Doctoral Studies in Humanities
The Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of Tartu is the most diverse and internationally well-known centre for research in the Humanities in Estonia. This diversity is further fostered by the faculty's admissions procedure: you can suggest your own research topic when you apply and conduct research that is of interest to you, provided you find a suitable supervisor at your institute.
Doctoral studies at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities will grant you a unique scientific understanding of human nature as you investigate how we conceptualise, create and communicate the world around us. A doctoral degree in Humanities not only entails theoretical knowledge, but will also equip you with the skills necessary in a society where it is becoming increasingly important to understand human behaviour in cultural context.
Doctoral studies in humanities offer an opportunity to explore, independently or in a research group, human actions and creations which are expressed by our language and culture, everything unique created by the human spirit. Humanities scholars value academic freedom and the opportunity to ponder the big questions and main values of life.
The Faculty of Arts and Humanities is home to multiple interdisciplinary research centres, such as the Centre for Digital Humanities and Information Society, and the Asia Centre. The faculty is also part of many local and international projects which, as our doctoral student, you will have the opportunity to contribute to and collaborate in along with your international peers. Our staff and doctoral researchers are also active organisers of international conferences and summer schools, including regular events such as the Summer School for Digital Methods in Humanities and Social Sciences and the Tartu Summer School of Semiotics.
Centre for Doctoral Studies in Humanities
The Centre for Doctoral Studies in Humanities is part of the Faculty of Humanities. The faculty’s doctoral programme combines 22 specialities coordinated by the Institute of History and Archaeology, the Institute of Estonian and General Linguistics, the Institute of Philosophy and Semiotics, the Institute of Cultural Research, the School of Theology and Religious Studies, and the Institute of Foreign Languages and Cultures.
The centre ensures the conduct of doctoral studies in the faculty in compliance with the regulations in force. In addition to ensuring a smooth exchange of information, the centre helps by counselling doctoral researchers and supervisors on the organisation of doctoral studies and by assisting with funding and the selection of courses and training opportunities.
In 2016-2023, two ASTRA graduate schools operated under the centre, the Graduate School of Culture Studies and Arts and the Graduate School of Linguistics, Philosophy and Semiotics. From January 1, 2024, the Estonian Doctoral School for Humanities and Arts will continue the work. The Estonian Doctoral Schools provide doctoral researchers and their supervisors with events like writing retreats, training, seminars, and workshops. Additionally, the Doctoral School offers short-term mobility for doctoral researchers.
Head of council:
Prof. Riho Altnurme, Vice Dean for Research at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Members:
Senior Specialist for Doctoral Studies and Projects Lii Lang
Lecturer Janet Laidla (Institute of History and Archaeology)
Associate Professor Ann Veismann (Institute of Estonian and General Linguistics)
Associate Professor Alexander Stewart Davies (Institute of Philosophy and Semiotics)
Associate Professor Elo-Hanna Seljamaa (Institute of Cultural Research)
Professor Raili Marling (Institute of Foreign Languages and Cultures)
Professor Urmas Nõmmik (School of Theology and Religious Studies)
Nele Dresen (doctoral researcher in Theology and Religious Studies)
Krista Tomson (doctoral researcher in Semiotics and Cultural Theory)
Status and funding of doctoral researchers
For an applicant and a doctoral researcher, it is essential to understand the different conditions and opportunities arising from different statuses. The following page gives an overview of the doctoral researcher’s status and the different possibilities to fund your doctoral studies.
