Applications for admission can be submitted via www.SAIS.ee from 20 June to 1 July (until 23:59) and in person in the lobby of Estonia pst 7, Tallinn, on 30 June and 1 July from 10:00–16:00.
What student profile are we looking for?
We are looking for people with a good underlying education, clear analytical skills and a high aptitude for work and study. A good secondary education is the key to rapid progress in mastering new knowledge and skills at university. As the architecture curriculum is quite intense, it requires a great deal of systematic work. There is only one way to make progress in the practical, creative part of the activity, and that is through repeated experimentation and trial and error regarding ideas, drawings and material. The end result is often just an intermediate stage en route to new and fascinating opportunities and solutions.
Why
enter the Estonian Academy of Arts architecture
programme?
The objective of the architecture and urban design curriculum at the Academy of Arts is to prepare capable, independent and critically thinking architects and urban planners with a broad-based liberal arts and science education. The curriculum offers an interdisciplinary education at the international level preparing the student for later work as a designer of buildings and planning projects in private practices and local governments as well as in developing various digital modelling processes and physical prototypes at universities and research institutions. This is an opportunity for self-fulfilment for both designers with good visual thinking and expression skills and system architects who orient well in technological and mathematical processes. A modern architect is more than the image of a professional who takes private-sector orders – architects must take an active and creative attitude and intervene in our everyday world to make it better in all respects. As professionals, architects can design and administer larger integral systems and also serve as experts and developers of individual components. If any of the above fits in with your areas of interest and future visions, the very broad spectrum of architect education gives you the possibility to make them happen.
The curriculum in brief
Architecture and Urban Design is an integrated programme of study (five-year programme). Although the curriculum is taught in Estonian, students at the master’s level are expected to be able to be fluent at a professional level in English as well.
In 2013, the landscape architecture was opened within the architecture and urban planning speciality as an area of specialization, providing students more diverse training when it comes to designing the areas between buildings.
And starting in autumn 2016, heritage conservation and restoration is offered as a similar area of specialization within the architecture and urban planning, giving a chance to apply for an activity licence in heritage conservation from the National Heritage Board.
Conditions for admission
Besides entrance examinations, the following state examination results are taken into consideration:
State examination in Estonian or state examination in Estonian as a second language, minimum score 30 points.
State examination in a foreign language or equivalent international foreign-language examination.
State examination in mathematics or physics, minimum score 50 points.
Starting in 2014, secondary school graduates who wish to apply for the architecture and urban design speciality are required to pass the state examination in broad mathematics.
Students who have not passed the broad mathematics state examination (or, in the case of pre-2014 graduates, the mathematics state examination or those who wish to improve their result), can take a mathematics test on the spot.
Mathematics test
● The test is administered on 1 July at 11:00 at Estonia pst 7-440A
● Registration for the test is from 30 June to 1 July 2016 in person at the testing facility or via email at vastuvott@artun.ee
Entrance
examinations
Entrance examinations in the 2016–2017 academy year take place from 4–8 July 2016.
1 July 2016, 10:00 information hour (Pikk tn 20, 3rd floor)
4 July 2016 10:00–15:00 Speciality Composition I (Pikk tn 20, 3rd floor)
Gathering in the Department of Architecture assembly hall, Pikk tn 20, 9:45
Take the following materials with you: 2 sheets of good drawing paper, A3 format (297 × 420 mm), ruler, triangle 30°/60°/90°, protractor, compass, scissors, ordinary pencils, coloured pencils, eraser.
5 July 2016 10:00–16:00 Speciality Composition II (Pikk tn 20, 3rd floor)
Gathering in the Department of Architecture assembly hall, Pikk tn 20, 9:45
Take the following materials with you: 2 sheets of good drawing paper, A3 format (297 × 420 mm), ruler, triangle 30°/60°/90°, protractor, compass, ordinary pencil, paper cutter, scissors, PVA glue. The basic material and scratch paper will be provided in the assembly hall.
6 July 2016 10:00–15:00 Drawing
Take the following materials with you: hard surface to draw on (if necessary, provided by the Academy of Arts), A2 (420 × 594), good drawing paper, pencils with different softness/hardness, charcoal pencil, felt-tip pen, marker.
6 July 2016 15:00 Work exhibited in department rooms (Pikk tn 20)
7 July 2016 10:00 Interviews and presentation of works (Pikk tn 20)
The competition rating consists of 5 ratings (in a 10-point system): score on the Estonian language state examination, score on the mathematics or physics state examination, grades in Drawing, Speciality Composition I and Speciality Composition II.
The most important skill is the ability to think independently and avoid the standard clichés of true answers, life goals and good taste.
Admissions to master’s programme
6 July 2016 10:00 interview (Pikk tn 20)
To apply for admission to the architecture and urban planning master’s degree level – the fourth-year programme (integrated study), you must submit a CV, cover letter, portfolio, diploma certifying previous education and diploma supplement.
Consultation on entrance
examinations
Consultations for prospective first-year students in the Department of Architecture and Urban Design.
Spatial Composition
27 June, 10:00–12:00
28 June, 14:00–16:00 Supervisor: Prof. Toomas Tammis
Urban Design Composition
27 June, 14:00–16:00
28 June, 10:00–12:00 Supervisor: Prof. Andres Ojari
Drawing a Cityscape or Interior
29 June, 10:00–16:00
30 June, 10:00–16:00 Supervisor: Prof. Matti Pärk
The consultations are devoted to practising the composition assignments and cityscape drawing parts of the 2016 entrance examinations.
There is a fee of €8 for attending each consultation. The price drops to €5 if three or more consultations* are attended.
*includes attending a given consultation more than once.
Information and registration: arhitektuur@artun.ee
OPEN
ACADEMY
The main goal of the Open Academy at the Academy of Arts is to support and assist people entering the Academy of Arts. Those wishing to study architecture and urban design will benefit from attending the spring Speciality Composition course given by Academy of Arts teacher Paco Ulman, an acclaimed architect and photographer. The course will take place twice a week within the span of 28 March to 21 April 2016. Registration will end on 25 March 2016 at 17:00. The tuition fee is €96 and registration is at: https://www.artun.ee/avatud-akadeemia/ettevalmistus/registreerumine/.
HIGH
SCHOOL AND VOCATIONAL SCHOOL STUDENT ACADEMY
The Student Academy is targeted at upper secondary school and vocational school students who are interested in architecture, design, art and art history.
Starting January 2016, we launched the Student Academy to give these students a chance to take a closer look at the specialities offered by the Academy of Arts. The Student Academy programme is filled with studios, visits to companies and museums, lectures, films, and practical workshops, carried out by Academy teachers, students and alumni. All activities are free of charge for participants. More information: solveig.jahnke@artun.ee.
The Department of Architecture offers the following classes at the Student Academy:
3 February, 17:00–19:00 Practical Architecture Workshop. We will see how an idea folded from paper becomes a digital model, we will tour the Academy of Arts Faculty of Architecture in Old Town Tallinn and talk about creating space and learning architecture, hear young recent graduates of the Faculty of Architecture talk about their practices and what they are currently working on. Meet at 17:00 in the Faculty of Architecture (Pikk 20).
17 February, 17:00–19:00 Workshop on Light and Space. We will explore light – something so essential in our lives. How do we create and alter a space using light and shadow? Supervised by School of Architecture teacher Kaire Nõmm. We will meet at the Tallinn City Theatre on Lai 23 in Tallinn. Please arrive slightly ahead of time as the workshop will begin at 17:00 sharp.
2 March, 17:00–19:00 Tour of the offices of architects teaching at the Academy of Arts Faculty of Architecture. What does an architect’s everyday work mean? What’s a typical day in the life of an architect? How does an architect’s office operate? Meet at 17:00 in the Faculty of Architecture (Pikk 20).
16 March, 17:00–19:00 Workshop on Street Space. We will focus on what street space consists of. What makes a given street work well? Supervised by School of Architecture teacher Kaire Nõmm. Meet at 17:00 in the Faculty of Architecture (Pikk 20).
6 April, 17:00–19:00 City Tour. We will check in with the Museum of Estonian Architecture, walk through Rotermann Quarter, learning to notice the symbiosis of new and old architecture, examine based on the example of Linnahall concert and sports venue how architecture links the sea with the city, and wind up at Kultuurikatel, where a number of key architecture-related organizations are based. Meet at 17:00 in the Faculty of Architecture (Pikk 20).
Please note: If you take part in ALL five Student Academy events, you will receive one point automatically toward the architecture and urban design curriculum entrance exams.
As a bonus activity, you can join the older School of Architecture group which will have four meetings at the Museum of Estonian Architecture and take an even more in-depth look at various spatial topics.