PhD Programme

Contacts of UT units

Dean's Office

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+ 372 737 5341

Faculty email:
hv.dekanaat [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Jakobi 2, rooms 116–121, 51005 Tartu
Institute of History and Archaeology

Faculty link:
www.flaj.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5651

Faculty address:
Jakobi 2, 51005 Tartu
Institute of Estonian and General Linguistics

Faculty link:
keel.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5221

Faculty email:
keeleteadus [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Jakobi 2, 51005 Tartu
Institute of Philosophy and Semiotics

Faculty link:
www.flfi.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5314

Faculty email:
filosoofia.semiootika [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Jakobi 2, rooms 309–352, 51005 Tartu
Institute of Cultural Research

Faculty link:
www.flku.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
(+372) 737 5223

Faculty email:
kultuuriteadused [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Ülikooli 16, 51003 Tartu
School of Theology and Religious Studies

Faculty link:
us.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5301

Faculty email:
us [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Ülikooli 18–310, 50090 Tartu
College of Foreign Languages and Cultures

Faculty link:
maailmakeeled.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty email:
keeled [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
J. Liivi 4, 50409, Tartu
Viljandi Culture Academy

Faculty link:
kultuur.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 435 5232

Faculty email:
kultuur [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Posti 1, 71004 Viljandi

Dean's Office

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+ 372 737 5900

Faculty email:
sotsiaalteadused [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Lossi 36, 51003 Tartu
Institute of Education

Faculty link:
www.ht.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 6440

Faculty email:
haridus [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Salme 1a–29, 50103 Tartu
Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies

Faculty link:
skytte.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5582

Faculty email:
skytte [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Lossi 36–301, 51003 Tartu
School of Economics and Business Administration

Faculty link:
majandus.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 6310

Faculty email:
majandus [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Narva mnt 18, 51009 Tartu
Institute of Psychology

Faculty link:
psychology.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5902

Faculty email:
psyhholoogia [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Näituse 2, 50409 Tartu
School of Law

Faculty link:
law.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5390

Faculty email:
oi [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Näituse 20–324, 50409 Tartu
Institute of Social Studies

Faculty link:
yti.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5188

Faculty email:
yhiskonnateadused [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Lossi 36, 51003 Tartu
Narva College

Faculty link:
www.narva.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 740 1900

Faculty email:
college [at] narva.ut.ee

Faculty address:
Raekoja plats 2, 20307 Narva
Pärnu College

Faculty link:
www.pc.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 445 0520

Faculty email:
info [at] pc.ut.ee

Faculty address:
Ringi 35, 80012 Pärnu

Dean's Office

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5326

Faculty email:
med [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Ravila 19, 50411 Tartu
Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine

Faculty link:
biomeditsiin.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 4210

Faculty email:
bsmi [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Biomeedikum, Ravila 19, 50411 Tartu
Institute of Pharmacy

Faculty link:
farmaatsia.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5286

Faculty email:
pharmacy [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Nooruse 1, 50411 Tartu
Institute of Dentistry

Faculty link:
hambaarstiteadus.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 731 9856

Faculty address:
Raekoja plats 6, 51003 Tartu
Institute of Clinical Medicine

Faculty link:
clinicalmedicine.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5323

Faculty email:
kmi [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
L. Puusepa 8, 50406 Tartu
Institute of Family Medicine and Public Health

Faculty link:
tervis.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 4190

Faculty email:
dph [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Ravila 19, 50411 Tartu
Institute of Sport Sciences and Physiotherapy

Faculty link:
www.kk.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5360

Faculty email:
kkdek [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Jakobi 5–205, 51005 Tartu

Dean's Office

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5820

Faculty email:
ltt [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Vanemuise 46–208, 51003 Tartu
Institute of Computer Science

Faculty link:
cs.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5445

Faculty email:
ics [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Narva mnt 18, 51009 Tartu
Estonian Marine Institute

Faculty link:
mereinstituut.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 671 8902

Faculty address:
Mäealuse 14, 12618 Tallinn
Institute of Physics

Faculty link:
www.fi.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty address:
W. Ostwaldi 1, 50411 Tartu
Institute of Chemistry

Faculty link:
chem.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5261

Faculty email:
chemistry [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Ravila 14a, 50411 Tartu
Institute of Mathematics and Statistics

Faculty link:
www.math.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5860

Faculty email:
ltms [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Narva mnt 18, 51009 Tartu
Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology

Faculty link:
tymri.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5027

Faculty address:
Riia 23, 23b–134, 51010 Tartu
Tartu Observatory

Faculty link:
www.kosmos.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 4510

Faculty email:
kosmos [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Observatooriumi 1, Tõravere, 61602 Tartumaa
Institute of Technology

Faculty link:
tuit.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 4800

Faculty email:
info [at] tuit.ut.ee

Faculty address:
Nooruse 1, 50411 Tartu
Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences

Faculty link:
www.omi.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5835

Faculty email:
om [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Vanemuise 46, 51003 Tartu

Institutions

Library

Faculty link:
utlib.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5702

Faculty email:
library [at] utlib.ee

Faculty address:
W. Struve 1, 50091 Tartu
Youth Academy

Faculty link:
teaduskool.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5581

Faculty email:
teaduskool [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Uppsala 10, 51003 Tartu
Institute of Genomics

Faculty link:
genomics.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 4000

Faculty email:
egv [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Riia 23b, 51010 Tartu
Museum

Faculty link:
muuseum.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5674

Faculty email:
muuseum [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Lossi 25, 51003 Tartu
University of Tartu Natural History Museum and Botanical Garden

Faculty link:
natmuseum.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
https://www.ut.ee/en/kontakt/loodusmuuseum-botaanikaaed

Faculty phone:
+372 737 6076

Faculty email:
loodusmuuseum [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Vanemuise 46, 51003 Tartu

Support Units

Administrative Office

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5606

Faculty email:
kantselei [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Ülikooli 18a, 51005 Tartu
Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 4809

Faculty email:
eik [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Narva mnt 18, 51009, Tartu
University Office in Tallinn

Faculty link:
University Office in Tallinn

Faculty contacts link:
Employeescontacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 6600

Faculty email:
esindus [at] tallinn.ut.ee

Faculty address:
Teatri väljak 3, 10143 Tallinn
Estates Office

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5137

Faculty address:
Ülikooli 18a, 51005 Tartu
Finance Office

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5125

Faculty email:
rahandus [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Jakobi 4, 51005 Tartu
Grant Office

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 6215

Faculty address:
Raekoja plats 9, 51004 Tartu
Information Technology Office

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 6000, IT-help: +372 737 5500

Faculty email:
ito [at] ut.ee, arvutiabi [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Ülikooli 18a, 51005 Tartu
Human Resources Office

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5145

Faculty email:
personal [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Ülikooli 18, rooms 302 and 304, 50090 Tartu
Internal Audit Office

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty email:
siseaudit [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Ülikooli 18-244, 51005 Tartu
Marketing and Communication Office

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5687

Faculty email:
info [at] ut.ee, avalik [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Ülikooli 18, rooms 102, 104, 209, 210, 50090 Tartu
Office of Academic Affairs

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5620

Faculty address:
Ülikooli 18, 50090 Tartu
Procurement Office

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 6632

Faculty email:
tuuli.ilula [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Ülikooli 18a, 51005 Tartu
Rector's Office
Rector's Strategy Office

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5600

Faculty email:
rektor [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Ülikooli 18, 50090 Tartu
Student Council

Faculty link:
tyye.ut.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty email:
info [at] tyye.ee

Faculty address:
Ülikooli 18b, 51005 Tartu
University of Tartu Press

Faculty link:
www.tyk.ee

Faculty contacts link:
Employee contacts

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5945

Faculty email:
tyk [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
W. Struve 1, 50091 Tartu

University of Tartu Academic Sports Club

Faculty link:
sport.ut.ee

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5371

Faculty email:
info [at] tysk.ee

Faculty address:
Ujula 4, 51008 Tartu
Tartu Student Village

Faculty link:
campus.ee

Faculty phone:
+372 740 9959

Faculty email:
info [at] kyla.ee

Faculty address:
Narva mnt 25, 51013 Tartu
Tartu Students’ Club

Faculty link:
www.tym.ee

Faculty phone:
+372 730 2400

Faculty email:
tym [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Kalevi 24, 51010 Tartu
Tartu University Hospital

Faculty link:
www.kliinikum.ee/eng

Faculty email:
kliinikum [at] kliinikum.ee

Faculty address:
L. Puusepa 1a, 50406 Tartu
University of Tartu Foundation

Faculty link:
sihtasutus.ut.ee/en

Faculty phone:
+372 737 5852

Faculty email:
triin.vakker [at] ut.ee

Faculty address:
Ülikooli 18, 50090 Tartu
View all other units

Faculty link:
www.ut.ee/en/other-units

The Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies offers the opportunity to gain a doctoral degree (PhD) in Political Science by enrolling in its English language PhD programme. During the four years of PhD studies, students are required to collect credits through coursework, teaching, international publishing, conference participation and work on the doctoral project. The following text gives a detailed overview of the requirements, including information about credit points, formats of dissertations and funding opportunities.

First steps

After you have successfully passed the admissions process and have been admitted to the PhD programme there are a number of immediate first steps that need to be taken:

PhD Study Agreement. Each doctoral student at the University of Tartu signs a study agreement which outlines topic and period of study and research, competences and expected results, and responsibilities of student and supervisor. The PhD Study Agreement is available online (Estonian; English).
PhD student`s individual study plan. At the beginning of the first semester, in September each year, each full-time doctoral student is required to submit an Individual Study Plan, which includes a plan of research, studies, use of infrastructure and is approved by the supervisor. It will be drawn up and signed by the student, a supervisor and the University. The Individual Study Plan is available online (Estonian; English).
Doctoral allowance. All PhD students enrolled in a full-time study are eligible for a doctoral allowance if they are citizens of the Republic of Estonia or reside in Estonia on the basis of a residence permit and have not exceeded their nominal period of study. The amount of the state doctoral allowance at the moment is €660 per month (as of 2018). Students enrolled in or after the autumn semester of the 2018/2019 academic year will receive the doctoral allowance €660 + the doctoral students’ performance stipend 400 euros for six months. After that the payment of the stipend is contingent on the student´s academic performance. See more at: https://www.ut.ee/en/news/performance-stipend-available-doctoral-students-next-academic-year

Curriculum and requirements

The doctoral programme in political science lasts four years and consists of 240 European credit points (ECTS). The programme is divided into two main parts: course work (60 ECTS) and the doctoral dissertation (180 ECTS). The course work includes major field subjects (36 ECTS - including Doctoral seminar, Political Science Classics courses, Elective major subject courses), university-wide optional courses (6 ECTS), teaching requirement (6 ECTS) and other optional courses (12 ECTS). See the curriculum structure in the Study Information System.

All major components of the current curriculum are explained in more detail below.

Doctoral seminar (SORG.00.038), 6 ECTS

The broad goal of the seminar is to help PhD students succeed in the PhD. programme and to facilitate their transition from being a student to being a scholar. The seminar offers information about the main elements and requirements of the PhD programme (the dissertation itself, coursework, the publication requirement, the conference participation requirement, the teaching requirement, etc) and provides a forum for discussing these. It seeks to convey professional standards and know-how, covering a broad range of themes from publishing, conference participation, and professional associations to research funding. At the end of the course students are required to present and defend a substantially revised research plan - the Dissertation Prospectus - in front of a greater audience of other doctoral students and lecturers.

Political Science Classics courses, 12 ECTS

These are independent study courses leading to qualifying exams in any two of the following four fields:

Political theory (SORG.03.023), 6 ECTS;
Comparative politics (SORG.03.024), 6 ECTS;
Baltic politics (SORG.00.072), 6 ECTS;
International relations (SORG.00.070), 6 ECTS.

The candidate must work through a set of prescribed literature and successfully pass an oral exam (in some cases a written assigment is required). Detailed exam programmes (reading lists) are available for each exam. Contact the professor/lecturer in charge to schedule the exam date and get details about the readings:

eiki.berg [ät] ut.ee (Eiki Berg )– for International Relations;
vello.pettai [ät] ut.ee (Vello Pettai) – for Comparative Politics;
heiko.paabo [ät] ut.ee (Heiko Pääbo) – for Baltic Politics;
eva.piirimae [ät] ut.ee (Eva Piirimäe) – for Political Theory.

There are generally two opportunities to take the exam each year (in December/January, and May/June).

Elective major subject courses, 18 ECTS

The students must complete the following courses:

1) Paper at an international scholarly conference, 6 ECTS. The candidate may receive elective credit for a scholarly paper delivered at an internationally recognized and/or pre-reviewed conference, (e.g. annual meetings of the ECPR, IPSA, ISA, etc). To get credit for conference participation, two main criteria must be met: 1) you attended this kind of international scholarly conference 2) you produced a scholarly paper for the conference (as opposed to just ‘giving a talk’). To get credit, send your conference paper along with the name, location and dates of the conference (e.g. the official website) to the programme coordinator Maili Vilson. NB! PhD students admitted in 2016 and later must collect 12 ECTS for conference presentations, so in addition to the course above, another 6 ECTS will be collected under Research on doctoral dissertation.

2) Special Seminar in Political Science, 6 ECTS. This is a forum for faculty members and more advanced PhD students to present and discuss their own current research. To get credit points for the colloquium, the PhD student must attend at least 80% of the meetings as well as present his or her research. In the first year of study, the contribution to the colloquium comes in form of the dissertation prospectus defence (usually held in May); in later years students can present planned conference papers/ research articles or major sections of their dissertation etc. To learn more about the research colloquium visit the special section under Research on this website.

3) Methodology in the social sciences, 3 ECTS. This is a flexible course which provides each PhD student with the opportunity to use any methods training courses necessary for conducting their research to also fill the curriculum. For example, a students can transfer credits gained from ECPR methods schools or any methods courses taught at the University of Tartu or any other higher education institutions that correspond to the level expected from the PhD studies.

4) Current topics in the social sciences, 3 ECTS. This is a flexible course which provides each PhD student with the opportunity to use any training courses necessary for conducting their research to also fill the curriculum. For example, a students can transfer credits gained from ECPR methods schools or any summer or training schools that correspond to the level expected from the PhD studies.

University-wide elective courses (including teaching practice of 6ECTS) 12 ECTS

Each semester the Office of Doctoral Studies coordinates different university-wide doctoral seminars. Courses offered include, for instance, Academic writing skills, Bioethics, Intellectual Property, Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, and Public speaking. The list of courses changes somewhat from year to year, as new courses are being added. See in SIS for courses offered in any given semester.

University Teaching Practice (SORG.00.016)

To help PhD students acquire teaching skills and prepare them for an academic career, a teaching requirement has been included in the programme. Such teaching must amount to 6 ECTS and may consist of the following activities:

teaching one's own course (‘full credit’: e.g. teaching a 3 ECTS course gives 3 ECTS);
assist a faculty member in teaching a course, including grading exams and student papers (‘half credit’: assisting a 6 ECTS course gives 3 ECTS);
serve as an advisor to a BA or MA thesis (supervising one MA thesis gives 3 ECTS, supervising 3 BA theses gives 3 ECTS).

PhD students should gradually build their ‘teaching portfolio’. In principle, any combination of the above is fine as long as your portfolio includes some actual classroom teaching (i.e. it should not consist of thesis supervision only).

Once work corresponding to 6 ECTS has been completed, send a brief description of your teaching activities (including names and dates of courses taught or assisted, theses successfully supervised, etc) to the maili.vilson [ät] ut.ee (programme coordinator).

Elective subjects, 12 ECTS

Additional doctoral-level courses of the candidate's own choosing (including courses offered by other Universities), or language courses are also applicable. Any third Political Science Classics course is also an option, as is any additional interdisciplinary social sciences courses.

Doctoral dissertation (SORG.00.027) 180 ECTS

In accordance with the University of Tartu's ‘Procedure for Awarding Doctorates’ (English; Estonian), a PhD candidate must have a minimum number of publications before he/she may defend the doctoral dissertation. These publications can be:

a) Scholarly articles indexed by Web of Science Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index, Arts & Humanities Citation Index and/or indexed by Scopus (excluding chapters in books)
b) articles in journals which belong to the category ‘A’ or ‘B’ of ERIH;
c) Peer-reviewed articles in other international research journals with an ISSN code and international editorial board, which are circulated internationally and open to international contributions;
d) Articles or chapters in publications of renowned international publishing houses;
e) Monographs published by acknowledged international scientific publishing houses.

Based on these publication categories, there are three ways to submit a doctoral dissertation:

as a series of minimum three publications (falling at least into categories c or d listed above), supplied with a summary and published in the University dissertations series (Dissertationes Universitatis Tartuensis). If a publication has several authors, the specific contribution of the person applying for the degree has to be clearly indicated;
as a monograph published in the University dissertation series (Dissertationes - Universitatis Tartuensis) which has been pre-reviewed at international level by at least two independent reputable scientists in the respective field. In this case, the degree applicant is required to have published at least one article or chapter (falling under categories c or d listed above) on the topic of his/her dissertation;
as a monograph corresponding to category ‘e’ above.

In political science, the most common form of dissertation is type 2, however, a candidate may also consider the other options and discuss them with his/her advisor. Publications published before the commencement of doctoral studies at the University of Tartu may be accepted toward this requirement, subject to review by the Board of the Institute. The defence of the thesis takes place in the form of a public academic discussion after all other requirements for the degree have been met. For additional information, see the Procedure for Awarding Doctorates on the UT main website.

Annual progress review

As a University-wide requirement, PhD students must pass an annual progress review (atesteerimine). At the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies, the progress review usually takes place in late August every year.

What is the progress review? The purpose of these annual meetings (PhD student + supervisor + 3 or 4-member committee) is to assess the progress a PhD student has made in the programme. The meeting is a 20-30 minute discussion based on the student's individual study plan (English; Estonian) and the progress review form, which you have to submit in advance (English; Estonian). As a result of the meeting, the committee must make a recommendation, i.e. choose one of the following options:

requirements met, the student will continue full-time studies;
requirements partly met, the student will be transferred to part-time study, which means the student receives 50% of the PhD study stipend, and is required to pay the study fee of 50€/semester;
requirements not met, the student will be dismissed.

The basis for this decision is coursework completed, credit points earned and progress made on the dissertation (including research activities related to the dissertation such as publications, conference presentations, participation in research projects). Ideally, to complete the programme in four years, one should earn 60 ECTS per year. 45 ECTS per year and above is considered sufficient for full-time study (täiskoormusega õpe), 30-44 ECTS per year is sufficient for part-time study (osakoormusega õpe).

The UT Study Regulations with section on ‘Progress review of doctoral students’ are available here (see section V.5).

Who must pass the progress review? All PhD students, except those who are on academic leave. Note: if your academic leave ends within a few months of the scheduled review period, you should still pass the progress review because it would be difficult to arrange a separate review meeting later on.

What is expected of the PhD student? For the progress review meeting:

>> Please prepare your progress review report and be prepared to discuss activities of the past year in light of your individual study plan (coursework, progress made on the dissertation, conferences, publications, projects, etc). The information you give in this form constitutes the basis for the discussion and decision, so please be sure to list all of your relevant achievements and describe progress made on the dissertation in sufficient detail.

>> Have a clear overview of how many credit points you (will) have earned by the end of the semester.

Funding and support to PhD students

Doctoral allowance is available for students who:

are citizens of the Republic of Estonia or who reside in Estonia on the basis of a residence right or a permanent or temporary residence permit;
are engaged in full-time doctoral study on a state-funded study place;
have not exceeded the nominal period of study;
do not receive student support from a government of a foreign country, or an international or intergovernmental organization.

The amount of the doctoral allowance is €660 per month (as of 2018). The application to receive the doctoral allowance should be submitted via SIS during the period September 1 to September 30. The application should be submitted once for the entire study period; there is no need to re-apply every year.

Information on non-state stipends and other funding opportunities is available here. One can apply for travel support from Kristjan Jaak or the DoRa programme (short-term travel, extended stay abroad). The Skytte Institute is also a member of the Doctoral School of Economics and Innovation which organises various events and offers mobility opportunities.

There are also limited employment opportunities for PhD students at the Institute (mostly in teaching). PhD students can also be involved in various institutional or individual research grants held by faculty members (for instance, PhD students participating in grant projects supported by the Estonian Research Council can be paid an additional stipend not exceeding €200 per month).

The Counselling Centre at the University offers advice regarding organisation of studies, career and psychological counselling, study-related information and training courses to students of all levels of study. Please click here for more information.

Additional information

Procedure for assessing doctoral students progress in research and conducting progress reviews in the Faculty of Social Sciences
Good practice of doctoral studies (in Estonian, in English)

For more information, please contact the PhD programme coordinator Maili Vilson, maili.vilson [ät] ut.ee.

Current and Defended Dissertations

Below, you can find more information about PhD research undertaken and completed at the Institute.

Dissertations currently undertaken at the Institute

Lelde Arnicāne, MA (Tartu)

Topic: "'We the people': political representation, power and popular sovereignty in Latvia"
Supervisor: Viacheslav Morozov

Ionut-Valentin Chiruta, MA (Oslo)

Topic: "Reconstructing collective memory in the time of Populism. A study of mnemonic reverberations of the Magyar minority from Romania"
Supervisor: Vello Pettai

Michael Cole, MA (Birmingham)

Topic: "The influence of Russian discourse on right-wing populist discourses in Ukraine and Georgia"
Supervisor: Andrey Makarychev

Radityo Dharmaputra, MA (Glasgow/ Tartu)

Topic: "Contemporary Russian Foreign Policy Discourse towards Asia: Assessing the Logic of Causality in the Discursive Structure of Identity"
Supervisor: Viacheslav Morozov

Sanshiro Hosaka, MA (OUJ)

Topic: "Covering Former Empire 'Peripheries': Academia's Reception of Russian Strategic Narratives in International Conflicts"
Supervisor: Andrey Makarychev

Shota Kakabadze, MA (Tartu)

Topic: "The Stigma of Non-Europeaness in Georgian Public Discourse"
Supervisor: Andrey Makarychev

Kristjan Kaldur, MA (Tartu)

Topic: "Early patterns of integration among the newly arrived migrants: the case of Russian-speaking new migrants in Estonia"
Supervisors: Piret Ehin and Kristina Kallas

Ivan Ulises Kentros Klyszcz, MA (Glasgow/ Tartu)

Topic: "Russia's perception of Turkey's engagement with the North Caucasus autonomous republics"
Supervisor: Eiki Berg

Natalia Kovyliaeva, MA (CEU)

Topic: "Gaining Voice: Digital Feminist and Women's Movements in Post-Soviet Countries"
Supervisor: Katrin Uba

Maksim Kulaev, MA (St. Petersburg)

Topic: Transformism and Survival of Russian Authoritarianism after 2011
Supervisor: Viacheslav Morozov

Maria Reinfeldt, MA (Tartu)

Topic: "Conceptualizing the European Union as an international actor: an analysis of the moving position of the EU’s Self and the construction of Europe from within"
Supervisor: Viacheslav Morozov

Thomas Michael Linsenmaier, MA (FU Berlin)

Topic: "The interplay between regional international societies – towards a European security architecture?”
Supervisor: Viacheslav Morozov

Mariia Maksimova, MA (Tartu)

Topic: "Envision, regulation, management, and impact of the implementation of cloud-based solutions for e-government: public-private collaboration in value creation"
Supervisor: Mihkel Solvak

Eoin Micheal McNamara, MA/MSc (Tartu/ London)

Topic: "What determines the NATO contribution of small post-2004 allies? A comparative analysis of Estonia, Slovenia and Bulgaria"
Supervisor: Andres Kasekamp

Andrii Nekoliak, MA (Tartu)

Topic: "Understanding the origins of ‘memory laws’ in Eastern Europe: case studies of Estonia, Ukraine, and Poland"
Supervisor: Vello Pettai

Urmas Hõbepappel, MA (Lund)

Topic: "Changing History – Changing the Present? Postmodernist Historiography and Political Change in China"
Supervisor: Andrey Makarychev

Juhan Saharov, MA (Tartu)

Topic: "Reason and Rhetoric in Estonian Political Thought 1986-1992"
Supervisor: Eva Piirimäe

Anselm Schmidt, MA (Regensburg)

Topic: "Russian versus Ukrainian 'International' News Media and the War in Ukraine: Between Actors and Instruments of State"
Supervisor: Andrey Makarychev

Annika Siirak, MA (Tartu/ Bruges)

Topic: How political change towards democracy can end up stuck in a hybrid regime
Supervisor: Eiki Berg

Mari-Liis Sulg, MA (Tallinn)

Topic: Small State Foreing Policy strategic options: Estonian Example
Supervisor: Eiki Berg

George Spencer Terry, MA (Tartu)

Topic: The Far Right as a Cultural Phenomenon: Searching for Definitions in Italy, Poland, and Estonia
Supervisor: Andrey Makarychev

Märten Veskimäe, MA (Tartu)

Topic: Measuring the impact of government e-services
Supervisor: Mihkel Solvak

Maili Vilson, MA (Tartu)

Topic: "The Europeanization of national foreign policy during the crisis in Ukraine"
Supervisor: Viacheslav Morozov and Piret Ehin

Kristel Vits, MA (Tartu)

Topic: "De facto states and dependences: disentangling the interrelationship between de factostatehood and patronage"
Supervisor: Eiki Berg

Louis Wierenga, MA (Toronto)

Topic: "Women in radical right, populist parties in Europe"
Supervisor: Andres Kasekamp and Vello Pettai

Dissertations defended at the Institute 2006-2019

Click on the link to access the full dissertation online.

Allan Sikk, "Highways to power: New party success in three young democracies", 2006.
Supervisors Rein Taagepera and Mogens N. Pedersen

Holger Mölder, "Cooperative security dilemma – practicing the Hobbesian security culture in the Kantian security environment", 2010.
Supervisor Eiki Berg

Heiko Pääbo, "Potential of Collective Memory Based International Identity Conflicts in Post-Imperial Space: Comparison of Russian Master Narrative with Estonian, Ukrainian and Georgian Master Narratives", 2011.
Supervisor Andres Kasekamp

Mihkel Solvak, "Private members’ bills in parliament - a comparative study of Finland and Estonia", 2011.
Supervisor Vello Pettai

Viljar Veebel, "The role and impact of positive conditionality in the EU pre-acession policy", 2012.
Supervisor Eiki Berg

Alar Kilp, "Church authority in society, culture and politics after Communism", 2012.
Supervisor Rein Taagepera

Maria Groeneveld, "The role of the state and society relationship in the foreign policy making process", 2012.
Supervisors Andres Kasekamp and Alexander Astrov

Mari-Liis Sööt, "Explaining corruption: Opportunities for corruption and institutional trust", 2013.
Supervisor Tiina Randma-Liiv

Kadri Lühiste, "Regime Support in European Democracies", 2013.
Supervisor Piret Ehin

Raul Toomla, "De facto states in the international system: Conditions for (in)formal engagement", 2014.
Supervisor Eiki Berg

Andro Kitus, "A Post-Structuralist “Concept” of Legitimacy", 2014.
Supervisors Vello Pettai and Lasse Thomassen

Kristian Lau Nielsen, "Soft Power Europe: The Lesser Contradiction in Terms and Practices", 2016.
Supervisor Eiki Berg

Birgit Poopuu, "Acting is everything: the European unioon and the process of becoming a peacebuilder", 2016.
Supervisor Maria Mälksoo

Kristina Kallas, "Revisiting the triadic nexus: An analysis of the ethnopolitical interplay between Estonia, Russia and Estonian Russians", 2016.
Supervisor Vello Pettai

Liisa Talving, "Economic conditions and incumbent support: when and how does the economy matter?", 2016.
Supervisors Piret Ehin and Kristjan Vassil

Ryhor Nizhnikau, "Externally induced institutional change in the EU’s Eastern neighbourhood: migration and environment reforms in Ukraine and Moldova in 2010–2015", 2017.
Supervisor Viatcheslav Morozov

Kats Kivistik, "Relevance, content and effects of left-right identification in countries with different regime trajectories", 2017.
Supervisors Piret Ehin and André Freire

Lukas Pukelis, "Informal mutual oversight mechanisms in coalition governments: Insights from the Baltic states for theory building", 2018.
Supervisor Vello Pettai

Search form