Looking for a fully funded opportunity to study, research, or attend summer and winter schools in Europe in 2025? Estonia might be your next destination! The Estonian Ministry of Education and Research, in collaboration with the Education and Youth Board, is offering an exciting range of scholarships for international students, researchers, and academic staff through its Estonian Scholarship Programme.
These fully-funded Estonian scholarships are based on bilateral agreements with various countries and support foreign nationals in different academic pursuits at Estonian institutions.
Sponsorship Cover Plan of this Estonia Scholarship
Estonia’s scholarships for international applicants cover several categories:
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Summer & Winter School Scholarships: Includes course fees up to €700 (one course per applicant) and accommodation costs up to €25 per night, for a maximum of 4 weeks. Scholarships are directly paid to the organizing university.
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Degree and Exchange Study Scholarships: Offers financial support to international students for pursuing formal or exchange studies in Estonia, particularly for Master’s and PhD programs (with limited support for BA studies in Estonian language and culture).
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Grants for Researchers and Academic Staff: Supports activities of foreign researchers or teaching staff at Estonian universities. Applicants must hold an academic position at their home institution.
The scholarship contract is signed between the Education and Youth Board and the host Estonian university, with funds directly transferred to cover course fees and accommodation. Students attending online courses may also apply for the scholarship.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible, applicants must meet the following general conditions (depending on the type of scholarship):
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Summer and Winter Schools: Open to international Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD students who have completed at least one academic year at their home institution. A pre-registration confirmation from the Estonian course organizer is required.
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Degree and Exchange Studies: Foreign students planning to study at an Estonian institution in the 2025/26 academic year. Master’s and PhD students may apply in any field, while undergraduate support is limited to Estonian language and culture.
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Researchers and Academic Staff: Applicants must be employed in an academic position at a foreign university and invited by an Estonian institution for teaching or research activities.
Required documents generally include a completed application form, motivation letter, confirmation of enrollment or employment at a home institution, confirmation of course registration, and a valid passport or ID copy. All documents must be in English or Estonian (or accompanied by certified translations).
Application Timeline
The 2025 application period for Summer and Winter School Scholarships as well as Researcher and Academic Staff Grants is open from March 17th, 2025, until April 16th, 2025 (23:59 Estonian time). All applications and required documents must be submitted via email to [email protected] and the results will be announced in June 2025.
For scholarships related to degree and exchange studies during the 2025/2026 academic year, the application period will be announced separately in May 2025.
List of Available Summer & Winter Courses in 2025
Here are just a few exciting short courses offered by Estonian universities eligible for the scholarship:
- Estonian Business School: Digitalisation and Sustainability.
- University of Tartu: Synthetic Biology, Self-driving Cars, Computational Immunology, Estonian Summer Courses, and more.
- Tallinn University of Technology: Secure e-Governance.
- Tallinn University: Design of Serious Games, Experimental Interaction Design, Estonian Language, Storytelling in Marketing.