Studying abroad
Studying abroad in IT Law and in International Law and Human Rights curriculum
Every year numerous students in University of Tartu choose to study a semester abroad. Studying abroad will give an invaluable experience to the studies, contacts all over the world and advantage in applying for jobs.
During the time of being an exchange student you will remain a student of University of Tartu and the courses you will pass abroad will be counted towards your curriculum in UT.
Studying abroad in IT Law curriculum
Studying or doing a traineeship abroad gives you an international experience, broadens the mind and is an advantage in the employment market. Studying abroad is an opportunity to complement your studies with international experience and acquire knowledge not offered by your main curriculum.
You can choose from different programmes, which are:
- Erasmus+ programme
- Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility programme
- Swiss-European Mobility Programme
Also, look at other programmes and scholarships.
The mobility module in the Information Technology Law curriculum is a part of the specialization module. This means that the student should keep in mind that exchange studies are counted as a part of the studies at UT, i.e. contribute to the completion of your UT curriculum and during the mobility one must pass minimum of 15 ECTS abroad. The specialization module courses obtained abroad must be recognized to your UT curriculum (by RPL) - this means you must make sure the content of the course(s) passed abroad must match with the content of the UT courses in Information Technology Law Curriculum.
During the exchange studies you can also pass courses that belong to the optional/elective module or practical training module in your curriculum.
At least 15 ECTS worth of courses should be passed during the mobility. For example, in the Information Technology Law curriculum that means you must pass courses that would fit under the specialization module, elective/optional module and practical training module in order to gain 15 ECTS.
In order to choose the best option, we advise to consult with your curriculum’s Academic Affairs Specialist.
The best semester in the Information Technology Law curriculum would only be the second semester (Spring semester), because mobility is not possible during the first semester. You should keep in mind that the courses passed during the exchange studies contribute to the completion of your UT curriculum. If they do not contribute towards the completion of the curriculum, it is not possible to register to the Master’s Exam in Spring semester because the prerequisite courses are not passed – the general rule to be allowed to take the Master’s Exam is that the student must have the rest of the curriculum passed by that point. This means that the standard period of studies will be extended automatically by two semesters (one year) and the student can graduate next Spring. There is no graduation at the end of Autumn semester.
The first step would be to keep in mind that you can study abroad only during the Spring semester and you have to apply already in Autumn. You can find the application dates on the School of Law’s homepage.
The next step would be to find such a university abroad where you can pass the courses that contribute best to the completion of your UT curriculum (using RPL) as much as possible. Unfortunately, UT does not have such a partner university at the moment that automatically provides an opportunity to pass the required spring semester courses as a fixed set.
You can find more information about study plan and learning agreement here. To ensure that your application for exchange studies run as smoothly as possible and that there are no major obstacles, the application process must be carefully thought out and planned. We advise to consult with your curriculum’s Academic Affairs Specialist.
Due to the fact that you can study abroad only during the Spring semester when you have to complete another half of the curriculum (mandatory specialization courses, practical training and Master’s Exam), your studies in the Information Technology law curriculum may be extended for the following reasons:
a) courses passed at the university abroad may not be transferred soon enough (before the Master’s Exam takes place) to your UT curriculum; OR
b) courses passed at a university abroad do not contribute towards the completion of your UT curriculum that would allow you to take the Master’s Exam.
It is probable that studying abroad will extend the 1-year standard period of study into two years.
The standard period of study may also extend due to obtaining courses at a university abroad for less than 15 ECTS (minimum amount) and the completion of the curriculum in a previous semester/semesters has been less than 75% of the total of the courses in the curriculum.
