MA in Semiotics
Tartu, Estonia
DURATION
2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
15 Mar 2025
EARLIEST START DATE
01 Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
EUR 4,000 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* Tuition-waiver scholarships are available
Introduction
The master's programme in Semiotics provides a background in the history and theory of semiotics, specialisation in its branches, applications and interdisciplinary connections of semiotics. The core of studies includes basic courses in semiotics, specialisation and master's thesis research. Elective courses and international learning mobility can widen this core. Basic courses provide systematic knowledge and enable discussions about the history and main concepts of semiotics, introduction to Tartu traditions in semiotics and methodological skills for conducting semiotic research.
Specialisation courses go deeper into three branches of semiotics: the semiotics of culture, sociosemiotics and biosemiotics. You can take all courses from each branch or focus more on one or two branches during your studies. Further, you can widen your studies with elective courses that often focus on particular topics or authors, are held by visiting professors or discuss emerging lines of research. Master School of humanities helps to make your study content and experience truly interdisciplinary by offering common elective courses in all humanities fields and bringing students together to the annual student conference.
Studies take place in small groups with supportive and intellectual interactions. Group size varies from 10 to 20 students; classes have face-to-face meetings, use many interactive methods and discussions and have solid digital support. Courses are scheduled for the first three semesters, leaving the last semester of the studies for more intensive work on the MA thesis.
The programme and courses are designed to encourage students to find their key interest in semiotics and apply it to understanding and changing the world. You can choose your topics and material for assigned analyses and apply your knowledge and skills in a practical working environment during an internship – and thus make a change by applying semiotics analytically or creatively.
You can make your studies even more international and diverse by participating in study mobility for a semester or a year. The Department of Semiotics has mobility agreements with various universities in Europe, and the University of Tartu partner university agreements enable mobility beyond Europe. You can flexibly design your studies abroad using the elective mobility module in the curriculum.
An essential part of semiotic studies is research. There are two options for the master’s research. It can be a traditional academic thesis solving a research problem either by theoretical argumentation based on previous studies or by empirical analysis. The other option is a more limited master’s project where creative and applied methods are used to study and solve a practical issue of meaning-making. For your research, you can design the topic out of your interests and rely on the teaching staff’s competencies in supervising international students and varied topics in the semiotics of culture, sociosemiotics and biosemiotics. From the very first day, there is a master’s seminar to support you in designing your research, finding the supervisor and orienting your studies.
Admissions
Curriculum
The programme in Semiotics provides interdisciplinary background and gives a theoretical base for applying 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 dimensions, 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. 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.
The curriculum consists of:
- Basic courses (24 ECTS)
- Specialised courses (36 ECTS): Semiotics of Culture, Biosemiotics, Sociosemiotics
- Elective courses (18 ECTS)
- Optional courses (6 ECTS)
- Estonian language and culture (6 ECTS)
- Master's thesis (30 ECTS)
Examples of courses:
- Methodology of Semiotic Analysis
- Tartu-Moscow Semiotic School
- History of Semiotics: Basic Concepts and Classical Works
- Zoosemiotics: Umwelt and Animal Communication
- Semiotic Analysis of Subcultures
- Semiotics of Translation
- Ecosemiotics: Cultural Interpretations of Environment
Rankings
The University of Tartu belongs to the top 1.2% of the world's universities.
Scholarships and Funding
There is 1 tuition waiver available for citizens of EU/EEA/Switzerland, 4 for all citizenships.
Program Tuition Fee
Gallery
Ideal Students
Audience
All students who have a Bachelor's degree in social sciences, natural sciences or humanities are welcome to apply.
Career Opportunities
Career prospects:
- After graduation, you can use your knowledge and skills for cultural and social analysis, working in think tanks, research institutions, creative industry, communication and marketing, as well as continue studies at the doctoral level in semiotics or related fields like communication, culture, media or social studies, anthropology, life sciences etc.
- Practical applications of semiotics include translation and science writing, design of products and services to experiences and environments, conceptual marketing and communication strategies, and mediation or translation between different and conflicting worlds of meanings.
- Finely developed academic skills, comprehensive knowledge of semiotics with methodological skills and participation in the international study and research community give an excellent foundation for doctoral studies and an academic career in semiotics or other fields. Our alumni are highly valued professionals in very different fields and professions, as they have the valuable ability to understand and analyse the interconnected world via the meaning-making process.
Facilities
Student Testimonials
Why study at University of Tartu
Why study Semiotics at the University of Tartu?
- The tradition of excellence in semiotic theory in Tartu was established by Juri Lotman, the founder of the semiotics of culture and the Tartu-Moscow Semiotic School, as well as the oldest journal of semiotics, Sign Systems Studies.
- The Department of Semiotics is one of the most important centres of semiotics in Europe, with deep roots for cultural semiotics and biosemiotics. UT is one of the few institutions in the world teaching full master’s and doctoral degree programmes in semiotics.
- UT collaborates and is regularly visited by professors from all over the world.
- The finest collections of semiotic materials in Tartu include the memorial library of Thomas Sebeok and the Centre of Jakob von Uexküll.