News

The Juri Lotman Fund announces its scholarship contest for graduate students from the University of Tartu whose research continues the tradition of Lotman and his school in semiotics and Slavic philology. Application deadline is 30 January 2026, and the grantees of the scholarships will be announced on 28 February 2026.

On 21 November, the University of Tartu senate decided to make nominations for the national research awards of the Republic of Estonia.

On 31 October, the senate of the University of Tartu decided to award the University of Tartu Grand Medal to former rector, Professor emeritus Jaak Aaviksoo, Professor Marlon Gerardo Dumas Menjivar, Professor Kalle Kirsimäe, and Professor Ivo Leito. The recipients of the University of Tartu Star of Appreciation, Medal, Badge of Distinction and the decoration “100 Semesters at the University of Tartu” have also been selected.

On 7 October, members of the Committee on Education of the Swedish parliament (Riksdag), accompanied by the Swedish Ambassador Charlotte Wrangberg and the Swedish Honorary Consul Madis Kanarbik, visited the University of Tartu.

Until 31 October, nominations can be submitted for the “Contribution to Estonian National Identity” award.

All university staff and students are invited to nominate candidates who deserve to be awarded the university’s honorary decoration for their outstanding achievements.

The mentoring programme that has been popular in the previous years will be held again this autumn semester.

The Faculty of Arts and Humanities offers numerous optional courses for the autumn semester, available to both our students and all other students at the University of Tartu.

We hope the graduation ceremony created many joyful moments you would like to share with your loved ones or even the world. To help you express this wonderful feeling, feel free to use the photos from the ceremony.

We hope the graduation ceremony created many joyful moments you would like to share with your loved ones or even the world. To help you express this wonderful feeling, feel free to use the photos from the ceremony.

On 23 May 2025, Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas approved the results of the external evaluation of Estonian research and development. The University of Tartu was the only institution in Estonia to receive a positive evaluation in all six fields: natural sciences, engineering and technology, medical and health sciences, agriculture and veterinary sciences, social sciences, and humanities and the arts.

The University of Tartu’s opening ceremony of the 2025/2026 academic year will take place on the corner of Lossi and Ülikooli streets at Pirogov square on Monday, 1 September at 10:00.

The University of Tartu’s podcast for prospective international students, “Tiksu to UniTartu”, is back this summer with a second season.

IN MEMORIAM. Jürgen von Ungern-Sternberg

The winner of the three rectors’ scholarship competition, which was held for the eighth time this year, is Arnita Agrita Umalas, who was born and raised in Latvia but is studying Estonian language and linguistics at the University of Tartu, focusing on the Livonian language in her master’s thesis.

Doctoral studies are a part of the career path, giving you the knowledge and future skills needed to become a top specialist or manager.

The university opens 182 student places in doctoral studies this spring. Everyone who desires to create new knowledge and pursue a career as a researcher, top specialist or manager is welcome to apply.

The University of Tartu invites international students interested in English-taught curricula to submit their applications in DreamApply.

Igor Černov, born on 18 March 1943 in the village of Oktjabrski in the Gorky region in Russia, passed away on 21 March 2025 in Joensuu in Finland. Until the late 1990s, Černov played an immensely significant role in shaping the landscape of semiotics in Estonia and was a driving force behind its development.

Now, the internal reporting channel of the University of Tartu in FaceUp can be used to send breach reports confidentially and, if requested, anonymously. It is no longer possible to report by email.