Doctoral admission for 2026
Tallinn University offers three statuses of PhD places:
- A Junior Research Fellow is a student and an employee of the university at the same time. The exact workload and nominal study time depends on Individual Study and Research Plan and can be from 4 to 6 years. Starting from April 1, 2026, the minimum salary by the workload 1,0 is 2100 euros per month.
- A Doctoral Student has a status of a student. The nominal study time depends from Individual Study and Research Plan and can be from 4 to 8 years. A Doctoral Student is not entitled to receive a Doctoral Allowance nor the TLU Doctoral scholarship.
- A Knowledge Transfer Doctoral Fellow works in an external institution or in an enterprise where he/she performs duties related to the doctoral studies under an employment contract with a load of at least 0.5. The knowledge transfer doctoral fellow has at least two supervisors, one of whom is from the company or institution where the research is carried out. In addition to research work at the knowledge transfer partner, the knowledge transfer doctoral fellow must also participate in university teaching activities.
Available study places are shown on the programme's webpage. If the programme has places to a junior research fellow and a doctoral student statuses and the applicant wishes to apply to both places, an application must be submitted to both competitions on Dream Apply.
Baltic Film, Media and Arts School
| Programme | Description | Exam information | Contact person |
Audiovisual Arts and Media Studies |
Open topic |
2.-3. July 2026, room N-315. The exact time will be sent by 1 July 2026 by email to candidates invited to the interview. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Kerli Aguraiuja |
| Audiovisual Arts and Media Studies | Integrated Arts Education and Innovative Didactical Approaches in the Contemporary Learning Paradigm |
2.-3. July 2026, room N-315. The exact time will be sent by 1 July 2026 by email to candidates invited to the interview. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Kerli Aguraiuja |
| Audiovisual Arts and Media Studies | Audience data management and performance measurement in the cross-media landscape |
2.-3. July 2026, room N-315. The exact time will be sent by 1 July 2026 by email to candidates invited to the interview. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Ulrike Rohn |
School of Digital Technologies
| Programme | Description | Exam information | Contact person |
Information Society Technologies |
Computational Interaction |
09 July 2026 via Zoom. The exact time and Zoom link will be sent by email to candidates invited to the interview by the evening of 06.07. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Kristel Viileberg |
| Information Society Technologies | Psycho-Physiological Indicators of Creative Barriers |
09 July 2026 via Zoom. The exact time and Zoom link will be sent by email to candidates invited to the interview by the evening of 06.07. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Kristel Viileberg |
| Information Society Technologies | Higher Education Mathematics Didactics |
09 July 2026 via Zoom. The exact time and Zoom link will be sent by email to candidates invited to the interview by the evening of 06.07. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Kristel Viileberg |
| Information Society Technologies | Informatics Didactics |
09 July 2026 via Zoom. The exact time and Zoom link will be sent by email to candidates invited to the interview by the evening of 06.07. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Kristel Viileberg |
| Information Society Technologies | Responsible Artificial Intelligence for K-12 Education |
09.07.2026 via Zoom. The exact time and Zoom link will be sent by email to candidates invited to the interview by the evening of 06.07. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Kristel Viileberg |
| Information Society Technologies | AI-Mediated Tacit Knowledge Transfer and Human Agency |
09.07.2026 via Zoom. The exact time and Zoom link will be sent by email to candidates invited to the interview by the evening of 06.07. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Kristel Viileberg |
| Information Society Technologies | Human-Centered Computing |
09.07.2026 via Zoom. The exact time and Zoom link will be sent by email to candidates invited to the interview by the evening of 06.07. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Kristel Viileberg |
School of Educational Sciences
| Programme | Description | Exam information | Contact person |
| Educational Sciences | Open topic |
1 July 07.2026, room M-649. The exact time will be sent by 30 June 2026 by email to candidates invited to the interview. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Elina van der Toorn |
| Educational Sciences | The Development of Reading Skills in Estonian as a Second Language and the Teaching Practices Supporting It in Lower Secondary Content-Area Instruction |
1 July 07.2026, room M-649. The exact time will be sent by 30 June 2026 by email to candidates invited to the interview. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Elina van der Toorn |
| Educational Sciences | Mathematics Teaching and Learning in the Era of Artificial Intelligence: A Didactical Perspective |
1 July 07.2026, room M-649. The exact time will be sent by 30 June 2026 by email to candidates invited to the interview. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Elina van der Toorn |
School of Humanities
| Programme | Description | Exam information | Contact person |
| History | Open topic |
10 July 2026, room S-415. The exact time will be agreed individually by email with candidates invited to the interview. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Maris Peters |
| Studies of Cultures | Open topic |
10 July 2026, room S-415. The exact time will be agreed individually by email with candidates invited to the interview. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Maris Peters |
| Studies of Cultures | Critical transition studies with the foci on the geopolitics and commoning of transitions |
10 July 2026, room S-415. The exact time will be agreed individually by email with candidates invited to the interview. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Substantive questions: Tauri Tuvikene General questions: Maris Peters |
| Linguistics | Open topic |
10 July 2026, room S-415. The exact time will be agreed individually by email with candidates invited to the interview. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Maris Peters |
| Linguistics | The use of AI and AI-powered assessment, feedback, and personalized learning |
10 July 2026, room S-415. The exact time will be agreed individually by email with candidates invited to the interview. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Substantive questions: Andres Karjus General questions: Maris Peters |
School of Natural Sciences and Health
| Programme | Description | Exam information | Contact person |
| Complex Systems in Natural Sciences | Open topic |
3 July 2026, room A-354. The exact time and room will be sent by email to candidates invited to the interview. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Greete Horn |
| Psychology | Open topic |
2 July 2026, room A-544. The exact time and room will be sent by email to candidates invited to the interview. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Greete Horn |
| Health Behaviour and Wellbeing | Open topic |
1 July 2026, room A-354. The exact time and room will be sent by email to candidates invited to the interview. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Greete Horn |
School of Governance, Law and Society
| Programme | Description | Exam information | Contact person |
| Demography | Open topic |
6 July 2026 at 10 am, room M-553. The exact time will be sent by email to candidates invited to the interview. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Triin Vendik |
| Government and Politics | Open topic |
9 July 2026 at 10 am, room M-224. The exact time will be sent by email to candidates invited to the interview. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Triin Vendik |
| Government and Politics | Educational Choices, Inequality and Policy Feedback across the Life Course |
9 July 2026 at 10 am, room M-224. The exact time will be sent by email to candidates invited to the interview. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Triin Vendik |
| Sociology | Open topic |
7 July 2026 at 10 am, room A-213. The exact time will be sent by email to candidates invited to the interview. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Triin Vendik |
| Sociology | The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Young People’s Educational and Labor Market Transitions, Social Inclusion, and Well-Being |
7 July 2026 at 10 am, room A-213. The exact time will be sent by email to candidates invited to the interview. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Triin Vendik |
| Social Work | Open topic |
9 July 2026 at 10 am, room M-226. The exact time will be sent by email to candidates invited to the interview. Information about the entrance exam and the assessment is available on the programme's web page. |
Triin Vendik |
Minimum programme enrolment threshold: 75 points out of 100.
Changes may occur in the schedule.
Additional information
Phone (in English): 640 9234
E-mail: admissions@tlu.ee