Study location	Estonia, Tartu
Type	Postgraduate, full-time
Nominal duration	2 years
Study language	English
Awards	MSc

Tuition fee

€6,000 per year There are 41 tuition waivers available for top ranked applicants in 2025, including 31 tuition waivers for EU/EEA/Swiss applicants, 10 tuition waivers for other applicants. Further information on scholarships is available at software.cs.ut.ee/fees-scholarships. More information on tuition fees is available at www.ut.ee/tuition. NB! Applicants who are not citizens of EU/EEA/Switzerland must pre-pay half of the first semester’s tuition-fee after receiving an admission offer.

Application fee

€100 one-time Application fee is non-refundable. Further information: www.ut.ee/application-fee

Entry qualification

Undergraduate diploma (or higher) Bachelor`s degree or equivalent qualification (must be obtained by the end of July) in information technology, computer science, software engineering, computer engineering, information systems or a related field. Applicants with a Bachelor`s degree in mathematics or natural sciences, technology, engineering, business and economics must have completed at least 24 ECTS in information technology, including courses in programming, database technology and software engineering. For country-specific document requirements please see www.ut.ee/country-specific. Please be sure to also check further information and our step-by-step application guide at ut.ee/en/curriculum/software-engineering The entry qualification documents are accepted in the following languages: English / Estonian.

Language requirements	English All applicants must comply with our English language requirements. The only acceptable English tests and exempt categories are specified at www.ut.ee/requirements.

Other requirements

A motivation letter must be added to your application. Please upload the final version of the motivation letter before submitting the application. It can not be edited after the application is submitted. Please write a brief motivation letter (in English, maximum of 6000 characters with spaces) based on the following points: 1. Why do you like to become a full-time student in the Software Engineering master’s programme at the University of Tartu? 2. Which of the two specializations of this master’s programme (“Enterprise Software Engineering” or “Secure Systems Engineering”) would you like to choose and why? 3. What technical and non-technical skills do you have that prepare you well for the Software Engineering Master’s programme? When describing your technical skills, please indicate what programming languages and development tools you are most familiar with, and how you assess your level of mastery of these programming languages and development tools? When describing your nontechnical skills, explain why you think these skills are important for successfully working in the software industry. 4. What is/are the most complex software engineering task(s) or project(s) that you have completed? If the output of these task(s)/project(s) are open-source or can be made opensource, please provide the link(s) to the public code repository. 5. Have you participated in programming challenges or contests, informatics Olympiads, hackathons or code camps, or have you completed open online courses or extra-curricular courses in software engineering or related fields? If so, please describe your record of participation in such extra-curricular activities? Evaluation criteria: - fit between the student’s background and goals, and the study programme (75%) - clarity, logical structure, writing skills and fluency in written English (25%)

More information	ut.ee/software

Overview

The international master’s programme in Software Engineering offers software engineering and management skills as well as specialised skills in two major software application domains. The programme starts with a base module where you will acquire foundational knowledge about modern software engineering theory and practice, spanning all phases of software development from requirements elicitation over design and implementation to quality assurance and operations. The base module will cover both technical and managerial aspects of software development. Later on, you specialise in one of two narrow field modules: Enterprise Software Engineering and Secure Systems Engineering.

Why study Software Engineering at the University of Tartu?
- The University of Tartu is ranked in the top 300 universities globally in computer science.
- International study environment – more than 50% of students are international students from all over the world.
- Study at the University of Tartu Delta Centre, which brings together a vibrant community of students, researchers and innovators in computer science, business and economics, mathematics and statistics.
- An opportunity to spend up to half of your studies at a partner company and follow a personalised study plan.
- After graduation, you can join the highly dynamic software industry worldwide. You can start your own business or work for international companies such as Google, Meta, Ericsson, Swedbank, Wise, Bolt, Kuehne + Nagel and Nortal.

Programme structure

Please see the programme structure on the programme’s website.

Career opportunities

The Software Engineering master’s programme prepares students for a career path leading to high-end technical roles (e.g. software analyst, architect or research engineer) and managerial roles (e.g. project/team leader or technology officer). Graduates of this programme are well equipped to join the highly dynamic software industry in the Baltics, Northern and Eastern Europe.

Our graduates are currently employed by companies such as Google, Facebook, Ericsson, Swedbank, Wise, Bolt, Kuehne + Nagel, Nortal, Pipedrive, Playtech, Testlio, Apromore and many more.