Apart from being a great Baltics gem and a dream destination for international students, the University of Tartu has connections with many educational institutions all over the world. You may already know that UT students can choose among dozens of universities to do an Erasmus exchange in. But not that many people know that some partnerships allow you to get a full degree from another university.
Right now, I am studying in Berlin on a double degree MA program in International Relations, offered by the University of Tartu and Freie Universität Berlin, and in this blog post I will tell you all about the program, how I applied, my impressions, and maybe even a few tips for those, who consider applying to this one, or any other exchange program!
1. FU who? About the program.
When I explain to my friends what I am doing in Berlin, turns out that many people didn’t even know that such a program existed. It is not widely advertised, and information about that is hidden in the “What will you get from this programme?” section on the website. Nevertheless, it exists and works the following way: every year two students from the International Relations and Regional Studies program at the UT can join the East European Studies MA program, offered by Freie Universität Berlin (FU) in Germany. At the same time, two students from the FU are coming to Tartu every year. In the end, after defending our MA thesis, these students receive two complete Master’s degrees: from the UT and FU. Sounded cool to me, so I decided to apply!
As participants of this program, we can decide what our “main” graduation university will be. If we choose the UT, then we stay in Berlin for one semester and our main thesis supervisor should be from Tartu. If we choose FU, then we stay there for a year and our main supervisor is from the FU faculty. In both cases, we have our thesis supervisors from both universities, and our thesis defense is organized jointly with representatives of both.
The application process starts after you are admitted to the UT, around the end of your first semester. We got an email that we need to submit a motivation letter in order to enter a competition. Before applying, I was very hesitant, because I thought that two places is too little, so the competition will be too tough, and also I was worried about financing my life in Berlin since the program does not come with any scholarships. So here comes my first tip: if you are thinking about applying somewhere, but hesitating because of money or competition, still apply anyway! There are a lot of funding opportunities in Europe, you just need to be careful to find them. And a thoroughly thought-through application will get you a great chance for getting into any program you want.
2. Practical details. Preparation and financing.
When I found out that I got into the program, the next question to solve was the question of finances. Here, the students basically have two options: to apply for Erasmus grant directly at the UT and to apply for Kristjan Jaak scholarship for study periods abroad, funded by the Estonian Education and Youth Board. I applied for both and, luckily, got both of them. Unfortunately, you cannot combine them together, so I rejected the Erasmus grant, because it was smaller. Nevertheless, the Kristjan Jaak grant is pretty generous and is able to cover basically all of your daily expenses in Berlin. As for applying for the grants, the only tip I can give is to take the application seriously, read all the requirements very carefully, and think about what you are going to bring back to the institution, financing your program. Apart from these two mentioned grants, there are numerous foundations in Germany that can sponsor such a program. I am sure that with some good research, funding will definitely come along your way!
Another important step of the preparation was finding accommodation. In Germany, it is very popular among students to live in so-called WG (“Wohngemeinschaft” or simply a shared flat), so that would be the option to look for. There are even websites dedicated to looking for WGs and flatmates. Nevertheless, it is extremely hard to find accommodation in Berlin, just as in any big European city. I did not have to suffer through this flat-searching process, as I got a place in the dormitory, close to the University. All I had to do for that was ask our program coordinator in Berlin, who connected me with the representatives of the student village. Now I live in a very cute Berlin neighborhood called Zehlendorf, which is quite far from the city center, but close to nature and the University campus.
Finally, before coming to Berlin I needed to think about migration and visa issues. The common misconception among non-EU students is that once they receive Estonian TRP for studies, they can live in any EU country for as long as the permit allows. This is not true. Your Estonian TRP allows you to stay in another Schengen-area country only for 3 months every 6 months. Therefore, if your program lasts longer than 3 months, you need to get a study visa to your destination country. My program in Berlin lasts 6 months, so I had to get a visa.
At the stage of preparation to move abroad, my tip would be to never be afraid to ask your questions. There are university representatives, who are always happy to help, as well as other students, who have already gone through all the processes like you. They will always give the best advice and guarantee you a little less stress.
3. My life and studies in Berlin.
I arrived in Berlin on 1st of October 2021, and by the time I am writing this post I have been here for a bit more than a month. The COVID situation is stable and allows us to have classes in person (in masks only). So, during the day I am usually at the University, and try to explore as much of Berlin as I can and meet new people in my free time. I still think that my best decision so far is just to say “yes” to any opportunity to meet someone new, because you will never know who will become your new friend in a new city.
Of course, I could not help comparing my experience in two cities. In Tartu, I almost forgot how to use public transport on a daily basis, and Berlin gave me an opportunity to remember, since here you need to commute to go anywhere. The atmosphere in the FU is also quite different from the one in Tartu. FU is much bigger, has a lot more students and a more active student life, but at the same time more bureaucracy. Also, Berlin has much more possibilities for internships and working in the sphere of politics and international relations, than Tartu.
I have two tips for when you come to a new country to study. First of all, give yourself time to adjust, be prepared that simple tasks will take much more time at first, and do not blame yourself when you don’t understand something. You will get there eventually. Another tip would be not to underestimate the power of connections. Make sure to plan social activities alongside your professional and study-related ones.
4. What’s next?
A question that I get asked a lot is what I am going to do after I finish my studies in Berlin, am I planning to stay here, or am I coming back to Estonia. The simple answer is that I do not know and try not to think ahead too much. Here’s the beauty about study programs like mine: they give you flexibility and many connections so that you can call more places your home and think about your career and future more globally.
As of now, I am planning to focus on my thesis and to do a traineeship in Berlin in the field of my studies. And of course to explore Germany as much as I can, because that’s usually the point of exchange programs, am I right? 🙂 In this section, I will not give any tips. I will just tell you sincerely, that a version of me from a year ago would be extremely proud of myself for all the work and effort I put in to be exactly in the place where I wanted. Maybe this will inspire you to apply for a program you’ve been looking into or to do something else that you wanted, but never had the courage to do.