OREANDA-NEWS. July 15, 2014. Survey of the reputation of universities conducted by TNS Emor confirmed that University of Tartu is the most prestigious university in Estonia for the sixth year running; its reputation was considered very good by 81% of the respondents. In the course of the survey, the value of a diploma from the University of Tartu and the quality of education it offers was rated more highly than before.

Similarly to last year, university with the highest spontaneous awareness level in Estonia was the University of Tartu that was named by 81% of the respondents altogether. The main strengths of the reputation of the University of Tartu among the population come from offering a high-level of education and a diploma that is valued in labour market. "The quality of education and research at the University of Tartu has been confirmed for the last four years by Times Higher Education Ranking, a list of top universities, in which we are the only university from the Baltic states that belongs in the top 3% of the world's universities. I am glad that for the sixth year in a row Estonians also recognise the work done in the University and give a quality label to our work through their ratings," Vice Rector for Academic Affairs of the University of Tartu Martin Hallik was pleased.

The survey demonstrates that the circle of people who consider the reputation of the University of Tartu to be very good is quite wide; among them, the number of people with higher education as well as leaders and top specialists exceeds the average a little. "I think that this is strongly related to the value of the diploma from this university in labour market. Diploma from the University of Tartu means quality that ensures a career and a great job. Leaders and top specialists who are looking to surround themselves with ambitious people know this," stressed Hallik and referred to the survey among the university's alumni that confirmed that a Master's Degree from the University of Tartu is a valuable basis for working as a leader or a top specialist – which is what 83% of people with a Master's degree from the Tartu University are doing.

Additionally, according to the survey, the pillars of the reputation of the University of Tartu are considered to be university's reliability (its education meets expectations), knowing that the education offered by the university provides necessary expertise and skills in order to work in one's field of study, and the success of the alumni in the society.

Besides ranking the reputation of universities, the survey also mapped the general reputation of fields of study among the population in Estonia. Top five of the most popular fields of study of the last four years are all represented in the University of Tartu: computer sciences, health care/medicine, technical subjects as well as law, business and economy.

Young people of university age (15–24-year-olds) stand apart from others because they prefer hard sciences such as life sciences (biology, genetics, and botany), physical sciences (including physics and chemistry), mathematics, statistics and veterinary science a little more than average.

The survey was conducted among 15 to 74-year-olds between 23 April and 14 May this year. 1000 respondents participated in the survey that was conducted for the sixth year in a row.