ülikooli

Ülikooli is the genitive singular form of the Estonian noun ülikool, which means university. The nominative form is ülikool, used when referring to a university in general. The genitive ülikooli is used to indicate possession or affiliation and appears in phrases and official names, such as Tartu Ülikooli raamatukogu (the University of Tartu Library) or Tallinna Ülikooli campus (the campus of Tallinn University).

In Estonian, ülikool denotes higher education institutions that typically offer bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs and engage in research activities. The term is used across both public and private institutions. In common usage, it appears in the names of universities in the country, with the genitive form often appearing in compound expressions within longer phrases, e.g., a university’s departments, faculties, or facilities.

Examples of well-known Estonian universities include the University of Tartu (Tartu Ülikool) and Tallinn University (Tallinna Ülikool). Another major institution is Tallinn University of Technology (Tallinna Tehnikaülikool), which specializes in engineering, technology, and related disciplines. The Estonian higher education system also includes other institutions that use the designation ülikool or function as key national research universities, often paired with sector-specific designations.

Usage notes: ülikooli commonly appears in official names and academic contexts as the possessive/genitive form, whereas the base form ülikool is used when referring to the institution in a standalone, nominative sense. The form is a standard part of Estonian academic and institutional language.