Record number of applications filed for university programs
Several Estonian universities saw a substantial surge in applications this year. More than 15,000 people applied to Estonian‑language programs at the University of Tartu.
This year the University of Tartu received 5 percent more applications for Estonian‑language programs at the first and second levels of higher education than last year. The large number of high school graduates is affecting the number of applications, said the university's vice rector for academic affairs Aune Valk.
"In fact the number of high school graduates has been growing for five years. We have seen this trend every year, with about three percent growth, and it will continue for about four more years," Valk said.
The most popular fields at the University of Tartu this year were once again medicine, law, economics, as well as preschool teacher training, psychology and physiotherapy, she added.
"In the most popular fields the highest competition is nearly thirteen applicants per place, and overall competition in bachelor's studies is about five per place," she said. "What stands out is that popular fields have become even more popular, each with about ten percent more applications. That means other programs tend to have slightly fewer applications."
Tallinn University received nearly 11,700 applications this year, about 14 percent more than last year. At Tallinn University, popular fields such as psychology, early childhood education, teacher training, social work and physical education have also grown in popularity, said head of the academic affairs office Mari‑Liis Lind.
"All these programs saw an increase in applications, in some cases by several dozen," Lind said. "The most popular field is psychology."
The Tartu Applied Health Sciences University also saw a record number of applicants this year. More than 2,500 applications were submitted for applied higher education programs, said head of the university's academic affairs Valdek Rohtma.
The most competitive applied higher education field is midwifery, with 18.9 applications per place. Physiotherapy is the second most popular, Rohtma added.
"These are our traditional flagships. Nursing has the largest number of available places and the largest number of applications. But competition for nursing is currently slightly lower than for the most popular fields," Rohtma said.
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Editor: Argo Ideon
Source: ERR radio news
