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As someone of Estonian heritage, I have always cherished my roots. My grandmother fled to the United States from Saaremaa in 1944 and while I was growing up, always told me stories of her homeland. She and my mother instilled in me a love for Estonia, which has gotten stronger since I began the Estonian Studies program. The program allowed me to get in touch with my ancestry, but also in a way, gave me the opportunity to find myself. I recommend the program to expatriate Estonians and their children in order to study the Estonian nation, but also to celebrate their beautiful heritage.
 

I was a fresh-out-of-highschool teenager when I first moved to Estonia. I had successfully graduated but was tired of studying and seeking adventure. So I took a gap year, working as a volunteer in Estonia. What was initially supposed to be one year of adventure turned into something else: I began studying at Tallinn University. After three years of university life, I was once again faced with the question of whether I should stay or leave. Eventually, I decided that I was -once again- going to stay for a bit longer. While I had already started learning Estonian, I felt that I wanted to invest in it more. Additionally, I was looking for a Masters programme that would provide me with a better understanding of Estonian culture and society and, through this, function as a bridge between my Social Science Bachelor and the reality of life around me. “Estonian Studies” ended up being my choice. In addition to helping me understand my life in Estonia better, it also provided practical tools such as Estonian language classes. Last but not least I enjoyed the variety and interdisciplinarity of subjects.
 

Pursuing this maiden course of Estonian Studies at Tallinn University was not only an honour for me, but it was also my unique way of expressing gratitude to The Republic of Estonia and Tallinn University regarding the opportunities offered to me to pursue higher quality education.  As a student of Estonian Studies, I came to appreciate the contents of the course which covered themes such as culture, language, politics, socio-economic issues and more importantly gaining knowledge into how all these themes inform one’s understanding of “Estonianess”. During the studies I gained significant historical insights and antecedent occurrence of today’s Republic Estonia; this helped me to further understand and appreciate the Estonian Cultural, language, and business acumen characterizing why today’s  Estonia is a desirable destination for entrepreneurs and persons interested in quality education. One strong impression the course left on me was about studying the history of the Estonian Song Festivals - thus causing me to fall in love with the song "Palve"  - my all-time favorite. Without any hesitation, I recommend this course to anyone who is futuristic in nature or forward-looking, pragmatic, and result-oriented; and interested in gaining knowledge about how historical trajectories informed the entrepreneurial mindset that has led a small country to become a global leader in quality education and digital innovations. My appreciation goes to all who directly and indirectly supported me in this journey of creating my own unique “Estonianess”.
 

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It was a very unique experience for me to study in Estonian Studies programme from 2018. This programme taught me much more than I expected about Estonia, including Estonian language, culture, literature, politics and many other pieces of this amazing country. The programme is well structured to bring you a very clear understanding of Estonia, which also gives you the power to do your own research. I miss school life at Tallinn University very much and recommend everyone who relocates to Estonia or is eager to know more about this fascinating country to apply for it. 

Several years ago, thanks to my friends from Estonia, I started exploring Estonian history and culture. We travelled a lot around towns, villages and islands, discovering new places. Then, I started organizing business trips for international companies and learning about Estonia from the professional side. Finally, I realized that I want to move to a new level of knowledge about Estonia. That matched with the concept of the "Estonian Studies" programme, which combines the Estonian language, culture, literature, and history.

During the Master's program at Tallinn University, I improved my knowledge in humanities, developed new skills, met new interesting people and good friends. I will continue studying the Estonian language and culture and share my inspiration and experience with other people.

2 years of study totally changed my views and added new elements to the life puzzle. This is totally what I was looking for. I wish everyone got this experience, that I gained within the walls of Tallinn University.

I am very proud to be one of the first graduates from Estonian Studies program. It was introduced in 2017, and I was very excited to be a student at this program. Estonian studies gave me an excellent opportunity to improve my Estonian language, as well as learn about Estonian culture, literature, politics, society and many other aspects of Estonia. I graduated in 2019 and I miss very much studying process, as it was super many-sided, inspiring and fascinating.