Study Scholarships Compatriots' Programme Funding
Funding
Successful applicants will be awarded a scholarship until the completion of the selected programme of studies in the chosen speciality. The scholarship includes tuition fees, a residence and subsistence allowance, a travel allowance, health insurance premiums and the stamp duty payable on the recipient’s residence permit. To remain eligible for the scholarship, the recipient must actively pursue his/her studies classes and must have completed at least 75% of the coursework required by the curriculum by the end of each year of studies. The scholarship will not cover any periods of academic leave or extension of studies.
The monthly residence and subsistence allowance allocated to scholarship recipients pursuing vocational or higher vocational studies is 224 euros, 256 euros to Bachelor’s students and 288 euros to Master’s students. In general, the scholarship will be paid out in two instalments, each covering a period of 5 months. The first five-month instalment will be paid out to recipients in September and the second in February, after the recipient presents a transcript of his/her academic record for the Autumn semester. The Foundation will only proceed to pay out the second instalment if the recipient has fulfilled his/her duties (submitted the required reports, shown due progress in his/her studies, etc.). In order for scholarship funds to be released, the recipient must conclude a scholarship agreement with the receiving educational institution and the Foundation. The scholarship is exempt from income tax under Estonian legislation.
In addition to their initial residence and subsistence allowance, first-year scholarship recipients will also receive a 128 euro settling-in allowance paid out in cash upon their arrival. The settling-in allowance will help recipients cover incidental costs incurred in moving to their place of residence in Estonia (deposits towards accommodation at a student residence, application fees for a student card, a library card and an ID card, etc.) and to cope with basic everyday needs during their first weeks in Estonia until scholarship funds are transferred to their bank account. The settling-in allowance is also intended to provide a cushion against the extra costs inevitably involved in moving residence.
The scholarship recipients are entitled to a travel allowance that covers up to two return trips home per year. The travel allowance will be paid out in the amount established in the scholarship agreement regardless of the actual cost of travel. The allowance will generally be imbursed to the scholarship recipient when he/she has actually travelled home and returned. In order to prove having made the trip, the recipient must submit the original travel tickets to the receiving educational institution. Where necessary, the scholarship will also cover the cost of the recipient’s health insurance and the stamp duty on the residence permit.
Twice a year the Foundation will make direct payments to the scholarship recipient’s educational institution to cover his/her tuition fees. Tuition fees to higher education institutions will be paid pursuant to the Cabinet of Ministers Regulations regarding the base cost of state-funded student places as multiplied by the corrective coefficients applicable in relevant fields of study. Tuition fees to vocational education institutions will be paid pursuant to the Cabinet of Ministers Regulations regarding the cost of student places at vocational education institutions as multiplied by the corrective coefficients applicable in relevant fields of study and to relevant types of study. Any payments due from the recipient to the educational institution will be made by the Archimedes Foundation.
Scholarship recipients who enrol for the one-year intensive course in Estonian prior to commencing their desired programme of studies will receive a scholarship on the same basis as they would have during their studies.
