PhD in Art History or Theatre Studies – University of Tartu
University of Tartu
Tartu | Estonia
PhD in Art History or Theatre Studies
- Performing Arts – Drama and Theatre Studies, Dance and Ballet, Performative Practices (Theory and/or Practice)
- History and Theory of Art + Cultural Heritage
4 years (240 ECTS)
Public university
PhD fully funded and with a stipend by the university
- PhD Fully or partially externally funded, with a stipend, through private or public foundations, scholarships, grants, one or more companies, or public institutions that you have to find on your own
Fees: doctoral studies in Estonia are without tuition fee. Semester fees may apply.
Funding resources:
Useful link for scholarships: https://studyinestonia.ee/study/scholarships
Dissertation
- Formats: monograph or article-based (intro + typically ≥3 peer-reviewed publications).
- Must follow UT’s prescribed structure; usually appears in the Dissertationes … Universitatis Tartuensis series.
Disputation
- Public defense before the awarding council with appointed opponent/reviewer(s).
- Can be closed only on specific legal grounds; defense announced in advance.
Publication
- ≥15 printed copies and an electronic version (UT Library/DSpace, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
Thesis must be publicly available at least 2 weeks before the defense.
- Check intakes and open calls.
- Main intake: 1–15 May (applications open 1 May; results 15 July; studies start 1 September). Some specialisations may also open 1–15 Feb, 15–30 Sep, or 15–30 Nov.
- Open calls (2025 examples):
- Institute of History and Archaeology – Archaeology, Art History, History: 4 study places; apply with your own topic; admitted students work as Junior Research Fellows (est. 1.0 FTE, ~4 years); studies expected to start 1 Sep 2025; online interviews 27 Jun 2025.
- Institute of Cultural Research – Comparative Literature, Estonian Literature, Ethnology, Folkloristics, Theatre Studies: 6 study places (one ranking list; apply with your own topic); plus two Ethnology topic calls (Estonian required; motivation letter instead of thesis project). Admitted students work as Junior Research Fellows (est. 1.0 FTE, ~4 years); studies expected to start 1 Sep 2025; online interviews 30 Jun 2025 (Zoom).
- Secure a prospective supervisor and prepare the thesis project.
- You can usually apply with your own topic; finding a prospective supervisor before applying is essential.
- Thesis project + CV are required. (Examples of project specs on the programme page: 5000–9000 characters for several Cultural Research specialisations; 3–5 pages for History/Archaeology/Art History, including planned format and schedule.)
- Submit the online application.
- International applicants: apply via DreamApply during the intake window.
- Applicants with a Master’s from Estonia: apply via SAIS (or DreamApply, per the timetable).
- Two-stage evaluation.
- Stage 1 – Project review: scored 0–50 (minimum 35 to pass).
- Stage 2 – Interview: scored 0–50 (minimum 35). Maximum 100; offers go to top-ranked candidates.
- After a conditional offer.
- Post certified hard copies as instructed; upon admission to a Junior Research Fellow place, sign the employment contract (workload/start date agreed in contract talks).
- Master’s degree or equivalent (qualification must correspond to an Estonian Master’s for PhD access).
- English-language proficiency per University rules; proof of Russian only for the Russian Language and Literature specialisation.
- Specialisation-specific thesis-project structure and evaluation criteria apply (as listed on the programme page).
Lii Lang (Centre for Doctoral Studies in Humanities) | lii.lang@ut.ee
Student admissions | phdadmissions@ut.ee
https://ut.ee/en/doctoral-programmes
https://ut.ee/en/curriculum/humanities
Info for international students: https://www.studyinestonia.ee/visa-and-residence-permit
Languages used within the program and for thesis writing and discussion: Estonian, English, Russian PhD with only theoretical outcomes – no artistic projects/concerts/exhibitions as part of the final project