Admissions
The Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA) offers four international doctoral programmes in art, design, architecture and art culture.
Applications for entry in the 2025/26 academic year will open on 1 February 2025.
Click here to begin the application process via DreamApply (for international students) or SAIS (for applicants who have obtained a previous degree in Estonia ).
The admission deadline for international applicants is 31 March 2025.
Admission interviews will be held in April 2025, please check the timetable here.
Doctoral studies info session on 7 February 2024
PhD programmes offered by EKA
Nominal duration of doctoral studies is 4 years and study load is 240 ECTS. EKA offers the following PhD programmes for international applicants:
ART AND DESIGN (detailed curriculum HERE)
ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN PLANNING (detailed curriculum HERE)
CULTURAL HERITAGE AND CONSERVATION (detailed curriculum HERE)
ART HISTORY AND VISUAL CULTURE (detailed curriculum HERE)
Doctoral positions offered by EKA
Architecture and Urban Planning:
1 doctoral student – junior researcher position at the Faculty of Architecture;
1 doctoral student position with an EKA scholarship;
up to 2 doctoral students without EKA scholarship.
Art History and Visual Culture:
1 doctoral student – junior researcher position at the Faculty of Art and Culture;
1 doctoral student position with EKA scholarship;
up to 2 doctoral students without EKA scholarship.
Art and Design:
1 doctoral student – junior researcher position at the Faculty of Fine Arts;
1 doctoral student – junior researcher position at the Faculty of Design;
1 doctoral student position with EKA scholarship at the Faculty of Design;
up to 2 doctoral students without EKA scholarship.
Cultural Heritage and Conservation:
1 doctoral student – junior researcher position at the Faculty of Art and Culture;
1 doctoral student position with EKA scholarship.
up to 2 doctoral students without EKA scholarship.
NB! Please specify the position you are applying for in your motivation letter.
Funding for PhD students
In 2024, the salary of a doctoral student – junior researcher is €1,840/month (gross salary) and EKA PhD scholarship is €750/month (net).
Please read more about the status and funding of PhD students here.
Admission requirements
The requirement for admission to doctoral studies is a master’s degree or other relevant qualification that gives access to doctoral level studies in Estonia. Educational qualifications obtained abroad are recognised by EKA on the basis of assessments and opinions of the Estonian ENIC/NARIC Centre.
Students graduating in the summer of 2025 who are unable to submit their educational documents (diploma and transcript of records) before the deadline are required to submit their latest transcript of records containing their current grades, and a written confirmation (email, certificate etc) from their educational institution stating that educational documents will be issued to graduates no lather than at the end of June 2025.
NB! All the required documents, including the English language proficiency certificate, have to be submitted with the application by 31 March 2025.
Required documents
— Application (submitted via DreamApply/SAIS between 01.02–31.03.2025)
— 80€ application fee (paid via bank transfer)
— Copy of your bachelor’s and master’s degree certificate or equivalent, and their translation into Estonian or English (both the copy and translation have to be attested)
— Copy of your transcript of records (BA and MA level studies), and their translation into Estonian or English (both the copy and translation have to be attested)
— English language proficiency certificate, please check the requirements HERE
— Copy of the data page of your passport or ID-card
— CV (please find the form here)
Country specific requirements can be found here.
NB! Translations are only requested if documents are not in English or Estonian. Both the copies of documents in their original language and translations have to be attested.
Additional documents
– portfolio (including a defended master’s thesis if you wish) is required for an artistic or practice-based doctoral thesis, and a defended master’s thesis is sufficient for a text-based doctoral thesis
– motivation letter (please specify the position you are applying for)
– proposal of the doctoral thesis (form for Art and Design here /form for Architecture and Urban planning here)
– academic CV of the prospective supervisor(s). Please note that having a supervisor is not required for applying. However, if you have a supervisor, you will need to ask their consent for submitting their CV. You will also need to include their name and email in your thesis proposal. If the supervisor is employed at the Estonian Academy of Arts, CV is not required.
NB! Applications are only processed after the application fee (80 EUR) is received by EKA.
International PhD applicants are exempt from application fee and may apply via SAIS if they:
• have completed their previous studies in Estonia,
• or are about to graduate from an educational institution in Estonia,
• or have completed their previous studies abroad but have had their qualifications assessed by ENIC/NARIC Centre.
Assessing criteria
The results will be based on the interview, PhD thesis project and portfolio or defended MA thesis. Based on submitted documents the committee will decide who will be invited for an interview.
More information:
Doctoral School
Irene Hütsi
Coordinator of doctoral studies
Phone: +372 53 068 909
e-post: irene.hutsi@artun.ee
Admissions
Helen Jürgens
Senior Specialist
Phone: +372 6267 305
e-post: helen.jyrgens@artun.ee
Põhja puiestee 7, D206 www.artun.ee
