News

It is always a special pleasure for me to welcome our first-year students and those who start their studies at the University of Tartu for the first time. Congratulations on admission and thank you for choosing the University of Tartu! This year the competition was tighter than in the last five years and therefore you deserve to be proud. Welcome back to all our returning students!

The School of Law of the University of Tartu has a new Doctor!

On 24 August Katrin Sepp succesfully defended her doctoral thesis “Legal Arrangements in Estonian Law Similar to Family Trusts”.

The work was supervised by Professor Janno Lahe (University of Tartu) and opposed by Associate Professor Dr. Magdalena Habdas (University of Silesia, Katowice).

University gradually returns to the normal organisation of work.

Below, the units have described their organisation of work starting from 18 May. 

The page will be updated as needed.

[collapsed]

The graduation ceremonies of the University of Tartu are held from 15 to 20 June. All ceremonies are held in an online environment, meaning that all who wish can participate.

Online graduation ceremonies can be watched live in UTTV at the announced time. Links to recordings will be added to the table below after each ceremony.

Read how students can receive their diplomas.

This year, traditional graduation ceremonies bringing together hundreds of people are not held at the University of Tartu, but ceremonies take place online. The university also makes a gift to the graduates: they now have their own tree and a bench in Tartu city centre. Also, the university main building and the sculpture on the Town Hall Square will be decorated.

June 1 is the application deadline for all PhD international applicants. Applications can be submitted via DreamApply system.

Estonians or applicants graduating in Estonia can apply via SAIS until June 15.

You can find more information about the PhD programmes here.

For further questions, please contact phdadmission@ut.ee.

The EU-funded project FLOW has published a new toolkit and guide to help companies prevent the exploitation and trafficking of people in their subcontracting chains. The project aims to improve the ability of law enforcement agencies to investigate trafficking in human beings (THB) and to raise awareness among businesses of the risks of THB in supply chains and their ability to prevent THB.

The new EU-funded project FLOW promotes a holistic approach to the prevention and investigation of trafficking in human beings (THB) in conjunction with economic crime.

The project partners are University of Tartu School of Law, European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control (HEUNI) from Finland, the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) from Bulgaria and Ministry of Interior of Latvia.

The project I.N.T.I.T (Integrated Trauma Informed Therapy for Child Victims of Violence), funded by the European Union's Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme, runs from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2022. The project aims to map the best practices in integrated trauma informed therapy for child victims of violence, to develop a training programme for professionals and to teach trainers.

Admissions to the University of Tartu take place based on the schedule announced in winter. According to current plans, admission requirements will remain largely unchanged.

The application period to Estonian-taught master’s programmes runs until 1 July. From 18 June to 1 July, applications are accepted to bachelor’s, professional higher education and integrated curricula, and from 1 May to 15 June, to doctoral programmes.

Teaching and studies at the university continue in online environments until the end of semester. To minimise the movement of students, we ask that all exams and pass/fail assessments be conducted online.

If online classes are not enough for students to pass the course, face-to-face sessions are planned. In planning face-to-face learning, the following should be kept in mind:

On Tuesday, 5 May at 13:00, the Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Aune Valk talked in a live webcast about when and how the university could resume regular teaching and studies, and what lies ahead of us before the end of the academic year.

Among other issues, she discussed everything related to graduations; for example, graduation ceremonies, exams and theses.

Watch the video with English subtitles:

Six tenants of UT residence hall confirmed to have coronavirus. In connection with this we publish the address of the Rector of the University of Tartu in both text and video.

Today we have received alarming news both for the University of Tartu and the entire Estonia. Students of the University of Tartu, who are tenants of the residence hall in Raatuse street, have been infected with coronavirus.

The University of Tartu will not hold graduation ceremonies this summer because these events usually attract crowds of people and close contact is impossible to avoid.

Graduates receive their diplomas in their institute/unit in the second half of June. Detailed information on the time and place will be sent to all graduates and posted on the university’s website. If necessary, you can authorise another person to collect your diploma, or have the diploma sent to you by mail.

Dear students and members of the teaching staff,

On 15 April, several media channels wrote about the court case between a UT alumnus and a member of the teaching staff over an insulting comment in the confidential course feedback questionnaire.

Understandably, this has shaken the trust in the feedback system and pointed to problems we want to avoid in the future. On the other hand, it is clear that the university cannot develop without substantial feedback.

All courses in which online teaching can be organised will continue in this format until the end of the semester. If coronavirus recedes, we hope we can resume classroom teaching for small groups, similarly to schools, in the second half of May. This concerns practical classes and, if necessary, exams – i.e. activities that are difficult or impossible to perform over the computer.

In a Teams Live Event on 31 March at 14, Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Aune Valk spoke about teaching and studies during the emergency situation and answered the questions posted by UT staff members and students. 

From 2 April to 4 May, all doctoral students of the UT are invited to share their opinion on their studies to help the university plan changes in doctoral studies.

The University of Tartu is planning major changes in doctoral studies in the coming years. The vision for the development of doctoral studies has been prepared. The requirements for doctoral theses are being updated. Besides, the university has supplemented the doctoral students’ income by the performance stipend.

On Tuesday there was a b…

Although the University of Tartu Library is closed due to the emergency situation, users can again request books via the e-catalogue ESTER starting today, 25 March. The requested books can be picked up from smart lockers in the lobby of the library.