Master of Arts in Humanities - Semiotics

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Semiotics

Master of Arts in Humanities

Application deadlines

January 2application system opens

March 15application deadline

May 15final admission results

August 30academic year begins

How to apply CONTACT US

Semiotics

The 2-year master’s programme in Semiotics provides interdisciplinary background and gives a theoretical base for application of semiotic ideas to a wide variety of disciplines and scientific study. The programme binds together the theory of semiotics and three core modules - cultural semiotics, biosemiotics and sociosemiotics. The programme also combines the major semiotic traditions of Ferdinand de Saussure and Charles S. Peirce with the leading contemporary and innovative thought.

Semiotics is the general study of sign processes, or semiosis. Semiosis makes the world meaningful. Today’s world, where processes have a disbalance of global and local dimension, challenges us to understand the need of individuals and societies for defining their identity. Semiotics is centrally relevant to achieve this understanding.

The Department of Semiotics at the University of Tartu is one of the most important centres of semiotics in Europe, with deep roots for cultural semiotics and biosemiotics. Names and work of Jakob von Uexküll and Juri Lotman, founder of world-renowned Tartu-Moscow Semiotics School, form the cornerstone of the Department of Semiotics at the University of Tartu. The Department of Semiotics also holds the memorial library of Thomas A. Sebeok, which was received as a donation.

NEW! Online info session 28.01.2020 at 1 pm (GMT+2). Get to know the programme and ask questions directly from the programme manager. Register here.

Why study semiotics?

The tradition of excellence in semiotic theory in Tartu was established by Juri Lotman in 1960s, the founder of semiotics of culture and the Tartu-Moscow Semiotic School, as well as the oldest journal of semiotics, Sign Systems Studies.
The University of Tartu is one of the few institutions in the world teaching full Master’s and PhD degree programs in semiotics since 1993.
As one of world’s major centres of semiotics, the University of Tartu collaborates and is regularly visited by professors from all around the world: Paul Bouissac, Dinda Gorlee, Winfried Nöth, Roland Posner, Frederik Stjernfelt, Eero Tarasti, Kristian Bankov, Paul Cobley, Robert E. Innis, Katalin Kroó, Ekaterina Velmezova and many others.
The finest collections of semiotic materials in Tartu include the memorial library of Thomas Sebeok, one of the world leaders in the 20th century semiotics, and the Centre of Jakob von Uexküll, a Baltic German whose works have been very important to the development of biosemiotics.

Career prospects

Graduates can apply their expertise in the professions that require a complex knowledge of cultural analysis, i.e. semiotic consulting companies, marketing or media.
Practical applications of semiotics include translation and science writing, design and architecture, advertising, and communication strategies.
Employees of international organizations, e.g. embassies, where tolerance and conflict management skills are vital, can improve their professional education.
Programme graduates can continue on to doctoral studies and research. Semiotics is particularly relevant to advanced study in the life sciences, where biosemiotic understanding and semiotical interpretation is proving to be of remarkable value.

Programme details

Title Semiotics	Language English
Level of study Master's	Location Tartu, Estonia
Degree awarded Master of Arts in Humanities (Semiotics)	Tuition fee 4,000 EUR/year (2021 intake)
Faculty Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Department of Semiotics	Scholarships 1 tuition waiver for EU/EEA/Swiss applicants, 5 tuition waivers for other applicants (2021 intake)
Duration 2 years
Credits 120 ECTS
Study-form Full-time regular studies

Tuition fee & Scholarships

2021 intake

The tuition fee for fee paying students on this programme is 4,000 euros per year. Altogether 16 study places are available on the programme. On the basis of the admission results, 6 best applicants will be given tuition waivers: there is 1 tuition waiver available for EU/EEA/Swiss applicants and 5 tuition waivers available for applicants with other citizenships. Applicants do not have to apply for the tuition waiver separately, as they will be considered automatically for the competition.

NB! Applicants who are not citizens of the member states of the EU, EEA or Switzerland and do not hold a long-term residence permit in any of these countries are required to pay half of the semester fee after they have been informed of the admission decision (offer) via DreamApply. The official admission letter (necessary for visa application) will only be issued once the University of Tartu has received this payment. The second half of the semester fee is to be paid after the studies have started, by 20 September.

Information about the rules and conditions for tuition waivers as well as tuition fee payments is given here.

Information about other scholarships is available here.

Ask a student

"I had spent last year studying abroad in Estonia, and took some Semiotics courses. I felt the programme really helped expand on my previous knowledge and allow me to take an entirely new outlook on studying language and culture. I focus on studying minority languages and culture, and Semiotics allows me to look at culture and politics at an internal level."

Jason, International Student Ambassador from the USA

Contact Jason or any other International Student Ambassador to enquire about the life in Tartu or read their blog.

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2021 intake