with cobbled streets, colourful merchant residences and Gothic churches, overlooked by an imposing Baroque castle. In the north of Tallinn, meanwhile, the district of Kalamaja is full of charming wooden buildings as well as the Telliskivi Creative City – a former industrial area that has been turned into a thriving hub for artists, chefs and small businesses.

Cultural and historical highlights in Tallinn include the Kadriog Art Museum (housed in a stately Baroque palace), the Kumu Art Museum and the Lennusadam Seaplane Harbour, a maritime museum in a cavernous concrete hangar built in 1917. Tallinn’s Cold War past can be explored at the Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom, as well as the KGB Museum – located on the top floor of Hotel Viru, it offers a window into Estonia’s time as a surveillance state under Soviet rule.

If you want to escape the city, Pirita beach is easy to get to by public transport or bike and is popular among locals and visitors during the long summer days. Adventurous postgraduates can tackle the Pääsküla bog trail, a 30-minute drive from the city centre. Helsinki is two hours away by ferry, making it a great day-trip destination.

Universities in Tallinn

Tallinn is home to five universities and several higher education institutions. The largest university in the city is the Tallinn University of Technology, which was founded in 1918 and has 11,200 students. Specialising in Engineering, Science and Technology, it’s the only university of its kind in Estonia. Tallinn University focuses on the humanities and was established in 2005, merging several higher education institutions from around the city. The Estonian Academy of Arts offers courses in Fine Arts, Design, Media and Architecture.

Estonian is the primary language of instruction, but an increasing number of Masters programmes are being taught in English.

Careers in Tallinn

Since becoming an independent republic, Estonia has reinvented itself as one of the most digitally advanced countries in the world, with many everyday processes happening entirely online. It’s even possible to apply for an ‘e-Residency’ that gives foreign entrepreneurs the ability to establish a business in Estonia and manage it remotely.

This has made Tallinn a hotbed for tech start-ups, with companies like Skype and Transferwise based in the city. There is a strong entrepreneurial spirit in Estonia that is encouraged by government and private initiatives.