The Juri Lotman scholarship 2026

The Juri Lotman Fund announces its scholarship contest for graduate students from the University of Tartu whose research continues the tradition of Lotman and his school in semiotics and Slavic philology. The application deadline is 30 January 2026, and the grantees of the scholarships will be announced on 28 February 2026.

In 2026, the Juri Lotman Fund will award two scholarships of 600€ to a master’s or doctoral student in Slavic philology and Semiotics (and Culture Studies). The grantees will be announced on Juri Lotman’s birthday, February 28, 2026.

To apply for the scholarship, the candidate should submit:

• an original research, academic article or a series of articles, or
• a defended bachelor’s or master’s thesis, or
• paper written specially for the contest,
  
  which have already been published or submitted for publishing, and which have been written within previous two years as of the date of submitting.

The topic of the research is not restricted. The papers can be written in Estonian, Russian, or English and should have a summary in a different language.

Along with the research paper, the candidates must also submit the following documents:

• academic CV;
• academic advisor’s letter of recommendation;
• first year graduate students are asked to submit a copy of their Diploma with the Diploma Supplement if they have acquired their previous education outside the University of Tartu.

Please submit an electronic copy of your work by 30 January 2026 to the:

• Chair of Russian Literature (e-mail: [email protected] - papers in philology) or
• Department of Semiotics (e-mail: [email protected] - papers in semiotics).

Previous scholarship holders