News

On 30 October, the University of Tartu senate decided to award the Johan Skytte medal to President Alar Karis. The highest award for university members, the University of Tartu Grand Medal, is given to Ruth Oltjer, Liina Lindström and Maris Laan. Also, 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 been selected.

There can never be too much dancing and laughter. We look forward to celebrating the 107th anniversary of the beginning of Estonian-language higher education on 1 December 2026!

in April 2027 the Artefacta conference focusing on Sustainability and Heritage is held in Estonia. Co-organised by the UNESCO Chair.

In the EU funded CULTURALITY project, two years of mapping and inventorying of intangible cultural heritage has resulted in the creation of the Rural Crafting Archive, which is now available on the Virtual European Rural Artisans Platform (VERA).

The UNESCO Chair on Applied Studies of Intangible Cultural Heritage dis marking the International Day of the Intangible Cultural Heritage with the inaugural lecture of Elo-Hanna Seljamaa.

Perspectives of Intangible Cultural Heritage, series of the UNESCO Chair

The roundtable Living Heritage as Resource was organised in Viljandi on October 18 by the UNESCO Chair on Applied Studies of Intangible Cultural Heritage (University of Tartu).

Equitable Migration Studies after the Crisis Script

On September 30 at 10:00 Mari-Ann Remmel will defend her thesis "Estonian Place-lore and Sacred Sites: From Archived Stories to the Real Landscape Experience" ("Eesti kohapärimus ja pühad paigad: arhiivimuistenditest maastikukogemuseni").

What does literature know, and how does it know it?

On Monday, 31 August at 10:00, the 2026/2027 academic year was opened in front of the university's main building. The programme of the ceremony included a musical performance by Puuluup.

On 17 September at 18, the Opera Studio of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre presents Alessandro Scarlatti’s opera L’honestà negli amori (“Honesty in Love Affairs”, 1680), reconstructed by Estonian composer Eduard Tubin, at the University of Tartu’s assembly hall. This is the first time the opera will be performed in Estonia.

The University of Tartu offers more than 50 Estonian-taught curricula at both the first and second levels of study, and four English-taught master’s curricula, where studies take place in a block mode. Students of these curricula do not meet every week and must combine pursuing higher education with their other everyday duties.

Doctoral Defence: Tenno Teidearu“Crystals as Significant Materials in New Spirituality: Materiality, Embodiment, and Commerce”

Workshop: Military strategies, concept of warfare, hybrid threats – from ancient times to the modern era

Registration deadline: 23.08.2026

University of Tartu graduation ceremonies take place from 12 to 20 June. Live streaming, recordings and photos of the ceremonies are available on UTTV.

In the upcoming autumn semester, the Faculty of Arts and Humanities once again offers a wide range of optional courses open to students across all disciplines.