F.A.Q. for International Students wishing to study at TU Narva College
What is the focus of TU Narva College?
The College has its key competences in teacher training for multilingual schools. If you want to acquire skills necessary for teaching in the language foreign to most of the students in a classroom, then we’ll be happy to welcome you in our classroom.
When do you expect me to come?
We prefer to host our international students during the spring semester, as it is the time for our semester programme and the weather in Estonia goes from depressing to almost pleasant.
Where can I see the list of courses?
You can find dates and detailed course information for the spring semester programme at this link. We recommend this file for getting acquainted with our program.
You can see all of the English courses of University of Tartu for the spring and autumn terms here (in this case you will need to download the Excel sheet and find Narva College): link
When and where to apply?
For our spring semester you need to aplly by November 1st (Application system will open on October 1st: link).
Where is Narva? What do I need to know?
The first and the most important thing to know: even though we are a part of University of Tartu, we are still Narva College, therefore you will be studying in the city of Narva not in Tartu.
Narva is quite different from Tartu and western Estonia in many regards. It has a unique geographic location, situated on the very edge of Europe: the border between Estonia and Russia, where the history of a long and complicated relationship is highlighted by two picturesque medieval fortresses on the opposite banks of the Narva river. Most of the locals (95%) are native Russian speakers, and for crossing the border you need a 10 minutes’ walk across the bridge, while most of the time you will be standing in line to the customs officer. The architecture landscape is somewhat eclectic: there are remnants of the medieval architecture, a few remaining pre-WWII Baroque buildings, and a lot of classic Soviet architecture. Thus, in order to be armed with right expectations please use google pictures, as there is a high chance that it is Europe you have never seen.
How to get here?
Usually our exchange students take a plane to Tallinn and then get on a bus/train to Narva. Busses are more frequent, trains are slightly faster and more comfortable, but generally both are quite convenient.
Bus tickets: link. Train tickets: link.
What about housing?
You have two options: to stay at our new dorm (it's been recently built, so the prices will precised in the near future), the dorm of a partner vocational school in a neighboring town of Sillamäe (from 30 to 45 EUR/month) or to rent an apartment for the price about 150 EUR a month. For students who want to rent an apartment, we assist with all of the arrangements prior to arrival.
Cost of Living?
The prices of items are usually cheaper than those of continental Europe countries. For example, 1 kg of cheese can cost around 4-5 EUR, a loaf of bread 30 cents, a pack of sausages 1.5 EUR, 1 liter of juice about 70 cents, milk about 50-80 cents, etc. Prices for fruits and vegetables vary during the different seasons. Narva College has a well-known cafe, "Muna," where the daily special costs about 2.7 EURO and about 1.5 EUR for soup. In some bars the average check will be around 10-15 EUR per person. Restaurants tend to be more expensive. Regarding the transportation: taxi have an unofficial status of being the local public transport, within the city it has a fixed price of 2.5 EUR.
What is there to do for fun beside bars?
Actually plenty of things. Narva has an Apollo cinema, shopping malls, a swimming pool, fitness clubs etc.. Narva also has quite a few events/festivals happening throughout the year – many of them happening in Narva College, such as Narva Jazz Club every second Wednesday. In the neighboring city of Narva-Jõesuu (15 min bus/taxi ride) a long-white sandy beach and nearby sea and spa complexes, which offer a variety of saunas and pools for the price of 9-15 EUR. The biggest ones are Noorus and Meresuu. Additionally, you can easily travel throughout Estonia from Narva: 2.5-3h on bus/train to Tallinn or Tartu. Also, you can get a visa and visit St.Petersburg in Russia (2.5h bus ride).
So, should I come?
Absolutely. We offer a strong academic program that includes internships in local schools. Narva provides a unique cultural and language experience where you can interact. We have plenty of local students from Estonia and Former Soviet Union countries.
The cost of living is relatively cheap and with your Erasmus scholarship, you will feel here much more confident financially wise than in almost any other European city. Our exchange groups usually have 10-20 people, which allows us to provide individualized attention to academic and personal matters of our students. Come and study with us. See you in Narva!
For more information, please contact:
Ivan Polynin
International Relations Specialist
Narva College of University of Tartu
ivan.polynin [ät] ut.ee
+372 740 1922